Facebook Twitter Instagram
    ELITETRACK
    • Home
    • Articles
      • Endurance
      • Flexibility
      • Hurdles
      • Jumps
        • High Jump
        • Long Jump
        • Pole Vault
        • Triple Jump
      • Multi-Events
      • Periodization
      • Relays
      • Sports Science
        • Biomechanics
        • Coaching Science
        • Exercise Physiology
        • Muscle Dynamics
        • Nutrition
        • Restoration
        • Sport Psychology
      • Sprints
      • Strength Training
      • Throws
        • Discus
        • Hammer
        • Javelin
        • Shot Put
    • Blog
      • Mike Young’s Blog
      • Carl Valle’s Blog
      • John Evan’s Blog
      • Antonio Squillante’s Blog
      • Vern Gambetta’s Blog
      • John Grace’s Blog
      • Ryan Banta’s Blog
      • Guest Blog
    • Forums
    • Store
    • Log in
    ELITETRACK
    You are at:Home»Mike Young's Blog»Vertical vs. Horizontal Force in Sprinting

    Vertical vs. Horizontal Force in Sprinting

    0
    By Mike Young on July 22, 2012 Mike Young's Blog

    Here’s a response I wrote for an interview I did over at SpeedEndurance.com as part of their Friday Five Series. To read the entire interview please click here and be sure to share and like on facebook and twitter. Q: “Max speed” is often the hot topic with many blogs, especially those in strength and condoning. With huge debate on horizontal and vertical forces as well as specific muscle groups such as calves, hamstrings, glutes, quads, and even core and upper body being the holy grail, what are the real bottlenecks in top speed? Can the force plate data and of Ralph Mann and Peter Weyand show enough evidence that a combination of the right force profile in all planes is necessary for world class performance? A:While many think there’s a single magic bullet, I don’t think something as complex as speed can be distilled to an exercise, drill, specific force vector or workout. The attainment of top speed is multi-factorial with many things being intertwined and I think anyone who claims to have the secret has immediately discredited themselves for having any advice worth hearing. In my opinion, there are two interlinked bottlenecks to top end speed. The first is simply the ability to accelerate. It sounds simple, but the people with the best top end speed tend to accelerate smoother, longer and with more mechanical proficiency at every phase from the start until they are upright at top end speed. The second limiter is the ability to generate forces eccentrically. The faster you run, the more load you experience at touchdown. This requires the athlete to have the capacity to resist those downward forces. It also requires the athlete to overcome the inevitable breaking forces in order to harness the potential elastic response even before they can ultimately produce a beneficial propulsive force (upward AND forward) in a very limited amount of time. The available force plate data has some serious methodological limitations right now and while there’s useful information to be gleaned, I think we’re still getting a very unclear picture of what’s happening. I’m excited to see what results are produced when sprinters across a wide performance continuum (good to elite) are studied sprinting across 3D force platforms on flat ground at true maximum velocity rather than treadmills at sub-maximal speeds. I suspect what we’ll find is that the whole vertical force vs. horizontal force debate is going to be somewhat of a moot point based more on semantics rather than what is actually happening or what can actually be trained. I believe that from a coaching standpoint, the change of force vector is so fast in elite sprinting (ground contact

    biomechanics coaching core sprinting
    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email

    Related Posts

    Training Dos & Don’ts #3: Warm-up (Preparation) & Cool-down (Reset)

    Training Dos & Don’ts #2: Hard/Easy

    Training Dos & Don’ts: PAL Paradigm (Running Technical Model)

    Like Us On Facebook
    - Facebook Members WordPress Plugin
    Highest Rated Posts
    • A Review of 400m Training Methods 79 votes, average: 4.92 out of 579 votes, average: 4.92 out of 579 votes, average: 4.92 out of 579 votes, average: 4.92 out of 579 votes, average: 4.92 out of 5 (4.92 out of 5)
    • 2008 Olympics: Usain’s Insane 100m 67 votes, average: 4.96 out of 567 votes, average: 4.96 out of 567 votes, average: 4.96 out of 567 votes, average: 4.96 out of 567 votes, average: 4.96 out of 5 (4.96 out of 5)
    • Top 10 Myths of Sprinting Mechanics 66 votes, average: 4.74 out of 566 votes, average: 4.74 out of 566 votes, average: 4.74 out of 566 votes, average: 4.74 out of 566 votes, average: 4.74 out of 5 (4.74 out of 5)
    • 14 reasons why Jamaica is the Sprint Capitol of the World 59 votes, average: 4.85 out of 559 votes, average: 4.85 out of 559 votes, average: 4.85 out of 559 votes, average: 4.85 out of 559 votes, average: 4.85 out of 5 (4.85 out of 5)
    • 12 Reasons to Squat Year Round 58 votes, average: 4.86 out of 558 votes, average: 4.86 out of 558 votes, average: 4.86 out of 558 votes, average: 4.86 out of 558 votes, average: 4.86 out of 5 (4.86 out of 5)
    • 6 Reasons Why All Athletes Should Sprint 63 votes, average: 4.32 out of 563 votes, average: 4.32 out of 563 votes, average: 4.32 out of 563 votes, average: 4.32 out of 563 votes, average: 4.32 out of 5 (4.32 out of 5)
    • 4 Tips for Keeping up with Sport Science Research 65 votes, average: 4.03 out of 565 votes, average: 4.03 out of 565 votes, average: 4.03 out of 565 votes, average: 4.03 out of 565 votes, average: 4.03 out of 5 (4.03 out of 5)
    • Loren Seagrave’s thoughts on Absolute Strength 54 votes, average: 4.80 out of 554 votes, average: 4.80 out of 554 votes, average: 4.80 out of 554 votes, average: 4.80 out of 554 votes, average: 4.80 out of 5 (4.80 out of 5)
    • 6 Reasons Why Jamaicans Dominate the Sprints 50 votes, average: 4.78 out of 550 votes, average: 4.78 out of 550 votes, average: 4.78 out of 550 votes, average: 4.78 out of 550 votes, average: 4.78 out of 5 (4.78 out of 5)
    • Developing Endurance in Speed-Power Athletes 58 votes, average: 4.09 out of 558 votes, average: 4.09 out of 558 votes, average: 4.09 out of 558 votes, average: 4.09 out of 558 votes, average: 4.09 out of 5 (4.09 out of 5)
    Recent Topics
    • ?Where I can start in multievents trainig?
    • Josh Hurlebaus Masters Training Log
    • How and when do hamstring injuries occur?
    • How and when do hamstring injuries occur?
    • Which fitness equipment do you use to exercise?
    About

    ELITETRACK is one of the longest standing sport training & conditioning sites on the web. We feature over 250 articles and 1000s of blog posts from some of the most knowledgeable and experienced track & field coaches on the web.

    Recent Posts
    • 6 Ideas To Improve Your Physical Wellness In 2022
    • Training Dos & Don’ts #3: Warm-up (Preparation) & Cool-down (Reset)
    • Training Dos & Don’ts #2: Hard/Easy
    • Training Dos & Don’ts: PAL Paradigm (Running Technical Model)
    • Food For Thought
    Forum Activity
    • rudeboy on ?Where I can start in multievents trainig?
    • Pablo25 on How and when do hamstring injuries occur?
    • Josh Hurlebaus on Josh Hurlebaus Masters Training Log
    • Josh Hurlebaus on Josh Hurlebaus Masters Training Log
    • Josh Hurlebaus on Josh Hurlebaus Masters Training Log
    ELITETRACK by Human Performance Consulting, LLC. All Rights Reserved. 2015.
    ELITETRACK by Human Performance Consulting, LLC. All Rights Reserved. 2021.

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.