Elitetrack: Sport Training & Conditioning

[quote author=mike link=topic=1731.msg43576#msg43576 date=1163057022]
Wanted to add that brute force without mechanics quickly catches up with an athlete (by about 15-25m) but if we were JUST taking the first 10m out of the context of the rest of the race I think brute force is more important. If we place that first 10m in the context of a 60m or 100m then mechanics becomes MUCH more important.

That is the line of thinking I was taking in responce to ut's post.  I know that ut comes from a football background and I from track, so its hard for me to think of running only 10m without thinking about the implications to the rest of the race.

[quote author=mike link=topic=1731.msg39457#msg39457 date=1154635441]
[quote author=utfootball4 link=topic=1731.msg39439#msg39439 date=1154579109]i know some may disagree but the first 10m can be taken care in the weight room, if you are strong as hell ur chances of having a good start is much better.

I wholeheartedly agree...this is why throwers and weightlifters are often faster than sprinters for the first 10-15m. This is one of the reasons I work squats with my short sprinters so hard. Having said that, winning the race to 10m/yd doesn't necessarily correlate with winning the race to 40m/yd (and certainly not to 100m). If an athlete has poor mechanics, brute strength in the first couple strides can more than make up for it but after that point I don't think that brute strength will help you get out of the bad positions you might have put yourself in to.

In response to that I am stronger and faster than my teammates, but they can get out in the first 10m meters faster than me.  I am a bigger guy and they are lighter/shorter.  What would you say to that?

Also, during my start out of the blocks, I tend to come out like a speed skater having my legs go slightly out sideways instead of straight forward.  My angles seem to be fine in the blocks.  What is the best way to correct my form??

[quote author=mike link=topic=1731.msg39457#msg39457 date=1154635441]
[quote author=utfootball4 link=topic=1731.msg39439#msg39439 date=1154579109]i know some may disagree but the first 10m can be taken care in the weight room, if you are strong as hell ur chances of having a good start is much better.

I wholeheartedly agree...this is why throwers and weightlifters are often faster than sprinters for the first 10-15m. This is one of the reasons I work squats with my short sprinters so hard. Having said that, winning the race to 10m/yd doesn't necessarily correlate with winning the race to 40m/yd (and certainly not to 100m). If an athlete has poor mechanics, brute strength in the first couple strides can more than make up for it but after that point I don't think that brute strength will help you get out of the bad positions you might have put yourself in to.

i just really started weight training this school yr. and im not a reall big guy, i run the 100/200. in the fall my first 20m was the great. i got out faster than everyone on my team, we also squatted heavy 3 days/wk. then starting in nov we stopped squatting all together and just did OL's. ever since then my start and first 20m has been noticably slower. do u think the absence of squats is the reason for my poor starts?

[quote author=blacklightning link=topic=1731.msg49785#msg49785 date=1174193892]
[quote author=mike link=topic=1731.msg39457#msg39457 date=1154635441]
[quote author=utfootball4 link=topic=1731.msg39439#msg39439 date=1154579109]i know some may disagree but the first 10m can be taken care in the weight room, if you are strong as hell ur chances of having a good start is much better.

I wholeheartedly agree...this is why throwers and weightlifters are often faster than sprinters for the first 10-15m. This is one of the reasons I work squats with my short sprinters so hard. Having said that, winning the race to 10m/yd doesn't necessarily correlate with winning the race to 40m/yd (and certainly not to 100m). If an athlete has poor mechanics, brute strength in the first couple strides can more than make up for it but after that point I don't think that brute strength will help you get out of the bad positions you might have put yourself in to.

i just really started weight training this school yr. and im not a reall big guy, i run the 100/200. in the fall my first 20m was the great. i got out faster than everyone on my team, we also squatted heavy 3 days/wk. then starting in nov we stopped squatting all together and just did OL's. ever since then my start and first 20m has been noticably slower. do u think the absence of squats is the reason for my poor starts?

i know everyone is different but with myself if my squats and cleans are not strong then my first 30m isnt strong. where you focusing more on your accel during the fall?

[quote author=utfootball4 link=topic=1731.msg49786#msg49786 date=1174194430]
[quote author=blacklightning link=topic=1731.msg49785#msg49785 date=1174193892]
[quote author=mike link=topic=1731.msg39457#msg39457 date=1154635441]
[quote author=utfootball4 link=topic=1731.msg39439#msg39439 date=1154579109]i know some may disagree but the first 10m can be taken care in the weight room, if you are strong as hell ur chances of having a good start is much better.

I wholeheartedly agree...this is why throwers and weightlifters are often faster than sprinters for the first 10-15m. This is one of the reasons I work squats with my short sprinters so hard. Having said that, winning the race to 10m/yd doesn't necessarily correlate with winning the race to 40m/yd (and certainly not to 100m). If an athlete has poor mechanics, brute strength in the first couple strides can more than make up for it but after that point I don't think that brute strength will help you get out of the bad positions you might have put yourself in to.

i just really started weight training this school yr. and im not a reall big guy, i run the 100/200. in the fall my first 20m was the great. i got out faster than everyone on my team, we also squatted heavy 3 days/wk. then starting in nov we stopped squatting all together and just did OL's. ever since then my start and first 20m has been noticably slower. do u think the absence of squats is the reason for my poor starts?

i know everyone is different but with myself if my squats and cleans are not strong then my first 30m isnt strong. where you focusing more on your accel during the fall?

we've always been been doing sprint starts since about nov. we did not change anything as far as that

Squats (and strength in general) correlate very strongly with performance over 10-15m. If you dropped squats from the program and most everything else stayed the same I'd guess that your dropoff was due to the absence of squats or a similar replacement stimulus.