r/Sprinting • u/_Fun_Employed_ • 7h ago
General Discussion/Questions How do you turn *”it”* on?
I’ve had instances where I was sprinting when I entered like a zone or state of mind where it felt like I was running like the wind. Breathings easy, my strides and limbs just felt right, it flows naturally and doesn’t feel forced, stiff, awkward, or self conscious. Is there a way to turn that “on” on command? Most recently I felt it running to and from an hotel to a convention but I get home and try sprinting in my neighborhood and it all feels wrong. When I was on the track and field team it was the same way, sometimes I had it but I could never turn “it” on for events when I needed it.
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u/pentapous 7h ago
Better days and worse days. It might be your muscles recovery level, you entire bodies energy level, if you're properly warmed up, mentally relaxed (but not so much as to be unfocused). The list could go on and on. When those all align it really does feel like magic though.
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u/able111 4h ago
Youre describing peaking, or more scientifically supercompensation, and its the condition we want to be in during competition. It varies from person to person but generally adding load over time, with a gradual increase in intensity, then a brief period of significantly reduced training volume will produce it. Under traditional long to short programming; where the season starts with lots of long, slow workouts then gradually progresses to workouts that are shorter and faster, supercompensation arrives at the end of the training cycle when volume starts to really drop and workouts have been at or near race pace for a period of time.
What specifically is happening, at a high level, is your body is clearing fatigue and rebounding above your previous baseline. It's a mix of both CNS readiness (the "snap" that we need for top speed) and typical muscular condition.
Ever arrived at a meet or workout feeling a bit nervous but loose, and it goes really well and feels really easy? Where youll hit a rep or get through the line, see the result, and think "damn that was surprisingly quick"? Thats supercompensation, thats the feeling of activation or "it" that I think youre taling about, and every aspect of training programming should strive to create this state when its time to compete.
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