Developing a Good Standing Start

In "Start Doctor Training", learning to position and balance the body in the standing/hanging start position with the intention of abiding by the rules and starting powerfully with good ranges of motion is an important foundational piece. This carries over to starting positions where the hand(s) is/are in contact with the ground, ie; 3-point and 4-point starts, with and without starting blocks. In my mind all starts have some important similar aspects to consider in regard to body position, balance, pre-tensioning, and dynamically coordinating movements to prepare to start with appropriate vigor while utilizing movements through sufficient ranges of motion. It is just because of the differing positions, ways that the body weight is supported, as well as differentiating pushing off from the ground as opposed to doing so from angled starting block pedals, that some things are executed differently.

Very importantly, I place a lot of importance of simply allowing the athlete to figure out how to best feel positioned and balanced to start effectively. As I've stated previously, one method during training is to allow the athletes to violate the rules with various movements before the "Go" signal/command. There are certain things I emphasize, ie, making sure the athlete knows that the front leg is the one primarily pushing, so weight shifting, coordination, balancing, etc..., should reflect that. It is not just rolling forward into a lean to make it easier to push off into the run. Having said that, there is a lot of value in allowing athletes to move in various ways into runs during training in order to save the legs from wear and tear, but it should be understood that is the purpose for the movement in those instances. Read on!

Standing Start Position

Generally Speaking

To not over complicate this, forward to the 3 minute 10 second mark of this video and note how the athletes move into their starting position. In my mind, with reps it should be that simple. Especially if the athlete knows how to cheat (roll into the start) but takes seriously that he/she needs to fall short of that but still be ready to apply force to overcome inertia.

Some Basics

The feet should be spread enough to begin a good base, with the feet under the hips. The athlete should have the feeling of being up to the line with feet properly spread as the athlete begins assuming a folded type of position with a hinging type of hip movement (described below), with the body (hips and torso) angled forward to some extent and in a good alignment. There is some knee bend and an attempt to have sufficient body lean, positioning, and balance to both, be prepared for a powerful start, while falling short of cheating in preparation to apply force to overcome inertia in response to the starting signal. There are many things that the athlete may experience and feel while positioning and moving body parts to try to successfully execute this. There even can be a control of breathing element during the process. I don't know that the athlete can depend upon feeling and experiencing the same thing each time, so I don't suggest that a coach try to teach this that way, however, most of the focus being on whatever movement or action(s) that is/are going to apply powerful force to overcome inertia and being shocked by the gun to initiate that force application is a good goal.

Method of Practicing and Learning Emphasis

I like to have athletes stand at least a step behind the line, and then move up to it, learning how the various body parts work together to get into a good standing start position. I believe it is important for the athlete to understand how and why having the COM (Center of Mass) forward enough in relation to the starting line is a good thing. This is important for the 3- and 4-point starts as well but, in my mind, it is easier to teach this in the standing start position because the head and shoulders are positioned higher than the hips. I feel it is also easier to teach "head position" and "line of vision" in relation to how much the torso is angled forward while the upper body is not angled down so low. Having the line of sight appropriately down and/or to the rear can be a challenge.

More Details

The head should be ahead of the starting line. The shoulders should at least be up to the line, but maybe ahead of the line to some extent. The hips should feel close enough to the line and as stated above and should be angled forward somewhat along with the torso. The knee and shin of the forward leg in the starting stance should feel close enough to the line but not really angled forward like the torso, hips, and shin of the rear leg. Some coaches advocate a pretty acute angle of the shin of the front leg when assuming the standing start position. What accompanies this method is often some kind of moving the rear foot backward to solidify the stance, and/or encouraging the athlete to push off of the ground with the front foot in the same manner that they would when in a 3- or 4-point stance. I don't approve of these methods as they relate to providing carry over to other starting positions. I explain in the next section what I believe in.

What I Teach

When responding to the go signal, when not allowed to roll into the start, although the focus may be on pushing off using the front hip/leg, the rear foot and likely the arm on that side of the body moves a micro-second before the front foot. That is why some coaches refer to that side of the body as the "quick side", and in the process of the athlete moving and applying force to the track, the front foot has slightly moved off of its spot, and the front shin moves toward being angled forward. If for no other reason, the front foot slightly moving as I described is part of the natural supination of the front foot as it moves from its "pointed inward" position as the front leg applies force in conjunction with the rear leg. Watch wide receivers come off of the line and it is easy to see the slight movement of the front foot off of its spot during the double leg push off. If the athlete is allowed to roll into the start, then that little movement of the front foot off of its spot doesn't occur, however, I believe it is still important to be able to push off in an aggressive/crisp manner when rolling into the start.

Note - During 3- and 4-point starts, the body is positioned so that the shin angle is already angled well forward, but in place of the movements described above to achieve the forward shin angle when coming from a stationary standing start, there still are subtle shifts of weight prior to the gun that prepare the athlete to effectively push off into the race. In my mind, learning to achieve an aggressive push off from the standing start as I just described, helps set the tone for aggressiveness when starting from other positions.

Standing Start Example Critique

This video demonstrates a pretty good standing start position, but in order to be ready to react quickly and explode into a sprint, I would suggest that the feet be spread a little more. This will also require that the arms be positioned a little differently to coordinate with that more spread position of the feet. Very importantly, the young lady in the video slightly rolls into her starts (cheats), but what I like is how she basically doesn't let her hips get away from her feet while preparing to push off. Check out the "hip hinge movement" link below for a description of the type of positioning that can help the hips not get away from the feet before the push off. Again, an objective is to come up short of cheating and being sufficiently compressed/coiled and ready to apply force to overcome inertia. With practice you can be tuned into the force application movements and respond to the gun accordingly.

Problems Bending

Some athletes that don't bend and/or fold the body well naturally, ie, don't have their torso angled forward, may need to be better acquainted with the hip hinge movement. Ideally, bending includes at least a fairly straight back and skillfully controlling the hanging forward of the torso. The hanging forward of the torso should, in my mind, be accompanied by somewhat of a hinging/backward movement of the hips, in conjunction with whatever balancing movements need to be done, ie; legs in front, feet under the hips. Ideally the COM should not be moving backward with some kind of sitting back movement. The objective is to be poised to start explosively. This also includes preparing the glutes to be recruited in anticipation of taking the body and a powerful stride forward and upward during the starting action. This movement is to be supported by a straight back. Pertaining to this, the book Running states, "The back must be kept straight, because the dorsal muscles can work most effectively in that position, thus contributing to the force of the push-off by way of forward pelvic tilt. If the back is too rounded, the dorsal muscles work less effectively, thus reducing their total contribution to the force of the push-off."

I Don't Like

I do not like the standing start method of “stand up straight with very little or no bend at the knees, or pre-tension in the system, lean forward, then collapse at the joints” with a lot of bend in response to the starting command. In my mind this is analogous to not having any or a little coil in the spring, and then both compressing the spring and uncoiling while the competition has already compressed their springs, have the necessary pre-tension, and will have an immediate advantage. A possible exception to this is if something like this is done to save wear and tear on the legs during workouts, but in those cases, the push off into the run would typically not be very aggressive. If this is done when the athlete is actually trying to get a good start, this will not serve as an effective lead-up to other starts in my opinion, as trying to simulate this with three- and four-point starts can—as Dan Pfaff points out—results in projection angles that are too low, and balance issues that athletes try to correct with zigzag running.

Soft Standing Starts and Starts During Training

Once again, requiring the athletes too many times to be completely stationary before starting and to start explosively can be very stressful for the legs. Stu McMillan of ALTIS also explains and shows athletes moving into starts in this video.