CoachesEducation.com

Coach,

I always read that the first step out of the blocks should be fast and include a 'low heel recovery of the rear leg' (what does this mean?) and a
'high knee motion' (like skipping?).

There seems to be at least two contradictory opinions regarding the stride length of the famous first step out of the blocks - short, because you should accelerate vs. long, because you may lose a yard compared with others. To reach a peak of confusion, this week the coach talked about a 'long-short' step.

A last question, which leg should be my front leg? On the one hand they
say use the strong leg (you use it when jumping long/high), which would be my left leg. On the other hand, they say use the fast leg (you use it
to kick a ball), which would be my right leg.

Yours sincerely,

Sigurt Heehler
AGIS Allianz Dresdner Informationssysteme GmbH
AG2HBS03 Host-SW & HW (Bank)
Windmuehlstrasse 14, 2D
60627 Frankfurt / Main, Germany
Telephone: +49 (0) 069 / 2 63 - 57967
Fax: +49 (0) 069 / 2 63 - 55510
E-Mail: sigurt.heehler@DREGIS.com

Sigurt:

The foot that you place in front is most often selected as the foot that you would jump off of from a running start. This is the left foot about 90% of the time. Left-handed people may choose to place their right foot forward.

The most difficult part of perfecting the start is the ability to keep some pressure on the back foot/pedal while most of the bodyweight is held forward. Even though most of the weight will be on the front hand and foot, we want to stress the importance of the back leg. You must 'load' the back foot using your own glute and hamstring tension.

It is the first six steps that are most important out of the blocks. If you do not run your best first six steps, you will not run your best race. You will not catch up for early mistakes during the race. It is also true that if you run your best first six steps, it is hard not to run your best race. The difference of just a foot or two at the finish can equate to one or two tenths of a second. Therefore, if you are a tenth or two slow at the first six steps, you will probably not make that back up to go on to PR at the finish. This is why during the first six steps you should be fighting for every inch you can get.

The way to go about this is to take the longest steps possible without overstriding. The athlete should think about driving the knees forward and extending the legs as far backward as possible once they strike the ground. Most athletes have been coached to take short, quick steps. Research shows that the athlete that takes the fewest steps during the first ten meters runs the fastest times. These athletes don't look the fastest because their frequency isn't fast, but the key lies in the length of their stride. You must build a solid foundation with good strength and flexibility base.

This information and research was from Advanced Speed and Strength Methods by Joe DeFranco & Martin Rooney.

Coach George Payan
www.CoachesEducation.com