Why do sprinters have big upper bodies

Also the sprinter may seem to display a notable lumbar lordosis excessive arch in the lower back that may not be as evident in the distance runner. This may be related to the greater muscle bulk in the gluteal region for the sprinter as opposed to a real lordotic curve. Later in this study we will return to this often overlooked area for development of speed.

We are now more aware of the importance of having a balanced body in terms of mobility and stability and function for efficient and optimum movement. This imbalance may actually impede the optimal functioning of the athlete or player. For example, if the hip flexors are overly tight then the gluteal muscles the powerful leg extensor muscles may not be operating as effective as they possibly could.

In other words, instead of a 4 cylinder engine moving the body, only three may be working, resulting in a reduced power output. Thus we recommend accessing the functional competence of our athletes in order to ensure that what we may be seeing in their posture is not impeding their function.

When we compare the stature of the endurance and sprint athletes, we will find many short stature top class endurance athletes. They typically are of East African origin. And while their Caucasian counterparts seem to be taller, the endurance athlete can be shorter than the sprinter in general.

However, the sprinter also comes in a wide variety of sizes. A number of authors note that size has no influence on running at a constant speed [2]. This tells us that endurance athletes can be either short or tall, and really size is inconsequential in terms of endurance performance. Being tall is however a disadvantage when it comes to running uphill. Also tall athletes may be a disadvantage when it comes to acceleration.

In other words, the shorter athlete or player will be better able to accelerate and control their own body weight compared to a taller individual. We can also see practical support for this in Gymnastics where the athletes are relatively small compared to the field sports and court sports players. Certainly, where sports such as basketball and volleyball are concerned then stature is an important physical characteristic. But sprinters on the other hand?

So how can you get a body like a sprinter? Sprinters are lean, jacked, and extremely impressive physique-wise. So, to put it simply: sprinters are ripped. They need explosive power more than endless endurance. So, start with meter sprints to build up your anaerobic energy system. Some of them have communities that can really motivate you and keep you accountable. You can do this slowly, starting with the sprinting exercises outlined above but on the low end: Start by using this simple scale: meters 3-minute rest Repeat this pattern four more times Once you feel comfortable doing five sets with three minutes of rest between them, cut that three minutes down to two and master that.

Then you can add in a sixth set, and if you need to, increase your rest to three minutes again. Get used to the sixth set, then start building that up to 10 sets per workout. Starting to see the pattern? Train Your Muscles with Weights Of course, you should be training your muscles in the gym alongside building endurance.

You can also apply the endurance-building exercises to your strength training. Eat Clean — with Lots of Protein There are lots of running pros and cons and weight loss is one of the pros. Sprinting is a very high intensity activity. Even world-class sprinters don't run sprints every day, so be careful not to overdo it. Including sprints two to three times per week is enough for you to start seeing noticeable changes in your physique.

If you want to see serious muscle definition, it's important to reduce your body-fat levels by eating nutritious foods in appropriate amounts for your body, and to rest and recover regularly. Fitness General Fitness Other Sports. By Lau Hanly. Lau Hanly.

Lau Hanly runs Fierce For Life, a nutrition and fitness company that helps young women start with healthy eating and smart training without overwhelming them. Usually, arms are seen as just reflexive steering appendages for sprinting and running, but now we are at the point that arms need a voice of reason. Currently, there is not enough research to say with absolute confidence that the arms contribute to peak speed or acceleration with a specific amount of force or time benefit.

We are getting closer to knowing the contribution of arm motion today, and it will take a few more years to see how teaching and training arm swing contributes to speed. Although each athlete is different and modeling the differences between athletes is difficult, we can say generally that arms do contribute some angular momentum and torque, along with some coordination benefits, especially in acceleration and block clearance.

At slower speeds, the contribution of the arm swing has shown to be valuable in reducing the metabolic cost of running compared to purposely removing the arms. Coaches are likely interested in how much coaching technique instruction and training loading the torso and arms will transfer to higher speeds.

We do have the evidence to show arms help athletes run faster, but the unknown is how technically sound the athletes need to be and what are the best ways to make them better. We need to know how arms can override the possible central pattern generators already programmed in the body, and how the arm swing connects to the pelvic and spinal motion within the sprinting cycle.

A contralateral lat muscle helping the opposite glute downstream is technically a possible and likely scenario but adding more back muscle to a sprinter for pulling strength of the upper body is futile. The legs are still the limiters to athlete speed, and while countermovement jumps with arms play a big role, the arms contribute far less to sprinting.

With celebrations common in sport, with or without a ball or sporting implement in hand, we know you can do rather well without arm action for a brief moment. The obsession with removing arm contributions in track drills is, frankly, foolish if done too much, as it will likely minimize the neural drive benefits of linking arms to the exercise. Perhaps the overzealous single-leg training hype that misinterpreted the bilateral deficit and turned two legs to one leg to no arms is the culprit?

Who knows? The number one cause of errors is bad coaching. I will take the blame for making mistakes with athletes from time to time, but video keeps me honest and able to steer back technique later.

Sometimes removing arm action teaches the athlete to value the contribution of the upper body, but for the most part, arms need both exposure and small tuning. In fact, arms are very hard to improve and are more likely to be hindrances than enhancers. Based on theory, the arms are connected to the feedback of the foot making contact with the ground and during leg recovery, so the limbs constantly work in concert during the entire running or sprint cycle.

As the athlete runs faster and closer to absolute speed, very little conscious effort is involved—just enough to guide the body forward.