In previous posts we have talked about sprinting starting from the ground and what the feet are doing. We covered the need to bring the heel to the hip to help us shorten the lever that is the leg and cycle it through more quickly. This is often referred to as backside mechanics (i.e. what’s going on behind the athlete’s body). While these are important, it is also extremely important that we be able to exert force against the track. This is where the next part of the sprinting motion comes into play, the knee lift.
When sprinting our foot makes contact with the track. We pull/push ourselves over the foot. As our center of gravity passes the foot it breaks contact with the ground. We then bring our heel up to our hip, thinking about sliding it up an imaginary wall behind us.
From this point we cycle our knee and foot forward and up. The goal is to bring our upper leg up until it is close to being parallel to the ground with the cast foot under the knee (close to 90 degree angles at the hip, knee, and ankle). From here we use the big hip extensor muscles to drive the foot towards the track and start the entire motion over again.
Like a lot of the parts of the sprinting motion, this is often taught in isolation. This is through a series of high knee drills. Note that eventually all of these drills become great warm-up drills.
High knee walk
This is usually a 10-20 meter drill. The athlete will repeat it 3-5 times. Have the athlete face the track. The athlete will focus on standing tall, placing their hands behind their head (we want to focus on the lower body action, we’ll add the arms later). Have them lift their right knee, casting their foot, and focus on driving the foot to the track so that it is slightly in front of their center of gravity. Repeat with the left side. Continue alternating until the athlete has covered the desired distance. In addition to knee action, casting the foot, and foot placement we are concerned about making sure the athlete stands tall during the drill.
Once the athlete is consistent with the motions, add the arms.
High knee skip
This is the exact same exercise as the high knee walk except we’re turning it into a skip. This requires the athlete to attack the track more forcefully than in the walk. I would begin this drill focusing on one side of the body at a time (i.e. first we skip with the right leg, then the left). Once the athlete is consistent we alternate the legs. Again, several things to focus on: knee action, keeping the foot cast, staying tall, driving the foot to the track slightly in front of the center of gravity.
The knee motion and the placement of the foot is occurring in front of the athlete, so it is often called frontside mechanics.
