The focus of this post is long jumps. A long jump is an athletic sport where competitors run for a certain amount as fast they can and jump as far as possible. The jump must be done in one leap. This is a very simple sport event unlike some other track and field competitions. 

There are many possible errors in all sports since not everyone is built the same and sometimes people do not understand the rules. Long jumping is no different even with it being very straight forward it has many common errors. Some of the common errors are that some runners take too long to run up, a one pace run up, some slow down when they are approaching the take off board and people get nervous before the jump so decided to look down. Everyone should make sure to look out for those common errors to help improve. 

Even though these are minor errors there are simple solutions for these athletes to improve. The run up builds a lot of nervousness which forces people to make small mistakes. It’s crucial for the athletes to know that in a long jump run up should increase in speed. Another important solution is for the athlete to keep their eyes open by focusing on the other side of the jump.

I feel like long jump is one of those events that really showcases the ability humans have to surpass limits set for themselves. I think long jump is underrated and underappreciated. The lower body  strength that is required to make those jumps is immense. Those who are good at long jump usually posses a good 40-60 meter time. 

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog. Let’s all continue enjoying this wonderful athletic play in school field trips, family bonding and other events. If you feel like more people should be informed on this topic make sure to share. Do not forget to like, comment, and subscribe for more.

The focus of this post will be a relay race, a common fun field and track events. A relay race is a race between two or more teams, in which each team member runs a pre-set distance of the race and is then relieved by another member of the team. The team member most likely holds a baton and passes it to the next runner. This an interesting activity being that most students participate in this at one point during a field day trip. 

People that are not well informed do not know that there are different types. There are two most common relay races and a less common one called sprint medley relay. Some common misconceptions with relay racing is that if the runner drops the baton the person will be disqualified. Another well known one is if the runner crosses the finish line without the baton they will be disqualified. In those events the runner is not always disqualified. A frustration is that depending on the age group people change the rules. 

A solution to this issue is for people to explain the different forms of relay races no matter what age group. It is important for everyone to know the correct rules for all circumstances before the race begins. This is to assure that everyone gets the same treatment and a fair try at winning the race.

A lot of us have  participated in some form of relay race at one point in our lives. Anyone that is in charge of the race should be held responsible for placing the runners in their correct lanes. There should be no special treatment meaning the runners should all understand the rules given. There should maybe be a penalty for runners who cause collisions.

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog. Let’s all continue enjoying this wonderful athletic play in school field trips, family bonding and other events. If you feel like more people should be informed on this topic make sure to share. Do not forget to like, comment, and subscribe for more.

The event for this post is known as pole vaulting. Pole Vaulting is a track and field event that uses a long flexible pole. The pole may be fibreglass or carbon fiber. Pole Vaults main importance is energy conversion. The motor vitality developed during the athletes run transforms into energy for the pole. The pole bend is about 90 degrees which pulls back and releases that energy. The more energy the athlete puts in the pole bend is best for them to vaulter up and over the bar. 

In all sports there are plenty of risk at hand which creates numerous amounts of worries. Pole Vaulting is known to be dangerous, the vaulters could be seriously injured or probably die. Could you imagine being about 20 feet in the air just holding on to a pole? A misconception people fear is that the pole would snap. In reality that should be the least of their worries. The most common injury is ligament sprains due to an improper landing. 

In the world we live in people die and get injured everyday. Wounds are normal in youthful vaulters. Damage techniques show that many could be kept away from by utilizing legitimate procedure, especially during the arrival stage. Mentors should concentrate on vaulters with earlier wounds to recognize hazardous conduct and to help right poor procedure. The pole is mainly the safety tool they have with them when they are going against gravity.  

Nothing should stop a perfectly healthy person from participating in a sport they are passionate about. Pole Vaulting should be more recognized since people are putting their lives at risk just like in any other sport. I would consider the pole vault the hardest of the jumps due to the strength and technique needed. 

I hope this inspires you to go watch a new sporting event or even get more active. Want to learn more about different track and field events?  I’ll be back with more in my next post. Have any friends that might enjoy this? Do not hesitate to share this blog. Make sure to like, comment, and subscribe.

This post will be based on a track and field event known as discus throw. Discus throw is when an athlete must throw a heavy disc as far as they possibly can. It’s important for the athlete to throw the disc from a circle that is 2.5 meters in diameter. The disc is the same shape as a Frisbee to give it the ability to glide better. 

In all sports there are differences in rules between a female and male sport event which includes training and diet forms. It’s important for people to know that the discus does not weigh as much for women compared to men. For women people have the misconception that they must be big and muscular since they must have a lot of strength. This is not true take Nina Apollonovna Ponomaryova for instance who is only 5’5 and isn’t overly muscular or big.

In reality the women that participate in discus throwing vary in height and weight. This means that no matter what your body type is you could still be great in this sport. In every sport it just takes a lot of dedication to practice. Although being tall does help that is not all it takes for someone to do well they must be physically fit. Someone that is heavy set and out of shape will not work best because it slows them down. 

It is understandable for most sports to have different sets of rules between genders. I just belief that neither one should be disregarded. I find it interesting that some track and field events are starting to combine both genders. This sport should not be undervalued because it is far more than just throwing. It takes training to make sure the person keeps increasing their strength. 

Just here keeping you and myself informed about a great sport. I hope this inspires you to go watch a new sporting event or even get more active. Want to learn more about different track and field events?  I’ll be back with more in my next post. Have any friends that might enjoy this? Do not hesitate to share this blog. Please make sure to like, comment, and subscribe.

The high jump is an event in which competitors must jump over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without knocking it down. This is interesting because there are athletes that can jump over people.

The main frustration with high jump is hitting the bar and the minimal improvement. Many times a jumper will miss a jump because he/she is breaking form early. There is always the amount of extreme work done to see minimal progress. The truth is after reaching a certain point you progress very slowing with your jump only increasing by centimeters.

To fix breaking form early  have the athlete place their hands on the ground next to their head and press up to simulate arching your back over the bar. This will help with muscle memory. After getting the arch in you can set up a spring board to practice getting over the height you’re trying to clear. This should be done in accordance with normal  drills.

I think the jumper could start their practice starting with a dynamic Warm up and then transitioning to some run troughs. Followed by picking 1-2 drills from phase work and finishing with short jump approaches. Lastly incorporate weight training, primarily squats, hamstring curls, dead lifts, and cleans.

What is your stance on this topic? How would you train the arch? What exercises or adjustments would you make to increase power and jumping height? Feel free to like, comment, subscribe, and share.

In the 4 by 4 four runners each complete 400 meters or one lap. It is usually the last event and can be the event a team needs to place in the top 8.  As runners have a running start, split times cannot be compared to individual 400 m performances. Internationally, the U.S. men’s team has dominated the event.

The biggest concerns in the 4 by 4 much like the 4 by 1 is the baton hand-off. Each sprinter either needs to pass the baton to the next sprinter, or take the baton from the previous sprinter. There is also the exchange zone in which the sprinters exchange the baton and cannot do so outside of the zone. They have to do all of this while sprinting as fast as they possibly can, which leaves a lot of room for error. The real problem lies as the competitors are coming down the track to hand off there is a clutter of teammates switching potions according to who’s coming across the line, this is how you mess up a hand off and get tied up with other teams.

Practice is the simple solution. Another solution is for each of the sprinters to call out some sort of command to indicate to the next sprinter to position his/her hand to be ready to take the baton. Practicing and making sure the hand offs become muscle memory is crucial. Having a specific lane other than lane one could be the solution as it would be less cluttered.

The 4 by 4 is my favorite event. I myself have had my fair share of exchange zone mistakes. Sadly the second you drop the baton theirs nothing you can do but pick it up and hope you can catch up. Most of the time there are minor incidents at the exchange zone but when there is the team can be counted out.

Will team USA remain dominant? What is your stance on this topic? who is your favorite relay team? Have you attended any of these events?  Feel free to like, comment, subscribe, and share.

The topic of this post is the 4 by 100 meter relay. The 4 by 100 meter relay is similar to the 100 meter sprint in the sense that each athlete sprints 100 meters. The main difference is that there are 4 athletes per team competing, each sprinting 100 meters. I’m addressing this event because it is one of the hardest events to execute without making mistakes. What makes it interesting is how intense the event gets knowing that anything could go wrong.

One of the biggest concerns in the 4 by 1 is the baton hand-off. Each sprinter either needs to pass the baton to the next sprinter, or take the baton from the previous sprinter. There is also the exchange zone in which the sprinters exchange the baton and cannot do so outside of the zone. They have to do all of this while sprinting as fast as they possibly can, which leaves a lot of room for error.

The main solution to fix a bad hand-off is to simply practice. Another solution is for each of the sprinters, except for the anchor, call out some sort of command to indicate to the next sprinter to position his/her hand to be ready to take the baton. Practicing and making sure the hand offs become muscle memory is crucial. Also figuring out whether grabbing the baton with an underhand or overhand grip is comfortable to make sure the hand off goes smoothly.

The 4 by 1 may be by far the most entertaining event. Having the top sprinters from multiple countries competing together on one team. Jamaica and team USA are usually the top contenders and have gone back and forth claiming the title of fastest relay. I’ve seen one of these races in person and it is true that the hand offs need to be flawless.

What is your stance on this topic? who is your favorite relay team? Have you attended any of these events? Can anyone beat Jamaica’s record? Feel free to like, comment, subscribe, and share.

 The 400 meter hurdles is the topic for this post.  It is included in the Summer Olympic Games. If you thought the 400 was hard they went ahead and put hurdles in it. Athletes who are successful in these events will have the speed of your top sprinters and enough endurance to possibly move into the 800m dash.

The 400 meter hurdles is a very difficult event. Imagine hitting a wall and still having to get over a number of hurdles and finishing the race. The form used to get over the hurdle is similar to the 110 with the exception of the benefit that switching legs provides. The problem with this is having learned the 3 step in the 110 hurdles learning to switch legs becomes difficult.

One of the major things you can do is work on your endurance. Practicing distances greater than 400 meters at a quick pace.  It would also be a good idea to do drills where you train your lead leg as your trail leg and vice versa. Training your body to work past fatigue would prove to be helpful in getting over the last couple of hurdles.

Felix Sanchez is my favorite 400 meter hurdler. Felix is a Dominican indoor record holder. Watching his race he has all the skills needed to have held the record since 2006.  The 400 meter hurdles is for the elite athlete, with the 400 being hard enough actually finishing the 400 hurdles with a competitive time is no easy feat. 

Would you run a 400 hurdle? What do you think is the hardest part of this event? Which event do you think is the hardest?  Feel free to like, comment, subscribe, and share.

The 800 meter sprint is the subject of this post. It is the shortest common middle-distance running event. The 800 meters is run over two laps of the track. This is also an event i have experience in.

The 800 is considered a mid distance sprint. One of the major concerns with this event is heal  striking. Heal striking is when the foot contacting the ground heel first during the foot strike phase of walking or running. This is a problem because the heel is not designed to accept two to three times body weight. A lot of times this will cause damage to the tendons and muscles around the knee.

There are a couple things you can do to improve and avoid injury. You can slowly transition from  heel strike, to mid foot, to fore foot striking to minimize damage. It’s also very important to strengthen the muscles around the knee primarily being the quads and hamstrings.

David Rudisha is the current 800m record holder. After examining a couple of  his videos I noticed he also runs on his fore foot which may not be for everyone but I must be some what effective if it works for a world champion. He also runs his 800 like I do. He splits positive which means his first lap is faster than his second which is something most distance runners do not do.

Did you ever run a 800? Do you split negative or positive? Do you think this is becoming an extended sprint?  Feel free to like, comment, subscribe, and share.