I'm a sprinter (50 and 100 Free) with a marginally good trackstart. My form is decent, but I'd like to work on the 'Ooomph' a bit. I've been youtubing the sprinters (ceilo fihlo, etc.) and they have sensational starts and get great distance. Are there any *dryland* exercises (e.g weights, jumping rope) that anyone would recommend for infusing oomph. Thanks in advance.
DOING MORE STARTS
RACING to 15 meters & 25 yards or meters
Jumping:
Vertical for height
Horizontal for distance
jumping from the same position as a track start
jumping against resistance
WEIGHTS
Leg press,
squat
deadlift
leg extension
leg curls
REST during training sessions to prepare for maximum effort
REST between training sessions
REST before competition
Getting in IPS
Getting psyched
measuring performance
Anything you do and measure improves
One word, Plyometrics!! I noticed that when I watched videos of my races, my reaction time was on par, or better then that of my competitors. However, I wasn't covering the same distance as they were. Which negated my fast RT. Someone recommended that I start doing plyometrics. I got some great workouts online and have noticed a great deal of improvement. I followed the Rock's workouts (the former WWE wrestler). I must stress however, that plyometrics are an extreme form of exercise and should only be done after a very good warm up and fully stretched. I also only do them once a week to minimize potential injuries. Good Luck,
I recently saw a demo of an exercise designed to help this. Stand about 10-12 feet from a study (concrete wall) in the trackstart position. Your hands will be resting on a medicine ball (10-15 pounds or so). As you "start" pull your arms up and chest pass the ball as hard as you can into the wall and then blast off, so to speak.
The guy who showed us this trained a bunch of Olympians last year, very impressive guy.
I have been told by a coach that track start actually is not as good a way to blast off blocks as old-fashioned start (feet together with hands, all at front of block), that track start came into fashion because it was too easy to false start with other kind.
Either way you are looking for blast-off exercises and I have none, except perhaps do a lot of jumping stuff so you have good bouncy legs.
If you use the Hillman Break-out chart, you can objectively evlauate which start is best for you. This chart will help you analyze which start, kick, and distance underwater is best for each individual. Good luck! Coach T.
