Three Point and Four Point Starts

Generally Speaking

With practice reps and good coaching, the athlete should be able to develop a natural feel that will allow the same type of dynamic coordination that was used to position and balance for an explosive and effective start from the standing position. A key difference is that when the athlete assumes the "Set" position the body is already in a position where the front leg's shin angle is basically at the position it will need to be during the initial push off. There is, however, still a body positioning and balancing element that is to fall short of cheating that has the sprinter ready to apply powerful force to overcome inertia.

In the "On Your Marks" position one or two hands are on the track, along with one knee and the feet. These contact points now share the weight and there is the element of setting the body up for the rise into the "Set" position as Stu McMillan describes in this video. Very importantly when going up into the "Set" position there is a pushing down of the hands that accompanies the pressure of the feet toward the ground/blocks, and the arm action that accompanies the push off is a sweeping type of action.

The aspects of the hips being higher than the shoulders with the head downward and the line of vision being down and to the rear are parts of the positioning that the athlete must become accustomed to in the course of learning to get better at explosively moving up the track from that position.

Three-Point Start

For the three-point starts, I suggest having the front foot about a shoe length or maybe a little more than that from the line and then place the rear foot far enough back, with both feet adequately under the hips for a good base. Technically the rear foot may be behind the hips, but it is a matter of aligning the body for a good push-off, and since both feet push there needs to be some weight on both feet. I love the way Kevin White sets up for his 40 in this video, getting his feet positioned, and from a forward position on the ground, walks the hands back to the line while raising the hips and loading his joints. This method can be used not only when doing three and four point starts without blocks, but when also practicing starts from blocks using both three-point and four-point starting positions. Raising the hips while walking the hands back can make it easier to have an effective body lean and coil for a good launch. The angle of the front leg may be anywhere from a 90-degree angle to 110, and the rear leg in the vicinity of 120-135. In the "Four Point Start" section below, toward the end of the Tom Tellez video, he demonstrates how the hands accept body weight when in a good "set" position is established. This can also be applied to the single hand that is on the ground during the three-point starting position.

For the three-point start athletes should be on the balls of the feet as seen in the video in the previous paragraph. As with all starts, the weight is centered more on the side of the front leg, especially when the athlete is in the "set" position, with the athlete poised to push-off and move into the start as has been described in previous blogs. With the three and four-point starts, again, the joints should be properly loaded, with the athlete poised to react well and explode up the track with big enough movements. With the three-point start, in order to center the weight toward the front leg, the athlete may feel the hand that is on the ground noticeably helping direct this positioning.

It is a mistake to place the hands down on the track, spaced as they would for a four-point start, then lift up one hand. This will result in a balance problem. The hand on the ground should not be positioned as wide toward the side of the body as it will be when both hands are on the ground. During the weight bearing of the "on Your Marks" and "Set" positions the hands should be pushing down and during the fast reaction to the starting stimulus, in conjunction with trying to push off the ground/blocks, ideally, the action of the hand that is on the ground during the starting action should be a sweeping back and up in coordination with the downward, forward, and upward movement of the other arm. Depending on how the body is balanced, concerning the arm of the hand on the ground, in conjunction with pushing off with the feet and the movement of the other arm, the athlete may very briefly drive that arm downward and back. Some say that a vibration may be felt in that hand on the ground as well. A common mistake is for the hand on the ground to be basically just picked up, thus not using the arms productively. Although football players using the three-point stance when getting timed in forty-yard dashes are allowed to start without a command or signal, I suggest learning to position and balance to react and respond well to learn to maximize explosiveness.

Four Point Start Without Starting Blocks

For the four-point start without blocks, I suggest having the front foot about 1 1/2 shoes from the line and then place the rear foot in place accordingly. A common mistake that I see when watching high schoolers, is that in the preliminaries of a sprint, they may not be allowed to use blocks, but when blocks are allowed in the finals, they try to use the same spacing as when they didn't use blocks. The result is a position that is too close to the line and cramped.

"On Your Marks"

When assuming the "On Your Marks" position, there will be a slight moving forward of the hips and upper body to prepare to rise into a good "set" position. Once again, with the balls of both feet on the ground, with the front foot likely more curled than the rear foot. The arms then should be perpendicular to the track and the athlete's center of mass should be close enough to the line. Even in this position, I believe there is the aspect of the hips being at a sufficient height as the athlete places hands at the line and eases the body forward. (I am referencing the start where one knee is on the ground when "on your marks") The weight needs to be evenly distributed between the feet, the knee on the ground and the hands. Hands should be placed wide enough apart in anticipation of supporting some of the weight when in the "set" position. Hands should not be placed too far apart, however. This Tom Tellez video is very thorough and goes through aspects of the whole start.

"Set" Position and Weight Distribution

When rising into the "Set" position do not allow too much weight to be on the hands. This should be done trying to keep the arms perpendicular to the ground, not significantly angling the arms forward. Like with the other starts, 2/3 of the weight is toward the power side, and like when in the three-point start, in order to have most of the weight toward the front leg, again, the hand opposite of the front leg may noticeably help direct that body positioning. The range of leg angles are the same as described above. The joints should be adequately loaded, and when at the top of the "Set" position, as Tellez said in the video, there should be a bit of a lean in anticipation of pushing off to start. It is important to control this by primarily keeping the arms perpendicular to the track, and as Tellez also said, the pressure on the fingers may shift from the middle of the hands to the fingers closest to the starting line along with the thumbs. I feel that this should be in conjunction with the "borderline cheating movement of the hips" slightly toward the feet to keep adequate weight on the feet, with an appropriate movement of the trunk so that the COM is in the right position in relation to the starting line. Because of this the arms may be very slightly angled forward instead of perfectly perpendicular to the ground. The head should be in a fixed position that some may describe as having the "chin tucked". If carried out correctly the athlete won't be visibly moving when the gun goes off. Once again, being prepared to maximally involve the glutes/hips in a push off that is to bring the limbs and body through space as has been previously described. Like mentioned before, having a good hip height, angles the torso and head downward, and requires that the eyes be focused appropriately downward and backward. The hips and body should be positioned to launch up the track.

Adding Blocks

As I pointed out on the home page, my preference is to have the athlete use the Level One Starting Blocks and to use a three-point starting position as seen in this video. I also like to allow athletes to do a lot of moving while in the "On Your Marks" position to get the feel of how to be ready to go up into a good "Set" position. You may even be able to get away with doing this in a regular high school meet, but in top meets the Starter likely will require you to be pretty still before he/she calls you up into "Set". In the absence of Level One Blocks you can try a set of blocks that adjust down to less than 45 degrees. I mention these blocks in other blogs.

Four-Point Start with Blocks

Basic Set-up

This short video and this video (again) show basic aspects of setting up the blocks and getting in the "On Your Marks" and "Set" positions. The primary task, in my opinion, as I've said repeatedly, is for the athlete to be able to become accustomed to the blocks in a manner where the focus can be upon positioning and balancing to explosively get out and up the track in a manner that effectively transitions into the rest of the race.

Despite the starting blocks allowing more of a launch into the race, in my mind, being overly concerned with the legs pressing against the blocks and/or leaping out of the blocks can prove to be ineffective. On the other hand, not adequately loading the legs against the blocks, often results in the athlete doing some form of stepping out of the blocks or a noticeable hip drop before or after the gun to apply force.

Movements of Hands and Arms

Once again, properly involving the arms during block clearance is important and is demonstrated at about the 2-minute 20-second mark of this video, featuring Olympic gold medalist Justin Gatlin and Coach Brooks Johnson. Another cue that is used is to "drive the arms down and back" after the gun, and as I mentioned previously, some may say a vibration is felt in the hands during the initiation of this process.

Don't Do This but Do That

A less than great technique that I see used a lot to help the hands and arms handle body weight is having the hands placed really wide when they are on the track. This can cause the shoulders to rotate inward, which is not a good thing. Having the thumbs somewhat under the shoulders, with hands far enough apart and distributing the weight as I've explained, should be good enough.