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Performance Area => Strength, Power, Reactivity, & Speed Discussion => Topic started by: seifullaah73 on May 14, 2012, 10:06:12 am
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Step-over is very necessary to run fast but drive down is not. All of the 2008 Olympic finalist in the mens 100m “step over” but none “drive down”. The following is an in depth explanation of step over - drive down; what it is, why to do it and how to do it.
see video at http://nextlevelathleticsandfitness.com/?p=556
A lot of speed coaches and trainers will tell you to step over the knee and drive the foot down. They will even give you a lot of cues and imagery but no one will explain as clear and as concise as NLAAF does in the following article and video.
Stepping over is necessary but drive down is not in order to reach your speed potential. What is stepping over? Stepping over is when the ankle of the recovery leg passes by or over the top of the knee of the support leg. It is an automatic action for the majority of sprinters and runners. The earlier this action happens, in the support phase of sprinting or running, the faster you will run. Also, the higher the ankle crosses over the knee the faster you will run.
Stepping over should start on the 3rd to 5th stride after the start of a sprint race from a 3 or 4 point stance, or once the feet are turning over; even distance runners should and do step over.
Why is this important? Because it sets up high feet. High feet allow a sprinter to return their feet to the ground at a higher velocity, than lower-high feet. High feet is the distance from your foot to the ground before the foot begins its’ downward travel towards the ground. High feet allow for a longer stride length through shorter ground contact time, but maximizes ground contact time.
How to step over?
The hand and elbow set up the sprinter’s ability to step over. The foot will follow the hand movement and the knee will follow the elbow movement. When the recovery hand gets to the hip, it must start traveling upward being pushed by the elbow joint. The upward motion of the hand and the forward push of the elbow causes the knee and foot to lift up as they travel forward.
The best way to tell how well you are performing this action is to look at your side view on video and look for the formation of the number four by the legs when you are in the support phase of sprinting or running. The earlier in the support phase this happens the faster you will sprint or run.
Getting your foot back down to the ground:
Drive down is one way to get your foot back down to the ground, it is not necessary, but just one of three ways.
Drive down is the best way for fast acceleration but limited top end speed. So it works best for short sprint distances under 50 meters; like for football or baseball.
How to get your foot back down to the ground? Through hand and elbow action. Remember that the knee and foot are following the hand and elbow.
Executing the drive down action:
The tighter you keep your hand to your body on the downstroke the less tendency for your foot to float out away from the body before starting its’ travel back to the ground. Drive the hand straight down first and the elbow back second.
The most common and versatile of the three ways is to sweep the foot back towards the body. Sweep back is the best way to get your foot back down to the ground for any race. It allows you to accelerate quickly without limiting top end speed.
Executing the sweep back:
Sweep back brings the foot back to meet the hips, which makes for an easier transfer of the hip over the foot and maximizes ground contact time. Sweep back by extending the hand forward as it starts the down stroke and then driving the elbow back. These are two different actions becoming one action.
The least desirable of the three ways is to have the falling body force the foot down and have the foot catch you. Just dropping down onto the foot creates the greatest braking forces, the shortest stride length and the slowest speed. This occurs when the hand and foot movement are not synchronized.
The ability to step over is not strength dependent, for most sprinters or runners this should happen naturally. The better you execute this action the faster you will run.
The next time you hear those words, step over - drive down remember that they don’t go hand in hand, one you should and must do and the other is an option.