How does one learn to have their leg extended earlier?
That is a really great post!!
How do you figure out which muscle groups are more tense than others? Which do you foamroll & what kind of routine do you use…
Thanks
John
I will post a video this weekend.
Most likely the hip flexors are tight due to our lifestyles eg. sitting a majority of the time at school/work which shortens the psoas and elongates the gluteal muscles. The glutes are the main muscles that keep us upright. Personally I have been doing more posterior chain work and more anterior chain stretching. I sped twice as much time foam rolling the hip flexors.
More air time allows you to extend before the hips start to descend.
You can apply it in Running As to get a feel for it. In the drill it will be an effort thing where there is no backside mechanic to recover from after toe-off (when running it will be more of a timing thing). Effort downward will help drive the drill. In the drill I find it helpful to emphasize a vigorous downward extension from my hip/leg, along with downward driving of elbow. If I do this I will get a natural downward extension through the knee from reflex. When running/sprinting it is more of a timing thing rather than an effort thing. When at faster speeds, I try to get early hip/knee extension even before I get to the ground. When I do this I run faster. For me it is that simple.
Below are a couple links to great videos of fast people. Try to pause the vids when the athletes feet are about 4-6+ inches above the ground (or when their leg is reaching a near full extension).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4QrlPmK4B94
This isn’t one of Bolt’s fastest races but the angle and slow mo are great to point this out…as well as any other aspect of sprinting. Check out the sprinter in the far lane. His early timing early in the race is incredible…he is possibly 6+ inches off the ground as he reaches a near full extension in his leg. This is ONE of the reasons why he is leading early and through about 60-70m. I’m sure he also had a pretty good start. He falls apart later in the race, which lets Bolt go by.
This is one of the ways “how” sprinters apply so much force so early in support…as well as minimize their ground contact patch (GCT), and are so very elastic on the ground. These are essentially fast cycling single-legged high intensity rudiment jumps. Longer levers naturally apply more force. It is true that you have to be supremely powerful to do what these guys are doing technically, but an average sprinter of average power is more powerful than he/she thinks, and will more closely reach their full potential if the try to get closer to this extension earlier in their running cycle’s front side. An average guy might only be able to reach this position 1-2 inches above ground contact, but will have advantage over sprinter of approximately same average-ness who strikes ground with bent leg and trailing hip who then re-pushes ground in extension late. Youtube search any good/great distance runner in slo-mo and you’ll see difference. As for people of same strength/power, this in my view is a major technical difference in those who run fast on the ground and those who sprint faster over the ground.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=By1JQFxfLMM
Bolt’s 9.58 in slow mo, you can see him time this extension earlier in his cycle. Timing wise he looks more like the guy in far lane in above video who was beating him early in the race. Again, in my opinion this is a timing issue not an effort issue. It actually took more effort for Bolt to run slower time in above video. If timing is better, body is more elastic and less effort is needed. Hence, elite sprinters talk about fastest races feeling most relaxed and most effortless.
It is in almost every single one of Ralph Mann’s publications going back to 1984. I’m not sure if he mentioned it in very first publication.
The idea that backside mechanics are the keys to speed seem to be more popular nowadays. Is this accurate? I thought athletes don’t concern themselves too much with extension?
Backside mechanics should be limited when the foot leaves the ground…Imagine a rubber band that connects your heal to the insertion point between your glutes and hamstrings. You should never consciously attemp to limit extension.
Not with people who sprint fast. If you mean that minimizing the amount of time spent in backside mechanics is the key, then I would agree. If I were to re-type your quote like this, “the idea that reducing backside mechanics are the keys to speed seem to be popular nowadays”, then I would agree.
There are only two situations in the sport of track and field that I can think of that purposely spending a greater amount of time with the foot and leg in backside mechanics is beneficial…and that is immediately after take-offs in the triple jump hop phase, the pole vault take-off…actually probably the javelin throw as well. Those are big acyclical movements (at the end of run-ups) that mean to put a large amount of stretch on the hip flexor, and in the pole vault (and javelin) on the abs and shoulder as well. In a continuously cyclical movement such as sprinting backside is bad.
Charlie himself uses the analogy of the bicycle crank. The faster you want to be on the front side of the crank (which is the goal), the less time the other foot can dangle and spend time coming up the backside of the crank. He uses the bike wheel and crank for a lot of good analogies to sprinting and accelerating.
If you mean that minimizing the amount of time spent in backside mechanics is the key, then I would agree. I think this is what the last sentence of your post is meaning. Including one word in the first sentence, “the idea that reducing backside mechanics are the keys to speed seem to be popular nowadays”, then I would definitely agree.
There are only two situations in the sport of track and field that I can think of that purposely spending a greater amount of time with the foot and leg in backside mechanics is beneficial…and that is immediately after take-offs in the triple jump hop phase, the pole vault take-off…actually probably the javelin throw as well. Those are big acyclical movements (at the end of run-ups) that mean to put a large amount of stretch on the hip flexor, and in the pole vault (and javelin) on the abs and shoulder as well. In a continuously cyclical movement such as sprinting backside is bad.
Charlie himself uses the analogy of the bicycle crank. The faster you want to be on the front side of the crank (which is the goal), the less time the other foot can dangle and spend time coming up the backside of the crank. He uses the bike wheel and crank for a lot of good analogies to sprinting and accelerating.
Actually, a correction to above statement, a hurdle take-off is another case where you can set up a very snappy and elastic reflex if you let the trail leg hang back for just a fraction longer than in a usual sprint stride. Hurdle take-off is a lot like the TJ take-off in this way. If anyone can think of another case, please put it up.
The elastic reflex is what you aim for at the front, what is the advantage behind the body.
Someone was to post a vid showing how hip positionng was the answer.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_i6PYjX28-o&feature=related
Don’t know who promised the hip tuck video but here is an explanation I found on Youtube that is pretty close to what I’d want to communicate to an athlete. I would not promote a rounded position in the back for a track athlete, but what he explains as the benefits of transferring energy between COG and ground are true. A track athletes posture should look a little more like a US Marine who has just graduated from boot camp. The idea is to minimize the many little angles in the skeleton that distract energy transfers. The other thing that happens when the pelvis maintains a relatively tall and and neutral position, while the femur swings behind the body in backside is that the hip flexors are put on stretch…resulting in a reflexive snapping back of to front side. There is an optimal amount of leg swing into backside, in order to put a good stretch on the hip flexor, and it is not much.
When an athlete lets the hip rotate forward (anterior tilt of pelvis) too much as the femur swings behind the body, the little distracting angles in the lower body are created and the hip flexors are not put on stretch in an optimal condition to get the reflexive snap back of the femur into front side. Hip posture (neutral) is usually lost in acceleration/drive phase, and then impossible to recover as an attempt is made to reach top speed. In my opinion, having the body awareness for hip posture is an important skill of sprinting.
I was suppose to post the video, but it rained all weekend and we don’t have an indoor facility. I will post it as soon as possible. By the way this quote is almost exactly what I would have been demonstrating in the video.
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I will post the video on Sunday or Monday 
From clymb420’s post above
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=By1JQFxfLMM
“Bolt’s 9.58 in slow mo, you can see him time this extension earlier in his cycle. Timing wise he looks more like the guy in far lane in above video who was beating him early in the race. Again, in my opinion this is a timing issue not an effort issue. It actually took more effort for Bolt to run slower time in above video. If timing is better, body is more elastic and less effort is needed. Hence, elite sprinters talk about fastest races feeling most relaxed and most effortless.”
I think the look at Richard Thompson in Lane 8 is an interesting comparison, because in many ways he runs quite a bit like Asafa. His mechanics are smooth and in sync through the first 40m, but he struggles once he reaches top speed and in maintenance. He looks suddenly tense and like he is having difficulty maintaining his torso in a stable position (looks like he is fighting to not lean backwards). I notice that same tension in Powell when he is even slightly off his game. Gay and Bolt don’t seem to have issues with this during the high speed parts of their runs.
Can anyone think of an explanation for why this happens and what a possible solution might be? Is it simply trying too hard? Is it a strength or flexibility deficiency in a particular muscle group? Any analysis would be appreciated.
For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.
Isn’t the force down the reaction.
Speaking frontside mechanics that is