Having troubles reaching the hurdle in 3 steps in the sprint hurdle races? I’m going to list the reasons and then I’m going to give you the solutions! BTW, all 5 reasons cause the same problem. Let’s see if you can figure it out.
- You’re Not Committed: It may be a lack of confidence, but for some reason, you are not truly hurdling at full speed. Slow running leads to smaller distance per stride.
- Jumping too High: This slows you down because you give up your speed when you transfer your energy up instead of forward. It also takes too long to land on the other side of the hurdle.
- Your running/Over striding/heel strikes/Reaching for Your Steps: This causes you to put on the brakes and slow down-especially on the plant step.
- Bad technique: This usually leads to getting off balance which slows you down.
- You May Not Have Enough Speed: If you are doing all these things and you still can’t get to the next hurdle in 3 steps, you may not have enough running speed in order to accomplish this. Not everyone will be able to 3-step.
Which leads to the question: how much speed do you need? Honestly, I’ve never heard this discussed, so let’s start the conversation. I would speculate that a girl would need to run the 100m dash in under 14 seconds and a boy under 13 secs. in order to be fast enough to 3-step the hurdles. I would love to hear your thoughts on this. If you are a hurdler that 3 steps and is slower than this, let me know in the comments. The same goes for coaches. I would love to get definitive on this1
Did you figure out the relationship with these reasons? It’s speed. If you don’t have enough speed, or you;re doing things that cause you to lose speed, it decreases your chances of reaching the hurdle in 3 steps.
Solution: Obviously, start running faster. , strike the ground on the balls of your feet more under your body and dive toward the hurdle rather than jumping up.
To gain the confidence and get used to the 3-step rhythm, I suggest pinching the spacing of the hurdles to a distance where you can comfortably 3-step so you can focus on improving your technique. As you get better, you’ll be able to gradually spread the hurdles out.
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That’s it! I look forward to helping you reach your hurdling goals. In the meantime, Coach ACE Out!