Elitetrack: Sport Training & Conditioning

a 150 kg is huge, i dont think i believe that.  also, your acceleration should always be the same length.  generally you want o hit top speed real close to the end of the 60.

i think that 60m should be run the same way the first 60m of a 100m dash would be run.

why try to learn two diff accel and rhythmic patterns?

Flo-Jo’s 150 kg lunge:

http://www.oztrack.com/faccionispeed.htm

if u go to this link, down the page, the 2nd of the downloadable presentations, is the one that says Flo-Jo lunged that much.

when i come out of the blocks i use big strides.But i naturally do this and feels comfortable. My coach tries to get me to drive around thirty similar to the HSI drive phase you all talk about. I remember going fsater or feeling more comfortable pushing off with power with each stride, not goin out strong with choppy steps to get the legs going..Am i wrong?

also, in the same download presentation that says Flo-Jo lunged that much, further down for the starting technique, it says:

“        Starting Technique

*Very active arm action
  *First 5-8 strides
*Drive knees to chest
*Head stays down for as long as possible
*Piston action with legs
  *(Pfaff)
*Cycle action with legs
  *(Smith)                      “

whats the difference in the starts between Pfaff’s piston action and Smith’s cycle action? or are they really the same starting techniques, but just explained by each coach different?

A piston action has low heel recovery and a more linear movement of the heel while a cyclic action is characterized by a high heel recovery and a more rotational movement of the heel.

Is there a comparitive study between the two?

My coach is instructing me to change from a cyclic motion to Pfaff’s linear recovery motion.

Originally posted by fasttwitch
Is there a comparitive study between the two?

Not that I’m aware of. However I can’t see any benefit to a cyclic motion early on in acceleration. Can anyone else?

I didn’t see any advantage to the cyclic motion, but I wanted an idea of how badly it had been hindering me. It’s nice to know I’m heading in the right direction.

Hmmmm, an idea for my university dissertation possibly, comparison of the piston versus cyclic motion.  not sure how i’d conduct the study.  maybe i could just do a study of the HSI ‘drive’ phase, v the older technique that Lewis etc adopted.

Let me know what you decide to do as I did some research on start mechanics for my Masters degree.

DaGov asked this in another thread and I thought it would be more appropriate here:

Mike,

I’m not sure if this is related to this issue or not (if not, please suggest that I start another topic). . . .

How do you instruct high school athletes to get better acceleration at the start (i.e. - not popping up at the start)? I usually cue them to lean forward while accelerating, but I’m not sure if that is something that I am correct in telling them. I have an athlete that is now my best sprinter out of the blocks (best accel. technique). She got as good as she is (according to her) by telling herself to actually bend down at the waist from the gun. I know what she did was not the right way to go about it, but it worked like a charm for her. Thoughts?

I usually stay clear of lean-forward cues as this often results in a forward lean at the waist, unnecessarily “staying down” and / or tucking the chin. I will usually instruct athletes to “keep their feet behind them from the beginning,“ “push themselves more upright with each step,“ “get long complete pushes,“ and “push through the long axis of their body.“

Originally posted by mike
DaGov asked this in another thread and I thought it would be more appropriate here:

Mike,

I’m not sure if this is related to this issue or not (if not, please suggest that I start another topic). . . .

How do you instruct high school athletes to get better acceleration at the start (i.e. - not popping up at the start)? I usually cue them to lean forward while accelerating, but I’m not sure if that is something that I am correct in telling them. I have an athlete that is now my best sprinter out of the blocks (best accel. technique). She got as good as she is (according to her) by telling herself to actually bend down at the waist from the gun. I know what she did was not the right way to go about it, but it worked like a charm for her. Thoughts?

I usually stay clear of lean-forward cues as this often results in a forward lean at the waist, unnecessarily “staying down” and / or tucking the chin. I will usually instruct athletes to “keep their feet behind them from the beginning,“ “push themselves more upright with each step,“ “get long complete pushes,“ and “push through the long axis of their body.“

To me this makes perfect sense, but remember, I am dealing with high school girls that are still relatively new to the sport. They may not understand what this means exactly. How do I simplify things for them?

Those are the cues I use with almost all of our athletes, some of which sometimes seem to be below high school intelligence :splat: . If they don’t understand the cue just take some time to explain it. Remember, coaching done well is physical EDUCATION in it’s highest form.

Are you sure Smith———-cyclic?
Where have You heard this?