Sprint training - cues for a faster sprint
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| Sprint training: Optimal cues for a faster sprint |
Sprint training: The sprint is and remains one of the absolute supreme disciplines in basic athletic training. In addition to reaching top speeds, in most sports it is just as important to brake abruptly so that you can accelerate again quickly and powerfully. Coaching cues are just one area of many that can help you or your athlete to improve this ability. In this article, I would like to show you how this is possible!
Effective coaching
In addition to countless studies and books that we read and summarize every day and with the knowledge of which we can optimize our sprint training, unfortunately coaches often forget the level of communication that stands between them and their message for the athlete. (1)
One possibility to improve the communicative level is to give athletes so-called “cues”, quasi keywords, which they can call into their heads again and again in order to be able to implement important “key points” or corrections in a movement almost automatically. Studies have repeatedly shown that the choice of words and the focus of attention implied by it can have a not insignificant influence on the performance of our athletes (2) (4).
"From a coaching perspective, instructions and cues are used to focus an athlete's attention on the most important feature of the motor skill being learned before motor skill execution" (5)
Which cues really make sense in sprint training?
In short: support cues, no, they are more essential for learning to move and should therefore not be neglected by coaches! Which cues turned out to be useful? First and foremost "external cues":
External cues shift the focus of the movement away from the inner perception of the movement to the effect of the movement on the environment; the athlete should not concentrate on "bringing the knees forward with force", but rather on "pushing the floor away from the body as forcefully as possible" (2). Building on the work of Gabriele Wulf, other authors (3) have also been able to confirm the theory of the “Constrained Action Hypothesis”. Aligning attention to the effect of the body on the environment makes it easier for the motor system to automate movements, while concentrating on the execution of movements can have a negative effect on performance. (4) An external focus also shows clear advantages in motor learning! (2)
This is what optimal cues look like
Winkelmann and Nicklaas (2016) (5) have examined the construction of cues further in their review "Attentional Focus and Cueing for Speed Development" and have given more precise information on how optimal cues should look like in sprint training:
- Cues should not have more than one or two focus points, as the retrieval from short-term memory does not allow large amounts of information
- Cues for guiding the focus of attention have three different characteristics, all of which must be observed (distance, direction and description)
Distance means that we either focus on a goal close to the body (“try to get away from the line as quickly as possible”) or concentrate on a faraway goal (“try to cross the finish line as quickly as possible”). It showed that a distal / distant focus of attention works better if our athlete is advanced. Beginners are more likely to make progress when they focus on a proximal / near-body goal.
Direction, on the other hand, directs the focus to moving away from or towards something. In one study, athletes should get as close as possible to a target with a long jump or move as far away from the start line as possible with the long jump. The former showed the better jumping performance! A “toward” external focus seems to be superior to an “away focus”.
Description is made through the use of “action verbs” such as “explode / drive / snap” or through analogies such as “stay deep when changing direction as if you wanted to slip under a bar”. Different words produce different effects. If a coach wants to induce the athlete to shorten his ground contact time during the sprint, he should instruct him to "focus on punching the ground away"; if, on the other hand, he wants longer ground contact times, he should rather use the instruction "focus on pushing the ground away" use.
A very good cue has all three characteristics (in English they say “contains all 3 D's: Distance, Direction and Description”) such as “Focus on pushing the ground away from you as explosively as possible”! But not all of them have to three characteristics must be included so that the athlete can benefit from the cue.
Further cues based on specific examples that can help in sprint training
1. An advanced athlete who bends his upper body too much forward during the acceleration phase of a sprint and shows thoracic flexion:"Stay long & low as you explode toward the set of cones on the 10-meter line",
For the beginner, the cue in relation to distance would be “Stay long & low as you drive the ground back as explosively as you can”.
2. If, on the other hand, the athlete does not bring his knees forward powerfully and quickly enough, the following strategy can be used. Stick a small piece of colored tape on both knees as a reference point, then use the following cues:
"Drive the pieces of tape away from the start line as fast as you can" or if a reference point like a fence can be seen in front of the athlete: "Accelerate the pieces of tape toward the top of fence line in front of you as rapidly as you can".
Conclusion
Finally, with regard to effective sprint training, it is important to note:
If the athlete's weak point during the sprint is really in a coordinative aspect, a cue can really be very effective! If, on the other hand, the weak point is a lack of physical abilities to carry out the movement, then probably no cue can improve the movement. (5)
You can find more articles and information about sprint training, speed & agility or optimal development of performance on my Facebook page Develop Athletes or on my blog www.develop-athletes.com, I would be very happy to see you!
If you would like to receive this knowledge in compact form with direct practical exercises, then visit my workshop "Speed & Agility" at the Release Fitness Academy in Niederkassel in the next few months. Good luck implementing your new knowledge!
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Swell:
(1) Brett Bartholomew (2017): Conscious Coaching
(2) Benz, A., Winkelman, N., Porter, J., & Nimphius, S. (2016). Coaching Instructions and Cues for Enhancing Sprint Performance. Strength & Conditioning Journal, 38 (1), 1-11.
(3) Kal, EC, Van der Kamp, J., & Houdijk, H. (2013). External attentional focus enhances movement automatization: A comprehensive test of the constrained action hypothesis. Human Movement Science, 32 (4), 527-539.
(4) Porter, JM, Wu, WF, Crossley, RM, Knopp, SW, & Campbell, OC (2015). Adopting an external focus of attention improves sprinting performance in low-skilled sprinters. The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research, 29 (4), 947-953.
(5) Winkelman, NC (2017). Attentional Focus and Cueing for Speed Development. Strength & Conditioning Journal.
