Is it ok to practice starts (come out, take 2 maybe three steps) on tempo days?
This is a technical issue. I was unhappy with my starts (I actually pmed xlr8 about tips about coming out of the hole better) even though my friend said it was still pretty quick. He and I agreed a more violent arm action might help, so thats what I did today, but now he said it looks like I am jumping out, instead of running out? Its my fastest starts, but I dont want a technical flaw to ruin my runs? How/Should I fix this? If I start well with it, should I leave it alone? Or may I start better another way with more practice? FYI I dont percieve myself jumping.
yes, nothing wrong with that as long as your not doing a million of um, shouldnt hurt recovery.
thats a tough one without seeing them, probably need some video, what didnt you like about it to start? If it is a violent arm swing you might want to make sure your not tensing up too much or something like that from trying to really get the arm out, could lose energy that way and tighten up more of your race, but without video I couldnt really say too much more.
If you start well and your not messing up the rest of your race from it then leave it alone.
I didnt like it before because I felt I wasnt coming out of the hole fast or powerful enough. So I did the more violent arm action and this caused my “jumping” out
its not that i dont like it, its just ive never heard of anyone “jumping” out. I get out very quick, much quicker than the other way, and still very low, so i suppose I should just leave it? I was just worried it would become a technical issue
Im very relaxed when I do it, I take a deep breath when he says set, then let it out when I start, this keeps me relaxed, plus that is what I focus on for the starts, fast, powerful, relaxed.
he told me i was covering it faster, noticeably. i suppose you’re right, if it makes me faster then there isnt a problem, i was just worried because i had never heard of it, not that im an expert
Driving the arms hard in the first 10m is one of my 60/100 keys, so I think you’re on the right track.
But be aware of the risks of making judgements over too short of a distance. There are some things that can appear better over a short distance but counterproductive over a whole race. One example is bullet starts, which get you out of the blocks quicker, but at the price of producing less power, so you can be faster to 20 but slower to 60. Another example could be if an exaggerated arm movement in the blocks caused you to come up too much, which would reduce your ability to accelerate (for this reason, I don’t concentrate on driving the arms until after I’ve exited the blocks).
I’d be careful to judge any changes in your start over at least 50-60m, and not just 10-30.
Also, be careful that you are not winding up in order to get a better, more powerful jump. This is a common mistake when trying to improve ones start.
You will look faster to an observer because once you get going, you actually are faster, but if you are in a race, you are going backwards when you wind up while everyone else is going forwards…you will get left in the blocks!
But I agree, focusing on driving the arms (violently) is usually a good thing.