turning it over at the end, pre take off, drills

[polevaulter08nw]

i was wondering if anyone could get a video up of the 20 in 20 drill or any other tips on getting my knees up higher at the take off and speeding up my plant, as in turning my strides over and jumping high at the take off? thanks!

[master]

A drill I learned at an Alan Launder camp was to stretch a bungee across some lanes of a track. Have one end of it be about 7' high and the other about 8-9' high. Now establish a starting position, perpendicular to the bungee, to do pole runs such that your take off foot touches down about 1' before the overhead bungee. The object is to have a tall, up-jumping take off and have your top hand hit the bungee. (I recommend you grip at the top of the pole, that way your hand touches the bungee instead of the end of the pole.) As you get better with your take off, move your run a few feet sideways toward the higher end of the bungee and do more runs.

It is easy to tell if you got high at take off because you will feel your hand hit the bungee. If your steps are not on, or if you don't jump up or are not tall with your plant, you won't. This has the characteristics that Alan likes to have in a drill, it is self correcting (you can easily tell when you have done it well), closely models the actual event, and it can be like a game or a competition so it can be fun.

As I recall, the 20/20 drill was very straightforward, carry a pole and run as fast as you can for 20 meters making sure you take 20 strides in that distance. Do this with high knees and I recommend doing it on grass. At first it will be hard to get in all 20 strides so you will likely need to slow down to achieve that. But with practice you will be able to get your speed back.

- master

[polevaulter08nw]

thanks master, i will put those drills to good use on sunday! appreciated!

[vault3rb0y]

If you have mini-hurdles you can also achieve the same thing he is talking about with bungees. After 20-20 drills i used to set up hurdles for a 9 step approach. So only 8 hurdles, and i would put a long jump box (anything slightly raised at take off) under where my take off step needs to be. I would run with knees up with a pole and go through all the run motions, pole drop and take off. The raised take off box will help your take off angle and encourage your chest to go up and not out. Its harder than it sounds, but its the best drill ive ever done for my run.

[ladyvolspvcoach]

2020's are a seriously important drill. Thanks Agapit!!! In reality you are doing 20 strides in 1 meter stride lengths. That a seriously compressed stride. But it is possible to do them as a sprint and it really works wonders. Just get your knees up and your feet down.......

[polevaulter08nw]

thanks guys, i have a meet tomrrow, but my heel i kinda bruised, so we will see how that goes. On sunday (my drill day) im sure i will be doing these as much as i can without adding pain to injury. thanks again!

[master]

If you have mini-hurdles you can also achieve the same thing he is talking about with bungees. After 20-20 drills i used to set up hurdles for a 9 step approach. So only 8 hurdles, and i would put a long jump box (anything slightly raised at take off) under where my take off step needs to be. I would run with knees up with a pole and go through all the run motions, pole drop and take off. The raised take off box will help your take off angle and encourage your chest to go up and not out. Its harder than it sounds, but its the best drill ive ever done for my run.

Sorry, I'm a little slow understanding how you are working with the hurdles. Can you help an old guy out?

- master

[vault3rb0y]

Oh im sorry, there are these mini-hurdles made, that are designed for just the kind of drills we are talking about. It probably sounds unsafe saying "hurdles" but they are about 3 feet wide, usually about 1- 1.5 feet tall, shaped and constructed just like a hurdle. Its really just high enough that you can run normally and clear them, but you need to have enough knee lift and tall posture or you kick them.

This is a well shaped one

This is a well sized one

They are great because if you touch them, its not gonna bust your shins open, and they are just high enough to make you think about getting your knees up.

[polevaulter08nw]

awesome, the place that i practice at has around 15 of them; so i use them for every step right?