#TRACK STARTING BLOCKS AT OLYMPICS HOW TO#

So if you like to kick a ball with your right foot, you would put your right foot in the rear pedal and your left foot in the front. Generally speaking you want your strong and powerful leg (leg you typically would jump off of) to be in the front starting block and your quick leg (or leg you use to kick stuff with) to be in the back starting block. To determine what foot is in the front and back pedal when you set up the starting blocks, you can use many techniques to find out which is the best for you. Which foot do I put in the front and back pedal of the starting blocks? If you are still not convinced, look at video and photos of Olympic sprinters coming out of the starting blocks. Just because you can does not mean you should. Don’t get too crazy about changing the angle below 45 degrees. Most starting blocks have adjustments to allow the angles to change. The angle of the starting blocks should be at a 45 degree angle as this is the angle you are trying to takeoff at. No matter how tall or short you are, the measurement is based on your own foot lengths with the adjustment range being only a ¼ of a foot length which will be different for each athlete (varying foot size). When you set up the starting blocks you will want to place the front pedal 2 to 2 ¼ foot lengths from the starting line and the back pedal should be 3 to 3 ¼ foot lengths from the starting line.

#TRACK STARTING BLOCKS AT OLYMPICS HOW TO#

Here’s how to set up your starting blocks… Just make sure that no part of the starting block is touching the starting line. The location of the frame or the body of the starting blocks is not as important as the actual location of the pedals that your feet will be pressing against. To best understand how to set up the starting blocks for faster acceleration, you must understand where to put them and how to set them up. When the athlete tries to take off, they practically stand straight up or they may even stumble and are no better than they were had they decided to do a standing start. They place their hands flat on the ground and raise their hips in the air as high as they can or sometimes not high enough. It is no surprise to see a track athlete set their blocks up randomly during practice or a meet and hop in the blocks quickly without care. The problem with using the starting blocks is that not everyone knows how to set them up. Using starting blocks is a great way to improve your times in the sprint races and if done correctly, they can make a huge difference in how successful you are as a sprinter. When both of these criteria are met a sprinter will be able to run substantially faster times with starting blocks than without them.If you are interested in using starting blocks in your sprint races and want faster block starts, you should have a good understanding of how to set up the starting blocks and how to adjust them correctly to gain an advantage over your competition. The ability to execute proper block starting technique. The correct block set up for their anatomy.ī. The initial push out of the blocks is absolutely a power movement. Sprinters would look and train much differently if races had rolling starts.īecause a static start requires substantial amounts of force to overcome inertia. The quicker an athlete can accelerate to their max velocity, the faster they can run.Įvery running event in track and field begins from a static start, which is a critical aspect of the sport.

Chapter 1: Why do sprinters use starting blocks?īlock starts for track allow sprinters to hit the optimal body positions required to overcome inertia and achieve the fastest possible acceleration from a static position.Ī primary goal of sprinting is to accelerate over the longest possible distance in the shortest amount of time.

Track starting blocks at olympics