Try to keep your upper torso more stable (unessesary swaying wastes energy and efficiency) Opening up your hand instead of fisting it would help alot. (more like the guy in red) Also try to get your arms moving more parallel to each other, instead of cutting infront of your body. It seems that you could be working them abit more.
You press and strain to much, try to relax more.
Try to maintain your “drive phase” alittle longer if possible, you seem to pop up to quick and end up paying for it in the last metres. Plan your race.
Practise diligently, train hard, and be your hardest critic.
Points 1-3 will be corrected when the tightness in the hips and the compensatory patterns occurring in the torso and lower limbs are corrected. Point number 4 right on the money.
Yeah this is one of those misconceptions that has slipped through the net for a lot of coaches. I don’t know where it csme from but it is bad practice. You want your leg to be in its most powerful orientation during foot stirke and this occurs with the foot directly below the hip - feet about 6-82 apart if you stand w/your legs straight. The momentum you generate with your amr swing on the opposing arm stops your body twisting. Look at a front-on video of any world class 100m runner and this is clear to see.
You have to be careful when you are discussing this as it is easy to misinterpretate what we are describing. This is why coahces make mistakes like telling athletes to “run on a line”.
Running with your foot striking outside the hips is significantly different to skating. Skating is where the force applied to the track is diagonal causing the atlete to zigzag down the track (common out of the blocks). The direction of force needs to be straight backwards, to propel you straight down the track, but the foot position during the support phase still needs to be outside the centre line to be most powerful/efficient.
ACOOPER, If there is a hip-width appart between feet, then why there is a usage of “running on line” in training? This kind of mechanics during sprinting does not involve a lot of hip crossing (inside), so why does Charlie put some focus on exercises that improve this kind of hip flexibility and power? Tnx in advance… (sorry for stupidity)
I wouldn’t be so specific as to say there should be hip width between the feet, it will vary from athlete to athlete. It should be natural.
I think the reason coaches have used the cue “run on a line” is to correct athletes who skate out of the blocks. Athletes seemed to start doing this in an attempt to imitate maurice greene around yr2000. I think the error they have made is to over correct their athletes i would prefer to tell an athlete to keep everything in a straight line where they are heading; down the track. There has also probably been some form of chinese whisper scenario going on over the years which has caused less experienced coaches to misinterpret such tools as getting an athlete to run on a line.
so why does Charlie put some focus on exercises that improve this kind of hip flexibility and power?
I’m not entirly sure which excercises you are reffering to, nor can i answer for Charlie but i can say that sometimes things are not entirely as they seem. I mean stretching the outside of the hips may not be aimed at improving flexability, it is also a good stretch for freeing up the hips in flexion without reducing the stiffness/tone of the hamstrings. Also with strengthening the adductors, they provide a key role in recovering the leg.
Please note however that i am not saying; don’t use running on line drills; don’t improve flexabilty etc… Sometimes these drills will be effective if these corrections will benefit the athlete but one needs to understand the function of the drills and how they effect the end product: Srint technique and performance.
Tnx…
So basicaly “running on line” should be used during acc phase (30m) to correct skating out of block? Is larger feet distance (how much) normal during acc phase?
I undestand you for the flexibility…
It is normal but remember, the start sets up the finish. If an athlete comes out of the blocks with a “wide stride” it will stay wide to the finish, it is very hard to bring it inline mid race. They will have an axecellent start but won’t be able to generate the force efficiently to reach a competative top speed. Look at Jason Gardener for an example. You do need to sacrifice some speed at the start of the race (this is the point where charlie will disagree with me) in order to start with good form (everything in a straight line down the track) but this will enable a high top speed later in the race. Justin Gatlin is probably the clearest example of this.
Now before anyone turns this into a delayed accleration is wrong thread, which has been discussed on here before, let me say that i’m not suggesting to delay the accleration by pacing, it is purely from a technical point that the starting mechanics set up the rest of the race and you have to compromise at some point. The exception to this is if you change technique during the race; Ben Johnson 10-20m phase.