Hey guys, its JP and this time we are going to take a little bit of a deeper dive on Sprint
Mechanics. The reason I am making this video is because sometimes we end up getting too focused
on trying to copy the movement patterns of high level sprinters. While I find it interesting to
look at the mechanics of elite level athletes, I don't immediately go to trying to have my athletes
copy their mechanics. Instead, I ask why. Why does he do this? Why does he do that? The point
I am trying to get at here is that instead of prioritizing copying a movement pattern,
it might be a better idea to first try to understand why they do that movement
in the first place. If you have a better understanding of why, you may be able to apply
that to your own individual athlete based on their own characteristics and goals. So today, I am
going to make a quick video and show you 3 things that high level sprinters do, and why they do it.
Now, I need to make this distinction because sprinting and long distance
running are different. While I'd agree that it is important optimize forces generated,
so you can ultimately get from point a to point be faster, sprinting is not all about
being efficient with your energy. In sprinting you basically want to go as fast as possible.
Speed ultimately comes down to 2 things.
How big you take your steps, which is affected by your own body and ability to produce force through
the leg as well as how fast you take your steps, which is known as cadence or step rate.
While improving both is ideal to make you faster, in sprinting,
you'll notice that there is a large emphasis on taking quicker steps! If you can take
quicker steps without sacrificing the force production, you will RUN FASTER!
Now, here are 3 things sprinters do to take quicker steps when they are running at top speed.
The first one is landing on the forefoot. If you look at someone who lands on the rearfoot,
you will notice the person will have to roll over the whole section of the foot.
However, if you land on the forefoot, you only have to roll over a smaller section of it.
By landing on the forefoot instead of the heel, this decreases the amount of time
the foot is on the ground. If the foot is on the ground less, this leads to quicker steps.
Another thing you might notice is the high heel position as the leg transitions to leaving
the ground to swinging forward. In the swing phase, the higher heel is due to the knee being
bent. By doing so, this reduces the moment of inertia of the leg, which basically allows the
leg to swing forward faster. If the leg swings forward faster, it will lead to quicker steps!
Remember, don't get too caught up in this detail as typically this pattern may naturally happen
as the speed of your swing leg increases.
Another thing you might notice is a fast arm swing. You'll notice coaches cue to
swing those arms really fast during this phase. Now, why do they do that?
The arms and legs are wired and coordinated together. You'll notice if one arm swings forward,
the opposite leg swings forward too. By trying to swing your arms quicker, this makes the legs
want to move quicker as well. If the legs move quicker, this leads to quicker steps!
And those are 3 things you might see from sprinters
and reasons why they do it! I hope you found this useful! Maybe, I'll do a series on why
runners do certain things! Let me know what you think! And as always, thank you for watching!