whats the ideal body composition?

[Big M]

whats the ideal body composition for a sprinter? long/short legs? weight etc

[keithquig]

if u got long legs and can acclerate fast thats got to be the best......but not many guys with long legs can acclerate fast

[TestTubeBaby]

short compact body for explosive starts with long levers to produce higher top end speeds/longer stride length..to begin with.

[Big M]

so pretty long legs compared to your upper body is good? If you look att morrice green he seems to have very short legs?

[TestTubeBaby]

thats an illusion, mo's inseem is RATHER long. mo is 5'9 185 lbs..so hes a pretty big/dense guy..his gate/stridelength is pretty damn good..45 strides or less over 100m..under 9.80seconds...yea i'd say he has long levers bro

[Big M]

how long was Linford Christie? he locked like 2 meters next to the other guys. Ánother thing, Tim montgomery is reeally skinny compared to the other guys, And he´s still got the world record? Should the conclution be that it´s good to be skinny/light??

[TestTubeBaby]

tim montgomery has admitted in court that he took a plethora of illegal goodies, i.e. test, HGH, THG, etc..that WR is also VERY weak. it was run with the maximum allowable wind, he also caught a flyer..that wasn't called back. everyone is different bro, and you must not emulate anyone, because you are not them. power to weight ratio and genetics are what come into play. tim was naturally fast yes, at a very light weight..but thats just the way he is wired. Asafa Powell and JJ Johnson are 6'3. Asafa is 190 while JJ is 210..these are quite big sprinters. Asafa has run 9.84 and 20 flat while JJ has run 9.95 and 19.88...theres so many factors that come into play if you're speaking of world class running.

[Big M]

thank you cleard things upp, but dont you think the other guys also have used illegal drugs??

Another thing, why are´nt there any sprinters concentrating on 60 meters indoor? would´nt there be quite some difference between running for 6 sec or 10 and even 20 sec, (in regards to training and so on)

[TestTubeBaby]

Alot of sprinters do not concentrate on indoor 60s because A. money isn't there, and running for prize money, sponsorship money, bonuses etc, is how they earn a living. B. Indoors function is to setup a quality outdoor season and to gauge where you're training is at. And yes, training is different for 60, 100, and 200. If you're training solely for the 60m (which would be retarded) there wouldnt be much involved compared to 100/200. you only have 60m of true acceleration, so when running a 100m, after that 60m, your form and relaxation carry you through the last 40 or so. and whoever executes and relaxes/decelerates the slowest with making the least amount of errors over the given distance, will be the winner. Some sprinters opt not to run indoors at all with the thinking that A.it will lead to injury and ruin their outdoor season B. they dont need to run indoors to set them up for their outdoor season. Every sprinter is different, and has different needs.

[Big M]

makes sence, I´ve always been very good at 60 meters and very bad at 100 meters, even feel some lactic acid when I run the 100 meter. So i figuerd if I trained only for the 60 meters maybe I can get really good! I´m from sweden and the outdoor seson is quite short so 60 meters is pretty big over here How would I train?.. because as you say most guys train for 100 meters, I have to do something different, What??

[TestTubeBaby]

your lactic threshold doesn't occur over/after 100m stick with plyometrics, oly lifts, block work, with speed sessions of 80m and down.

[Big M]

Aight Thank you so much for replying to my questions man! I´m working alot with explosive squats, oly lifs you say, thats good I was actually the district champion i oly lifts when i was 16, how much do you think Green can squat? Wy is it that white people can´t run? I sa an interview whith morrice and he said that white men Can run they just don´nt know how. Quite funny Will I be seing you in the olympics soon?

[TestTubeBaby]

haha, concerning white runners..they are around, but they are far and few between. while white runners can possess the same talent as black runners, its not as common. white runners in the US have been scared away from sprinting in a way. greene can squat a fair amount, but nothing outrageous. i would say 425-450lbs, but then again, sprinters dont max out very much. it is dangerous, and a chance a sprinter cannot take. like i said, you dont have to be a beast in the weightroom, just what is necessary for you. and concerning your olympic question, im trying to take care of that as we speak! good luck with ur training bro, and feel free to ask whatever.

[Big M]

Thanks man! Defenetly some questions will pop up as my training goes along.
GOOD LUCK WITH YOUR TRAINING!!! Make sure you PM me if you´re going to compete in anything they show on EuroSport

[Property of Steroid.com]

Can I hijack this thread for a sec and ask what a good 40m time is? 60m?

[Big M]

I think Ben jhonnson still has the world record in 60 meters with 6.37.... how much is 40 yards in meters?

[Big M]

and to that i can add that the swedish record is 6.58 (60 meters)

[TestTubeBaby]

that 6.37 is en route to 100m..so it doesnt count as the WR. the indoor WR over 60m is 6.39e, which was run TWICE by maurice greene. 40 yards is like 36m or so.

[Big M]

How important is flexibilety? of course it´s very bad to be stiff, but i mean Is it good to be REALLY flexible??

[TestTubeBaby]

hooker, what times comparatively? good times for just the hell of it? or outstanding times in general? and Big M, flexibility in sprinting is very important. Full speed comes through relaxation, so if you're tense to begin with..you aint gonna go anywhere fast!

[Big M]

Got a running tecnique Question.. to you think about lifting your knees high?

[phwSSJ]

From the knee down to the foot should be longer than from the knee up to the hip. As far as being "built" for speed.
Plus majority of muscle fibers being fast twitch. Height has a little to do with it.

Its all genetics

[Big M]

From the knee down to the foot should be longer than from the knee up to the hip

thats good, mine are Sould´nt it be good to have a short upperbody rellative to your legs?

[nathanlgd]

Look at Michael johnson, greatest sprinter ever IMO. They told him he was wasting his time because his legs were too short and he didn't run correctly etc. He holds two of the most impressive world records in male athletics for 200 and 400m.
BTW, Powell now has the 100m record - maybe this thread was started pre-powell WR? 9.77s.
When Montgomery ran his 9.78, Dwain Chambers was just coming into his peak years and he ran 9.81 in second place. Shortly after this, Dwain was also punished for steroid use . Would have been great to see what Dwain could have achieved over the last/next couple of years. Powells the man at the minute.