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110 Skips in 30 seconds. Impressed? Not Really

You are here: Home / Coaching / 110 Skips in 30 seconds. Impressed? Not Really
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January 5, 2016 by Jimson Lee Leave a Comment

Skipping rope is a great exercise for cardio, as well as rhythm and hand-eye co-ordination.  It’s better than doing nothing.

Right now I can do 30 skips in 30 seconds easily.

With practice, I could get to 60 skips (2 per second)

At first, I was impressed with the video, with a boy skipping at 3.66 skips per second.

Then I said, Bah-humbug, as World Class Sprinters do about 4 to 5 strides per second :)

Of course, anyone can do 5 strides per second.  Just lie on your back and rock back onto your shoulder blades, then do bicycles in the air.  Easy.  Ahh, but there is no ground contact to limit you :)

Running is meant to be simple.  Just put one foot in front of the other.  It all boils down to stride rate and stride frequency.  Optimize the 2 forces, horizontal and vertical, and cover ground as fast as possible.  Simple.

Usain Bolt vs. Tyson Gay vs. Andre Cason

Consider these three specimens:

  • Usain Bolt 6’ 5” = 1.95m, with a 4.49 stride frequency
  • Tyson Gay  5′ 10″ = 1.78m, with a 4.96 stride frequency
  • Andre Cason 5’ 7” = 1.70m, who ran a wind-aided 9.84 and had a stride frequency of 5.19

Thus we all know the magic formula of:

Speed = Stride Rate X Stride Frequency

Imagine if we had another human the same height as Usain Bolt, and could run at 5 strides per second? Then we might see that 9.3 second 100m dash one day!

2009WC 100m Data for Bolt Gay Powell

Image Credits: hardcandypt.wordpress.com

A Kinematics Analysis Of Three Best 100 M Performances Ever

Source: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3661886/  

Note: Stride Frequency is in purple, and there are some instances of >5 per second

For the legend, use the results below

2009 World Championships in Athletics – Men's 100 metres Final

[Tweet “If we had another human 6’5″ or 1.95m tall, and run at 5 strides/sec, then we’ll see a 9.3 second 100m WR”]

See also  Speed Revolution Nor-Cal Hurdle Summit March 4, 2012

What does all this mean?

Charlie Francis quotes from his latest manual:

Too many coaches are coaching the speed right out of their athletes.  Some believe that it is stride frequency and others believe that it is stride length that causes speed.

The answer is neither. They are both measurements of speed but not the cause of speed. Speed is the result of net forces acting on the ground.

It is how fast the body is moving over the ground that matters. Apply more force and you will have an increase in stride length and stride frequency.

So the answer is not to be impressed with a 5.2  strides/second, nor skipping rope at 3.6 skips/second, but to cover ground as fast as possible.  “Time” is what matters.

Category iconCoaching,  Track & Field

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.

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