What do Usain Bolt, Asafa Powell and Tyson Gay have in common?
Usain Bolt, Tyson Gay, Asafa Powell
Yes, they are the fastest three sprinters in history, but that’s not what I’m talking about.
I’m talking about their dysfunctional posture that has created injuries and hampered performance in their careers. This has been very evident this year as Usain Bolt pulled out of a meet in June because of an Achilles tendon issue and now with a season ending back injury.
Tyson Gay is nursing a tight hamstring and a disk out of alignment in his spine.
Asafa Powell pulled out a recent meet because of an ongoing back injury.
All three sprinters have also had hamstring pulls, tears, and injuries in the past – something that is very common among sprinters. But why?
Sprinting is a power sport. Power is work divided by time. The thought process of sprinters and coaches has been if we can increase strength while maintaining quickness we will increase power. More power equals faster times. Usain, Asafa and Tyson have all worked very hard at this and have been successful…but what did they forget about in this process? Balance. They have all developed muscle imbalances as they have gotten stronger which are the cause of these injuries.
Sprinters know they need strong hip flexors and these three athletes have built up very strong hip flexors but the problem is they have not maintained balance in their hip musculature as they’ve done this. The hip flexor is overpowering the hamstrings and gluts. This has tipped the pelvis anterior.
Now every time they lift weights, do drills or sprint they are doing so with the anterior pelvis which is creating more imbalance – hip flexors get stronger as gluts and hamstrings get weaker. The hip flexors pull the lumbar spine into excessive extension (lordosis), the femurs rotate externally, and the feet evert. The upper back will eventually round forward into flexion (kyphosis) and pull the head and shoulders forward with it. Egoscue calls this posture Condition 1. 
The body being in this dysfunctional posture can no longer create the power it used to (evident by the slower times we see them run) and eventually something has to give – the hamstring tears or the low back spasms or disc herniates.
The good news is there is something you can do to bring the body back into balance. It all starts with posture. Corrective e-cises will bring the body back into postural balance, allowing injuries to heal, and allowing the athlete to get back to performing at 100%.
Usain Bolt, Tyson Gay and Asafa Powell might be at those cross-roads where they will figure out what the real problem is (their posture imbalances) and correct them to run new world records next year or continue down the same path of strengthening their imbalances leading to more injuries and maybe never running PR’s again.
What road looks more appealing to you?
What do Usain Bolt, Asafa Powell and Tyson Gay have in common?
Usain Bolt, Tyson Gay, Asafa Powell
Yes, they are the fastest three sprinters in history, but that’s not what I’m talking about.
I’m talking about their dysfunctional posture that has created injuries and hampered performance in their careers. This has been very evident this year as Usain Bolt pulled out of a meet in June because of an Achilles tendon issue and now with a season ending back injury.
Tyson Gay is nursing a tight hamstring and a disk out of alignment in his spine.
Asafa Powell pulled out a recent meet because of an ongoing back injury.
All three sprinters have also had hamstring pulls, tears, and injuries in the past – something that is very common among sprinters. But why?
Sprinting is a power sport. Power is work divided by time. The thought process of sprinters and coaches has been if we can increase strength while maintaining quickness we will increase power. More power equals faster times. Usain, Asafa and Tyson have all worked very hard at this and have been successful…but what did they forget about in this process? Balance. They have all developed muscle imbalances as they have gotten stronger which are the cause of these injuries.
Sprinters know they need strong hip flexors and these three athletes have built up very strong hip flexors but the problem is they have not maintained balance in their hip musculature as they’ve done this. The hip flexor is overpowering the hamstrings and gluts. This has tipped the pelvis anterior.
Now every time they lift weights, do drills or sprint they are doing so with the anterior pelvis which is creating more imbalance – hip flexors get stronger as gluts and hamstrings get weaker. The hip flexors pull the lumbar spine into excessive extension (lordosis), the femurs rotate externally, and the feet evert. The upper back will eventually round forward into flexion (kyphosis) and pull the head and shoulders forward with it. Egoscue calls this posture Condition 1.
The body being in this dysfunctional posture can no longer create the power it used to (evident by the slower times we see them run) and eventually something has to give – the hamstring tears or the low back spasms or disc herniates.
The good news is there is something you can do to bring the body back into balance. It all starts with posture. Corrective e-cises will bring the body back into postural balance, allowing injuries to heal, and allowing the athlete to get back to performing at 100%.
Usain Bolt, Tyson Gay and Asafa Powell might be at those cross-roads where they will figure out what the real problem is (their posture imbalances) and correct them to run new world records next year or continue down the same path of strengthening their imbalances leading to more injuries and maybe never running PR’s again.
What road looks more appealing to you?