AVOID THIS SPEED KILLER = FIX BACKSIDE MECHANICS

[@MeisterdipperGAP]

Interesting as usual. Will begin my level 3 track&field coach course very soon as well as coaching the u14/u16 athletrs. So all your videos are much appreciated!

[@Johnshepherdtrackcoach]

Glad that the videos are helping your coach learning. Good luck with the course 👍🏽

[@jimmyscutts8082]

One of my fave athletes, although not a sprinter, who exemplifies this fast heel recovery is Keely Hodgkinson. She does not have the height thus the stride to an advantage so she relies on her powerful hips to propel her to maintain a consistent cadence and pace for her 800 meter races.

[@yashnag6606]

Hi John sir I m your big fan frm India, I want to improve my long jump so I will follow your technic thnk you

[@marcomoon6062]

I feel heel recovery is a result at the end of the chain of hip movement and core stability. If you focus on the end of the chain you're not fixing much. Core stability and hip movement patterns must be addressed 1st. As a result sprint mechanics will be improved throughout the chain which also would addresses heel recovery without focusing on heel recovery.

[@Johnshepherdtrackcoach]

Changes are specific to individuals … in your case poor front side mechanics would not be corrected unless the rear side was cleaned up in some way. If the sprinter is rotating because of a high back lift - chances are they will still do the same if you worked front side. In realty change in one side of the body affects both sides. I would suggest that core stability and sprint mechanics are being addressed with the example provided. We all coach differently and have different ideas and it’s about discovering what works, it did for this sprinter … many thanks for your comments

[@NileshJadhav-qt6ou]

Hi John, do you intend on doing an online clinic ?

[@carls-95]

A swear Tobogo who won the 200m has a full on heel recovery, all the way up? And almost all sprinters...

[@Johnshepherdtrackcoach]

This video is a case study of one of the guys in my group… his speed needs to be improved and we think this can be done so via changes to his heel recovery and the way he uses his hips. Everyone is specific - has their needs. Although one size does not fit all … rear side mechanics and pelvis position are crucial for speed. See Dr Ken Clarke and Tony Holler for more.

[@carls-95]

@@Johnshepherdtrackcoach Ok thanks, it can be confusing at times because my coach tells me I'm losing speed for the exact opposite reason, i.e. not enough heel recovery 😂

[@petermercadante630]

I am glad that you posted this. I had watched the Tony Holler video on the need to have a low heel recovery and was also surprised watching the Olympic gold medalist Tebogo that he had a high heel recovery. This may be a case where “science” is saying one thing but what actually happens with the best is something else. I do not know the strength of the biomechanical evidence but it is difficult to believe that a 9.86 100m and 19.46 200m gold medalist is mechanically inefficient. I will need to look at more videos to see what is actually happening and perhaps raise this with Tony Holler. John- thank you for posting the video. It would be helpful if you could clarify whether you think a low heel recovery is optimal positioning or whether it is an individual adjustment you made for your athlete?

[@copper5r660]

From what I’ve heard a lot of genetically gifted sprinters like Tebogo have a larger tibia relative to femur length - this means they tend to a more heel to bum stride

[@Masters_Sprinter]

John, would the same principles apply up to 400m?

[@Johnshepherdtrackcoach]

Well, yes as the faster your max speed the faster your cruising speed. It has to become automatic though … as indicated in the video Ben actually managed to make the change in a couple of sessions. However it’s now got to stick. The same would apply to you and with the 400m you’d not want additional effort … So, work on it over shorter faster distances and move from there. Hope this helps.

[@thanhtungtran7902]

Chào thầy e là giáo viên dạy thể dục thầy có thể hỗ trợ em lập giáo án huấn luyện chạy cho các em học sinh tập luyện không

[@IanFrater-v1e]

John, excellent video. When training my sprinters I have always had a strong focus of heel recovery but have never given much thought to the height of the heel during that stride stage. After watching this video, I had a flashback to an old video of the great Betty Cuthbert winning the 100m and 200m at the 1956 Olympics. I remember the old commentators talking about her high knee lift action when compared to the other sprinters, but I now realize it was her quick heel recovery that separated her from the rest of the field. I wonder if she was coached this way, or she was just naturally gifted. kzbin.info/www/bejne/nna6ap-uZtdopZo

[@Leonidas-eu9bb]

This is wrong. I mean the back lift is the effect of speed. It's not the cause. Faster speed leads to a higher back lift. The reason why too much backside mechanics are associated with lower speed is because it's a lack of hipflexion! Elite sprinters are really good at immediately flexing the hip at toe off aka triple flexion! This instant switching from extension into flexion and vice versa is the key! It's only possible to attack the ground with the front leg if the back leg recovers at the same time with the same power!

[@petermercadante630]

You could well be right. I see that you posted on the original Tony Holler video but he did not provide a proper response. As I mentioned above Tebogo shows a clear high heel recovery as does Lyles in the 100m Olympic final. That does not sit well with what seems to have been argued here. I have asked for clarification. Do you coach?

[@Leonidas-eu9bb]

@@petermercadante630 I agree. There are elite sprinters (Lyles, Tebogo, Knighton, Gardiner) with decent backside mechanics aka full hip extension and and a high heel recovery. Those sprinters tend towards more speed endurance and they all show special anatomy (long thin limbs with proximal mass distribution. So called elastic athletes). High heel recovery also means less angular momentum, less energy needed and faster angular velocities are possible. That was Oscar pistorius advantage. Less angular momentum. Faster frequency! On the other end of the spectrum there are the power sprinters (Asafa Powell, K. Thompson). They show extrem hipflexion power. They don't do well in a 200 because theire technique is more demanding on muscular power.

[@petermercadante630]

@@Leonidas-eu9bb Thank you for that. You have a far deeper understanding of biomechanics than me and I appreciate your reply. When you say less angular momentum allows faster angular velocities is that the same as saying that a shorter lever can move more quickly? In the replies to the Holler video, @samkee3859 supporting high heel recovery added the component of stretch reflex to that of angular momentum: “After toe-off the knee should flex, and the foot should come UP towards the butt rapidly. This rapidly stretches the quadriceps creating a stretch reflex (which then extends the leg forward on the frontside of the body faster than otherwise, and this foot towards the butt due to knee flexion shortens the lever rotating about the hip, which due to conservation of angular momentum increases the recovery speed of the leg, again both of these result in faster and more powerful recovery and extension of the leg in upright sprinting.” Is that something with which you would agree? Slightly off tangent I am not sure how angular velocities relate to Weyand’s work on faster speed being achieved with greater ground forces and not more rapid leg movements.

[@petermercadante630]

@@Leonidas-eu9bb I responded to you but my reply seems to have been deleted. I also posted on the original Tony Holler video and he responded saying that Lyles never has the plate of his spikes parallel to the floor whereas if you look at his 100m final he clearly does.

[@Johnshepherdtrackcoach]

I think it’s very easy to find an exemption to what a coach says. There are no real rights and wrongs in the main with coaching thoughts. Many coaches learn through years of experience backed up my being innovative and prepared to develop their way of doing. Sports science usually then catches up… And as I pointed out in another reply … this video showcases a specific athlete whose heel recovery was very high and this resulted in rotating into the contact and poor take-off positions for the long jump. I’m sure this is not what the sprinter you used as an example does do. I’m fine with people being critical indeed being critical is what leads to learning. What I think many coaches don’t appreciate are blanket criticisms … there is plenty of research by the likes of Ken Clarke on heel recovery and the difference in heel recovery (sounds like one of the commentators may have seen that, as the comments made reflect Ken’s thoughts/research and indeed mine) and the affects on sprint speed and the speed of the heel’s recovery. You can’t hit the ground hard with a short hammer blow. The “whip from the hip” as Clarke calls it starts from behind the hips … I’m a coach who tries to help others learn and develop. If others disagree then that’s fine and perhaps this will lead to those developing their own ways to improve their sprinting or the sprinters they coach. I’d like to hear from those that have their own ideas and experiences and success born from their enquiring minds. I’m not one to slap a this is the only way to do it methodology onto my videos. I see plenty I don’t agree with. It’s up to you and me to use what we see and help develop in this case sprinting. You could pull apart Bolt’s sprinting quite easily but he’s the fastest man ever. You work with what you have, decide on how to use it and try out new/old thoughts to develop. And it takes time to reply to comments.