Hey guys, this might be a stupid question, but is it worth training reaction time outside of meets?
i know that a good philosophy is too concentrate on cutting the seconds off races, not tiny picky parts like RT, but is it something that drills should be used for?
as a 55 runner, a good start is essential, but i just dont want to practice “flicking the wrist” to a gun if its not worth my while, esp since i find it easier to concentrate on mechanics going off me instead of a starter
I totally think its worth your while! Anytime I can encroach on that .24 conversion from those awesome hand times, I’m willing to do it. Not to mention the advantage it could possibly give you over your opponents!
I personally focus on getting my hip out to a certain area in my start. Knowing that I am the best reactor and then 1st stepping to a superior position in the race, I can confidently execute my performance objectives without worrying about my deliberate execution costing me out of the blocks.
(hope this makes sense)
It might be useful to a degree but don’t put too much focus on it. Remember Charlie & PJ making fun of Jon Drummond having Tyson do reaction drills at the WCs or Olympics.
Tyson displayed great composure in Osaka 100m final, having failed half of the dozen of drop key reaction drills right before the call-room…
and anyways, the cue for getting out of the blocks (at least for me) is the wrist flick cf reccomended, so catching keys isnt very specific to that…
what do you guys think about going off a starter in practice runs? is it better to have all concentration on mechanics or is it worth the rt benefits?
do people go off a starter when practicing blocks, or usually not?
With John Smith, one of the things done close to competition is sessions from blocks, as short as 20 or even 10 meters sometimes. These are done with a starter’s command, and they are timed.
oh, cool. maybe i can try something like that i notice from film that my rt at the start is often far from spectacular. thanks for the response
Love it how IKH chimes in from the JS perspective.