On the sidelines of the training ground, Li Dai pointed to the video and said to Sean Ford next to him: "You now need to increase the time when your left foot touches the ground. Our next training will also focus on this."
"Is it really possible?" Ford looked confused. What Li Dai said was contrary to all the coaches who had coached him before. Other coaches hoped that he could shorten the time for his left foot to touch the ground as much as possible, but Li Dai actually Let him increase the time when his left foot touches the ground.
"Coach Li, I once did a test at a research institution. Because my left leg is longer, my left foot touches the ground longer than my right foot, about 14% longer." Ford said immediately.
"So the coaches you met before will tell you to reduce the bottoming time of the left foot in order to achieve a balanced pace of both feet, and their training is also aimed at this, right?" Dai Li asked. .
Ford nodded honestly. He didn't think there was anything wrong with this. A balanced pace is the most basic requirement for a sprinter, and the more balanced the better. No one wants to be one step faster and one step slower. This common sense does not even apply to sprinters. Beginners know this.
Dai Li then asked: "Then when did you go to the research institution for testing? After you won the World Championships?"
Ford nodded: "Yes, I won the 200-meter championship at the World Championships. I accepted some advertising endorsements at the time, and I had plenty of money, so I spent a lot of money on improving my performance."
"As expected!" Dai Li sighed softly, and then said: "Under normal circumstances, there is nothing wrong with pursuing a balanced pace of the legs, but your situation is different. Your left leg is longer than your right leg. This This means that when running, the torque of your left leg will be greater. According to the formula of physics, the torque is equal to the force times the moment arm. In order to achieve the balance of the legs, you must deliberately reduce the tension of the left leg when running. strength, or deliberately increase the strength of the right leg.”
Ford nodded. The previous coach had indeed conducted such targeted training.
Dai Li continued, "It's also because your left leg is longer. When running, your left leg will definitely touch the ground earlier, so your left foot will stay on the ground longer. Your previous coach must also have required it. However, let your left foot leave the ground faster. The reason why they ask for this is to make your stride frequency more balanced, but I think this will affect the overall integrity of your running."
"You mean, I shouldn't pursue a balanced pace?" Ford asked with a surprised look on his face. He didn't understand Dai Li's idea. After all, Dai Li's idea ran counter to the traditional sprint theory.
"Correcting the asymmetry of your legs will not help increase your speed, and it will be counterproductive. Your legs are not the same length, so running with symmetrical legs is an unnatural gait for you. State." Dai Li paused, and then said: "The world's top sprinters, the peak force of one foot on the ground can reach 5 times the body weight, and this peak is emitted within 0.03 seconds after touching the ground. This is an important source of motivation in the process and can even determine the final result.”
"For normal sprinters, their stride frequency is coordinated, and the peak strength of their left and right legs on the ground should be about the same. Even if there is a gap, the difference will never exceed 3%. But you are different. The peak strength of your left and right legs on the ground should be similar. The peak value should be more than 10%. Do you know why?" Dai Li asked.
"Because of the previous training?" Ford asked thoughtfully.
Dai Li nodded: "Correct, I just said that in your training in the past few years, in order to balance the torque of your legs, you must reduce the strength of your left leg or increase the strength of your right leg, and at the same time deliberately reduce the contact of your left leg with the ground. Time will also cause a loss of strength in your left leg, and this kind of training over many years will inevitably cause the peak strength of your right leg to hit the ground far exceeding that of your left leg."
"Your current situation is that your right leg is shorter, but the peak force of the right leg on the ground is higher. This is a situation that is completely opposite to the normal force generation principle, so the normal running method is not suitable for you. For you Said, the most logical way to run is to keep your left foot on the ground longer, so that your left leg takes longer to exert force, thereby generating greater centrifugal force to achieve the purpose of increasing speed."
"At the same time, this can also increase your speed in corners. When running in corners, the body needs to lean to the left to maintain body balance. If the left foot is on the ground for a longer time, the stability of running in corners will be more It is high, and at the same time, the peak force of your right foot on the ground can be better exerted, so that you will have more kinetic energy and faster acceleration in corners.”
"So that's it!" Ford nodded as if he suddenly understood, and then his expression became extremely frustrated: "So, my training to balance the pace frequency over the years has been in vain?"
"Not only is it useless, you are just stabbing yourself with a knife." Li Dai looked at Fu Fu with some sympathy. He could understand Fu Fu's mood at this time.
As an athlete, he has trained hard for many years and spent a lot of time, money and sweat, only to be told that all his efforts have had negative effects. This must be a huge psychological blow.
"Don't be so frustrated." Dai Li comforted him: "It's still too late to start correcting it now. We can still catch up with the Olympic trials in late June. I will send you to the Olympic Games!"
…
Sean Ford's training is a medium to long-term process. For an athlete whose skills have matured, it is very difficult to change his running method, because top athletes change their running method, not just in terms of running method. The changes require many details to be improved. Under normal circumstances, athletes can completely adapt to a new running method within a year, which is considered very fast.
Sean Ford's situation is a little different. The running method he used before was mainly to make up for the physical shortcomings of long and short legs. From the perspective of the body's integrity, it was not an unnatural gait, but now Li Dai is letting His gait returned to nature, and his training efficiency was much faster.
For example, if a left-handed person is forced to use chopsticks with his right hand, he will definitely feel that the action is unnatural, but he will get used to it with practice. But even if he has used his right hand for many years, if he can use his left hand again, he will adapt quickly. Because that's the body's instinct.
From this point of view, it was Sean Ford's previous running style that was problematic. Li Dai just let Sean Ford return to his instincts.
At the same time, Justin Alexander's results continued to improve. After two small-scale competitions, Alexander gradually regained his game form. He began to participate in some medium-sized competitions and won all of them.
Alexander was once the "second best player in the world". With his level, even in the United States, the strongest country in track and field, participating in medium-sized competitions is considered a big deal.
In three consecutive medium-sized track and field competitions, Alexander ran under 10.05 seconds, which greatly increased his confidence. He decided to participate in some larger and heavier events.
…
Pennsylvania Track and Field Classic.
This is a semi-invitation competition. In the 100-meter sprint event, five of the eight participating athletes are invited, and the other three need to pass the qualifying competition to obtain a place in the main competition.
Perhaps Alexander's reputation is not very good due to his previous doping ban, or perhaps he has just come back and has not achieved any great results. He was not invited, so Alexander could only participate in the qualifying rounds. Then he got a spot in the main draw.
In the athletes' locker room, Alexander had just changed his clothes when he heard a familiar voice from behind: "Justin, why are you here? I remember you were not on the list of invitations this time!"
Alexander didn't need to look back to know that the person speaking was his former coach, Sebastian.
"I heard that you went to the training center of that Chinese coach. Why, didn't he come with you?" Sebastian looked around and began to look for Dai Li.
Pennsylvania is in the eastern part of the United States, a bit far away from Los Angeles, so Dai Li did not come for this competition.
Alexander didn't answer. He didn't want to have any interaction with Sebastian at all now, even if it was to talk, he could avoid it.
Sebastian behaved like a talker. He said with some disdain: "I heard that you participated in several small competitions. I didn't expect that you, the number one flyer in the United States, would be reduced to participating in that competition. Kind of a little competition.”
Alexander heard the strong sarcasm in Sebastian's words, but facing his former coach, Alexander still lacked confidence, so he decided to ignore Sebastian's sarcasm.
Alexander's silence did not make Sebastian calm down. He pointed at a young black athlete behind him and said: "I will introduce you to a person, 'Miami Lightning' Walton. You should hear about it." Let’s pass this name. He started training with me a year ago, and in the last five consecutive games, he has scored within 10 seconds, including one time of 9.88 seconds.”
"It turns out he is the talented sprinter Wharton from Miami!" Alexander had obviously heard of Wharton's name. He couldn't help but look at Wharton a few more times. He was sensitively aware that this young Wharton would will become his most powerful opponent in the game.
For a 100-meter sprinter, running under 10 seconds for five consecutive games can definitely be regarded as an extremely good result, and a time of 9.88 seconds is possible to win the championship in a world-class large-scale competition. . But judging from these two data, this player named Wharton has the world's top 100-meter sprint level.
Walton is a rising sprint star who has risen very rapidly in recent years. He won the National Youth Games Championship in his youth, and now he has won the U.S. College Athletes Championship for two consecutive years. In professional competitions, he has also won the National Youth Games Championship. Often overcome obstacles and achieve good results. Since Walton is from Miami, everyone gave him the nickname "Miami Lightning".
Now that Wharton and Sebastian are working together, their results have improved even more rapidly. Sebastian once won the award for the best track and field coach in the United States, and has trained many world champion athletes. Putting aside their character , Sebastian's training level is absolutely top-notch in the world, and he and Wharton are a powerful combination.
…
The 100-meter flying competition is about to begin, and all eight contestants stand on the starting line.
Sebastian looked at Wharton with confidence. In his opinion, Wharton, who was in good condition, would definitely win today's game.
"Although there are many powerful guys among the contestants participating today, they are definitely no match for Wharton. During training, Wharton's fastest time has been within 9.80 seconds."
A time of less than 9 seconds 80 is enough to win the championship whether in the World Championships or the Olympics.
Of course, practice is different from competition. Athletes usually perform better in practice than in competition. Especially in some large-scale sports events, success is considered as if an athlete can exert 80% of their strength. But what has to be admitted is that the score within 9.80 seconds in practice still shows that Wharton has extremely strong strength.
"Walton should be the No. 1 flyer in the United States now. Next, I will train him to become the No. 1 flyer in the world. Gittel has retired, and sprinting will inevitably return to the era of fragmentation. This opportunity , of course you have to hold on firmly!”
Sebastian couldn't help but think of Alexander again.
"Although Wharton's talent is very good, it is still slightly inferior to Alexander back then. I think Wharton's peak is at most the second Alexander. It's a pity that Alexander refuses to be used by me. But it doesn’t matter, Alexander is nothing to be afraid of now... "
"Bang!" The sound of the starting gun interrupted Sebastian's thoughts. The athletes all rushed out of the starting line in an instant, and Sebastian's attention was refocused on Wharton.
As Sebastian expected, Wharton was indeed stronger than the others. After thirty meters, he was already more than one position ahead of the athletes on the left and right.
"Sure enough, we will win." Sebastian just breathed a sigh of relief, but found that there was someone on the edge of the track who was as fast as Wharton.
"It's Alexander!" Sebastian's heart tightened suddenly, and it felt like someone's heart was suddenly tugged.
In the 100-meter dash, the two middle tracks are the best, while the outermost tracks are the worst. As a breakthrough player in the qualifying round, Alexander could only be assigned to a relatively side track.
But this did not affect Alexander's amazing speed.
At 60 meters, Wharton has clearly stood out from the contestants, and the only one who can keep pace with him is Alexander.
The audience at the scene began to get excited. No one wanted to watch that kind of one-sided game. Like now, two athletes are fighting together. No one knows who is the final winner. That is the most exciting game.
On the sidelines of the game, Sebastian's expression had frozen, and there was a vague ominous feeling in his heart.
Sebastian used to be Alexander's coach, so he knows Alexander very well. To a certain extent, Alexander can be regarded as his outstanding disciple. In his memory, Alexander still retains the appearance of Alexander at his peak.
But now, Alexander's performance on the court is exactly the same as the peak Alexander in his impression.
"Not good!" When this thought came out of Sebastian's mind, the athletes on the field were already approaching the finish line.
Wharton leaned forward, trying hard to touch the line with his head.
Alexander did not make the same move, he just lowered his head slightly.
Because Alexander knew that he was in the lead, and his lead prevented him from making a large line-touching movement.
In the blink of an eye, all the athletes crossed the finish line and then began to slow down.
On the big screen at the scene, the broadcast cameras would only focus on the champion.
That person is Justin Alexander!