Three Point and Four Point Starts

Generally Speaking

I've stressed the importance of body positioning in order to execute a good standing start. The same aspects apply to three-point and four-point starting positions. The difference is mainly that now the base is established with the feet being appropriate distances from the line, and with one or two hands on the ground. The hips are now higher than the shoulders during the "set position". Having the torso angled downward some when in these positions, and the head being in a good alignment with the shoulders, requires dealing with the line of vision being more downward and to the rear than when standing. This takes some athletes awhile to get used to.

Once the athlete has a good base and learns to distribute body weight in fundamentally sound ways, along with learning some basics of the "On Your Marks" and "Set" positions (described below), with practice reps he/she should be on their way to becoming accustomed to the positions and developing the ability to be explosive from being sufficiently folded/crouched/coiled in those positions while utilizing good ranges of motion.

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 and under the hip for a good base. 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 needs to be positioned closer to the center of the body for effective balancing. During the fast reaction to the starting stimulus, 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. A common mistake is for the hand on the ground to be basically just picked up, instead of the arms properly coordinating with the legs. 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 as I described for the standing start. It is just a matter of being accustomed to that particular position.

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 blocks, 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.

As alluded to above and described in the "Standing Start" blog, the athlete needs to be poised to react well and explosively move up the track in a fundamentally sound manner.

Four-Point Start with Blocks

Basic Set-up

This short video shows the basics using starting blocks. A critical aspect is that with starting blocks, there is the aspect of having the feet against the blocks adequately, and the legs loading against both blocks that must be done effectively. My suggestion is to not over-emphasize trying to press the feet into the blocks. When "on your marks", I believe the athlete should absolutely feel the feet touching the ground as well as the area close to the balls of the feet touching the blocks. As with the three and four-point starting positions without blocks, there is some dorsi-flexion of the feet and maybe even curling of the toes during the "on your marks" position. As previously described, there is some moving forward of the hips and body to prepare to rise into a good "set" position.

Set Position

When going to the "set" position, the loading the legs back into the blocks should occur, with the bottom of the feet going toward the blocks, and once again, when the "set" position is established, there is an appropriate leaning of the body in preparation to launch up the track in the "high post" position as was previously explained. As I mentioned in a previous blog, I believe it is easier to accomplish this when first practicing with the front block pedal angled down as low as possible, and to have the rear pedal maybe 10-15 degrees or more greater, to allow the same dynamic as with the other starting positions where the bottom of the front foot is lower to the ground that that of the rear foot. I believe this helps the carry-over of the natural positioning, balancing, and coordination of loading and I believe helps prevent the athlete from excessively straightening the rear leg when going up into the "set" position.

The athlete should be able to execute the same skills described above in the Set Position and Weight Distribution section above in order to be poised to react well and to start explosively. With the angled pedals, however, trying to achieve the positioning body lean I've previously described for the "set" position, along with the legs loading against the pedals, can create a lot of weight on the hands as well as a feeling of being ready to fall on the face and/or head. The weight should be shared between the hands and the feet, without too much weight being on the hands. Part of adequately loading should also include avoiding a noticeable flexion in the elbows and legs when in the "set" position, so that the eccentric loading (tension) will assist leg muscles in their concentric efforts during block clearance. This is a fundamental aspect of effective starting that can be honed during starts without blocks and then progressing to having the block pedals at low angles before raising the angles. Once again, in order to center the weight over toward the power side, the hand on the other side will help direct that weight shift.

A common mistake is to not adequately load and position and then need to noticeably drop the hips just before or after the gun in order to recruit the glutes for a push off at a good trajectory. In my mind, as with the other positions, practice reps with good coaching should lead to improvement. Again, the Tellez video above describes effective positioning and loading prior to the gun. There also should be an effective stretch-reflex dynamic during the pushing off into the race. Stretch-reflex is explained in the first minute of this video.

Despite the starting blocks allowing more of a launch into the race, in my mind, being overly concerned with the legs loading against 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

Properly involving the arms during block clearance is demonstrated at about the 2-minute 20-second mark of this video, featuring Olympic gold medalist Justin Gatlin and Coach Brooks Johnson.

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.

Conclusion

Repetitiously practicing starts from the various positions is necessary for the athlete to become familiar enough with the positions to allow explosive starts that seamlessly flow into the ensuing phases of the sprint.