What a Great Front Hurdle Actually Looks Like — Part 3

Parts 1 and 2 covered what can go wrong in a hurdle and how to fix it. Part 3 is a little different. I want to show you what it looks like when all of that comes together at an elite level.

Because seeing it done really well, broken down rep by rep, is one of the best coaching tools there is.

Watch the Full Breakdown

What You'll Learn

• Key #1: The two things that give you 80–90% of your hurdle progress
• Key #2: Why you should take every hurdle you get — and what that actually means

The Two Things That Give You 80–90% of Your Progress

After everything in this series, here's where I'd put your attention:

Foot placement and weight distribution. When you step out on that hurdle step, are your toes too far in front? Are you loading too much onto your heel? That balance point is the difference between landing back, landing forward, and landing right. It takes a lot of reps to find it, but once you do it starts to feel natural. Work on this one more than anything else.

Arm swing through momentum. Let the arms swing and carry themselves up. Don't muscle them. If your upper body is relaxed and your swing starts early enough, your arms should get above your head without your shoulders doing much work at all. When it's right, it feels almost effortless.

Get those two things right and you've solved most of the hurdle. Everything else is refinement.

Take Every Hurdle You Get

This is maybe the most underrated lesson in this whole series. Don't get in the habit of balking and waiting for the perfect hurdle. Even the best divers in the world take subpar hurdles and rip dives anyway. That's what makes them great.

They can take what they get and still make it work.

Obviously, if a hurdle is genuinely dangerous, don't go. That's just smart. But if you're a little off, take it. Figure out the adjustment in the air. You're going to smack sometimes in practice and that's fine, that's how you learn. What you don't want is a habit of waiting for conditions that are never going to be perfect.

Do your drill work, pay attention to the details, and put in the reps. The hurdle is a long journey, but every rep you take is one more data point on what works for you. Keep going.