Run tall!!
This coaching construct seems to be the foundation of pretty much any formal coaching for speed or sprint performance.
How many times have we heard to “run tall”? But then, we look at sport, and even track and field, and see the following in team sport?
https://www.instagram.com/p/CEPe3JWH-Wp/
But what about track and field? Here are some more examples where “run tall” is not in effect, and these are elite performers
https://www.instagram.com/p/CE8FuC6HIml/
https://www.instagram.com/p/CDfFs-snU5N/
Surely top-end speed and track speed play by a different rule by which we run “over the ground” and try to touch it for as short of time as we can? I mean, check out this image of Usain Bolt sprinting below:
The problem is, telling someone to run tall, with the above image in mind, is not going to make them any faster… rather the opposite effect takes place. In my 14 years as a coach, I’ve never seen someone run a faster fly 10 by giving them any cues regarding running tall or applying more “vertical force” to the ground. They will just get slower.
On the other hand, I’ve seen massive improvements in acceleration, and even top-end speed by using squatted and folded training methods and sensory-driven instruction.
The question is, are sprinting, acceleration, and on-field movements in general tied to the same rules? Perhaps, just the timing of when the “squat” or fold happens is a little different, but it still all relates.
When we squat, or “fold up”, there are some powerful things that happen.
Compression and an “overspeed” effect, to name just two.
If you want a true understanding of this “Master Key” to athletic movement, then I highly recommend checking out this webinar from coach Adarian Barr, on all things “squatted” in the world of athletics, and how to engage and train this important quality. Topics covered will include:
- How and where we see “squatted” positions in sport
- The importance of squatted positions, and qualities that come with working out of this position
- Consequences of “running tall” all the time, even for track sprinters
- How to engage and train squatted positions in your training program
- Where “stiffness” plays into running “tall” versus “squatted”