• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Click here to download the  free ebook of Alberto Juantorena’s  detailed training workouts leading up to the 1976 Montreal Olympics

SpeedEndurance.com

Success in Track & Field ... and Life

  • Home
    • About
    • Contact
  • Track & Field
    • 400 meters
    • 800m & Mile
    • 1/2 & Full Marathons
    • Long & Triple Jump
    • Hurdles
  • Training
    • Weight Training
    • Abs & Core
    • Injury Prevention
    • Shoes & Spikes
    • Masters
  • Coaching
    • Freelap Friday Five
    • Interviews
    • Sports Nutrition
    • Sport Psychology
  • Archives
  • Shop
    • My account
    • Checkout
    • Basket

How to Improve Acceleration Part 2

You are here: Home / 400 meters / How to Improve Acceleration Part 2
14
SHARES
FacebookTwitter

November 11, 2010 by Jimson Lee Leave a Comment

This is part 2 of a multi-part series.  Part 1, which discussed hip mechanics, can be found here.

This part will discuss:

  1. which foot is the power leg
  2. resistance running with weighted sleds
  3. resistance running with isorobic ropes
  4. resistance running with uphill running
  5. resistance running with parachutes

Without getting into too much detail on how to use starting blocks (which has been covered in detail on this Blog), the first step in improving acceleration is literally the very first step… literally!

It doesn’t matter if it’s from starting blocks, crouch start for 800 meters, American football, Soccer (or football around the world), or even a baseball outfielder.

In short, what you want to do is generate the maximum force from inertia (standing still or motionless) to acceleration to achieve a maximum velocity.  (let’s leave out shin angles for this discussion, please)

Contrary to some High School Track coaches, the power leg should be front leg, not back.

This is especially true in track with starting blocks.

Some may say it’s the instinctive reflex that matters, and that’s why you will see silly drills where you push your blindfolded teammate from behind while standing.  The best way to determine your power leg is ask your athlete to do a 3 step layup with a basketball.  (of course, if they play some basketball and know what is a lay-up!)

Resistance Running

Now that we got that step out of the way…

The best way to practice starts and acceleration is to do starts and acceleration.

But there may come a time for advanced athletes to up the ante, so to speak.  And that involves adding a little extra resistance.

See also  Michael Johnson Motivation.com

Isorobic Ropes and Sleds

I’ll have to go into high school physics to explain the differences between the isorobic rope and weight sleds, because the work loads are different.  The sleds are moving with the athlete.  The rope provides a more constant resistance, whereas the sled decreases with increasing speeds.

But the good old fashioned isorobic exerciser is great for indoors when you can attach the rope to a wall.  Outdoors require a teammate.  I would avoid temporary anchors as these may come loose and injure someone.  So please make sure it is securely fastened.

Here are some tips and advice for using sleds and isorobic ropes:

  1. install the device about half a meter from the ground (18 inches)
  2. use distances anywhere from 10-30m (great for indoor workouts)
  3. a "slowdown" of 5-10% in expected.  Greater than that usually results in technique deteriorating.  And that is bad.
  4. ideally to be used on the track with spikes. 
  5. have the belt secured just above the hips no higher than the waist
  6. keep proper care not to obstruct the runner with the incoming rope!

There are hundreds of studies out there that demonstrates the effectiveness of sleds.  I’ve included two snippets below, but basically it’s saying (from these studies) that sleds are great to improve acceleration, but showed no improvement in top end speed.  (This statement can be confusing as improving acceleration by means with a longer and more efficient acceleration will improve top end speed and result in a faster 100 meter time).  They also say keep the loads light as more is not often better.

The Greek Study:

CONCLUSION: Sprint training with 5 kg sled pulling for 8 weeks improves acceleration performance (0(-2)0), while un-resisted sprint training improves performance in maximum speed phase (20-40) in non-elite athletes. It appears that each phase of sprint run demands a specific training approach.

The Australian Study:

CONCLUSION: Weighted sled towing is a common resisted sprint training technique even though relatively little is known about the effects that such practice has on sprint kinematics. The purpose of this study was to explore the effects of sled towing on acceleration sprint kinematics in field-sport athletes. Twenty men completed a series of sprints without resistance and with loads equating to 12.6 and 32.2% of body mass. Stride length was significantly reduced by approximately 10 and approximately 24% for each load, respectively. Stride frequency also decreased, but not to the extent of stride length. In addition, sled towing increased ground contact time, trunk lean, and hip flexion. Upper-body results showed an increase in shoulder range of motion with added resistance. The heavier load generally resulted in a greater disruption to normal acceleration kinematics compared with the lighter load. The lighter load is likely best for use in a training program.

Hill Training

I love hills, as long you live in an area that has hills.  A few key points to consider:

  1. If you are short on time, then you could skip the weight room as the hills adds an extra "power component" to the training session.  We would do hills in freezing December (in Canada!) so athletes would only need to spend 1.5 hours at track practice to get back home and study for their final exams.  Moreover, the weight room was closed as the gymnasium floor was used for the final exams!  Double whammy!
  2. The slight uphill grade keeps their technique in balance, which is "staying tall" and preventing the hips from collapsing.  Also, the ground rises to make contact with the feet, so athletes do not over-stride, which may be beneficial to injury-prone athletes with hamstring problems.
  3. The over distance work is a refreshing way to get the special endurance sessions without getting flat or stale from the track, or when the track is closed!
  4. You can do hills on a variety of surfaces, to reduce the wear and tear on the track with spikes.
See also  [VIDEO] 800 meter Training and Moving up from 400m

Parachutes

I’m not a big fan of parachutes or “chutes”, so I am purposely leaving it out of this discussion.  I know a lot of SPARQ guys swear by them, but I prefer to have a known finite load number in using sleds.  That’s just me being picky.

Part 3 to be continued…

Category icon400 meters,  Coaching,  Featured Story,  Track & Field,  Training

About Jimson Lee

I am a Masters Athlete and Coach currently based in London UK. My other projects include the Bud Winter Foundation, writer for the IAAF New Studies in Athletics Journal (NSA) and a member of the Track & Field Writers of America.

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Primary Sidebar

Recommended

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xbs-aWxyLk

Shop Our Store

  • Bud Winter (9)
  • Championship Productions (6)
  • Clyde Hart (2)
  • Derek Hansen (1)
  • Electrical Muscle Stimulation (2)
  • Jim Hiserman (6)
  • Jimson Lee (4)
  • Uncategorised (0)

Articles by Category

Products

  • Jim Hiserman - Developing 800m Runners: Identifying, Categorizing and Developing 400m-800m Type Athletes $42.99 $39.99
  • Private Coaching - Monthly Plan $600.00 $525.00
  • Jim Hiserman-Developing-Distance-Runnersv2 Jim Hiserman - Developing Distance Runners Volume 2: A Systematic Approach to Developing Individual Success within a Dynamic Team Culture $34.95 $29.95
  • Feed-the-Cats-Clinic-3-Pack-701 'Feed the Cats' Clinic 3-Pack $64.99
  • Tony Holler's Feed the Cats": A Complete Sprint Training Program Tony Holler's "Feed the Cats" Complete Sprint Training Program $49.99
  • Bud Winter and Speed City presents Arthur Lydiard 509x716 Bud Winter & Arthur Lydiard MP3 [Download only] $9.99

RECENT POSTS

  • Oregon22 Coaches Club now Online
  • IFAC 2022: The Return of In-Person Conferences (with Virtual option)
  • Here is our 400m Discussion Recording… over 2 Hours Long
  • The Best Free Coaching Book – post Beijing 2022 Olympics
  • The Ultimate 400m Track Webinar for Coaches & Athletes
  • NACAC Athletics Coaching Science Series 2022
  • Top Six 400m Predictor Workouts (Number 4 is my Favourite)
  • Best 6 Podcasts for 2021 (and Beyond)
  • Why Karsten Warholm’s 45.94 400mH WR is my Highlight of 2021
  • Sprinting: 10 Research Articles for Effective Sprint Training [Part 23]

Copyright © 2023. SpeedEndurance.com is owned and operated by Aryta Ltd. Privacy Policy | Cookie Policy
Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy
Manage Cookie Consent
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behaviour or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Manage options Manage services Manage vendors Read more about these purposes
View preferences
{title} {title} {title}