At what point in race training should a sprinter begin to utilize the step down method. Not the actual race, but when they are training for one.
Is it in mv, accel phase…?
Second ; I have several sprinters that are beginning to use this method during summer training just to get a feel for it. My 9 year old daughter picked it up in one day. The other kids that I have worked with for several years (high school) are giving feedback such as, it feels as if am loosing speed. WHen I had one of them drive the foot into the ground she did well and the hip height increase dramatically, GT was minimized and SL increased. When I said step down and tap, it wasn’t pretty. Everything seemed to be lost.
Just to address your protocal questions, this girl is very strong, 3rd year sprinter, athletic and quick, Flex is great, actually used to do ballet.
We typically begin cueing “stepping down” in the 20-40m region and then between 50-70m in <80m maximal sprint work. The interval between 40-50m is measured as well.
Yesterday, after the above mentioned work bout, my athlete sprinted 170m with a 100m curve prior to the stated 70m finish. The results were illuminating, to say the least!
The 40-50 interval, though short, is his relax period between the focus intensity sections.
So you are saying a great deal of acceleration must be in place before they begin this action?
eg- 20m of accel?
In most cases, yes. We definitely see better, and more consistent results using blocks and accelerating @ <96%. I prefer to get those “feet down” when they approach top speed.
I believe that this method, like others, requires the athlete to be assisted in that state prior to any verbal cues. Similar to short hill running to tune acceleration positions, we’ve done plyo-sprints to emphasize hip height/BDC and stairs for step down patterning.
I’ve found that there is a kinesthetic behavior to many of the things we wish to accomplish. However, all must be planned and well thought out.
