Last Updated on October 28, 2015 by Jimson Lee
I want to thank Alex Hemry for pointing this out.
When I updated the original Rocket Sprint Start by Bud Winter, I only covered the use of starting blocks, and to some degree, the Moye starting block.
But I only discussed symmetrical, not asymmetrical methods.
Click here on How to Do Different Starts… 2 Point, 3 Point, Falling Starts and more!
In the book, I talked about cues, and one of the important queues is the LEFT hand exploding upwards with your RIGHT foot on the rear pedal. The brain receives the signal from the gun, and the left hand moves a fraction of a second before the right foot. (the difference is minuscule, but you can’t argue with science!)
I used to wear a watch on the left as my cue to move first, and sometimes I would have my right hand about an inch behind the line. This “forced” me to flick the left hand and arm forward. You can argue it’s a psychological effect from starting on the curve where your right hand is always a few inches behind the start line.
Below are two screen shots of Jeff Demps’ starting block technique from the 2011 and 2012 NCAA D1 Track and Field Championships. Note how his right hand is positioned an inch behind the start line.
This could be a cue for his left hand, and possibly from the standard 3 point start used in the 40 yard dash football combine. We’ll have to wait until I speak to his coach.
Click here for different Hip Height and Hand Positions in Blocks for Lerone Clarke & Christophe Lemaitre.
Here is Jeff Demps 2011 60m race:
I have been teaching offset hand position with the cheetah sprint start for over 3 years now.
Yes, I remember! Asymmetrical training!
That is covered on the dvd I sent you. But yes we do it to help coordinate the movement of the hands and feet. It also puts lets stress on the shoulders and provides better balance along with preventing athletes from trying to push off with the arms at the start.
Wait so if my left leg was in front of my right in the starting position, would it be my left hand or my right hand that was behind? If i follow Demps then my right hand would be slightly behind but if I follow the video my left hand would be slightly behind. Or am I just mistaken and which ever hand is behind does not matter