How do starting blocks work

In a bunched or bullet start, your front heel aligns with the toes of your back foot. You hold your hips high in the air with legs together. If you use a medium start, the knee of your rear leg lines up with the toes of your front foot. For an elongated start, position your rear knee next to the heel of your front foot.

To use starting blocks correctly and efficiently, you need proper instruction and practice. While professional athletes and experienced sprinters use blocks, beginner runners who use blocks with poor form are at risk for injury. Incorrect form on starting blocks puts you at a disadvantage and can negatively impact your performance and time. To prevent slipping, stamp on the blocks to embed them into the track.

To get into position, put your strong foot into the block, making sure the part of your spike that has pins is resting flat on the tartan surface of the block. Position your weak foot in the same way. To learn how to best get out of your blocks at the start of the race, keep reading! Did this summary help you? Yes No. Log in Social login does not work in incognito and private browsers.

Please log in with your username or email to continue. No account yet? Create an account. Edit this Article. We use cookies to make wikiHow great. By using our site, you agree to our cookie policy. Cookie Settings. Learn why people trust wikiHow. Download Article Explore this Article parts. Tips and Warnings. Related Articles. Article Summary. This is the absolute best way to set up and properly use athletics starting blocks. Part 1. Position the blocks firmly onto the track at your toe the flat piece of metal on the tip of the main body.

Stamp on them to embed them into the track to prevent slipping. Find your strong foot: it's the foot you kick a ball with. This is the foot that will drive you out of them the one closest to the line. Adjust the strong foot block angle using the spring loaded thing on the back so that it is at either it's lowest or second lowest incline personal preference.

Adjust your weaker rear foot block angle so that it's either up to the highest incline, or second highest. It's personal choice. Part 2. Begin with the strong foot block: face away from the direction you're going to run.

Put your heel on the line. Getting a good start is a direct result of force application and shin angles with the track. That is, the more horizontal force you can apply out of the blocks, the more capable you are of creating the low shin angles with the track that are required for a competitive start. When athletes who are not strong enough to create that force are put in blocks, they are harming themselves in two ways.

First, they are going to pop straight up as soon as the gun goes off due to their inability to exert proper levels of force. Therefore, they are more likely to fall behind right away and sprint mechanics tend to deteriorate instantly. Second, because they do not have the strength levels to properly apply force to the blocks, they will learn to start with bad form.

Once they get stronger, they will have to unlearn their bad habits and relearn proper mechanics. We suggest starting young athletes with a standing start and then progressing to a three-point stance while developing speed, strength and power levels through general strength exercises, speed and weight training, as well as low level plyometrics. By learning the three-point stance, the coach can teach and the athlete can learn appropriate start mechanics from a position where existing strength levels are better utilized.

Staying loose before your race is an essential, but frequently overlooked issue, especially before speed training. Doing a proper warm up is another topic completely, but here are a few things to consider.

First, avoid static stretching right before your race. Static stretching should be done early in the warm up, before dynamic exercises, Mach drills and accelerations. Static stretching simply reduces power output, which must be avoided. Also, try to time your warm up to finish soon before your race is scheduled to start. If you have not built up a light sweat just before your race, you have not warmed up properly and are not likely to run your fastest.

Also, they finish well before the race is set to begin. After approximately 15 minutes, core temperature will drop and the effects of the warm up will begin to decrease. It is critical that you establish a routine for entering the blocks. Every time you work on starts in practice, go through your entire routine.

The reason for this is simple. The shorter the distance of the event you are competing in, the less room there is for error. The better you are at focusing on the task at hand, the more likely you are to have a good performance.

Sprinting is a highly technical activity that demands high levels of concentration. That being said, going into a preset routine helps to clear your mind and puts your body on auto-pilot.

When you try to cover a long mental checklist of block issues immediately before your race, you are dooming yourself to make many of the mistakes you are trying to avoid. Having a routine that you practice consistently allows your body to use muscle memory so that you can focus on one starting cue.

Establishing a routine does not have to be a complicated process. It just has to be a consistent one. As a guideline, use a degree angle for the first pedal and 55 degrees for the second. This is the block set up for running the m. If you are running the m or m then you can use the same process but make sure you place the blocks at a tangent to the curve. There is no rule as to the exact spacing of the pedals but this is a great guideline that allows for good positioning.

Note: If your feet are too far away from the start line then you will struggle to generate power. So if in doubt, use the guidelines suggested. The width of your hands again will be determined by where you feel most comfortable.

Some athletes prefer just outside shoulder width which I would suggest. Other athletes who are perhaps more powerful, choose to go even wider so they can get their bodies lower to the ground and generate more power. You have to be extremely strong to execute this effectively. Tip: For good hand placement, create an invisible line from your thumb to your shoulder. Definitely not inside shoulder width. You need to make sure that you react ONLY to the gun.

Failing to do so will reduce your speed during your drive phase of the race. This will be closer to what you will experience in competition. Note: I like to give my athletes a forfeit if they false start during training. A round of push-ups or an extra set works well. To get into position, crouch down and slowly back yourself into the blocks.

Continue until your feet are positioned where you want them on the pedals and position your hands at the line.