Learn how to sprint faster by improving your start. This post contains some of the key technical aspects of acceleration out of the blocks including posture, force application, and arm movement during the first phase of sprint. I´ll share with you several drills that improve reaction time that coach Karim Abdel Wahab uses prior to having athletes get into the blocks. Finally, you´ll find out Olympian Jeremy Dodson´s opinion about how video games help to improve reaction time, his mindset at the line and first 3 steps out of the blocks. He also shares some tips that have helped him perform at a peak level.

FASTER STARTS SPRINTING TECHNIQUE

When you´re posting up out of the blocks and get the triple extension out of the blocks having great force application at the blocks, you´re feeling like you’re condensed like a spring and having the explosion out of the blocks to be able to apply force and overcome inertia. Whole body becomes in one line in the first step at 45º with the ground. The thigh comes up to be about 90º with the torso. Once the thigh gets to the top, the athlete will apply force: push down and back to propel the body up and forward, and continue to do that non-stop. Every time the foot hits the ground, the athlete will push until the knee is fully extended, the hips fully extended and the body reassembles on one line.

Out of the blocks:

• Body at 45º from ground
• Thigh 90º from torso

The athlete continues to do that as the body naturally rises and naturally comes up until the body becomes completely upright to the ground (90º with the ground). The athlete continue to bring their knees up or their thigh in front of them. The knee angle with the torso is still 90º. Once the knee comes to the top, the athlete is very active at pushing down right underneath them applying vertical force application all the way to the finish line.

The arms are doing the same thing. Out of the blocks the back hand will come up. You’re going to hammer down and back, pushing with the arms down and back. The elbow extends and the shoulder extends as the body comes up. Once the body is upright with the ground, the arms are going down, hammering down on the arms.

If you film world-class sprinters from the side and watch any video of a world-class sprinter, you´ll see their arm almost completely straight as it passes the body back. A lot of the time, middle school and high school coaches are not very experienced. They ask the athlete to keep the elbow angle at 90º all the time, which this is not what really happens. We want the athlete to extend their joints and apply force because force application is the limiting factor in faster sprinting.

DRILLS TO IMPROVE REACTION TIME

These are some reaction drills that coach Karim Abdel Wahab´s athletes usually do before getting down the blocks.

• Arm separation

You’re going to separate your arms on the clap of your coach.

• Arm separation with extension

You’re going to separate the arms and use the legs. Get a little knee extension and a little hip extension. So jump into your place and separate your arms.

As a coach, you want to play with the timing (make it shorter, make it longer…) because we want to eliminate any anticipation and develop actual reaction. The coach might play with the timing, so there´s no anticipation.

• Arm separation with 8 strokes with arms

You’re going to do 8 strokes with the arms with no jumping.

JEREMY DONSON´S INSIGHT ABOUT AT THE STARTING LINE

At that time, that’s when you find your mechanisms. Either you remember a song that you listen to and warm up, you find breathing techniques… But someway you have to calm yourself down before that race. Otherwise, the race can turn a disaster.

We get to the line and we go through our routine. That routine is set up so that there are no other distractions. You want to be thinking about the least amount of things possible. So that routine that we set up is natural. We can do it in our sleep. We can do it blindfold it. So that’s just a prompt to get us ready to go in the race.

So once the gunman says: “Runners to your marks!”, that’s when I stopped thinking. Everything’s at the door. I’m about to explode at the blocks and see what happens. I’m at the blocks. I’m lining up. My head is down. Everything is tuned out. I am in tune with whatever I plan myself to do. When the gunman says: “Set!”, I take a deep breath in. When he says: “Go!”, I explode out with all the air in my belly and just let the controlled chaos within me take over.

JEREMY DONSON´S INSIGHT ABOUT DEVELOPING FAST REACTION TIMES

I guess I developed good reaction time by just focus, quieting the mind and realizing that the gun is going to come next. The moment that gun goes off, this is what I’m about to do. Other people develop reaction time by years of playing video games or years of just doing other sports. I played multiple sports when i was young. So I was pretty athletic by the time I got to track. So reaction time was second nature. I realize the most competitive people are the ones who play video games non-stop. They don’t stop. They don’t turn the video games off. So when it comes to the track, they will not stop until they win. I feel like there’s a lot to learn from video games. I don’t play video games myself, but if I would have done it all over again, maybe I’ll incorporate some stuff.

JEREMY DONSON´S INSIGHT ABOUT THE FIRST 3 STEPS OF THE RACE

It´s a bad thing, but during the first three steps, that’s when I’m most aware of my competitors because they’re usually right there. I know how many steps the person in lane A is taking, and I know how many breaths the person in lane 1 is taking. It’s a bad thing for me because I think too much. But after the third step for me, that’s when everything starts getting going. I tune them out and everything starts clicking. Everything just falls into place after that, and I know whether it’s going to be a bad race or a good race from the fourth step on up.

Bibliographic references:

• Outperform. (2019). Sprinting Technique | Faster Starts – Acceleration & Reaction Time [Video file]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/b23i9MRqjf8?si=bYvxGfDnEZ8Wm6Ss