Which leg first?

    Posted In: Sprints

        • Participant
          offtheblocks on February 26, 2005 at 4:20 am #10478

          Is there any benefits of using a different leg as the first one in the blocks? A lot of people tell me to use your stronger one on the first block, others say strongest should be the back one, and other people say its how you feel comfortable and doesnt matter.

          Personally, I am used to having my right leg closest to the line b/c it just feels natural, but my left leg is a lot stronger.

        • Participant
          pesiroil on February 26, 2005 at 8:28 am #42516

          Its supposed to be your strongest leg on the first block, since thats the one your fully exploding off of.

        • Participant
          sprinter on February 26, 2005 at 8:54 am #42517

          You should be exploding with both legs while in the blocks. A lot of people like to go with their dominate leg, but comfort, technique, etc come into play.

          My right leg is my dominant leg, but I use my left up because I had ACL surgery and it was uncomfortable to have that knee on the ground so I went to that.

        • Participant
          offtheblocks on February 26, 2005 at 9:14 am #42518

          exploding with both legs??:o i dont think theres many ben johnsons on this site

        • Participant
          sneaky on February 26, 2005 at 9:45 am #42519

          most 10-11 second sprinters can do it

        • Keymaster
          Mike Young on February 27, 2005 at 2:20 am #42520

          You should definitely push with both legs. Also another thing to consider is that some people prefer to have their first RUNNING step with their dominant leg rather than their first pushoff with the dominant leg.

          ELITETRACK Founder

        • Participant
          sprinter on February 27, 2005 at 11:35 pm #42521

          [i]Originally posted by OffTheBlocks[/i]
          exploding with both legs??:o i dont think theres many ben johnsons on this site

          I sure hope there aren’t many like Ben Johnson. That would be pretty bad for the sport. Not mention, I think the times are a farce because of what he did, but that’s a totally different subject.

        • Participant
          offtheblocks on February 28, 2005 at 4:15 am #42522

          [i]Originally posted by sprinter[/i]
          [quote][i]Originally posted by OffTheBlocks[/i]
          exploding with both legs??:o i dont think theres many ben johnsons on this site

          I sure hope there aren’t many like Ben Johnson. That would be pretty bad for the sport. Not mention, I think the times are a farce because of what he did, but that’s a totally different subject. [/quote]

          If you watch any of his races, especially Seoul ’88, youll see what I mean. He looked like a kngaroo flying out of those blocks. I know he did it while tainted, but that doesnt mean he didnt run those times.

        • Participant
          sprinter on February 28, 2005 at 4:37 am #42523

          I’ve always exploded with both legs. It’s not un common at all for anyone to be doing that. It’s not some un-natural phenomenon. He may have run those times, but he NEVER would have been close without that extra help. If he could have done it clean it clean we would have seen it happen after the drug bust.

        • Participant
          trck400mrnnr on March 4, 2005 at 4:49 am #42524

          I explode off both legs…when i’m lucky…it just takes practice. You know when you do it cuz you explode out of the blocks and it just feels right and fast!

        • Participant
          hotctyplaya on March 12, 2005 at 7:06 am #42525

          So when you guys say push off with both legs at the same time, should I put the block pads and feet equal to each other instead of one back and one forward?

        • Participant
          offtheblocks on March 12, 2005 at 7:56 am #42526

          No, then that would lead to a bunny hop and not running.

        • Participant
          dma1973 on March 12, 2005 at 3:00 pm #42527

          In blocks I have my left foot in front, from a standing start the right foot is in front. I feel more comfortable that way. I also split jerk with the right leg in front and long jump off the left leg.

          Somebody told me a test they use. Go behind the athlete and without telling them push them in the back and which ever leg goes forward put that in front.

          I generally go which ever leg they jump off but the comfort factor comes into play.

        • Participant
          offtheblocks on March 13, 2005 at 12:35 am #42528

          yea that test always works for blocks, snowboarding, etc.

        • Participant
          davan on March 13, 2005 at 5:26 pm #42529

          [i]Originally posted by sprinter[/i]
          I’ve always exploded with both legs. It’s not un common at all for anyone to be doing that. It’s not some un-natural phenomenon. He may have run those times, but he NEVER would have been close without that extra help. If he could have done it clean it clean we would have seen it happen after the drug bust.

          He ran sub 10.3 at 18 before even considering them, so no. I think he didn’t even start using them till 84 or 85, and by then he had run faster than he did at 18. Whether you like it or not, the guy was fast and you better look at some of the sprinters today and see whether they are really clean or not. Tests don’t tell you everything.

        • Participant
          Derrick Brito on March 14, 2005 at 12:24 am #42530

          in speedtrap i believe they didnt talk abouit steroids til ben ran 10.1. i think he couldve been almost as fast without the help, it just might have taken him longer.

        • Member
          alex on March 14, 2005 at 12:44 am #42531

          The thing that really bothers me is that people talk about Linford and Dennis Mitchell as legends (both have tested positivite), but these same people treat Ben like a pariah. Sorry for taking this thread off topic though.

        • Participant
          sprinter on March 14, 2005 at 2:14 am #42532

          [i]Originally posted by davan[/i]
          [quote][i]Originally posted by sprinter[/i]
          I’ve always exploded with both legs. It’s not un common at all for anyone to be doing that. It’s not some un-natural phenomenon. He may have run those times, but he NEVER would have been close without that extra help. If he could have done it clean it clean we would have seen it happen after the drug bust.

          He ran sub 10.3 at 18 before even considering them, so no. I think he didn’t even start using them till 84 or 85, and by then he had run faster than he did at 18. Whether you like it or not, the guy was fast and you better look at some of the sprinters today and see whether they are really clean or not. Tests don’t tell you everything. [/quote]

          I don’t care what he ran. I don’t think many athletes now days are clean and never said any of them were. I just hear all this about Ben Johnson, how he’s so great, how he could train so hard and that’s the way to etc. The reason he could train so hard and so fast everyday is because of what he was on.

        • Participant
          utfootball4 on February 10, 2006 at 11:40 am #42533

          lol thats funny, i think when u r on the juice u cant sprint as often bc of the injury rate its higher, thats just me..

        • Participant
          tkelly5 on February 12, 2006 at 1:02 am #42534

          regardless of anything else, Ben Johnson had some things that couldn't be trained or taught, and I think thats what impresses a lot of people about him.  His start and reaction times were just mind boggling.  He probably could have been just as fast without juicin, which is what pisses off a lot of people.

        • Keymaster
          Mike Young on February 13, 2006 at 4:10 am #42535

          He probably could have been just as fast without juicin, which is what pisses off a lot of people.

          Then why would he have taken them in the first place? I don't even think CF would agree with you on this one!

          ELITETRACK Founder

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