I read a magazine and it had an article with greg jones(nfl player) and tom shaw. tom shaw had a drill that he had him do called stride checkers. he layed out peices of wood or something ar a specific distance apart and it increased from start until he got faster. would you recommend this drill to anyone? wouldnt your stride vary as your height varys because i am 5’6. the reason i ask is because i seem to have a very fast start but when i get to top speed it seems my stride is shorter than anyone else. if this is a good drill then should i scale down the stride lengths?
(i would give you the lengths in the magazine but i dont have it with me)
These are generally a bad idea. They will force you to think about your stride too much as opposed to relaxing. In addition, if you try to artificially increse your stride length, you will likely overstride and at best slow down at worst you will get injured.
Stride length is increased as strength levels and ability to properly apply foce are improved through increased physical capabilties and improved technique. So basically, work on running relaxed, do your plyos and weight work and over time you should see improvement.
Men’s Health suggests you use the news paper method…last year my article royal pain caused a influx of hate email (more than the norm) of Shaw fans. Nice guy and some good techniques but not all of them work or are safe.
I think I saw that one - is it Mens Health too?
Both shaws articles were in Men’s health…
XLR8 i agree 100%. every athlete has different SL’s and how does this coach know what specific measurements are from start to finish.correct SL will happen naturally if you let it happen naturally!!!
I think we’re all in agreement on this topic. Anyone seen the “acceleration” ladder? I think I’m ready to vomit…