Electric Hurdles
Hub / Progression and Confidence / 4

The Complete Equation

Discounted hurdles train most of the Electric equation. Race height, race spacing, and above-race height complete it.

Founder method
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01Teach from here

Discount Is Only Part of It

Discounted hurdles train frequency, short ground contact, stiffness, Pitter-Patter, Pop and Bounce.The athlete also has to meet race height and race spacing.And, for male hurdlers when there is time in the program, above race height.

“If all you do as a coach is show the athlete low, short, discounted hurdles to increase their stride frequency and ground contact ... You'd only be doing part of the equation.”
SourcesFIT · 20260810-112804-CDX
Coach notes
  • Under harder geometry the intent is to keep the same stiff, quick, economical movement developed under discount, not to chase an immediate speed gain.
  • Discount heights the founder uses when speeding athletes up: 36 inches on the men's side, 30 inches on the women's.
SourcesKU-015AK; FIT · 20260810-112804-CDX
02Teach from here

Above Race Height

Above-race-height exposure has been tested and proven in male hurdlers only.For female hurdlers, the founder has gone to race height for a stretch, never above.He is open to experimenting above race height with females, because the principle is the same.

Coach notes
  • The founder's case: his 15-year-old drilled over 39-inch hurdles, used 39-inch hurdles on the speed drills, raced over 42-inch hurdles, and broke the world record in his age group over 42-inch hurdles. This site reports that as the founder's result record; it is not independently verified here.
  • Use it when there is time in the program to afford it. The founder ruled that no further condition belongs on the statement.

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  • Ambiguity The 2026-08-10 transcript mentions "even going 36 in. high on the women's side" in the overload passage; the founder's later boundary statement says females have never gone above race height. The later direct statement is the canon boundary; the earlier phrase is preserved and unreconciled.
SourcesKU-015AP; KU-015AQ; KU-015AM; FIT · 20260810-115727-CDX
03Teach from here

Normalize, Then Return

Overload height may slow the athlete at first.Repeated exposure normalizes it, in a couple of weeks.Return to race height or discount, and the familiar task feels easy.

Coach notes
  • "Whether it's physical or psychological, I don't care. It doesn't matter because it works. The perception of effort drops."
  • Back at a discount of 4, 3 and 2 feet after a block over harder geometry, hurdling "is going to feel so easy."
  • The founder describes the athlete adapting like putty over that period.
SourcesKU-015AL; FIT · 20260810-112804-CDX

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