So You Want To Be A Sprinter…

So You Want To Be A Sprinter?

By: Evan Stevens

So You Want To Be A Sprinter …

Sprint Training Program and Guide Part 1: Welcome to Speed So you want to be a sprinter; be prepared to work at it. While all humans are born with innate ability to “sprint” (due to biological fight or flight responses), the ranges of ability vary greatly. Some people are destined for Olympic and world championship greatness. Some will never achieve more than the glory of still being able to outpace their young children down the length of their block, or their backyard. But for those of you who are interested in the endeavour of sprint improvement, this is a great place to start.

Sprinting is a very technical event. Like other speed power events, like throws and jumps, sprinting is just as much about the technical and mechanical teachings of the body as it is about running. Distance runners look at the sprinters during practice and see them standing around, wondering what the heck they are doing. Coming from a distance background myself, a sprint practice was always something foreign to me; why are we standing around for so long? Why are we doing hurdle drills if no one runs the hurdles? Vertical forces? No one said I needed to know physics to run fast. But as we dive into the world of sprinting we start to see just how multifaceted and important all these little things are to running fast.

You can’t skimp out on one aspect of good sprinting as it is tied to a bunch of other ones as well.

If you came here looking for just a straightforward training program skip ahead to Part 5, but if you are wondering about the finer details that come together to make a good sprinter, read on. First and foremost, I want to make a disclaimer that training programs should be athlete specific. Sure you can grab a training program off the internet or in a book and away you go. And most of them are going to work pretty well. Coaches often draw up workouts for the sprint group as opposed to the individual. But we are all different; we all adjust differently to workloads, we all need to work on specific things be it our arm swing, our push off, our snap back, starts, etc. Some of us need to work on turnover, some of us need to work on power. And what happens when the worst happens – an injury? Training programs are a great start but having an actual coach to walk and guide us through each workout and trial is where you want to get to. If training programs are the guideline, coaches are the guide.

Running Dynamics

Technique is king in sprinting. You could have the ability to run faster than Usain Bolt himself but if you are all over the place and putting energy in directions that won’t help you move along the track, the only place you’ll be going fast is nowhere. Sprint form can be broken down a number of different ways; you could break it into the start, the acceleration phase, the hold phase (or top speed phase) and the finish.

You could break it into each stride individually, the number of strides out of the blocks, and the interaction of foot falls, power generation from the hips, ground reaction forces, stride length and frequency and so on. All are important aspects of good sprinting but they are all taught differently by different people or with different philosophies. This article attempts to describe all the facets of proper running, good form, and overall running dynamics.

Some highlights of proper form:  Proper posture  Snappy legs – push/pull stride  Power comes from the hips  Stride length/frequency/flight time – ground contact time and foot height  Force interaction – vertical and horizontal force interaction These are just broad highlights that we will go more in depth with throughout part one of this series on sprinting. But where do we start? Because all of these things come together to make us run faster it is difficult to start in one place without having some knowledge of the others. I think, however, to better understand sprinting we need to understand the physics of running fast.

Running fast can’t truly be quantified as an equation. The closest we have to something that described fast running came in 2000 in the Journal of Applied Human Physiology. A study titled “Faster Top Running Speeds Are Achieved with Greater Ground Forces Not More Rapid Leg Movements” by Weylandet al. showed just what the title of their article says – that sprinting fast is due to forces applied to the ground, not so much on how fast the foot is repositioned. They described their findings as such:

V = fstepFavg / WbLc Where V = Velocity(m/s), fstep = stride frequency, Favg = average force applied to the ground (vertical force), Wb = body weight, and Lc = contact length (ground contact time) This led to the conclusion that sprinting was reliant on vertical force and faster sprinting meant more vertical force applied. However, later studies have since proven that to be false. It is in fact due to the interaction of both horizontal and minimal vertical forces that result in faster running. A 2011 study in the Journal of Medicine and Science in Sport Exercise determined that it was the way in which force is applied that leads to faster running. Rather than total force applied, faster running was determined by the vector in which force is applied – a combination of mostly horizontal and some vertical force. The major finding was that a small mass + large force + right directional vector (direction of applied force) = faster run times. Sprinting comes from the combination of vertical and horizontal forces. Vertical displacement is key to allow for maximum air time and snappier knee drives which helps maintain momentum. Horizontal force applies the direction that you want to actually travel in (along the track).

My minimizing horizontal breaking forces and maximizing horizontal propulsion forces we get along the track much more quickly. What this means is we are tall as we run, landing with our feet under us as opposed to in front of us (minimizing the breaking force), with a slight lean forward to keep our legs pushing back as opposed to up (more horizontal force, less vertical).

It is this relationship between horizontal and vertical forces that we truly start to appreciate stride length and ground contact time. To understand this we need to think of our legs as swinging inverted pendulum springs. Force down and back, spring loads, bounce up, knee drive forward, pendulum swings, drive down again, and repeat. The relationship between the ground contact time and the elastic ability of our legs to return to a prone position (described as a push pull stride) is what makes up stride frequency. Stride frequency, more so than any other aspect of sprinting, seems to be what separates the best sprinters.

Top end sprinters have similar flight times or flight phases; what separates them is their ground contact time, the transition between landing and taking off (support phase transition to propulsion phase). It is in that landing phase, The cost running (energy) means it is important to find the right balance or support phase, where differences in top end between stride length and frequency. speed is often decided. The longer the support phase, the larger the increase in the breaking force. Force is going down and forward instead of up and back. Using Newtonian physics, we know that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. Thus, an action forward causes and action back – the break. While jumpers will often use a bit of a break to gain some leverage in height, sprinters would do well to avoid applying the breaks mid stride.

To avoid breaking forces we go back to thinking of proper form. Your foot needs to land under your body, not in front. If you are landing on your toes, you are golden. Don’t land on your heels – heel striking is indicative of over striding and in both distance and especially sprinting, it causes a huge breaking force.

We want to use your swinging spring (your legs) and “paw” at the ground – a snappy leg motion. Let your foot remain dorsiflexed so as to load the spring, which is made up of the muscle and ligaments in through your foot, ankle, and calves. A 1996 study out of Harvard published in the Journal of Biomechanics found that the stiffer the spring (how loaded it was) the higher the stride frequency of the runner. So fast swinging spring + low ground contact time + high flight time = faster running. It’s not the fastest running, as we still have to consider applied directional forces (horizontal and vertical), but it is where a lot of changes to sprint speed happen. Going into the support phase it is important to land under your centre of mass so the spring can be optimally loaded for the flight phase. This comes full circle to create the snappy leg motion and the push/pull stride mentality we want of driving your knees up and down and not letting gravity do all the work of force generation.

To get a proper push/pull stride going however, we need to look at where all the power is coming from – the hips. Studies dating back over 30 years show that the difference between championship sprinters and “pretty good” sprinters is their ability to move through their hip. That is – top end sprinters are able to extend their hip more through their drive than the other guys. This movement through the hip causes more power applied to a shorter amount of ground contact time, which leads to faster running. While hip extension is not the direct cause of fast running (it is more a result of powerful strides from the start), good hip extension is a key component to the maintenance of speed as it causes the body to travel over the landing foot very quickly. When the foot lands under the body and the hip is able to extend, power is placed in a short amount of time and speed is maintained better going down the track. This information is all published in 1981 in the British Journal of Sports Medicine in an article titled “Biomechanical analysis of Sprinting: Decathletes versus Champions. The study pitted 16 championship

decathletes against three world class champion sprinters, having each run a 100m race. Cameras at the 70m mark filmed each athlete as they ran by and the researchers were able to measure each athlete’s body angles. The world class sprinters all had a longer stride length at greater frequency, a smaller thigh angle at ground contact time but larger thigh angles through the flight phase (meaning greater hip extension and legs already being placed back down under the body while next stride already driving) leading to faster turn over, and larger trunk angle (angle through the body and trail leg) this means the trail leg is still fully extending off the ground for more power as the next stride is reaching its apex, or optimal knee drive).

Proper hip extension and leg placement improve stride length and frequency and increase flight times, all of which improve sprint performance. One of my favourite examples of the relationship between stride length and frequency happened this past summer at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games. Sure, we can look at Usain Bolt and Andre De Grasse all we want, comparing the six foot five Jamaican to the five foot nine Canadian, the way that De Grasse’s right arm is outstretched to compensate for torsional forces in his left leg (keep reading for a discussion on arm swing), or how his smaller frame is able to conserve velocity at a rate faster than the longer frame of Bolts, but the 400m this past summer was far and away the greatest race to pick apart in terms of mechanical demonstration. For those out of the loop the 17 year old 400m world record was broken this past summer by the superb South AfricanWayde Van Niekerk. Van Niekerk broke Michael Johnson’s 17-year-old record of 43.18 in a world record time of 43.03, doing so out of lane eight, the lane furthest to the outside. Most 400m runners want to be in the middle of the track as it gives them an idea of who is around them. The inside lane, lane one, is very tight whereas the outside lane forces you to run blind until pretty much the last corner due to the staggered lane start. However, Lane 8 offers one advantage that the other lanes do not – it is the “straightest;” lane 8 has long corners allowing for more power generation in a single direction than having to navigate the tighter corners of the inner lanes. This allows for a longer, more powerful stride.

And when comparing Van Niekerk’s performance to Johnson’s we can see just how important stride length and frequency are in relation to each other and to overall performance.

Height Avg. Strides/Second Avg. Stride Length (m) Stride/Height Ratio Avg. Split/100m Avg. Speed (m/s)

Van Niekerk 1.83 3.79 2.45 1.34 10.75 9.296

Johnson 1.85 4.18 2.22 1.20 10.8 9.264

What we see from this is that Van Niekerk has a very long stride considering his height. He and Johnson are very close in height (a mere two centimeter difference) yet he demonstrated the importance of stride length and frequency working in tandem. Johnson relied so much on frequency that he ended up shortening his stride and his performance suffered. Another way to look at just how impressive Van Niekerk’s performance was is to consider his second 100m. He went through his second 100m in 9.78 seconds with a stride length of 2.63m. 2.63 meters is a stride length that many 100m specialists cannot match. Usain Bolt’s longest recorded stride length was 2.85 when he set the 9.58 second 100m world record in 2009. It is difficult to say whether the performance would translate to an inner lane, given the competitive edge when being able to see and chase your competitors, but we have to consider that lane 8 also offers the most unidirectional force application while running. Fast running is only possible when

there is an equal combination of stride frequency and stride length when force is applied in the correct direction.

You can see a “side by side” difference of the races on YouTube here (excuse the intro soundtrack).

Part 2: Arms (& a small note about foot positioning) So now that we have an understanding of how our legs move while sprinting from Part 1, we’re ready to hit the track, right? Not just yet. We are neglecting our upper bodies – our trunk and arms. Believe it or not, your arms and the way they move have a huge impact on how you run. The importance of arm action in sprinting is a hotly debated subject right now. Namely whether arms are used simply to correct for balance and postural changes, or, can also aid in driving the legs and momentum down the track. In The Mechanics of Sprinting and Hurdling (2010 edition) Dr. Ralph Mann notes that the legs, and not the arms, primarily dictate success in sprinting. He is quoted in the article titled ‘A Farewell to Arms? The Debate Over Arm Swing Mechanics in Sprinting’ by Ken Jakalski that “Contrary to popular belief, superior arm action does not produce superior sprint performance. In fact, regardless of the quality of the sprinter, there is no significant difference in the arm action. If a sprinter could improve the horizontal velocity simply by moving the arms faster, then even old, out of shape coaches could run as fast as the elite sprinter since virtually everyone can move their arms fast enough to produce an elite level stride rate of five steps per seconds.” While he later qualifies that arms are important to the maintenance of balance, and aid in vertical lift, he stands by that arm swing isn’t nearly as important it sprinting as some make it out to be.

Some would disagree with Dr. Mann’s explanation. Many feel that the arms help propel the sprinter down the track. The planar motion of the arm swing can help dictate the motion of the legs. Arms that swing mostly to the sides of the body without crossing the midline help to promote force generation in a straight line, down the track, as opposed to off to the sides where force might be directed if arms are flailing across a sprinter’s midpoint. Hips create some rotational motion when they move – it is the nature of a ball and socket joint to rotate. Arm swing helps to correct the rotational motion generated by the hips and contain the motion to a single frame. Without arms acting to counterbalance the lower body, the trunk would go through torsional motion that would cause forces to be lost in different directions, and not all directed down the track.The problem for most when rationalizing the importance of arm swing in relation to power, however, is that at top speed, when a sprinter is erect, the backward swing of the arm counteracts the forward swing, essentially resulting in a net zero force. Yet, when we thinking about what we have learned so far with the relationship of horizontal and vertical force, and we go back to Dr. Mann’s statement in regard to vertical lift, we can start to imagine the importance of arm swing in relation to sprinting. While it is true that arms are never going to be as important to sprinting as legs, we have to also understand that the arms help promote the conservation of momentum.

We often hear coaches tell their athletes, “arms lead the legs – swing your arms!” But just how true is that? We have a bit of an understanding to the importance of arm swing – keeping your body in line, driving forces down the track, balance, and (as we will learn in the upcoming parts) driving power out of the starting blocks, but just how true is it that arms lead the legs? We read Dr. Mann’s take on it, that you can swing your arms as fast as you want but legs are always going to win, but then why do coaches still tell us to swing our arms more, especially as we start to tire out. Well, the answer may lie more in our past – neural pathways that are remnants from when we took to walking on two legs. A 2014 study published in the Public Library of Science’s open access journal titled “Locomotor-Like Leg Movements Evoked by Rhythmic Arm Movements in Humans” described when the frequency of arm movement increased, so too did the frequency of leg movement. They had subjects lay horizontally and placed a

treadmill above their arms, within reach. They were then instructed to “walk on their hands” along the treadmill. As they did, the participants’ legs started to move as well, walking through the air, just as they would if they were walking upright on solid ground; opposite arm, opposite leg. The authors remarked: “We found that moving the arms rhythmically on an overhead treadmill, as in hand-walking, often elicited automatic, alternating movements of the legs in a significant proportion of tested subjects as in normal walking, the frequency of leg movements increased with increasing frequency of arm movements during hand-walking.” They concluded that the concurrent movement is active (neural) rather than mechanical (passive).

Does this mean that faster moving arms will mean faster moving legs? Kind of, but not entirely. The authors note that the movements could be remnants of quadrupedal motion and the need for our ancestors’ need to use diagonal limb couplets for motion (opposite arm, opposite leg moving in tandem to move). This ancient neural connection linking the arms and legs is part of the reason why we move our legs with our arms but the authors also noted that leg movement was lower in frequency than the arm movements. So there is a link, but arms don’t necessarily lead the legs, they can just help. The predominant theory as to why our arms move the way they do with our legs (other than for balance and conservation of momentum in relation to sprinting) is because of neural circuits that our body uses without the need for sensory input. These neural circuits, called Central Pattern Generators (CPGs) provide specific timing information when information from elsewhere (the muscles) are not available. CPGs are important for running and sprinting form because they act as body cues when Experimental set up from the previously mentioned 2014 study. information from elsewhere in the body is not working as we want. If a sprinter’s legs are lacking certain leg cues (sensory inputs), be it knees coming in or heels lifting but not driving through, CPGs could instead work with the arms and drive running form through cues from the arm swing. The rhythmic motion of the arms could carry the legs when cues aren’t quite working.

Arm swing and its contribution to overall performance is a hotly debated topic. Does it matter as much as some make it out to be? Does spending time focusing on arm swing at a practice take away time that could be used focusing on where speed and power comes from – the legs? I don’t think so. There is still a lot of work to be done, statistics to be calculated and different methodologies to be tested. Yet I think that proper arm swing can only help good running and sprinting form, from the conservation of momentum, to aiding in balance, and help the body provide positional feedback to itself as it moves.

One smaller note to add to our discussion about proper form and technique is the often neglected, yet important aspect of foot positioning. While sprinting we want our ankles to be dorsiflexed, or the flexion of the foot towards the shin. This allows energy to be stored in the “strained muscle” and allows for better use of the leg’s natural spring, comprised of the plantar tendon under the foot, the Achilles tendon at the back of the ankle, and the large calf muscles. Dorsiflexed ankles allow mechanical energy to be stored as elastic energy as the foot comes off the ground and cycles back down into the next stride.

Storing this force allows for faster, more powerful turn over, greater stride length and frequency, and faster running.

Why the feet and arms go together is because the feet dictate the need for the arms to stabilize and prevent rotation. While sprinting feet fall outside the centre line of mass. This causes torque, or a turning force to run up the leg to the hip. The hips will rotate towards the push off foot and unless this rotation is counteracted by the arms, you get a “spinning sprinter.” The more you can get your foot to fall pointed down the track, and not pointed outwards, the less you will have to work with the rotational force as well, as the toes pointed outwards causes the stored elastic energy to be transferred through that direction more. Keeping the feet in good positioning generates power and prevents too much torque so that the arms do not have to come across the midpoint of the body (usually a good indicator that something is going on in the lower body).

Part 3: Warm-up Now that we have a working understanding of the different parts of running and sprinting, we can hit the track and start to bang out some reps right? ALMOST. First we have to get warmed up. And no, static stretching is not a warm up. When we talk about getting warmed up before practices and racing we talk about dynamic warm-up; that is warm-up focused on movement rather than standing or sitting in one spot and stretching out cold muscles, or static warm-up.

You might want to just hop on the track and go to work, and by all means, if you do not care about your performance and don’t care about the risk of injury, go for it. But if you want to be the best that you can be, that means staying healthy and improving performance, you need to go through a proper warm up. A 2010 meta-analysis published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research found that warming up before activity lead to performance increases in 79% of performance criterion that were analyzed (muscle flexion, power/force generation, range of motion, etc), with no ill effects on performance. Going more in-depth as to why warm-up is important, we turn to an article published in sports medicine? that discusses the impact that specific warm-up has on the body. The authors describe specific warm-up as activity done in a way specific to the athlete’s sport and movement requirements. That is to say, a swimmer shouldn’t be doing running exercises to warm up or a cyclist shouldn’t be warming up with some light running and leg swings. Specific warm-up serves to increase temperature by utilising body parts that will be used in subsequent, more strenuous activity. The benefits of warm-up, the authors note, are due to temperature-dependant physiological responses (hence why it is called warm-up).

Elevated body temperature increases the release of oxygen from haemoglobin and myoglobin, lowers the amount of energy needed to activate certain metabolic processes, an increase in blood flow, decreases muscle viscosity (increases the ability of muscle to contract and react quickly), increases the muscle sensitivity to nerve impulses, and increases the speed of the muscle impulses. A study published in Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise also showed that warm-up statistically lowered the amount of blood and muscle lactate accumulation by 49% and 16% respectively. Warming up is imperative to performance. While there is a lot of debate as to the effectiveness of warm-up in relation to injury, as injuries can have numerous causes as well take time to develop, active warm-up should be done prior to exercise for the sole benefit of performance alone.

So, warming up is beneficial, now what? How do we warm-up properly? What constitutes a good warmup? Warming up isn’t difficult, but it is individualized to each athlete and each sport. We need to individualize the warm-up to each athlete because everyone is at different fitness levels. Someone who has been inactive for a while isn’t going to just jump in and do three sets of full hurdle warm-ups because the warm-up would turn into the workout itself. So knowing where to start and how much to do becomes the real question of how to warm-up. To get started we have to think of our sport (sprinting) and consider what muscle groups we are primarily working. For our starting purposes we will look at gluteals, hamstrings, adductors, quadriceps, and the gastrocnemius. There are lots more that come into play in through the hips, back, and shoulders, but for now let’s start here. These five muscle groups are the big ones in your legs used for sprinting and warming them up properly is what is going to produce better sprinting.

MUSCLE GROUP Gluteals

DYNAMIC ACTIVITY Walking High Knees

DESCRIPTION  

   Hamstrings

Toy Soldiers/ Frankenstein

    

Adductors

Hurdler Walk

  



Begin standing with your legs shoulder width apart and each arm bent at 80-90 degrees at your side.

Lift your right knee up towards your chest so it is parallel to the ground. As it comes up, move your left arm up towards your cheek just as you would if you were running – opposite arm, opposite leg. Your right arm should swing backwards, towards your hip.

Return to starting position by swinging your arms in opposite directions as your right leg comes back down.

When your right leg is down repeat with the left leg.

Start to move in a forward motion.

Similar to walking high knees but keeping the knees locked.

As you swing your straightened right leg up in front of your body trying to get your heel to waist height; your left arm moves up with it.

Keep your toes pointed forward and try not to let them point out to the side. Always in line with the track.

Swing your right leg back down, as it comes so too will your left arm. Your right arm will start to move in the opposite direction.

When your right leg comes down you now swing your straightened left leg out in front of your body.

Similar to walking high knees but instead of bringing your legs up in front of you, bring your knee up to the side of you.

Place your hands on your hips, bring your right knee up to the side of your body, When your knee is at waist level, and your femur is parallel to the ground, rotate femur at the hips to the front of your body, like where it was in the high knees exercise.

Drop your knee back down and repeat with your left

leg, bringing it out, pulling it in, and placing it down.

Quadriceps Butt Kicks  From standing, draw your right heel up to your butt, trying to do so without letting your knee move forward, past your hip (everything stays in line with your body or goes behind it).  Your left arm should swing back with your right leg, sweeping your hip, just like you are running.  As your right leg and left arm start to fall back into place, hop up on your left and start to draw it and your right arm back as you did with your left.  You will be “running” quickly transitioning from right leg to left leg (with some air time) as you move forward down the track, heels coming back to your butt without your knees coming too far forward.

Gastrocnemius Tip Toe Walking  Keeping your knees locked, stand on your tip toes and start to walk down the track, arms moving with your legs; opposite arm, opposite leg.  You can vary the walking by pointing your toes inwards towards each other or outwards away from each other.

These exercises provide a basic start for the warm-up drills. Each drill should be done twice over 20 meters. There is always some debate as to how many times a drill should be performed but a 2012 study in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning research found that each of these drills done one to two times improved a 20m sprint performance whereas not doing the dynamic exercises or doing them three or more times resulted in slower 20m sprint performances.

A basic full warm-up would be something along the lines of:  5 – 10 minutes of jogging  Active/dynamic warm-up exercises (above)  Stride outs (running hard out for 20-30 meters) It takes about 15-25minutes to do a good full warm-up. As you get stronger and get more advanced, warm-up gets a little more involved. You’ll start to add hurdles into your routine on some days, going over one and under another, going over them sideways and front ways, and yes, back ways too. You’ll be on the ground thrusting your hips into the air to help increase the range of motion on your hip flexors, you’ll be adding running into your high knees and toy soldiers. Your short sprints may be done over small hurdles to help get your knees up and your heels coming through your hips on your strides. All of it is to make you a better, more capable sprinter.

Part 4: Starts and Blocks We know some of the physics and power of sprinting, we have an understanding of how arm swing comes into play, and we have now warmed up and are finally ready to workout. SO CLOSE. Before we want to get right into a workout we still have one last area we need to touch on – starts. Starts are one of the most complicated, technique driven aspects of sprinting. Yet you never win the race at the start.

Sure, you can lose a race from the start but you cannot win one. Just look back at some of Usain Bolt’s performances – he is a testament to how to overcome a mediocre start. He has come back multiple times to crush fields after others in his field have had terrific starts. But a “bad” start, especially against people who are good starters, can be a deciding factor in these shorter sprint races, which is why

sprinters practice coming out of blocks or practice coming from a start so often.

Starts are all about physics - putting your body in proper body angles to allow for the most efficient use and generation of power. Starts involve pushing through the long body axis (through the leg, and up the trunk, creating a single long axis) and involve the generation of high impulses. Impulses are the result of force over a given time period, which can be described by:

Impulse = Force x (time2 – time1) While we think about them in normal sprinting, impulses are vastly important at the start for getting out of the blocks and up to speed. When we think about what we learned in Part 1 and about ground contact time and how we want to minimize ground contact time, the only way to generate high impulses is with greater forces. And to generate greater forces we need proper technique, thus why practicing starts is so important.

One of the key factors to starts that I see a lot of athletes struggle with is their first few strides. Many beginner sprinters think that lots of fast, short strides out of the blocks are going to generate force. In reality we want to be long and powerful out of the blocks. We call this the “big reach” Long, powerful strides out of the blocks generate force. Short, choppy strides where the first stride should be almost do nothing but trick you into thinking you are going fast. an exaggerated drive. Your initial knee drive should come up to your chest and the elbow opposite your knee you want to come up and almost sweep your ear. These long strides are what create the long body axis off the start; pushing through the long body axis allows force to be directed backwards, propelling you forward more so than while already at top speed and erect - basically allowing you to accelerate faster and more efficiently. So the first few strides are long and powerful, your body low to the ground to maximize your long body axis to create the greatest acceleration, what should happen is, as you get up to top speed, your body starts to rise, your posture becomes straight (your hips start to tuck under you), and you get into your top speed running, your stride length goes up but frequency starts to drop to mimic maintenance of speed, as discussed in Part 1.

The easiest way to first get used to this long, powerful way of stepping and reaching out is to let gravity do the work for you. From a standing start, one foot on the line, the other slightly behind that one, start to gradually lean over. As you lean be sure to relax the upper body – let the arms dangle, head down, shoulders loose. Your weight will start to shift over your centre of mass and just when you think you are about to fall on your face, you push your first leg forward with your long stride and big reach. You have to let gravity pull you down and you need to react to stop from falling on your face. That means big step/stride out in front of you and putting the force down, right under you. A lot of beginner sprinters will think to put their foot behind them, only to strain to find the ground because they are falling forward. By driving your strides down with gravity making you fall forward, you will be already driving

behind you. So drive the legs down into the track, hit it like a sledgehammer, and you’ll drive acceleration. Doing this “falling start” will help you understand how to make use of the longer angles in your body you need to use and how staying low and having gravity do some of the work can get your legs turning over faster with more force.

Now that we have some understanding of the first few strides and the importance of some of the forces acting in those strides, let’s set up some starting blocks. Typically, blocks are placed roughly one foot length back from the start line in the centre of the lane. Your front block is roughly two steps back from the line and your hind block is three steps back from the line. Your back block is where your first stride foot is going to be placed. That is, the first foot to hit the track in front of the start line, usually your dominant foot. An easy way to test what foot goes on your back block stand with your hands at your side, your legs slightly less than shoulder width apart and your eyes closed. Get a partner to give you a slight but firm push at the center of your back, between your shoulder blades. The foot that comes forward first is usually your dominant foot and will be the one that goes on the back block. Some people have their own preferred block placement; some prefer their legs a little tighter together, others a little further apart. Until you get really comfortable and experienced, it is easiest to just use the two step and three step measurement for your block placement.

Now that your blocks are set up you can get into them. Your knees should be bent, with one knee on the ground before a set position and the other should be up towards your chest. Arms should be wide to provide good balance, with your elbows locked. Hands need to be placed behind the start line. When placing your hands and fingers, think of making an “L” shape with your thumb and forefinger and place their tips along the length of the start line. You can place Note that the elbows are locked and spaced multiple fingers down if you like but most go with either just their across the start line to give a supportive forefinger or their forefinger with their middle finger. This allows for a starting position. wide, stable base that is easy to pivot off from when the gun goes off. Now that you are in the blocks with your hands down, it is important to remember to stay relaxed. Far too many people tense up through their heads, necks, and shoulders even before the starter calls for set positions. Stay loose it helps with positioning and also prevents jumpy false starts.

Once you are settled in the blocks you will then transition into a “set” position. This is where you raise your hips, your knee is up and off the ground, your weight shifted to balancing between the force applied on the blocks and on your arms. Your legs should remain bent as straight legs do no not generate power. This means that your hips do not need to come up as much as you might think. Your hips raise enough to load you but not enough to take the tension stored in your bent and contracted muscles. This isn’t an overly comfortable position – you may feel like you are going to fall on your face, but just load your weight back into the blocks a bit more if that is how you are feeling. What you don’t want to do is to be too far forward in the set position that when the blocks go off you need to rock back into the blocks and then drive out of them. You want to just be able to drive right out of the blocks, using them as a base to push out of (think about pushing through them).

The gun goes off and you’re away. Exploding off the blocks, using those long, reaching strides to accelerate up to top speed, you’ve just completed your first start. You’re going to be doing a lot of them over the course of your sprinting endeavour as you’ll never do it perfectly every time and without fail.

But it’s a … start (ha!).

One last thing to mention about starts: when you are in the blocks and set, DO NOT LOOK UP. This is something that many beginner runners, and even some more experienced sprinters do – they look down the track. There is no need. The finish line is always there. The lines are always there. Just look down and listen for the gun. Looking up strains your neck, throws your head out of alignment with your back, causing your hips to shift or lift and most importantly, your head goes up and you become erect out of the blocks almost immediately. Remember, we want to stay low for longer to maximize our long body axis and accelerate. If we are up and erect right out of the blocks we have a much more difficult time accelerating.

Part 5: Basic/Sample Training Program Now we come to the training itself. We have an understanding of some of the main parts of sprinting, time to get ourselves into gear and put together a training program for ourselves. The one that I have put together below is meant to be followed as a basic program, an introduction to the sport, culminating with a competition, which will give us an idea of how our training went. This 12 week program is broken down into “phases” just as we would if we were to follow through a whole year of training (I’ll be showing an example of what a year might look like after the main program). The phases that we will follow in our 12 week program are as follows: 

 



General Conditioning Phase o Also known as “base” phase. o General aerobic conditioning to build strength and endurance to carry through for the rest of the phases. Longer and lower intensity allows for the build into higher but shorter intensity sessions later.

Main Conditioning Phase o The intensity is raised, we key in on technique and maximal strength training.

Specific Phase o Also known as “sharpening” or as a conversion phases, where we are trying to change the power and strength from conditioning into speed. o Higher intensity, lower volume.

Competition phase o Also called “peaking.” o Very high intensity, very low volume. Lots of rest in intervals as we are gearing up for our competition.

Each phase is roughly the same amount of time for now (as we are just starting out and have limited amount of time to work with), however, the competition phase is usually the shortest. We do not want to maintain the “peak” for too long as we start to lose some of the base and strength we built during the other phases. We can only be at peak for so long before we have to drop back down to our specific and conditioning phases. For our purposes in this 12 week program we shouldn’t have an issue however.

Phase 1 – General Conditioning or “Base” (4 weeks) (Note: Fartlek is a Swedish term meaning “speed play.” Fartlek sessions should tax you aerobically but not anaerobically – you should not be working above 75%)

Phase 2 – Main Conditioning Phase(3 weeks)

*Ins and Outs: In means push, or “in the zone”, out means float/maintain velocity without tapping the gas, “out of the zone.” Ins and outs can look anything like:  30m acceleration | 10m IN | 20m OUT | 10m IN | decelerate  30m acceleration | 15m IN | 15m OUT | 15m IN | decelerate  30m acceleration | 20m IN | 20m OUT | 20m IN | decelerate  30m acceleration | 10m OUT | 30m IN | 10m OUT | decelerate

Phase 3 – Specific Phase (3 weeks)

*Flys: Flys are similar to ins and outs, just minus the outs (see phase 2, week 3). Accelerate in, and then push for the fly distance, focusing on long, powerful strides and good technique.

Phase 4 – Competition or “Peak” Phase (2 weeks)

*Precomp: Means “precompetition” (duh). You act as if you are about to step out on the track and race that day so you go through all the same motions you would but the actual race and cool down. It usually entails doing your normal warm-up routine, putting on your spikes, doing a few 30m accelerations (usually four) and then calling it day.

So that is a basic 12 week training program. It is designed to take you from relatively little fitness to being comfortable at racing a 100m or 200m. The first 4 weeks are all about fartlek and getting some base. The base is important because it allows you to handle the harder training later without hurting yourself or suffering, as well as just completing the workouts. You need to put in the base to run fast, simple as that.

You do not have to go hard during base, you run how you feel, but you need to get the strength in your legs. But let’s say you really start to enjoy running and these short and fast races. What then? Well, we build this 3 month program into a full year, extending the first three phases. Unlike distance runners who have cross country and road races on top of an indoor and outdoor season (so they are doing lots of little peaks and they have to very specific about their base), sprinters really only have the indoor and outdoor season (primarily a long outdoor season). So that means lots of time for building base, being concise with conditioning and honing in on the specific sessions throughout the year. To put a whole year down might look something like this: SEPTEMBE R Transition and Base

OCTOBE R Base

NOVEMBE R Base

DECEMBE R Main

JANUARY

FEBRUARY

Main

Main

MARC H Specific I

APRIL

MAY

JUNE

JULY

AUGUST

Specifi cI

Specifi c II

Competitio nI

Competitio n II

Peak

The differences between our 12 week plan and a yearly plan aren’t drastic; the length of each phase varies as well as the specificity can vary. When we divide the specific phases we are really just dividing the work load. We can go more in depth into the technique and the workouts. We can add some different drills to our routine, such as adding hurdle drills or bounding to some workouts. We break the competition and peak phase apart; the long season means that there are multiple races and we often start with some off distance races to get some strength and different feel in our legs and then move into our bread and butter discipline. The peak is a short time period that differs for everyone. Some people can peak in as little as 36 hours; others need almost 21 days to fully peak. It all depends on an individual’s genetics, physiology and experience level. After the season is done we go into a transition phase, often affectionately called “down time.” This is what some of us call “fat time,” as we typically do anything BUT run. Some people abuse their bodies with all kinds of junk food that they denied themselves during the year while they were in training mode (please don’t do that), but most people just do something other than run. Play other sports, do something else, whatever. Down time usually varies for people and depends on your yearly goals. Distance runners usually only take about two weeks, but they have a short turn around between outdoors and cross country/road racing season. Sprinters can take a little more time if they so choose but most start going for some base runs and put in some aerobic work after about two to three week just so they aren’t too far behind the ball. The best thing to do though is to just talk to your coach and plan out the season and what your goals are for this year and next and build from there. As good as an online training program can be, the best thing you can do as a budding athlete is finding a coach you can work with and thrive under. A coach offers you a person to talk to about your concerns, working around situations (general life events, injury, etc.) and because they are there at every practice they see how your body is handling the work and can adjust accordingly.

So there we have it. All about sprinting plus a basic three month training program. I hope you can find some useful nuggets of info here to help guide you in your sporting endeavours. A big thank you to Joel

Skinner and Dr.Jillian Drouin of the Sarnia Athletics Southwest Track and Field Club for helping a lowly distance runner write about sprinting. Joel and Jillian have been invaluable sources of speed power knowledge; it is not every day you get to work with not only one of the best heptathletes in the world but also one of the best international level speed power coaches.

Here is what we have covered:  Running Biomechanics  Arm Swing  Warming Up  Starting Blocks  Sample 12 Week Training Program For those interested in continuing the conversation, Part 6 (the FINAL part) will cover some of the more in-depth aspects of sprinting and sport – genetics, physiology, and some points about psychology, task variability, and so on.

Part 6: Additional Discussion –Factors that impact performance Throughout this miniseries we’ve talked about how to become a sprinter, everything from the physics of motion to actual training. But what happens if we want to continue on? What happens after we decide we like being a sprinter and want to get better and do more than just a simple 12 week training program? Once we start to put together a longer training program, going from weeks to months, to years, and incorporating these “phases” we briefly touched on in Part 5, we start to see that there is more to sprinting than just regular practice. So much more. What follows gives a brief overview of some of the factors that will help to make you a better sprinter – factors that influence performance.

Periodization Periodization, also called Block Training is a methodology of training to attain peak performance at the most important times of the year. Periodization was touched upon briefly in Part 5 with the idea of “phases” throughout the year, but it is basically the idea that by breaking the year into progressive sections (phases or “blocks”) during specific times of the year, it allows the body to properly recover and adapt to the needs of the body at that time. Each phase has a different goal, be it to build base in the off season/preseason, to getting specific sharpening training while “inseason” or during the competitive season. Furthermore, each season can further be broken into micro training blocks, again to focus on something specific – lactic threshold, speed endurance, raw power, aerobic capacity, etc., and done in such a way to build the body up to its peak without breaking the body down through over training.

Periodization also helps to prevent a phenomenon many athletes can become familiar with – plateauing.

Plateauing is when training stagnates, progression halts, and performance doesn’t improve. Plateauing happens because the body adapts to the stressor (training) and training no longer has the same effect, or because the body has been pushed to a state of low-grade exhaustion – it simply cannot work any harder because it isn’t given proper recovery. This all stems from a model of how an organism reacts to stress, called the General Adaptive Syndrome (GAS). GAS is characterized by an alarm stage (the instant reaction and response to stress), a resistance stage (the adaptation to the rigors of the stress), and an exhaustion phase (the inability to further handle the requirements for adaption to the stress, or a continuation of stress at too high a level). The idea behind periodization is to prevent going into the exhaustion stage, and trying to stay within the resistance stage. By cycling work and work patterns with new and different stressors, with adequate rest, we can maintain higher outputs within the resistance stage over time. If we look back at the training program in Part 5, we can see that there is a period of build (two to three weeks) followed by a period of lower work, or rest (one week). These down weeks prevent a linear line

A simple depiction of a periodization cycle. Note the small cycles leading into a down period. Many of these peaks and valleys in consecutive order result in a full training cycle.

of progression straight up, and instead adds peaks and valleys to progression; each peak a little higher than the last, and each valley a little less shallow, but it breaks the training up. What happens is that where as a linear progression tends to end up flattening out into no progression (a plateau has been created and exhaustion has been reached), the periodization model continues to trend upwards. Individual workouts and the “up” weeks make up the microcycle, the small training cycles of work. Including a down week into the cycle creates a mesocycle, dropping intensity and volume down to a lower level to allow for recovery and it is what we typically describe as a training block. Stringing together these mesocycles creates a macrocycle – a large body of work that creates these small, but meaningful gains to progression over a period of time, or, what we think of as a “season,” or even an entire year.

Dividing the training into these blocks allows for the targeting of sport and athlete specific parameters rather than whole-fitness protocols. When periodization was first developed more than five decades ago, it did not differentiate “seasons” or athletes; it just was a general progression system for development.

Now, with a greater understanding of physiology, we know that catering work to an athlete’s need and sport creates greater gains than just periodizing the same progressive training. It is the reason why we differentiate between a base phase and a competition phase; doing the same type of training, even when broken up by cycling of intensity, yields lesser gains than truly periodizing training on a longer scale and breaking it up into specific seasons. Performance improves to a greater extend when you do things other than fast 100m repeats on the track all year, regardless of how you break up the intensity or volume.

Breaking the Plateau While proper planning and good institution of periodization into training programs helps to eliminate plateauing, it can still occur over the course of longer training cycles. As mentioned, plateauing is the phenomenon when your body no longer responds to an exercise stimulus; your body has simply adapted (or can no longer adapt) to exercise. Plateaus are frustrating, to be sure. Stagnation and the lack of performance improvements can be a draining and discouraging experience. Poor nutrition, altered sleep, sustained stress, working out too hard (or for too long at an effort that is too easy), and doing repetitive work day in and day out are all reasons why we plateau. Some of them can be easily rectified – diet should be a quick fix to change, there are lots of resources on line or specialists you can consult.

Periodization can eliminate some of the training issues such as working too hard or not enough. Stress and sleep are more difficult to quantify and deal with as there are often many underlying factors but can be aided by dealing with some of these other plateauing factors. However, when we look at all of these factors combined, we can quantify them all as Task Stagnation, doing the same things day in and day out with little change to routine. What we want is to institute Task Variability. Task variability means changing the internal and external stressors to the task, in our case, our training and practices. This could be anything from changing the location of your workouts, changing the time of day, working out with a partner or without one, working out with music or in silence. Changing the parameters of the task aids in not only alleviating boredom, but enhancing muscle and cognitive memory as well. Studies have consistently shown that even when the task itself remains the same, changing the external stimuli of the

task can greatly improve retention. It keeps things fresh. And task variability applies to all facets of your training – try eating a different protein source as part of your recovery, instead of just hoping in the cold tub try contrasting between hot and cold as part of your hydrotherapy. And one of the best suggestions regarding breaking plateaus that people seem to not even think about is: try something else. If things aren’t working out right now, don’t stress. Take a step back from training and do another activity that you really love. So long as you remain fit and active, taking a step back will help to reduce the stress of training and recharge your mental and physical state. Doing the same training day program for years on end can drag on your mental state. I’ve seen it happen a number of times with world class runners, things aren’t going well, performances aren’t increasing, injuries are starting to become more frequent, and depression starts to set in. Then they go and do something else for a while and think about something else and they adjust. Their frame of mind shifts and suddenly they are back training and setting personal bests in every race. It happens to the best of us, we just have to learn to recognize it and understand how to deal with it.

Genetics – Separating the best from the rest For those who are looking at this article just because of the health benefits of HIIT or simply really enjoy sprinting, your journey has ended. You’ve found an activity you enjoy and helps you get healthy; congratulations and have fun on the track. For those who are looking for something more – competing at a higher level or trying to understand a little more about what makes a sprinter a sprinter, then read on.

Now you’ve come to the end; you’ve done everything suggested in this article; you’ve trained hard, you’ve followed recovery protocols, you’ve met with a coach and worked out a periodization protocol that works well with you, but you are still finding that you’ve hit a plateau, or that your performances aren’t quite where you would hope. You are dreaming of greatness but only attaining better-thanmediocrity. Sometimes with sprinting “them’s the breaks.” Most of us, regardless of how hard we train, how well we follow a training and recovery plan, or how big we dream, will never be an elite sprinter.

The training can be fun, it incorporates the health benefits of HIIT, which we’ve described many times in many different articles here on FTG, but if you are looking for something more, or looking for greatness and coming up short, it’s time to come to the tough realization that you got dealt a bad hand. Unlike distance running where work ethic is the major contributor to performance, sprinting is split evenly between work and genetics. Yes, your ability to be a good sprinter can all come down to something as silly and frustrating as random chance and inheritance. In distance running, anywhere from 5 to 10% of base performance is determined by genetics. In sprinting, however, as much as 50% of all performance is determined by genetics.

At the 2012 Olympic games, the 100m qualification cut off was 10.2 seconds. The difference between someone who runs a 10.2 and a 10.5 is based entirely on genetics, or so says researchers out of Japan who presented their research at the last European College of Sports Science Conference last summer in Vienna. Basically, if you have specific polymorphisms (small changes in the bases that code for a gene), you may be able to run faster. One of the main genes that is often discussed is the gene that codes for the angiotensin-converting enzyme, or ACE. ACE is an integral part of blood pressure regulation through the monitoring and adjusting of sodium concentration and atrial blood pressure. A specific allele (a gene variation) in ACE, referred to as the “D” allele can result in increased oxygenated blood flow to working muscles. The increased flow of oxygenated blood to working muscles means they can work at greater intensities for longer periods. While ACE is often considered the “endurance gene,” it appears as though this specific D allele is most often seen in speed/power athletes and a different allele is found in endurance athletes. This D allele is predominantly seen in people with West African descent, and is even higher in Caribbean populations. What may add to the effect of the ACE polymorphism is another

genetic mutation to the alpha-actinin-3 gene, or ACTN3. The ACTN3 gene encodes for a protein (alphaactinin-3) which helps to increase the power of repetitive contractions in type II muscle fibre (fast twitch muscle). More specifically, a specific allele in ACTN3 known as 577RR (or just RR), promotes more powerful crosslinking between the actin and myosin muscle fibre filaments, which causes greater forces in contractions as the filaments slide past each other. What’s interesting is that only about 70% of all American athletes with international pedigrees have this gene whereas about 75% of all Jamaicans, regardless of athletic background or not, have the ACTN3 gene polymorphism. Studies done in younger children showed that having the ACTN3 RR gene polymorphism was the single greatest predictor to athletic performance regardless of training background (faster swim times in the 25m and 100m).

There is still a lot of work to be done on the genetics front. As it stands today there are over 200 gene polymorphisms that have been found that help to predict athletic success. Winning the genetic lottery isn’t all good though. Some of these polymorphisms, while beneficial to pure athletic performance, can cause some complications as well. Recent studies have suggested that the D polymorphism of the ACE gene can increase the likelihood of developing type II diabetes. So is it still really “winning the genetic lottery” at that point? It is interesting to consider that genes that may improve our athletic levels may also harm us in the long run. As more of these genetic polymorphism are found and their effects described, only time will tell how beneficial they truly are. Another point of consideration to a genetic approach is to look at the additive effect of multiple genes versus the effect of a single allele from a single gene. If someone doesn’t have the ACTN3 RR allele Individuals with the RR allele have greater force generation in their fast twitch muscle fibres than those who do not, or are lacking in the R allele (distance but has a multitude of other beneficial genetic athletes – east Africans, Europeans, etc.) polymorphisms, how is that quantified as athletic performance? It is still the early days, too early to tease out all the additive, or multiplicative, or even detrimental effects of having a combination of some of the over 200 described athletic genes. But long story short: if you want to be a world class sprinter you need the right genes (but remember – there is NO downside to trying, you WILL be a better person for it).

References: Farley, Claire T., and Octavio González. "Leg Stiffness And Stride Frequency In Human Running". Journal of Biomechanics 29.2 (1996): 181-186. Web. Fradkin, Andrea J, Tsharni R Zazryn, and James M Smoliga. "Effects Of Warming-Up On Physical Performance: A Systematic Review With Meta-Analysis". Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research 24.1 (2010): 140-148. Web. Gurfinkel, V. S. et al. "Locomotor-Like Movements Evoked By Leg Muscle Vibration In Humans". European Journal of Neuroscience 10.5 (1998): 1608-1612. Web. Guth, Lisa M., and Stephen M. Roth. "Genetic Influence On Athletic Performance". Current Opinion in Pediatrics 25.6 (2013): 653-658. Web.

Issurin, Vladimir B. "New Horizons For The Methodology And Physiology Of Training Periodization". Sports Medicine 40.3 (2010): 189-206. Web. Jakalaski, Ken. "A Farewell To Arms? The Debate Of Arm Swing Mechanics In Sprinting - Freelap USA". Freelap USA. N.p., 2017.

Kunz, H., and D. A. Kaufmann. "Biomechanical Analysis Of Sprinting: Decathletes Versus Champions.". British Journal of Sports Medicine 15.3 (1981): 177-181. Web. Marder, Eve, and Dirk Bucher. "Central Pattern Generators And The Control Of Rhythmic Movements". Current Biology 11.23 (2001): 986-996. Web. Morin, Jean-Benoit, Pascal Edouard, and PierreSamozino. "Technical Ability Of Force Application As A Determinant Factor Of Sprint Performance". Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise 43.9 (2011): 1680-1688. Web. Naresh, V.V.S. et al. "Angiotensin Converting Enzyme Gene Polymorphism In Type II Diabetics With Nephropathy". Indian Journal Of Nephrology 19.4 (2009): 145-148. Web. Newell, K.M., and D.C. Shapiro. "Variability Of Practice And Transfer Of Training". The Journal of Motor Behaviour 8.3 (1976): 233-243. Web. Robergs, Robert A. et al. "Effects Of Warm-Up On Muscle Glycogenolysis During Intense Exercise". Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise 23.1 (1991): 37-43. Web. Stephens, Jeffrey W. et al. "The D Allele Of The ACE I/D Common Gene Variant Is Associated With Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus In Caucasian Subjects". Molecular Genetics and Metabolism 84.1 (2005): 83-89.

Web. Turki, Olfa et al. "The Effect Of Warm-Ups Incorporating Different Volumes Of Dynamic Stretching On 10And 20-M Sprint Performance In Highly Trained Male Athletes". Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research 26.1 (2012): 63-72. Web. Weyand, P.G. et al. "Faster Top Running Speeds Are Achieved With Greater Ground Forces Not More Rapid Leg Movements.". Journal of Applied Physiology 89.5 (1985): 1991-1999. Print.