But yeah... maybe if I'd have better hip flexibility to get the knee higher easily (without "trying") then maybe my mechanics would look different.
But at this point I just automatically put my foot down wherever the body feels like "doing so". I think at my level of strength that's what you get.
Maybe. But in my experience max velocity mechanics is the one part of the 100m sprint which won't get fixed with more strength/power/mobility. It is a bit counter intuitive. While I think the cue to tell the sprinter to relax is poor (relax usually means go slow) there is some amount of active release in lower body tension or reach phase between strides than is necessary to hold max V. I don't know if this can really be learned if you train without any other fast sprinters; but if so it would take careful attention to your mechanics. If you only do 20m-40m sprints; your attitude regarding technique is probably fine.
It's also kind of confusing how sprinters with good acceleration also seem to move their feet/legs at the start to the sides so to speak. So they don't really step in line with their body but behind and a bit on the side so their feet combined with their body look like a "V" for the first 10-20 meters. Then they start to step in-line and straight ahead...
You can see me do that in the video in the first post in this thread... I was like "let me try it" and... it's strange. Maybe they want to finish on the big toe or something in the acceleration phase?
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The "v" thing may be due to quad dominance at the start? I know it feels more natural that way for me and I'm pretty sure I'm quad dominant. It seems to let me push off much easier.
Why would quad-dominance contribute? Sprinters are some of the least quad-dominant athletes. This really isn't something you should practice and it's definitely (especially not Raptor whose philosophy is not to copy mechanics but run naturally!) not something that should be carried on for 20m! If the side to side stepping is carried on for more than a few steps you are simply seeing really bad habits. If the block clearance angle is low then for the few steps (usually the second step, ie if you start left foot power leg it will be the first left foot strike) your body angle is such that you need to get far enough forward to not fall but your hip can't extend as far forward if it's tucked under the torso; so the leg swings farther forward AND to the outside of the lane. This really isn't something you should practice and in fact you are better served to try and keep your heel recovery low. This is the infamous toe drag that you see on Bolt's 9.58. Of course the actual drag is not good, but it comes from keep the recovery leg low and fast rather than slow and to the outside. This allows you to maintain balance without wasting your speed to the wrong direction. If there is any cue to practice at the start I would recommend this over all others.
