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tips on starting off the blocks?
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darigaaz12
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PostPosted: Tue Apr 04, 2006 9:29 pm    Post subject: tips on starting off the blocks? Reply with quote

This is my first year in track and field in highshool and seems to be our coaches first year as a track coach lol, I hit 11.6 in my first track meet which is ok i guess. But off the blocks everyone blew me away and after that i caught them all, if i could have gotten faster i would have been a low 11.

So anyone have advice or videos on better off the blocks starts?
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Dan
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PostPosted: Tue Apr 04, 2006 10:00 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

That's a solid first effort, especially off a bad start. Teaching starts is tough enough in person, doing so remotely is near impossible. Keys are to be relaxed getting into position, go up (set) in one quick movement, get your front leg bent at a 90* angle and your back leg about 120* (will result from getting the proper distance from the line and the right spacing between pedals), then getting good pressure on the pedals and staying coiled but still stable. Easier said than done... I don't know any training videos off hand to recommend, but I'm sure something is out there. Look through the various T&F equipment catalogs for ideas.

Dan
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 06, 2006 1:07 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I believe that http://www.trackandfieldnews.com also has a video section as well where you can buy training vids

Another key is to be consistance with your placings - where your hands and feet go, once you have whats right for you make sure you set the blocks and check them every time to make them correct for you.
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darigaaz12
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 06, 2006 5:14 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

and one more thing should your weight be on your feet or should your almost be falling on your face?
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Dan
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 06, 2006 7:04 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

You'll get different answers to that. I believe you should have weight on your arms and a slight forward lean, but that the bulk of your mass should be pushing back on the blocks. The way I see it, if you're leaning forward, you're not fully coiled against the pedals, and that's where your power comes from. Otherwise, you might as well be doing a standing start, leaning way over the line.

Dan
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PostPosted: Fri Apr 07, 2006 2:32 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

This reminds me of a clever response from a famous track coach (high school and college level). When somebody asked him, if the dashers who run up to 200 meters should run with their upper body leaning forward or straight up; he was clever enough to say:” The lean forward should be imperceptible.” What is funny about his cleverness is that he is probably right: most dashers try to run in a cycle once running at the very top speed: the very top speed for a couple strides and near the very top speed for a couple steps switched constantly to keep the body relaxed.
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irfan
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PostPosted: Mon Apr 24, 2006 4:15 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

My way was to NOT load my legs, id be balanced entirely. enough weight supported by my arms but not so much that id almost fall forward. keep ur toes on the blocks since u will spring off them. for the first 10 meters imagine running through a tunnel thats 5 feet tall... keep your body low and GRADUALLY rise up. dont step off the blocks and end up standing upright. i do not like to load heels (well.. DID not since im 24 now and now in HS track) because i felt a weight shift backwards for a split second.

Do not separate the foot rests too far, you want them at a comfortable distance from each other and from your waist (too close to waist: too much contraction.. powerful burst, but slower... imho). you dont want to be too squatted in them and you dont want to be too open (too little room to burst..ie )



My favorite was the Moye aka "hurdler".. some called it the girls blocks. you stand with ur front foot on the front edge of the block and the back foot was on a big angled block.. much like regular rocket blocks, but you did NOT lower your whole body, instead you kept your lead leg almost straight, and lowered the opposing arm to the floor for balance. your lead"side arm was back up in the air, head down. imagine taking a hurdlers form in mid air... similar to that expect your facing the ground. i felt it was way easier to launch and i usually beat the other block users pretty well.


heres a pic: (amazon image, not me)
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Dan
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PostPosted: Mon Apr 24, 2006 8:16 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I coached with someone who was a big fan of the Moye blocks, but I don't much care for them myself. In my opinion, they're no different than a good 3 pt. (standing) start, which is only an improvement over regular blocks if the person is horrible at regular blocks...

Most people I've worked with have done better when loading the heels, but a few have found that awkward. The ones that don't like it seem to be wearing very stiff spikes and/or have limited lower leg flexibility. Either way, the problem is the loading causes a rotation of the shoe instead of pressure across the whole pedal.

Dan
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PostPosted: Wed Apr 26, 2006 2:33 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Full starting blocks are a hit/miss thing. If you can learn to do it right, you can get a real edge on everyone. Moye blocks are very easy to learn if you have someone to help you out with that. Given the coaching, I'd say consider Moye blocks. However, you're at a level that full starting blocks aren't a bad idea either. Really depends on how hard you're willing to work, and how much your coach knows.
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darigaaz12
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 27, 2006 4:14 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

thats the problem lol, my coach used to run track in feild in highschool about 10 years ago i think. But he doesnt really remember that much because he was more of a thrower.

Our school is pretty small but we have no real expeirenced coaches.

I'm pretty much trying to it on my own and trying to find it out on my own and i'm slowly getting faster (got 4th maybe 5th overall in my last meet for the 100 out of like 30 people). But we only have 4 more meets i think so slowly getting faster wont help me that much.
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PeterJ
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PostPosted: Fri Apr 28, 2006 2:11 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

A while ago I watched starting trainig. The sprinters were "chained" with a (5 meters?) rubber rope. So they start with additonal resistance.
The explanation was: it should increase the power (speed) at start time.
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Dan
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PostPosted: Fri Apr 28, 2006 7:12 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

You can do the same with a partner to lean into for resistance. They put their hands on your shoulders and lower you down to the proper angle.

Dan
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darigaaz12
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PostPosted: Fri Apr 28, 2006 12:04 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Dan wrote:
You can do the same with a partner to lean into for resistance. They put their hands on your shoulders and lower you down to the proper angle.

Dan


can you go a little more in depth with that. How exactly is it done? while ur on the blocks they are leanin onto you?
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Dan
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PostPosted: Fri Apr 28, 2006 1:48 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Standing on the line, partner facing you. They put their hands on your shoulders and lower you down to a 45* angle, you keeping your stomach tight and but tucked in so your body is a flat plane. Start pumping the arms and legs and drive them down the track. They'll be able to hold you for 15-20m like that, then they step off to the side and let you accelerate out.

It makes for a nice muscle memory tune-up right before races, also.

Dan
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