Hurdle Performance: lead arm technique advancement - The ...

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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. Figure 7: Gluteus Maximus P I AB B AM M Figure 8: Iliacus (I), Pectineus (P), Adductor Brevis (AB), Adductor Magmus (AM) Two other key players in this process of rotation and sidebend stabilisation are 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 over the 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 or causing 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 adductor magnus 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 leg adductors (Fig. 9). The gracilis is the long muscle connecting the groin to the knee. AL The gracilis and adductor longus are muscles that do not sit well with hurdlers, especially those who tend to hurdle with a straight lead leg. It is these muscle which connect with the pubic area and if torn can take many months to recover from. Sometimes surgery is required. Figure 9: Adductor Longus (AL) & Gracilis (G) 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 rotation and 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 stabiliser muscles 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 the ground. In efficient iliacus contributes to uncontrolled rotation of the pelvis which in turn affects balance and efficiency over the hurdle. © Australian Track and Field Coaches Association with permission from Modern Athlete & Coach vol. 50(1) 2012: 26-29 G
Iliacus deficiencies further result is poor knee lift rolling back of the pelvis and this will be of major 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 Liu Xiang (China). Pearson dominated the recent European season with her considerable consistency leading up to her World 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 raced over 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 her rivals, 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 try as 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 in the 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 the hurdles. 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 core strength, 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 the various muscle components that come into play are working in alignment with each other - almost like a chain reaction. © Australian Track and Field Coaches Association with permission from Modern Athlete & Coach vol. 50(1) 2012: 26-29
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