Should a sprinter's hands sit under the shoulders in the blocks, or further forward?
Hands under the shoulders is the safer default, forward is a real option for an athlete strong enough to hold it, and the first step out tells you which one is working.
Most coaches get asked this the first week a new sprinter is fitted into blocks: hands under the shoulders, or set out further in front of them. Both show up at a track on any given Saturday, and both are defensible.
What each one does
Hands under the shoulders keeps the body weight stacked and ready to drop straight into the first step. It is the more stable choice and the one most beginners should start with. Hands set further forward loads more weight onto the arms and tips the hips and shoulders further ahead of the hands at the gun, which can make the first push more horizontal for an athlete strong enough to hold the position without shaking in the set.
Why it is not one answer for every athlete
- A taller athlete with long arms gets more horizontal lean from a forward hand set without losing stability, because the extra reach is already built into their limb length.
- A shorter, more compact sprinter can get the same lean from hands under the shoulders, because there is less limb length to spend getting there.
- An athlete who shakes or creeps forward in the set with hands out front does not have the strength for it yet, whatever the lean looks like on paper.
The test that matters is the first step, not the hand position on its own. If hands forward produces a longer, lower first step without the hips popping up, keep it. If it produces a stumble or a step higher than the one before it, move the hands back and build the strength for later.
What a camera can tell you, and what it can't
The Film Room's block-start setting reports drive-phase trunk lean, whether the hips climb instead of driving out, and back-leg extension at clearance, once the gun has gone and the athlete is moving. Hand placement happens before any of that, in the stillness of the two or three seconds before the gun, and a side-on clip has nothing to measure during that stillness.
This is coaching guidance, not a prescription. Hand placement interacts with an athlete's limb length, strength and comfort, and the right answer for one sprinter is often wrong for the next one on the same team.
Time your next meet with the phones you already have
Timing, the Film Room and the speed gates are free forever, with no account. A Club plan, $71 a month, puts your meets on your own results page, and one plan covers every phone.
Related
Why your sprinter's back leg never fully extends out of the blocks
The rear leg is supposed to finish straight at clearance, and when it does not, the fix is almost never in the leg itself.
Read →Why does my sprinter react fast off the gun but still lose the first ten metres?
A quick reaction out of the blocks and a strong drive phase are two different skills, and the block start setting only grades the second one.
Read →How far forward should a sprinter lean?
A lot out of the blocks, very little at top speed, and never by bending at the waist, which is the version that gets taught by accident.
Read →Try it: Sprint timer app: 40-yard dash and flying sprints with one phone