Hurdles Performance Lead Arm Technique Advancement for Hurdle Performance

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© Australian Track and Field Coaches Association with permission from Modern Athlete & Coach vol. 50(1) 2012: 26-29

McKinnon G, Comerford M. Hurdle Performance: lead arm technique advancement. Modern Athlete & Coach. 50(1)Jan

2012: 26-29 (reprinted with permission of the editor of Modern Athlete & Coach)

Hurdles Performance: Lead arm technique advancement for hurdle performance

Geoff McKinnon & Mark Comerford

Over the past 10-15 years we have witnessed a dramatic shift in the speed of the world’s leadingsprinters driven largely by the exploits of the current world record holder, Usain Bolt. Bolt ’s stunning

onslaught on the 100 and 200m world records have tended to “hide” the considerable improvements onthe previous world records by Asafa Powell and Tyson Gay. The efforts of these three sprinters have

set new standards throughout the world in that the bar has risen well above previous targets in terms ofqualifying times for major events such as the Olympic Games and the World Championships.

Bolt and his Jamaican compatriots have dominated world sprinting in recent times to the extent they

have overwhelmingly overshadowed the traditional leaders, the United States. Now everybody wants toknow how this has come about. Bolt defies all the standard physical requirements of what makes a

great sprinter by the mere fact he is simply too tall at 1.95m to be the sprinter that he is.

We are witnessing advances in the standards of 400m and 800m running with the depth of talent at the

international level getting increasingly deeper as they apply more emphasis to their speed trainingwithout losing sight of their aerobic capacities. We also appear to be witnessing a surge in hurdling

with the world record for the men’s 110m hurdles event having been lowered several times over the past five years to the current standard of 12.89sec. However, Australian standards among men appear

to have become bogged in quicksand.

Perhaps the exception in Australian hurdling are the women, with Sally Pearson’s 2011 WorldChampionship 12.28sec catapulting her into the heady realms of currently standing tall as history ’s

fourth fastest ever. Other Australian women, Pam Ryan, Shirley Strickland. Maureen Caird, Glynis

Nunn-Cearns, Debbie Flintoff King and Jana Rawlinson all have strode across the world’s hurdlingstage with authority. Women’s hurdling in Australia has remained consistently good by worldstandards over the past 50 years.

There are some coaches around the world who are adamant the 110m hurdles should be edging towards

the realm of 12.5sec if that event was to keep pace with the improvements we are witnessing in the 100and 200m flat races. Where will such heady improvements come from if this is to happen? These

coaches, including this writer, advocate a 12.5sec result will come from improved technique coupledwith greater management of maximum speed between the hurdles

In simple terms every hurdler takes the same number of strides between each hurdle. It is the speed he

or she generates between those hurdles which determines the winner and the fastest hurdler. Clearly thecoach and the hurdler has to come to grips with how long the hurdler spends in the air in negotiating

each hurdle, and how effective he or she makes the transition from flat ground sprinting to betweenhurdle speed. In other words, it’s all about sprinting through all ten hurdles from start to finish.

So where are the coaching guidelines that will advance hurdlers towards that 12.5sec target? It has to

come from the grass roots level where young athletes make their choice to become a hurdler andexplore their own sense of courage and lack of fear in racing over objects which won’t get out of their

way.




Figure 1: Stuart

Anderson demonstrates

downward drive of the

lead arm and good

balance across the hurdl e

Figure 2: Promising junior

Anthony Collins (right) loses

upper body and arm control

across the hur dle

Here in Australia we are not overly blessed with so called natural sprinters who can race quicker than10.4sec over 100m. Perhaps we should be astute enough to identify these athletes and steer them

towards a hurdling career rather than waste their time trying to emulate more speed-gifted rivals fromoverseas who are disappointed if they cannot run 10.2sec or better in a picnic race.

The ideal physical makeup for a hurdler is 1.88m, and about 82kg, with a ground speed between 10.4and 10.6sec. During the 14 years I coached Stuart Anderson he fitted these physical requirements buthis best flat 100m was 10.8sec. His best hurdles time was 13.73sec by the time he retired five years ago

which at that point made him the fifth fastest ever ranked hurdler in Australia. He was to be the“bridesmaid” to Australia’s greatest ever hurdler Kyle Vander Kuyp on numerous occasions, simply

because Kyle could run 100m faster. Stuart on the other hand had Kyle’s measure in air time across thehurdles.

Some 12 years ago I began to “experiment” with and encourage my hurdlers to

adopt a forearm downward drive of the lead arm from the chin area in a bentelbow action which drove down past the hip as the lead leg began to search for

the ground without causing problems withinappropriate hip rotation away from the

direction of flight across the hurdle.

Many coaches today still persevere with the bentelbow forward across the upper body and driven

outward above the trail leg, thus causingunnecessary hip rotation; tendencies to float

across the hurdle; and as well there are thosewho preach a low lead arm pushed forward and

down over the lead leg. Centre of gravity (corestability) is virtually “lost” with these actions.

Our hurdlers adopted a series of pre-race drills designed to place emphasis on fast twitch fibre

movements shown to us during the Goodwill Games by USA Olympic coach, Curtis Frye, who was atthe time, also coach of two of hurdling’s greats Alan Johnson and Terrance Trammel. These drills

mirror the techniques required to negotiate each hurdle in a race - with emphasis on fast hands, kneedrive at the hurdle, and most importantly the downward drive of the lead arm in co-ordination with the

lead leg and trail leg.

Stuart Anderson was one of the first Australian hurdlers to adopt the downward lead arm drive utilisingit so well he went on to represent Australia. Others emerging from our squad with this technique

included Adam Szlezak, Duncan Harvey, Jack Conway, Cedric Dubler, Anthony Collins, AmandaDrew and Emma MacTaggart. With the exception of Emma and Duncan, all of them have won

Australian hurdling titles or represented Australia. Another squad international, John Burstow, hasstruggled to adopt the downward lead arm drive, but he continues his endeavors to make the change in

his bid to achieve a sub-14sec result.

It was all very well of me to extoll what Alan Johnson and Terrance Trammel were doing with coachFrye; I needed to understand better the physiological and biomechanical stream of internal movements

to put the stamp of authority on what I was trying to teach.




Fi gure 3: Latissimus

Dorsi

Figure 4: Latissimus

Dorsi (LD), Tr iceps (T),

Posterior Deltoid (PD) &

Infr aspinatus (I )

LD

PD

TI

Fi gure 5: I nternal Oblique

Fi gure 6: External Oblique

I found the answers when I met the noted Australian physiotherapist, Mark Comerford, who spends

several months of his year lecturing throughout North America and Europe, as well as assistingorganisations such as the Chicago Bulls, West Side Dance (New York City Ballet), and athletes such as

the former British Olympic triple jump gold medalist, Jonathan Edwards.

Mark quickly warmed to my lead arm concept and provided me with a series of images which serve to

demonstrate the differences between the downward arm drive and the “traditional” hand or elbowthrust forward technique.

Due to the asymmetry of the hurdling action, the natural balance response whilst in the air over thehurdle is to lift the lead arm forward and out to the side. To change a natural response, the athlete

recognising the value of the downward lead arm drive will need to learn and train to adopt this newskill, supported by superior hip rotation and core sidebend control.

It is Mark ’s view that the downward arm drive is biomechanically advantageous for increased forward

power over the hurdle. However, the athlete with less efficient core strength or stability (especially inrotation or sidebend control) will struggle with the challenge to develop a more power advantageous

downward arm action. He says that elbow drive out to the side, along with the leg asymmetry, producessignificant rotation and sidebending forces at the spine, pelvis and hips that have to be controlled and

counterbalanced. But he agrees it is the elbow thrust down to the side which creates a greater degree ofincreased power, efficiency and forward movement off the hurdle.

The major muscle coming into play to achieve this downward arm action is the

Latissimus Dorsi (Fig. 3) which supports the down and backward drive of theshoulder with the wrist being driven down and the elbow

driving backwards rather than outwards.

The triceps also aids the down and backward drive. Thelatissimus dorsi and the triceps also produce an inward

rotation twist at the shoulder, which requires coordinatedactivation of the infraspinatus and the posterior deltoid at

the upper shoulder which provide an outward rotationcounterbalance. (Fig. 4)

The rotation forces in the trunk of the more power

efficient downward arm action have to becounterbalanced at the trunk by core strength in the

rotation stabiliser muscles. Athletes who already havegood core strength for rotation and sidebend control will

automatically do this well. Athletes with poor corecontrol will have a tendency to demonstrate unwanted

lateral movement (zigzag) in the first few steps as theyleave the blocks and the first 2 or 3 strides after landing

over the hurdle. This unwanted lateral movement iscontrolled by the rotation stabiliser muscles.

The abdominal internal oblique muscle (Fig. 5) provides control for sidebend

and rotation of the trunk as it acts from a position just above the pelvis.Another rotational controlling factor is the external oblique (Fig. 6) which




Figure 7: Gluteus

Maximus

Fi gure 8: Il iacus (I ), Pectineus

(P), Adductor Brevis (AB),

Adductor Magmus (AM )

I

P

AM

AB

Fi gure 9: Adductor Longus

(AL ) & Gracil is (G)

ALG

especially controls the degree of rotation. The external oblique controls rotation and sidebend of the

trunk, as well as excessive back arch (leaning back) coming off the hurdle.

Two other key players in this process of rotation and sidebend stabilisationare the gluteus maximus (Fig. 7) and the gluteus medius at the hip. The hip

muscles also control the pelvis and thigh during weight bearing and

propulsion. The gluteal muscles (buttock) in particular control thigh and pelvic position over the foot.

Knee lift from the hip flexor muscles is important to drive the lead leg overthe hurdle and to bring the trail leg through. If the deep hip flexor (iliacus) is

weak or inefficient, the pelvis rolls backward, causing dropping the chest orcausing the pelvis to rotate excessively over the hurdle.

Other key components include a range of muscles in the groin and upper

leg region including the pectineus, the adductor brevis, and upper adductormagnus in the stabilising compartment of the

adductor muscles (Fig. 8), while the gracilis,adductor longus and lower adductor magnus

make up the mobiliser compartment of the legadductors (Fig. 9). The gracilis is the long

muscle connecting the groin to the knee.

The gracilis and adductor longus are musclesthat do not sit well with hurdlers, especially

those who tend to hurdle with a straight leadleg. It is these muscle which connect with the

pubic area and if torn can take many months torecover from. Sometimes surgery is required.

In summary, the downward arm drive has a lot of potential benefits in improving power and speed over

the hurdle. The athlete who has good core strength and the ability to control spine and pelvic rotationand sidebend will find this technique skill relatively easy to learn and integrate into their natural action.

However, athletes with poor core strength or inefficient rotation or sidebend control will find this new

skill difficult to acquire. They will require additional training of their rotation and sidebend stabilisermuscles to improve their core control. Mark has observed that uncontrolled rotation and sidebending in

the spine, pelvis and hip are the major contributors to recurrent injuries in hurdlers.

Key points to watch:

The gluteals control lateral shift and rotation of the pelvis

They stabilise or stiffen the pelvis for leg propulsion.

The gluteals also control the knee from rolling in across the foot and foot pronation. If the foot

stays pronated too long as the body move past the foot the athlete loses propulsion off theground.

In efficient iliacus contributes to uncontrolled rotation of the pelvis which in turn affects balance and efficiency over the hurdle.




Iliacus deficiencies further result is poor knee lift rolling back of the pelvis and this will be ofmajor concern.

Uncontrolled rolling back of the pelvis is linked to dropping the chest on approaching the

hurdle and is asking for trouble.

Great examples among current world class hurdlers adopting this downward thrust of the lead arm

coupled with good core stability can be seen in the performances of Sally Pearson (Australia) and LiuXiang (China).

Pearson dominated the recent European season with her considerable consistency leading up to herWorld Championship win, and she did so beating several rivals who have faster flat speed times than

she has over 100m. In the World Championships you will observe how Pearson literally ran and racedover the hurdles as if they did not exist. Her lead arm downward drive clearly gave her the impetus to

drive off each hurdle without impeding hip rotation which helped her nullify the best efforts of herrivals, who now have 11 months leading up to the London Olympics to figure out what she has done to

become one of the genuine greats of world hurdling.

One further comment here: Hurdlers consistently training with sprint specialists to enhance their speed between hurdles will soon learn they will quickly lose their hurdles speed, even if they do improve their

100m flat speed. Kyle Vander Kuyp at his best was a 10.4sec flat sprinter, While Stuart Anderson tryas hard as he did could not get past 10.8sec more than twice in his career. Towards the end of this

career, Kyle worked with a specialist sprint squad and Roy Boyd continued as his technical coach inthe hurdles.

The speed requirements in these two events are diametrically opposed and require different techniques.

Hurdling aspirants would be best advised to spend more time improving their speed between thehurdles. They will eventually be rewarded.

The ability of Pearson to demonstrate her speed endurance, seemingly drawing away for her rivals after

five hurdles indicates she has the ability to sustain her “special hurdling speed” through superior corestrength, spine control and pelvic rotation - she literally sprints through the hurdles.

Both hurdlers have adopted the downward drive of the lead arms and it is this writer ’s view that this

tends to provide an added benefit - economy of energy outlays over the entire race simply because thevarious muscle components that come into play are working in alignment with each other - almost like

a chain reaction.

Hurdles Performance Lead Arm Technique Advancement for Hurdle Performance

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