Teaching 300/400m Hurdlers How to Alternate Lead Legs

For those of you looking for advice on how to teach your long hurdlers how to alternate lead legs, this article will address that issue in detail. Because very few hurdlers can lead with the same leg in rhythm for an entire race, alternating is pretty much an essential skill in order to avoid adding two additional strides when fatigue sets in. Most hurdlers at the world class level take 14 strides between hurdles at some point in the race. So even if they use the alternate lead leg for only one hurdle, this skill still proves to be invaluable.

Johnny Dutch, the 2014 USA national champion in the 400 hurdles, takes 13 strides through hurdle 5, 14 on 6 and 7, then 15 the rest of the way. So he only uses his weaker leg on hurdle six. But if he didn’t, or if he couldn’t, he would have to switch to 15 steps after hurdle five.

So in teaching a hurdler how to alternate, the objectives would be as follows:

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• For the hurdler to trust the “weaker” lead leg at high speeds.
• For the hurdler to trust both lead legs equally.
• For the hurdler to develop the ability to push off the track effectively with the “weaker” trail leg.
• For the hurdler to develop the ability to adjust stride pattern on the fly.
• For the hurdler to develop the ability to adjust race strategy according to conditions, rounds, etc.
• For the hurdler to be able to stay in attack mode without focusing on stride pattern.

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Gradual Progression toward Fulfilling these Objectives:

Two-Step Drill:

• Set up anywhere from 2 to 8 hurdles (make sure it’s always an even number), set at the lowest possible setting (30 inches), about four yards apart for an easy two-step rhythm.
• The hurdler should jog/high-knee to the first hurdle, and then engage in the 1-2-hurdle rhythm over the hurdles.
• If the weaker lead leg is sloppy, that’s fine. You’re teaching rhythm as much as your teaching technique, and you can give technical advice between reps.
• You want the hurdler to use the other leg even though it feels very uncomfortable, as opposed to fitting in a quick third step to stay on the “good” leg.
• Gradually raise the hurdles to race height, and increase the spacing slightly as you do so.

Three-Step Drill:

• Set up 3-5 hurdles, about five yards apart, at the lowest setting.
• As with the two-step drill, the hurdler should jog/high-knee to the first hurdle. Then s/he will clear all the hurdles with the weaker lead leg, using a quick three-step rhythm.
• This drill strengthens the opposite sides of the body because there’s no alternating involved. So it serves to gradually correct the imbalances that occur with hurdlers who always lead with the same leg. Also, this workout continues to build that trust in the weaker leg.
• As the athlete grows more comfortable and efficient, gradually raise the hurdles and increase the spacings.

Four-Step Drill:

• Same as the two-step drill, except now the hurdles are farther apart, and the hurdler must run a little faster to the first hurdle and between the rest of them.
• Hurdles should be placed on the blue 110H lines (males) or yellow 100H lines (females).
• Hurdler can start at the regular starting line and run from a standing start, but not quite at full speed.
• Hurdler takes four strides between the hurdles for a 1-2-3-4-hurdle rhythm, alternating lead legs.
• As with the two-step drill, start with the hurdles at lower heights, and gradually raise them to race height as hurdler’s efficiency and confidence increases.

Eight-Step Workout:

• Set up hurdles 1, 3, 5, and 7 (100h/110h marks) on the straight-away.
• From the starting line, hurdler sprints from a standing start to the first hurdle, then runs with an 8-step rhythm between the rest of the hurdles.
• As with the transition from the two-step drill to the four-step drill, the speed is increasing again here, but this time more dramatically. Increasing the speed increases the trust factor in the weaker leg. The key to alternating is to trust the weaker leg at high speeds.
• With this workout, the hurdler will be tempted to chop the stride to fit in a ninth step. If that happens, don’t count that rep; have the hurdler go back to the starting line and start over.
• For this workout, the hurdles should be at race height the whole time. Maybe a warm-up rep or two at a lower height is fine.

Sprinting 3-Step Workout:

• This is basically a sprint-hurdle workout for a long hurdler learning to alternate.
• Set up 3-5 hurdles on the 100h/110h marks, with all hurdles after the first hurdles discounted by a foot.
• From a standing start or three-point start, the hurdler sprints from the line over all the hurdles, three-stepping in between, for a 1-2-3-hurdle rhythm – the same rhythm as the sprint-hurdle race.
• Again, start at low heights and raise the hurdles gradually.

Sprinting 7-Step Workout:

• Set-up is the same as in the eight-step workout, except now the hurdler is sprinting even faster, and clearing all the hurdles with the weaker leg, including the first one.
• This is the ultimate trust workout. Once the hurdler is able to do this workout with the hurdles at race height without hesitations or falterings, you know that s/he is ready to incorporate alternating lead legs into his or her race.

Further Suggestions:

• Basic beginner drills like walk-overs, isolation drills, and the fence drill for the trail leg can help develop alternating skills.
• Plyometric bounds can also help to strengthen the weaker trail leg’s ability to push off the ground.

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