Developing a Good Standing Start

Learning to position, balance, and coordinate movements to react well, and move explosively in an efficient manner up the track from a standing start when the starter doesn't allow cheating, not only can carry over to other sports where athletes start while standing, but can also can carry over to starting positions where additional body parts are in contact with the ground and required to accept some weight, ie; 3-point and 4-point starts. What I've observed is that many athletes in 3-point and 4-point starting stances rely too much on the hand(s) on the ground for balance/stability and it keeps them from maximizing their ability to be poised to be explosive. (Keep Reading)

Standing Start Position

Generally Speaking

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, and when in the "set" position, the body (hips and torso) should be angled forward to some extent, with an attempt to have sufficient body lean, positioning, and balance that will allow him/her to be able to overcome inertia and to explosively move up the track. See the "Cheating and what is Allowed" section below for a very important aspect of positioning at the start.

In addition, it is a good sign if the athlete can position well enough to generate an impulse to explosively start and it being a challenge to continue up the track maintaining balance. In my way of thinking, the standing start is the easiest position for the athlete to learn to manage challenging body positions and directions of force as well as improve the skill of maintaining a high impulse during the ensuing strides.

More Specifically

There is some bend at the waist and knees with the head 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, should be angled forward along with the torso. The knee and shin of the forward leg in the starting stance should feel close enough to the line, and maybe even feel like they are a bit ahead of the line, but not really angled forward like the torso, hips, and shin of the rear leg. Having a significant forward shin angle in the front leg would require too much hanging forward and likely a lower than desired hip height. When poised to launch into the race, about two-thirds of the weight is centered over the position of the front leg in the starting stance, with the hip/glute area of that front leg likely being a focal point. Although the front leg side is emphasized, and there likely is some lean of the torso over to the side of the front leg, there still should be some recognition of the hips and shoulders being squared to the direction the athlete is to travel, up the track. The "sufficient body lean" I alluded to above that helps overcoming inertia is similar to the type of body movement seen in these falling start drills. "Sufficient body lean", along with the hips and torso adequately angled forward while in the "set" position, applies to all starts in order for the athlete to be prepared to move up the track. Being able to do so skillfully without cheating (rolling start) is important in my mind, as it requires maximizing positioning, balance, etc..., that can be applied to powerfully starting.

Head Position and Line of Vision

The head, along with being ahead of the starting line, should be carried/positioned in natural alignment with the shoulders. This means that when the shoulders move forward and down to get into position, that the head should do the same. That should affect the line of vision so that if the head is angled down toward the ground, then the line of vision should also. This can get more challenging as the athlete learns to crouch more, in a position where the line of vision should be toward the rear. For the first step the head is to rise along with the rest of the body. what you don't want is for the athlete to look up and forward before the rest of the body does. Since the hips and shoulders should be inclined forward during the initial acceleration, the head should be also as well as the line of vision.

Reflexes

Having a reasonable knowledge of the roles that reflexes play in sprint success can also be important if applied in an appropriate way. This article gives a view of a role the Cross-Extensor Reflex plays. See this video and that video for more detailed info. As much as anything this knowledge can help a coach to understand excellent performances and not just say "you were in the zone", LOL. In my mind this is an instance where the skill of the coach can be important because you can easily say too much or wrong things that distract an athlete when trying to get technical. Besides, there are other contributing reflexes. I prefer to talk about reacting well and moving well.

Quick Side/Power Side

The pursuit of trying to effectively position and balance the body to put forth a good faith effort to start in accordance with the rules of starting that prohibit illegally moving into the start, brings attention to the different roles carried out by the quick side (side of the rear leg) and the power side (side of the front leg) to set the body in motion from a basically still position (overcome inertia).

While positioning for standing starts, various body parts move in different ways that I refer to as dynamic balancing. This includes being aware of how the weight is positioned in relation to the feet. Properly loading the joints not only refers to the hips and knees but likely will include a degree of dorsi-flexion of both ankles while positioning and preparing to start. The back foot may be on the ball of the foot as the athlete is poised to react, etc... Although the front leg side of the body is emphasized to be ready to apply big force, the rear leg's role in regulating the body lean of the "set" position helps lead to it pushing off noticeably as part of setting the body in motion. With some athletes you'll see them reduce the angle of the rear shin to the ground while balancing themselves. Doing this along with properly emphasizing the front leg can also be done to help prevent a backward movement of the rear foot during the push off.

At least part of being "poised to react and respond with movement up the track" is what is commonly referred to as being "coiled"(see next section), and in my mind, it is important to be able to do this while in a standing position, as well as with having one or two hands on the ground without blocks. Then when other positions and starting blocks are added, it makes it that much easier to be effective in explosively starting. Read on!

Cheating vs What is Allowed

When watching sprints in track meets, we all have seen athletes get away with movements prior to the gun that help facilitate a good reaction and movement up the track. This occurs because effectively overcoming inertia, in this case the body's tendency to stay at rest, is an important element of starting. As I stated earlier, it is important to understand that some movements associated with leaning or rolling into the start, can be done legally during the establishment of the "set" position, and ideally is carried out in a way where the athlete is poised to be able to legally overcome inertia. Again, this video shows an athlete doing a falling start, and rolling into the start in this way is not allowed in a competition. The athlete, however, is to move his/her body in a similar way to get into a good standing start position. The challenge is to dynamically position the body parts to be coiled and poised to react and explode into the race without the body noticeably in motion.

When trying to be coiled while in a standing position, the knees likely will bend a bit more while becoming more crouched. "Coiled" is referring to how a spring is compressed in the same way that the top to this Jack in the Box toy had to be closed before turning the handle to play the music. With practice the goal is to become better at being effective from that crouched position, and to continue onto a successful race. Although the front leg in the standing start stance will push off the hardest, along with the upper body and arm position, the position of the rear foot and shin of that leg can be important elements in helping provide balance and stability, ie; the feet are definitely spaced wider than in the falling start video above. I maintain that learning to start effectively from the standing start position will make it less likely that an athlete will need to depend on cheating when using blocks. The next section gives additional body position details.

Standing Start Example

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 rolls into her starts (cheats). Again, a major challenge that needs to be dealt with is being able to have a position that allows the athlete to react quickly and move explosively without rolling or otherwise cheating prior to the starting signal.

Coordinating Body Parts

A starting line is not a necessity, but I like allowing athletes to walk up to a point assuming a standing position and sprint without having to worry about being satisfactorily still in the "set" position. I like them to feel how far the feet need to be spaced, how the feet are placed in relation to their hips, to what extent the hips need to be under them and how forward the body needs to feel. At certain points I then require a closer adherence to the rules of starting, not allowing cheating, and giving attention to details that I feel are important.

Problems Bending

Some athletes that don't bend well naturally and/or 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 backward movement of the hips, in conjunction with whatever balancing movements need to be done, ie; legs in front, feet under the hips. 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."

Shin Angles and Footwork

During the starting action after being required to abide by the rules (not cheat), along with the rear foot pushing-off, there is a subtle movement of the power side foot (front foot) off its spot as the body begins moving forward. This helps create a forward shin angle and includes a natural supination of the foot to move it from its "pointed inward" position as the front leg continues the push off action with the rear leg. We'll refer to this shin angle as the "push angle". This is clearly evident in football watching wide receivers begin their routes. It is important to understand, however; that both feet are in contact with the ground at the same time during some of the push off, if only for a very brief moment, and the angles of both shins can be viewed as reference points when analyzing technique. Although the front foot during 3-point and 4-point starts does not move off of its spot in conjunction with the rear foot's push-off, the front foot and hand(s) move quickly and explosively in a similar manner as they did during the standing start push-off.

Important Note

When athletes doing a standing start are allowed to roll or fall into the start, the subtle movement of the front foot off the spot typically won’t occur since the rolling takes the body forward and creates the forward shin angle. Note this when watching this athlete subtly roll into his start.

More on Standing Start Footwork

As I alluded to earlier, you don't want the athlete to rely on stepping backward with the back foot to initiate the push off into the first step, as this not only can be an inefficient movement, but it can also negatively affect the coordination and trajectory of the first stride and ultimately the height of the hips. I suggest that athletes combine spreading of the feet with the positioning of the body parts as I've described, and with a good coordination of quick side and power side actions, a backward step won't be necessary to feel powerful and explosive. Hopefully reps with training partners and good coaching can continue the improvement.

I Also Don't Like

I do not like the standing start method of “stand up straight with little or no bend at the knees, lean forward, then collapse at the joints” with a lot of bend in response to the starting command. True, this accomplishes the leaning forward of the torso and hips, but 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 and basically just need to uncoil. An exception is that if something like this is done to save wear and tear on the legs during workouts then that is acceptable in my mind. 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—result in projection angles that are too low, and balance issues that athletes try to correct with zigzag running. As I've expressed in my other blogs, getting sufficient elevation from the very beginning is an important aspect.

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.