Lately ive been sprinting hills (slightly inclined, 15-20 meters long) again rather than working on top speed because i feel like ive lost some of my accel speed ever since i stopped working with hills two months ago, and already i feel more powerful and explosive throughout the start and the acceleration portion of a sprint thanks to this new hill work, but im kind of confused on something.
When at the very beginning of a hill sprint (or a sprint on a flat surface for that matter), ive recently noticed that i feel like i put myself in a better position to move faster and more efficiently when i sort of slightly drive my legs out to the sides, rather than directly under me, during the initial first few steps of the sprint. Obvously im most focused on going forward, but I feel like doing this helps me to gain more momemtum in a shorter amount of time (along with a concentration on arm action), and overall i just feel like my drive is more powerful when i do this, thus resulting in a faster accelleration…I was looking at some videos of Ben Johnson’s starts in slow motion and he seems to have done this also, and much more so than his fellow competitors. His feet and legs seemed to slightly (but more noticeably than his competitiors) flare out to the sides during the initial first few power strides of a sprint (and we all know how great his accelleration was).
My question is: Is this phemonomenon of slightly driving my legs out to the side during the first few strides of a hill sprint, rather than focusing on keeping them directly under my toreso, actually proper mechanics for the start of a sprint? (I am not a track competitor, just a soccer player who is always wanting to improve speed, so ive never really analyzed the start of a 100m race from the blocks…so please forgive me if this is a foolish question)
Not a foolish question at all, the subject was in some posts on a thread recently. Damned if I can remember which thread it was, perhaps someone else can point you in the right direction. I think the consensus of opinion was that it does allow the hips to move easier over the 1st few strides. But as the guy in the orthopeadic shoes said - I stand to be corrected.
