April 24, 2021
Elite 100/110m hurdlers can only run faster times by quickening their cadence, as increasing their stride length is not an option like it is in the sprint events and the long hurdles. With that thought in mind, the progression of drills below can help the elite hurdler to continue to drop time by quickening their cadence.
- Lane-line drill
Lane-line drill is from the :16-:38 mark of the above video.
- Cycle drill over 24-inch banana hurdles spaced 12 feet apart (for males) or 11 feet apart (for females)
- Cycle drill over 27-inch hurdles spaced 13 feet apart (for males) or 12 feet apart (for females)
- Cycle drill over 36-inch hurdles spaced 18 feet apart (for males) or 3o-inch hurdles spaced 16 feet apart (for females)
- Quickstep drill at race height spaced 23 feet apart (for males) or 20 feet apart (for females)
- Timed cycle drill over 5-10 hurdles
- Timed quicksteps over 5-10 hurdles
- Jammed hurdling over 3-7 hurdles at race height, with all hurdles after the first moved in 2-3 feet
- Jammed hurdling over 5-7, timed
- Timed drills against a teammate
- Jammed hurdling against a teammate
In the above video, the cycle drill over banana hurdles is from the :03-:38 mark. Cycle drill over 27-inch hurdles is from the :36-:56 mark. Cycle drill over 36-inch hurdles is from the :56-1:19 mark. Quickstep drill over 39-inch hurdles is from the 1:19-1:43 mark.
Above is a jammed hurdling workout from two years ago.
To first hurdle:
- For lane-line drill, no run-up.
- For cycle drill over lower hurdles (24/27), a two-step approach from about 10 feet away.
- For cycle drill over higher hurdles (30/36), a four-step approach from 20-23 feet away.
- For quickstep drill, a six-step approach (or five-step for hurdlers who take seven strides to the first hurdle in races) from 30-33 feet away.
- For jammed hurdling: full speed ahead from the starting blocks.
Main cue for all drills: Push down. A Team Steve mantra, as discussed in our Zoom call last month, is “push forward,” but elite hurdlers don’t want to think “push forward” because pushing forward will take them too close to the next hurdle. Beginner hurdlers want to think “push forward” so that they can avoid the common beginner tendency to elevate their hips. Advanced hurdlers who aren’t elite want to think push forward AND push down because they need the speed that the forward push provides but they also need the space that pushing down provides. Elites are moving so fast that if they think “push forward” they’ll crash. So they need to think “push down” during takeoff, before they even leave the ground.
As the athlete continues to improve, you’ll want to decrease the spacing in the drills by smaller increments — 6 inches, 3 inches, 2 inches. If the hurdles are spaced so close together that the athlete’s hips are elevating, now the hurdles are too close. But until that is happening, keep increasing the challenge by decreasing the spacing.
Timing the drills with a stopwatch and having the athlete do the reps beside a teammate adds a level of challenge and competitiveness and forces the athlete to focus even more on staying relaxed.
Technique issues should also be addressed while executing these drills, as technique issues can directly affect a hurdler’s ability to maintain his/her rhythm and quicken his/her cadence.
