• Arm Action-- Don't run with tense arms, practice loose swinging movements from standing position.  Remember the arms are bent at the elbow, with the elbow crossing the plane of the body as you swing from the shoulder.  Keep the arms relaxed at all times.  The arms work in opposition to the legs but must work in coordination with the action of the legs to maximize running efficiency. 
• Body Lean -- The body should have a slight lean (Jamaican lean) in the direction you're running.  It is important that the lean comes from the ground and not from the waist.  The lean is the result of displacing the center of gravity in the direction you're running.  Leaning by bending at the waist interferes with the correct mechanics of running and causes you to under stride. 
• Foot Contact --Don't run on your toes!  The toes have no power or stability.  If you run on your toes, you will not be able to run fast.  Stay on the balls of your feet (dorsi flex foot) and push against the ground. Don't reach and (over stride) and pulled toward the ground; this will develop injuries and result in poor running mechanics and slower times.  Allow the heel to make contact with the ground only when running at any distance. 
• Over Striding -- Over striding is the worst and most misunderstood element of sprinting.  Stride length is determined from the point of takeoff to the point of landing (distance covered) not from the distance from the right foot to the left foot.  Don't reach and over stride to increase stride length.  Push against the ground and let the foot land  underneath the center of gravity.  Any placement of the foot in front of the center of gravity will create a breaking action causing the body to slow down. 
• Under Striding -- Try not to be too quick!  Too much turnover will cause you to run fast in one place, and will not cover any ground.  Quality sprint speed is a combination of both stride frequency and stride length.  One simply does not replace the other.
• Tension -- Try not to power your way through a race or sprint effort.  Power is what gets you out of the blocks or starts your acceleration to the ball or line of scrimmage, it's not what gets you through to the finish or the goal line.  To run fast, you must run relaxed.
• Speed versus Quickness -- Speed is the measure of how fast an athlete can sprint short distances and high maximum speed does not guarantee athletic success.  Quickness refers to the ability of an athlete to perform specific movements in the shortest possible time.  Fast, explosive movements of the entire body which occur in the starting and acceleration phases of sprinting or adjusting a body part to start a new movement for rapidly changing direction, demonstrate an athlete’s quickness.  

The information above on Trouble Shooting Running Mechanics was taken from the book "Sports SPEED - the #1 Program for Athletes" written by George Dintiman Bob Ward and Tom Tellez.  Coach Tellez, former coach of Olympic Champion Carl Lewis and world class sprinter Leroy Burrell. 

From the Flight Deck, Coach Murdock

jmurdock@flight101ssd.com

For the past few years athletes and coaches been inundated with references to “core development.”   Unfortunately what has become common terminology “core development” has not necessarily translated into common knowledge and more importantly common practice.  For the most part little has been conveyed to athletes and coaches on first what qualifies as the core and second how to specifically target  the muscles groups that make up the region commonly referred to as the core.  Although the major muscle groups are important in the functions of the abdominals and the back, there are other muscles that need to be trained to be sure the core is completely developed.  For athletes looking to prevent injuries and perform at a high level core development is essential.   A underdeveloped core can lead to a number of injuries that take an athlete off the field.  An athlete with an underdeveloped core might have problems with lower back pain or abdominal strains and/or groin strains.  Other injuries such as hip flexor strains, pelvic misalignment and compensation musculoskeletal injuries can often be a direct result of a underdeveloped core.    From a performance perspective a poorly developed core will impair an athletes proper gait mechanics, cause poor postural alignment and inhibit the transfer of force application necessary to reach maximum velocity running.   A poorly developed core also limits an athletes ability to decelerate or accelerate with minimal loss of speed and force.

Half the battle of developing the core is learning the specific muscles involved so you can correctly assess where you might be deficient.   The other half of the battle is developing exercises that will address these areas.  Training routines that once only targeted the upper and lower body have been replaced by integrated designed programs that now include many different methods to improve speed power and strength.   Although many structural lifts such as cleans and squats do integrate the core structure and aid to develop anterior and posterior development.  Still, even with the progression of  to more complex training, specific core training is still, for the most part, not a cornerstone of those programs.  Additionally, often core training is regimented to the conclusion of a training session which may not be the optimal time for an athlete to efficiently perform the specific movements of core training due physical and mental fatigue.  Consequently, it is suggested that core training be performed  at the beginning of the training session as opposed the the end of a session.  In fact some studies suggest that specific core stabilization and dynamic movements can be a neuromuscular stimulant and aid in more ballistic strength, speed and power movements.

The most common inference to the core is the abdominals and the lower back.  More specifically, the abdominal wall which consist of the rectus abdominus,  internal and external obliques, and the transverse abdominus, have been defined as the core and been the primary focus of core development routines.  These three muscle groups are responsible for a broad range of functional movements:  flexion, extension, rotation, lateral bending, as well as compression of the trunk.  They also work in conjunction with one another to create movement of the trunk in the three planes (frontal, sagittal and transverse), but also serve to support and stabilize the spine during dynamic movements.  However, the scope of the definition of the core and the movements associated with it can not be limited to these three muscles.

The lumbo-pelvic-hip complex or LPH is a conglomeration of 29 different muscle groups attached to the core.  This complex musculature is responsible for stabilizing, transferring, reducing and producing force during closed kinetic chain movements (where the foot is making contact or “touching down” on a solid surface like the ground).  Additionally, the muscles of the LPH complex are responsible for maintaining balance, and serve as a base of support over the center of gravity during functional range of motion movements.   Open chain movements, (where the foot is not in contact with  a surface “recovery position”) involves less dynamic movement, consequently diminishing the activity of the LPH.

One of the muscles of the LPH, the multifidus, is responsible for stabilizing the spine and the pelvis directly prior to movement of the limbs. This muscle works in conjunction with the transverse abdominus to perform this preparatory action.  The muscles of the pelvic floor are also fully activated during this segment of movement.  The pelvic floor is also responsible for supporting the pelvic organs and abdominal contents, especially when standing and exerting force during movement.  However, the transverse abdominus and the multifidus are the only muscles active during all trunk motions.

The other two muscles in this region of vital importance to core development are the psoas and the iliacus.  These two muscles (lilopsoas) are commonly referred to as the hip flexors due to the common insertion they maintain at the femur.   The psoas also connects to the lumbar region of the spine and is responsible for flexion of the of the trunk, rotation of the femur, and flexion of the hip with the iliacus.  In terms of core development, these muscles are vitally important because of their significance in terms of their relationship to injury.  If the iliopsoas is progressively shortened, injury to the lower back can be acute or chronically occur.   Likewise, the psoas originates in the spine at the same location of the latissimus dorsi’, this can also pull on the levator scapula, causing shoulder issues.  Consequently, when developing a program that incorporates flexion movements, it is necessary to compliment the shortening activities with extension and lengthening techniques.

It is critical to emphasize the importance of comprehensive core development around the pelvic region, particularly for athletic activities that involve rapid acceleration of the lower limbs, as well as abduction and external rotation about the hips.   A condition know as osteitis pubis is consistently in sports such as hockey, soccer, hurdling, and football (especially kickers/defensive backs).  This condition is caused by abdominal shearing forces across the pubic symphysis.  The pubic symphysis is is a cartilage joint that connects the pubic bones with the pelvis.  The condition stems from and elongation and/or weakness of the abductors that can be coupled with poor flexibility of the pelvis and and sacroiliac joints.  The condition might manifest symptoms similar to a groin strain but generally emanates from the lower abdominals, and consequently cause discomfort in this region as well.  It is critical here to make sure the adductors and abductors of the hip are strengthened while also maintaining a certain degree of flexibility about the groin.

Many athletes experience lower back discomfort as a common ailment of training and competition.  This can be contributed to the vast amount of muscles that surround and intersect within in the region and can be easily overlooked in a core training program.   Subsequently, in combination with the pelvic stabilization and strengthening, activity of the gluteus medius, gluteus maximus and piriformis should be included to completely stimulate and stabilize the posterior aspects of the hips and pelvis.  If too much attention is spent on the anterior musculature (abdominals) then muscle imbalances can occur, which can lead to the previously mentioned  conditions and other strains throughout the core region as well.

In conclusion, it is important to recognize the core as a very broad scope of muscles that work in unison to create and stabilize movement.  Abdominal and lower back specific training are essential elements to consider when designing core development programs.  However it is vital to also consider the entire anterior and posterior musculature of the upper body through the hips in order to fully build a comprehensive core program.  By considering and understanding the the total scope of the core,  athletes can minimize the amount of time they spend in the trainers room and maximize their performance on the field.

For more information on developing a comprehensive core development program for your athletes contact me at jmurdock@flight101ssd.com.

From the Flight Deck,

Coach Murdock

Three Point Stance

1. The first step is placing your stronger leg in front (usually the same leg you jump with). The front foot should be approximately 6 inches from the starting line and bent at a 90-degree angle. Standing too close the line will cause you to pop up too early instead of out.
2. Place your hand opposite of the front leg down at shoulder width. Your thumb and forefinger should be parallel and directly on the starting line high on fingertips.
3. Your back foot should be approximately 12 inches from the heel of the front foot. The back leg should be bent at a 135-degree angle. Keep in mind that the distances for the front leg and back leg are approximations. Every athlete may vary slightly from these distances. Limb length and flexibility may alter an athlete’s stance.
4. Make sure you keep your feet underneath your hips as you find your stance.
5. Your backhand should be aligned with the hip of the front leg and the elbow should be up.
6. Raise your hips slightly above your shoulders and maintain a forward lean with your bodyweight evenly distributed over the three points.
7. Align your head with your torso and focus eyes on the ground while relaxing your neck and shoulders.

Start

1. Explosively push off with both legs, emphasizing the front leg drive. This may feel a bit awkward at first, but it is crucial for initiating force.
2. Drive front leg as explosively and as long as possible extending to form a straight line with both leg and trunk.
3. Drive rear knee straight through until it forms 90-degree angles with thigh and torso and thigh and lower leg.
4. Rear arm should drive forward and up while locked at 90-degree angle with forward arm driving elbow backwards.
5. Starting angle should be approximately 45 degrees from ground, similar to the angle of pushing a car.

DRIVE - The drive is emphasized during the start and acceleration phase, which takes place during the first 20-30 yards. Too often athletes rush this phase and end up at full speed within 15 yards of the start. The problem is most athletes cannot maintain full speed sprinting for more than 10 yards and end up running out of gas before the finish line. Athletes should try to accelerate for as long as possible. . The drive action should mimic an airplane taking off (starting at a 45-degree angle and slowing raising up).

Progression

1. After first two strides, forward lean decreases with increasing stride length and turnover.
2. Continue to use powerful arm action, emphasizing the elbow drive (backwards).
3. Focus on driving the knees with exaggerated lift and pushing into the ground as hard and as long as possible.
4. Head remains aligned with torso and eyes focused forward
5. Normal sprinting position is achieved between 20-25 yards.

FINISH - Once the athlete has reached maxim velocity the goal is to try to maintain through the finish line. This is done so by using proper head position, body lean, leg action and arm action. The key is running through the finish line, not to the finish line. Imagine a finish line 3 yards past the actual finish line. Avoid the last minute lean.

Head Position

1. Head should be in line with torso.
2. Maintain a relaxed and loose jaw.
3. Eyes should focus on the finish line.

Body Lean

1. Torso should be tall and erect.
2. Lean should be less than 5 degrees.

Leg Action

1. Rapid knee lift until thigh is almost parallel to ground.
2. Dorsiflex foot (toes up) and follow a path straight towards buttock.
3. Once thigh reaches maximum knee lift, begin to lower leg forward in a relaxed motion.
4. Sweep lowering leg backward and down in “pawing/clawing” action.
5. Dorsiflexed foot lightly meets ground directly under center of gravity.
6. Spend as little time on the ground as possible.

Arm Action

1. Locked Elbows - Elbows should be locked at 90 degrees throughout arm swing.
2. Firm Wrists - Wrists should be firm as well.
3. Through Hips - Hands should come through and past hips during arm swing.
4. Tight Elbows – During arm swing elbows should remain tight and close to the body.
5. Pull Back - During back swing focus on pulling back elbows as opposed to bring up hands. Forward swing will naturally happen.
6. Relax Shoulders – Shoulders should be relaxed throughout sprint. Often your grip determines your upper body tension. Relax your grip by pinching thumb and index finger.

Conclusion
As you can see, for such a short sprint the forty-yard dash can be fairly complex. It is easy to see why playing speed doesn’t always translate to track speed (or visa versa). Breaking down in one area of the forty can be detrimental to your time. When training for the forty, train smart. Spend time on each phase (start, drive and finish). At the end of each workout put all three phases together.