Trying to teach my son to shorten his stride (athletics).
Discussion
My boy is a bit of a talented runner, looking more towards 4/800 than the sprinter he fancied himself as mostly due to having such a long stride and not that much speed. The trouble now is that his stride, either through intent or not, is getting to the point where it is almost a standing jump!
He clearly needs to shorten it in order to get his legs to move quicker, but I'm having a real problem getting him to do so, he seems to instinctively stretch too much which, along with leaning slightly forwards is going to become a major hindrance.
Any training advice?
He clearly needs to shorten it in order to get his legs to move quicker, but I'm having a real problem getting him to do so, he seems to instinctively stretch too much which, along with leaning slightly forwards is going to become a major hindrance.
Any training advice?
wijit said:
My boy is a bit of a talented runner, looking more towards 4/800 than the sprinter he fancied himself as mostly due to having such a long stride and not that much speed. The trouble now is that his stride, either through intent or not, is getting to the point where it is almost a standing jump!
He clearly needs to shorten it in order to get his legs to move quicker, but I'm having a real problem getting him to do so, he seems to instinctively stretch too much which, along with leaning slightly forwards is going to become a major hindrance.
Any training advice?
What age is your son?He clearly needs to shorten it in order to get his legs to move quicker, but I'm having a real problem getting him to do so, he seems to instinctively stretch too much which, along with leaning slightly forwards is going to become a major hindrance.
Any training advice?
My advice is to let him run his own stride length. Running speed is down to stride length and frequency, so a long stride is probably an advantage. I also wouldn't worry about gait.
I would worry about keeping injuries away and keeping running a positive/fun experience. A little bit of strength training is probably a good idea, as he may get the strength to up his rate, though that strength may come with age anyway!
I also had a long stride as a kid, sometimes I felt like I was barely touching the ground. As I got stronger, my speed increased a lot. Does your son run more on the ball of his foot or does his heel seem to strike the ground?
Kawasicki said:
Running speed is down to stride length and frequency,
No it's not, honestly. This information isn't anything particularly new: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11053354 and - apologies - Wiki, but it explains it again: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biomechanics_of_sprin...
goldblum said:
Kawasicki said:
Running speed is down to stride length and frequency,
No it's not, honestly. This information isn't anything particularly new: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11053354 and - apologies - Wiki, but it explains it again: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biomechanics_of_sprin...Kawasicki said:
What age is your son?
My advice is to let him run his own stride length. Running speed is down to stride length and frequency, so a long stride is probably an advantage. I also wouldn't worry about gait.
I would worry about keeping injuries away and keeping running a positive/fun experience. A little bit of strength training is probably a good idea, as he may get the strength to up his rate, though that strength may come with age anyway!
I also had a long stride as a kid, sometimes I felt like I was barely touching the ground. As I got stronger, my speed increased a lot. Does your son run more on the ball of his foot or does his heel seem to strike the ground?
He is 14, coming to 15. His stride is definitely a hindrance to his speed as when he runs he hits the floor with his heel quite hard. The length of the stride has increased very noticeably over the last twelve months which, combined with his tendency to lean forward has led to his average times being down by 8 seconds on 800m.My advice is to let him run his own stride length. Running speed is down to stride length and frequency, so a long stride is probably an advantage. I also wouldn't worry about gait.
I would worry about keeping injuries away and keeping running a positive/fun experience. A little bit of strength training is probably a good idea, as he may get the strength to up his rate, though that strength may come with age anyway!
I also had a long stride as a kid, sometimes I felt like I was barely touching the ground. As I got stronger, my speed increased a lot. Does your son run more on the ball of his foot or does his heel seem to strike the ground?
He really enjoys it still, but at this sort of age I worry that the decrease in times might dishearten him.
Thanks to all you guys for the replies though, it is much appreciated although I do think my knives aren't quite sharp enough for shin bones!
Kawasicki said:
No need for apologies! I'm still a little confused..step frequency is still in the speed equation, and frequent long strides is faster than frequent short strides, no?
Yep, and if you want longer strides you push harder off the floor. Which is a measurement of leg strength. Leg strength is increased by resistance, either bodyweight or weights of another kind.If he is heel striking, then try to get him to focus on landing with his mid soles (or even on the balls) this should have the effect of reducing stride length.
Perhaps the best time to do this is over a longer run, where out and out speed is less of a factor. I was always told that the foot should land in line with your body, not in front of it. So if he is reaching forwards with his leg, then it will be costing him time.
Video him ?
Back from training this evening. The metronome worked fine while training after warm up/drills but when it came to an 800 he reverted to long strides. He had the timing off to a fine art prior to that.
He is already at a club, but with quite a lot of others of similar age in his group it is hard for his coach to spend too much time on one runner compared to the group.
I'm thinking the metronome is a great way forward, so I reckon I'll buy him some decent headphones (ones which will stay in!) and keep him on that for a few sessions, maybe a race too to see how that pans out.
Once again, many thanks for the advice/views.
He is already at a club, but with quite a lot of others of similar age in his group it is hard for his coach to spend too much time on one runner compared to the group.
I'm thinking the metronome is a great way forward, so I reckon I'll buy him some decent headphones (ones which will stay in!) and keep him on that for a few sessions, maybe a race too to see how that pans out.
Once again, many thanks for the advice/views.
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