The Importance of Proper Frontside Lift

Here are Some Keys in Improving Posture 

1. A nice upright torso, with a neutral pelvis.
2. Good frontside lift of the lead leg, shown by how the knee punches toward the hip during toe-off.
3. Not overextending with the trail leg at toe-off. As the kinogram sequence continues, we can thus observe that he drives the lower limb of the trail leg forward toward the lead leg in good sequence.

The Importance of Proper Frontside Lift

Good frontside lift allows the athlete to attack down into the ground from a greater range of motion, effectively applying greater force into the ground on initial contact. Ken Clark has presented research showing that efficient sprinters who attack from above are able to apply greater vertical force in the first half of ground contact, as opposed to sprinters with poor frontside lift. Attacking from above tends to coincide with a powerful hip drive and stiff ankle contact, resulting in efficient elastic recoil with minimal strain on the hamstrings. Keeping the force application elastic at higher speeds helps spread the stress across more connective tissue, incorporating better use of the tendons and fascia with less localized trauma to the posterior chain. 

When performed properly, athletes look like they are bouncing down the runway rather than forcing their way.In contrast, poor frontside lift reduces the available range of motion at the hip upon entering ground contact, so force will be lower. Additionally, the body posture will feature a pelvis rotated toward the ground (excessive anterior tilt) rather than a neutral position. This posture effectively puts greater eccentric strain on the hamstrings, causing them to absorb more force directly into the muscle, resulting in greater tissue trauma. Heel striking too far in front of the body as a result of this posture forces the hamstrings to operate first as a braking system and then as a propulsive system. Essentially, the hamstrings are being forced to help prevent the athlete from falling on their face, which means double the responsibility and a greater risk of damage.

When to Use This Drill 

This is an advanced drill that we have progressed into over the course of the last 4 weeks. Shannon is a high level high school sprinter who has the neurological ability, strength, and extensive experience to be able to utilize this drill effectively. We use this drill on our top end speed days after some acceleration work. Here is the progression, 50% x 25 yards, 75% x25 yards, and 100% x23 yards x 3 rounds.