Max Velocity (Top Speed) in a Short Sprint

Pardon the picture above it is the best I saw in the Wix free selection, LOL.

Basic Overview

A sprint begins with the athlete feeling the sensations of power as the various body parts coordinate for the early portion of the sprint. As the sprint progresses and the sensations of power subside, the various body movements, although full and through good ranges of motion require good coordination, timing and rhythm to maximize effectiveness. When at top speed, various subtle but vital movements that the athlete executes and possibly can feel, may not be perceived by onlookers.

A Common Flaw

Many sprinters, for various reasons, prematurely allow the velocity to level off, failing to have it continue to increase for as long as it should. The explanations of rhythm, timing, and technique that I explained in previous blogs is what will allow the athlete to improve their maximal running velocity and overall sprint times. When absolute max velocity is reached there are different cues coaches use to try to get athletes to not fight for even more speed. Some coaches say "relax", although that is a relative term because intense effort is absolutely required. Stu McMillan prefers to say, "Run with Peace or Calmness". The bottom line is that the athlete needs to execute the continuation of the max velocity without letting "tightening up" or "over trying" interfere.

Key Component

Ralph Mann stated, “The maximum velocity that the athlete can produce is dependent upon how long productive Horizontal forces can be applied. As long as the Total Horizontal force created during ground contact is positive, Horizontal Velocity will increase." This in my mind, is why utilizing momentum effectively during the earlier stages of the race is so important.

In my mind, having good front side mechanics that include the rising of the hips and the elevation of the body from the beginning and throughout the run, are key considerations in recognizing productive horizontal and vertical forces. An over-emphasis of either front side (knee lift) or rear side mechanics (inappropriate push back into the ground behind the center of mass) come against the productive application of horizontal and vertical forces.

How Athletes May Perceive Cues

In my previous blogs, I detail how the athlete may feel force application, however; it is important to realize that different athletes may perceive certain efforts differently. Stu McMillan of Altis made a great observation of the types of cues his athletes benefited from. He said, “Athletes generally fit into two categories, ones that can feel the foot on the ground really well, as opposed to the ones that feel the limbs in space really well.” So, for upright running, some may respond better to cues similar to “pushing down into the ground,” while others relate better to “driving the thigh into space or their hand up into space.” So the cue, “drive the hand up up up up, and that may bring the entire system up,” may work for some athletes, while “feel the foot go straight down, straight down, step down, recover up, straight down,” may work better for others.

There are also athletes who, at top speed, feel their feet on the ground and others who don’t. As I've stressed, rhythm and timing are important parts of sprinting, and athletes trying to focus on cues they aren’t good at receiving can disrupt their rhythm and timing. In short, coaches, it’s important to choose words carefully—ALTIS coaches even talk about how “mood words can significantly enhance outcomes for coaches and athletes alike.”

Max Velocity/Top Speed Gear

With good sprint technique, ie; for the 100 meter dash, the hips and body progressively rises as I previously described during the first portions of the race, but there is, however, a subtle body position change that precedes max velocity. In the book Running, Bosch and Klomp describe shifting into the "top speed gear" by stating, “At the moment when velocity is nearly maximum, the trunk is then directed more upright while the pelvis is pushed farther forward.” I refer to this as "pelvic repositioning" (I read this somewhere, lol). I maintain that good execution during the earlier stages of the race makes it easier for the athlete to flow into this, and to continue to project and elevate effectively as velocity increases. Also describing the posture when upright, Loren Seagraves likes to say, “tummy tight, back flat, hips facing up (butt tucked)”. John Smith likes to add “chin down.” Tom Tellez does a great job describing body position in this video. Once again, I maintain that good execution early on makes it easier to flow into an effective max velocity position.

When referencing the application of vertical forces and the need to continue to elevate during upright sprinting, I like the cue of “imagining that there is a string from the sky attached to the top of the head, pulling upward” (Stu McMillan). I also like Usain Bolt’s max velocity cues, “shoulders down and knees up, swinging from the hips.”

Maintain Max Velocity

Mann goes on to also say, "Once Maximum Velocity is reached, the goal must be to produce the large level of Vertical force required to maintain proper Mechanics while continuing to produce the small amount of positive Horizontal force needed to maintain Maximum Velocity.” In other words, there is a bounciness associated with max velocity that supports moving up the track at top speed. During the bounciness, the feet are pushing up, not lifting the head and chest. Again, in my mind this is best achieved if leading up to that the athlete had executed good fundamentals, ie; good shin, trunk discipline, timing, rhythm, etc...

Important Max Velocity Technical Aspects

At some point when the body is upright and moving toward top speed, B skip drill dynamics become more of a part of the strides. This awesome video explains critical do’s and don’ts for the strides during this phase. The whole video is great, but you can forward to the 27-minute, 30-second mark for what I’m specifically referencing.

FYI - What the video in the previous paragraph demonstrates, is closely related to the build-up of pre-tension in the hamstrings during the scissoring action of the legs during upright sprinting, which facilitates an effective rotation described in this lengthy quote from the book Running. "During the scissor-like motion of the legs during the floating phase, developing forces tilt the pelvis backward and forward: the hamstrings and abdominal muscles tilt the pelvis backward, while the iliopsoas on the swing leg side tilts it forward. As the swing leg oscillates outward, the hamstrings together with the abdominal muscles exert a force that tilts the pelvis backward. The iliopsoas can slow this backward tilt somewhat, thus causing pre-stretch in the hamstrings of the front leg. In this way, the pelvis works like a lever so that energy can be transferred from the trailing to the leading leg."

My Take

I can't say it enough, starting and accelerating in a fundamentally sound manner puts the athlete in position to continue onto a very good Max Velocity. At the heart of this is achieving an effective combination of stride length and stride frequency in a manner that, in my opinion, includes what I've described on the home page and in blogs leading up to this one. When analyzing sprint performances, I believe that coaches need to consider the roles that certain reflexes play. The book "Running" describes how the "stumble" and "inverse-extension" reflexes are part of the scissoring action described in the previous paragraph - "bending the hip and knee of one leg strengthens the extension in the other hip and knee, and vice versa. This involuntary, reinforcing effect is important. The pendular action of the leading leg just before foot placement is carried out with more force because of such reinforcement." So, in my mind, a failure to utilize the various "involuntary reinforcing effects" during the earlier stages of the sprint, negatively affects the ability to do so later in the sprint. As numerous reflexes contribute to movement. When I speak to athletes, I mainly refer to it as wanting to "move well" through each stage of the race.

Deceleration

For races of 100 meters and greater there will be a period of deceleration. The objective is to skillfully minimize this portion.

In Conclusion

At the end of the day, in my mind, with all the stuff and cues I've thrown at you in this blog, technique is best improved with competition in practice with coaches giving timely input, with the goal being to help the athletes to develop the coordination, timing, and rhythm to maximize performance.