Workouts: 11/26, 11/27, 11/28

11/26  At KC. Kasey and Briel warmed up, lifted 2x 5 deadlifts (Kasey 220, Briel 170), 4x box jumps, 10x mini push ups, 5x L+R step ups. Worked block starts next and then 2x 30m accels. Bests: Kasey 4.86, Briel 5.14. 5x1H starts (27, 30). 5x4H 5-step (30). 4 box exercises. Stretching and recovery on their own.

11/27  At KC. Practiced in two shifts. Both men and women did the same workout. Circles, swings, skips, strides, 1-step rotations, archback, backover, 3pt line runs, run throughs, short approach jumps, full jumps with bungee bar. Carson did some box drills, gym ball arches and stretches. Adjusted marks: Carson 14-6/26-6/53, Mike 14-6/23-6/52, Kasey 10/23-6/46, Alex 10/24-6/48.

11/28  At KC. Logan, Mike, Jonathon, Joe and Andrew trained together. Started with warm up and deadlifts -- most at 240; Joe at 170. Also did 5x depth jumps and 5x 5-count push ups. Did a couple practice starts and then 2x30m accels. Bests: Joe 3.89, Andrew 3.92, Logan 3.98, Mike 4.11, Jonathon 4.35. Next, 2x9.14m flys. Bests: Andrew .95 (9.62), Joe .97 (9.42), Jonathon 1.00 (9.14), Logan 1.03 (8.87), Mike 1.05 (8.70). Next, 5x1H and 5x2H. Took a few ht splits. Everyone had some in the 1.2s (most reps were at 39 -- 36 for Logan). Finished with 4 box exercises and stretches.

Workout: 11/19

11/19  At KC. Joe came in to get some hurdle work. Did regular warm up and then lifted 2x5x170 along with box jumps and elevated push ups. Did some wall drive, rope and medball starts before some 3-pt starts. Did a few slowlows and some 5-step 42s before starting block work. Started at 30 and worked up to 42. Made some good improvements on block exits and had good reps through H1 when 8-count was used. Finished with box exercises (bridges, thrusts, step ups, squats), stretching, rolling.

Starts

Starts are critical in building momentum for a great race. Study this and then come to practice and incorporate it into your workouts. 

First, keep in mind that the object is to get to the finish line as fast as you can, which doesn't always equate with being first out of the blocks. The start and acceleration phase is designed to overcome inertia and build momentum to help you reach maximum velocity efficiently and maintain it effectively to minimize deceleration in the later portion of short sprint and hurdle races.

Many times, you will watch a race where it looks like someone got out quick only to fade toward the end. When you see that, you may think they had a great start but didn't have good enough conditioning to finish. More likely, though, the athlete had a poor start. How can that be if they got out fastest? The reason is that he or she was quick but not powerful, failing to generate enough momentum to minimize the deceleration later in the race. Another way to think if this is a bit like a car spinning its wheels in the snow -- wheels are turning fast but the car isn't getting anywhere very fast.

To increase momentum, you need to generate large impulses. If you want to get technical about it, impulse = force x time. So, you need to be explosive enough to create large forces and apply them for a relatively long time. To do this, you need the right block set up and an understanding of what needs to happen. Here we go.

1. Set the front block two shoes from the start line and the other three shoes from the start line. Hurdlers may need to adjust this backward or forward, depending on leg length and takeoff point for hurdle one.

2. Set the block angle at 45 degrees for the front block and 45 degrees or slightly more for the back block.

3. Place the rear foot on the back pedal with about 1/2" of the big toe on the track.

4. Place the front foot so the big toe is on the track about an inch. This stretches the plantar fascia to create a stretch reflex for a faster, more powerful push.

5. Position the shoulders directly above the hands.

6. Use fingertip support to help position the shoulders higher, to raise center of mass to make it easier to get the hips in optimum position as acceleration begins.

7. At set, move the hips straight up -- don't lean forward or backward. The front leg should be at 90-100 degrees for strong push. If this angle is less, it adds time in reaching full extension. If it's more, you generate less impulse and may exit at a higher angle. Shin angles will be close to parallel and about perpendicular to the pedals.

8. Pre-load the glutes, hamstrings and achilles by applying pressure to the pedals, which allows you to apply more force when the gun fires and leverages stretch reflex, particularly on the achilles. You should feel the heels wrap over the top of the pedals of a typical block (some pedals are taller than others). Note: if you roll forward at set, you lose some this pre-loading and may fall out of the blocks.

9. At set, take a deep breath and hold it until crossing the first hurdle -- or about 10-11 strides into a sprint race. Don't think about the gun. Focus on movement.

10. At the gun, push hard off both blocks, though the front leg pushes for a longer time. This avoids falling out to the side, which can happen if you just pull the back foot off the block. Pushing off the back block also sets up a stretch reflex that helps that leg move faster on that first step.

11. Also at the gun, lift the chest and head so it is aligned with the spine. You are looking for extension (straight line) through the ankle, knee, hip, spine and neck, as the hips extend up and forward just as the foot leaves the front block.

12. Push back through the shin and extend the hip -- don't bend the waist -- stay in line. About 45 degrees as you exit the blocks. Might be a bit higher for less powerful athletes. Maybe a bit lower for more powerful ones.

13. In the first few steps, you are pushing back and down. Don't reach forward or rush things to be quicker. You want to maximize push and power to gain momentum and acceleration.

14. When the foot leaves the surface during acceleration, your heel recovery should be low. In other words, it should not come up very high in the back (like a butt kick). This wastes time in getting back to the ground for the next push and uses the hamstring rather than the glutes.

When you start, think about it like you are pushing a very heavy object. You want your feet way back as you use a steep angle to apply more force than you could if your feet were right under your hips.

Weekly highlights: 11/12, 11/13, 11/14

11/12  At KC. Briel and Kasey did standard warm up then 2x5 deadlifts -- Kasey 220, Briel 200 (which was too heavy -- lighter next time), 2x5 hip hops, 2x10 push up jacks. Did step ups on box, bag kicks and 5x1H slowlow loops. Did 5x1H from 3pt, working on start mechanics, stride pattern to H1, drive for five and then stepping up head first into the hurdle at 22/27 inches. Next, a couple fly sprints. Bests: Kasey 7.59mps, Briel 7.20. Then, 5x4H 1-step 27s, 1/2-space 27s, 5-step 27 to 33. 10x hip thrusts, hip bridges, box squats.

11/13  At KC. Kasey, Kelly, Mike and Carson warmed up with circles, swings, strides, takeoff skips, 1-step rotators, 5x arch backs in pit, 5x backover, circle runs (22' diameter), circle runs with jump. Spent considerable time working out approach marks. After doing that, we did about 10 full approach run throughs and made some minor adjustments. Took a scissor jump and then about 5 jumps at low height and then a couple at higher heights all with bungee bar. Estimated height about 5-8 to 5-10 neighborhood for Carson and around 4-6 for Kasey and Kelly. Accomplished what we after in getting marks for approach and some fairly consistent run throughs. Marks (out from standard/step 5/starting point): Carson - 15/26-6/52; Mike - 15/23-6/52; Kasey - 10/20/46; Kelly - 10/25-6/47-6.

11/14  At KC. Andrew, Joe and Logan warmed up with circles, swings, strides and hurdle mobility. Lifting was 2x5x220 (Joe 130), 4x5 hip hops, 2x10 push up jacks. About 10x slowlow loops with some oppos and 4x5H 1-step + 1 oppo set. 5x1H block starts. 5x4H elevators (36 to 42; Logan 27 to 36). Ran late, so no additional strength work or group stretch/roll.

Weekly highlights: 11/05, 11/07, 11/08

11/05  At KC. Briel, Kasey and Kelly did warm up: circles, jog, swings, strides, hurdle walkovers and over/unders. Strength: 2x5 deadlifts (170), 2x5 squat jumps, 2x10 elevated pushups. Hurdles: cycling, drive, step ups, trails, leads, in place, walkover, slowlow. Worked on knee drive and head first entries. Next 1-step  drill, 1/2-space drill. Shin exercises. Stretching.

11/07  At KC. Mike and Andrew did standard warm up and lifting (2x5x260 deadlifts, 2x5 squat jumps, 2x10 elevated push ups). Worked some mechanics with cycling, wall drive, step ups, trail and lead legs, walkovers and slowlows -- emphasizing head first entries. Next, 3-pt starts over H1 (27-36). Then, 5x4H 1-stp, 1/2-space, 5-step. Did a couple reps of each drill with oppo. Did 10x hip bridges, shin exercises, stretching and rolling. For first night on hurdles, things looked good at times -- though understandably inconsistent.  Kasey came in for the late shift and trained with some of the high schoolers. Lifted, drilled and did accelerations and then multiple reps over H1, working on getting a consistent 8-step rhythm with left leg lead. Trail leg got a little loose at times. Ran a best fly sprint of 1.12 (7.59 mps).

11/08  At KC. Kelly did standard warm up and lifting. Did some wall drills and then some bag kicks. Did lots of walkovers and jogovers. Then, 1/2-space 3-steps. Next, multiple reps over 22s and then 27s, working on 8-step pattern, takeoff point and lead leg cut down. For only the second day ever on hurdles, progress was rapid. Later, Logan came in to train with high school group, doing standard warm up, some wall drills and lots of slowlow up/backs. Worked entry position (head first), knee drive and a few other aspects to improve hurdling efficiency. Did 3x fly sprints, posting a best of 8.96 mps -- in trainers. Finished with some hip bridges and foam rolling.