Warm-up kinematics influence in 30m sprint performance

The scientific community has been looking for warm-up strategies to optimize sprint ability. However, most of the studies focused on performance and physiological variables without the full understanding of the effects of warm-up on the biomechanical variables of running. Therefore, this study aimed to analyse the effect of the manipulation of the running technique during warm-up on 30m sprint performance. Thirty-one men physically active participated in this study. The subjects underwent into two warm-up protocols in a randomized order. One of warm-up protocols consisted of exercises with focus on the stride frequency (WUF) and the other with focus on the stride length (WUL). The variables tested were the sprint time of 0-15m (T0-15), of 15-30 m (T15-30) and 0-30m (T30), stride frequency (SF) and stride length (SL). Results revelled that WUF produced improvements of performance in first 15m (WUF: 2.59 +/- 0.11s vs. WUL: 2.63 +/- 0.15s; p = 0.03, d = 0.30) and the WUL produced improvements of performance in second 15m (WUF: 1.94 +/- 0.19s vs. WUL: 1.88 +/- 0.09s; p = 0.05, d = 0.39). We can conclude that manipulating the sprinting technique may cause positive changes in the motor pattern of this movement.