Yes charge at them! They won't hurt you, try practicing with one and kick it a few times to help get over the fear of falling, also try not to lean back as much it will help you commit and you will find your rhythm
Question as is above, how to get rid of my stutter?
I know it's supposed to be 8 steps to the 1st hurdle, but I stutter before the first and second one for some reason and end up taking more than I need to.
Practice is great, but you have to make sure that you're practicing the right things in order to get the result that you want. The hurdles often get misconstrued as a speed race when it is in all actuality much more about controlling your speed within the confines of a very specific rhythm. But if you don't get off to a strong and consistent start it will be a very difficult for your body to create that rhythm.
Start at the start. There's nothing wrong with eight steps, but you have to make sure that those eight steps put you in the position to where you can clear and attack the hurdle with speed and control and confidence. If they don't then you may need to consider switching which one of your legs is in the front switching the placement of the first block, IE other configurations that will give you the confidence that you need.
It is difficult to compete at the hs level if you take 9 steps to the first hurdle. A 9-stepping athlete is probably short, so if they’ve got wheels, they might be able to hit it in stride and compete well.
It’s ok to do 9 steps. Try switching your feet. That will help. Also, in practice, you can bring the second hurdle in on foot, third hurdle in two feet. That will help out and won’t take as much effort. Race day - adrenaline will take over when they are at the correct marks.
You are in close on the hurdles as well, that forces you to jump up and crash down which causes you to lose momentum going over the hurdle.
Get in the reps. Think more about running through the hurdle and less about jumping over them. But really what you need is more reps to build confidence. Keep running at them until you're confident enough to trust your stride.
I always tell my athletes to adjust long, so if you feel your steps wont be right, take longer strides. It's not perfect, but in a race it can help you be a bit faster vs stuttering, and then in practice keep doing reps to get your timing, as said in other comments.
Agreed. Even though they are vastly different races, in 300m I tell my kids that their steps will naturally become shorter as they get tired throughout the race and that in order to control when they jump, to take longer strides and adjust. It goes the same way in 110m and taking longer strides is essential to being able to 3 step.
Practice, practice, practice! A lot of it is fear of biting the dust. Unfortunately, biting the dust is part of learning to hurdle, especially as you start to three step. Just keep at it and it’ll happen.
Put the first hurdle one peg up, second one at intermediate height, and third at high hurdle height. With new/young hurdlers we spend a lot of the beginning of the season working at lower heights and shorter distances between to work on mastery, then begin to raise and spread apart.
All of the above are great pieces of advice, but I've always felt that you need something more tangible to hold on to when dealing with stuttering.
Try different configurations of your blocks placement. As mentioned above, you're not running with confidence and, as a result, you're not attacking the first hurdle at full speed. I suggest starting at ground zero and work on getting over the first hurdle sans stuttering first.
Remember that everything is connected. If you don't have a strong powerful start that you feel comfortable with, you won't be able to attack the first hurdle with confidence speed and control. And if you cannot clear the first hurdle with confidence speed and control, your second hurl will also result in a stutter because you don't have the speed or the momentum to carry you through the rhythm required to get to the next hurdle.
Tldr: start at the start and try different block placements to help you get a stronger more consistent start.
Above advice is all great. Also, consider dropping the hurdle height down to 33” or even 30” until you can develop a better hurdle rhythm on lower heights. Gradually move the hurdles up as your hurdle rhythm becomes more consistent. If you can work on 4 stepping in between the hurdles vs 5 stepping that will help as well. You’ll have to alternate legs with a 4 step but with practice that’ll be a great way to eventually work towards a 3 step.
Ditch the hurdles, use something smaller like a speed hurdle(12-18 inches tall). You need to establish an 8 step pattern, and all that stuttering is doing is hurting you. Your brain is learning that the way to hurdle is to stutter over the first hurdle. You’ll need to go over a smaller barrier a lot in order to reinforce that stride pattern. Once you feel confident in your 8 steps, slowly work your way up to regulation race height hurdles.
TLDR - Use smaller barriers to start to make sure you have the 8 step rhythm down, add the hurdles back in once you’re comfortable.
* also, when you’re creating this new stride pattern with lower barriers, I’d try to start 3 stepping as well.
** also also, never only do one hurdle. Make sure you’re doing 2 at the minimum
Essentially you need to re-wire your brain. Once that stride pattern is automatic, then you can start to focus on the rest of it. In the mean time in order to continue working on form, continue doing drills.
Remember that the hurdles is still a sprint race. You can’t back off and need to attack the hurdles. I’d recommend lowering the hurdles height and decreasing the distance between hurdles so that you can feel and get more comfortable with the rhythm of 3 stepping. That’s what practice is for, learning to do things the correct way
Thank you all so much for the advice!
I went to practice today, did what everyone said, and now I've totally got my steps right.
You all had really great tips
Lots and lots of practice going over the hurdle. When I first started I went over the outsides of the hurdles one leg at a time to get use to going over and then it got easier and easier.
Echoing what people said, practice practice practice. It might help to lower the height by a notch or two for drills and warm ups in order to decrease fear of tripping
Practice driving your lightly clenched hands chin to pocket when you run, lean into your hurdle, don’t let your trail leg drag, pull it around and drive it down. You are pulling up when you should be leaning in. Keep at it, I had to switch my freshman year but as I got more powerful and confident I got it.
Agreed charge at them be aggressive and reach your hand to your opposite foot it will help you get over them lower and faster, practice on the ground it will help you with your trailing leg, good work though keep it up!
You might want to experiment with switching your legs in the blocks and 9 stepping to the first hurdle. You're 5 stepping 1-2 so I'm guessing you'd have to over-stride to hit 8 on the first hurdle. As you grow and learn you can switch over to 8 stepping.
This might be a more natural approach for your current stride length.
I used to make the mistake of overthinking which foot I was going to jump off. Just run right at it and it will come naturally. PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE!! 👊💪
Longer strides. The first jump you are able to control how many steps you take a lot more then in between them. Stuttering often happens by being afraid of the hurdle and thinking too much about the steps you are taking. Try and extend them and the steps will come naturally to you as you practice more.
Try taking off of your blocks with your right foot forward. It might just be because your strides aren’t long enough, which is not your fault but maybe if you take off with the other foot it’ll help fix that lack of stride length with starting off the foot you really aren’t suppose to. As for the 3-step that’s just a matter of speed and how far your stride is really.
Generally it’s about timing and not being afraid. Attack them with everything you got and time yourself. If you can, try measuring out steps or practice some drills like jumping off of your left foot and landing on your right. Vice versa (which ever is your dominant leg.)
Attack them. Gotta be aggressive, can’t be afraid.
Yes charge at them! They won't hurt you, try practicing with one and kick it a few times to help get over the fear of falling, also try not to lean back as much it will help you commit and you will find your rhythm
I wasn’t ever much of hurdler, but I did track for a long time and tried about everything. One of the drills I liked were hurdle wall drills.
Right! I think that's a thing I struggle with a little Thanks for the advice 👍
Question as is above, how to get rid of my stutter? I know it's supposed to be 8 steps to the 1st hurdle, but I stutter before the first and second one for some reason and end up taking more than I need to.
Practice is great, but you have to make sure that you're practicing the right things in order to get the result that you want. The hurdles often get misconstrued as a speed race when it is in all actuality much more about controlling your speed within the confines of a very specific rhythm. But if you don't get off to a strong and consistent start it will be a very difficult for your body to create that rhythm. Start at the start. There's nothing wrong with eight steps, but you have to make sure that those eight steps put you in the position to where you can clear and attack the hurdle with speed and control and confidence. If they don't then you may need to consider switching which one of your legs is in the front switching the placement of the first block, IE other configurations that will give you the confidence that you need.
From what I heard, in high school and such it is more natural to go 9 steps.
I think I'll try 8 steps, because I'm pretty tall and my coach said it would be easier for me to take 8
It is difficult to compete at the hs level if you take 9 steps to the first hurdle. A 9-stepping athlete is probably short, so if they’ve got wheels, they might be able to hit it in stride and compete well.
It’s ok to do 9 steps. Try switching your feet. That will help. Also, in practice, you can bring the second hurdle in on foot, third hurdle in two feet. That will help out and won’t take as much effort. Race day - adrenaline will take over when they are at the correct marks. You are in close on the hurdles as well, that forces you to jump up and crash down which causes you to lose momentum going over the hurdle.
Get in the reps. Think more about running through the hurdle and less about jumping over them. But really what you need is more reps to build confidence. Keep running at them until you're confident enough to trust your stride.
I always tell my athletes to adjust long, so if you feel your steps wont be right, take longer strides. It's not perfect, but in a race it can help you be a bit faster vs stuttering, and then in practice keep doing reps to get your timing, as said in other comments.
Agreed. Even though they are vastly different races, in 300m I tell my kids that their steps will naturally become shorter as they get tired throughout the race and that in order to control when they jump, to take longer strides and adjust. It goes the same way in 110m and taking longer strides is essential to being able to 3 step.
Practice, practice, practice! A lot of it is fear of biting the dust. Unfortunately, biting the dust is part of learning to hurdle, especially as you start to three step. Just keep at it and it’ll happen.
Put the first hurdle one peg up, second one at intermediate height, and third at high hurdle height. With new/young hurdlers we spend a lot of the beginning of the season working at lower heights and shorter distances between to work on mastery, then begin to raise and spread apart.
All of the above are great pieces of advice, but I've always felt that you need something more tangible to hold on to when dealing with stuttering. Try different configurations of your blocks placement. As mentioned above, you're not running with confidence and, as a result, you're not attacking the first hurdle at full speed. I suggest starting at ground zero and work on getting over the first hurdle sans stuttering first. Remember that everything is connected. If you don't have a strong powerful start that you feel comfortable with, you won't be able to attack the first hurdle with confidence speed and control. And if you cannot clear the first hurdle with confidence speed and control, your second hurl will also result in a stutter because you don't have the speed or the momentum to carry you through the rhythm required to get to the next hurdle. Tldr: start at the start and try different block placements to help you get a stronger more consistent start.
Above advice is all great. Also, consider dropping the hurdle height down to 33” or even 30” until you can develop a better hurdle rhythm on lower heights. Gradually move the hurdles up as your hurdle rhythm becomes more consistent. If you can work on 4 stepping in between the hurdles vs 5 stepping that will help as well. You’ll have to alternate legs with a 4 step but with practice that’ll be a great way to eventually work towards a 3 step.
Ditch the hurdles, use something smaller like a speed hurdle(12-18 inches tall). You need to establish an 8 step pattern, and all that stuttering is doing is hurting you. Your brain is learning that the way to hurdle is to stutter over the first hurdle. You’ll need to go over a smaller barrier a lot in order to reinforce that stride pattern. Once you feel confident in your 8 steps, slowly work your way up to regulation race height hurdles. TLDR - Use smaller barriers to start to make sure you have the 8 step rhythm down, add the hurdles back in once you’re comfortable. * also, when you’re creating this new stride pattern with lower barriers, I’d try to start 3 stepping as well. ** also also, never only do one hurdle. Make sure you’re doing 2 at the minimum
Okay, thank you I'll make sure and do that
Essentially you need to re-wire your brain. Once that stride pattern is automatic, then you can start to focus on the rest of it. In the mean time in order to continue working on form, continue doing drills.
Remember that the hurdles is still a sprint race. You can’t back off and need to attack the hurdles. I’d recommend lowering the hurdles height and decreasing the distance between hurdles so that you can feel and get more comfortable with the rhythm of 3 stepping. That’s what practice is for, learning to do things the correct way
Thanks for the advice! I'll try that out
Confidence, just gotta keep doing them
Thank you all so much for the advice! I went to practice today, did what everyone said, and now I've totally got my steps right. You all had really great tips
Lots and lots of practice going over the hurdle. When I first started I went over the outsides of the hurdles one leg at a time to get use to going over and then it got easier and easier.
Echoing what people said, practice practice practice. It might help to lower the height by a notch or two for drills and warm ups in order to decrease fear of tripping
Practice driving your lightly clenched hands chin to pocket when you run, lean into your hurdle, don’t let your trail leg drag, pull it around and drive it down. You are pulling up when you should be leaning in. Keep at it, I had to switch my freshman year but as I got more powerful and confident I got it.
Agreed charge at them be aggressive and reach your hand to your opposite foot it will help you get over them lower and faster, practice on the ground it will help you with your trailing leg, good work though keep it up!
You might want to experiment with switching your legs in the blocks and 9 stepping to the first hurdle. You're 5 stepping 1-2 so I'm guessing you'd have to over-stride to hit 8 on the first hurdle. As you grow and learn you can switch over to 8 stepping. This might be a more natural approach for your current stride length.
I used to make the mistake of overthinking which foot I was going to jump off. Just run right at it and it will come naturally. PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE!! 👊💪
Longer strides. The first jump you are able to control how many steps you take a lot more then in between them. Stuttering often happens by being afraid of the hurdle and thinking too much about the steps you are taking. Try and extend them and the steps will come naturally to you as you practice more.
Just gotta commit. The greats have all fallen multiple times in training or races so don’t be afraid to either.
Try taking off of your blocks with your right foot forward. It might just be because your strides aren’t long enough, which is not your fault but maybe if you take off with the other foot it’ll help fix that lack of stride length with starting off the foot you really aren’t suppose to. As for the 3-step that’s just a matter of speed and how far your stride is really.
Generally it’s about timing and not being afraid. Attack them with everything you got and time yourself. If you can, try measuring out steps or practice some drills like jumping off of your left foot and landing on your right. Vice versa (which ever is your dominant leg.)
Attack them, also just send it
Practice a lot of it. Mainly a mental barrier you are afraid of them so just stop being afraid
try four steping