Why You NEED Data to Level Up Your Sprinting

You’ve seen it: some sprinters squat 3X their bodyweight and explode off the floor in the weight room… Yet when the gun goes off, they get smoked by a skinny guy with bouncy legs like Gout Gout.

Why? Because just strength or explosivity is not enough.

But what else should sprinters measure besides split times on track?

That’s exactly what I wanted to understand. So I went to Davaj Makaj to test myself under the expert eye of sprint coach Pali Vagaský.

You’ll get:

• The four tests we ran—including my exact results.

• Why this kind of testing reveals more than a stopwatch ever could.

• What I learned about myself—and how it instantly shifted how I train

Read to the end, and you might not just understand your body better—You may finally see where your edge can be hiding.

Ready?

Before Testing, Of Course, We Warmed Up!

I followed my usual protocol—minus the 100s since we were indoors. If you're curious, here's the full breakdown: My Warm-Up Routine.

The goal wasn’t to get sweaty. It was to feel switched on.

Just enough mobility, activation, and a few crisp plyos to prime the system without using up any juice.

Once I felt sharp, we moved straight into the weigh-in.

Test 1: Squat Jump

67 kg that day. Light, lean, ready.

From there, we went straight into the first test: Squat Jump.

Here’s the data from that session:

• Best jump height: 53.8 cm

• Flight time: 674 ms

• Peak force: 3.15 kg/kg (L: 1.53 | R: 1.62, asymmetry 5.2 %)

• Propulsive RFD: 770 kg/s (L: 377 | R: 393, asymmetry 4.0 %)

• Peak power: 84.4 W/kg (L: 41.4 | R: 42.9, asymmetry 3.5 %)

• Absolute power: 5 653 W (L: 2 776 | R: 2 877, asymmetry 3.5 %)

No countermovement. No help from hands. Just pure concentric force from a static position.

Why this matters: This test strips away momentum and stretch-reflex. It isolates how much raw power you can produce from a dead stop.

From there, we moved on to a more elastic expression…

Test 2: Countermovement Jump

Next up was the Countermovement Jump (CMJ).

I’m in the 0.11% Club!

According to the KINVENT database, the population average for this test is 38.2 cm.

My jump?

57.9 cm.

That puts me ahead of 99.89% of people tested.

Unlike the squat jump, here you get to dip down and preload your tendons before exploding upward. That stretch-shortening cycle—the quick switch from eccentric to concentric contraction—is exactly what your sprint muscles rely on every step.

Here’s the data from that session:

• Best jump height: 57.9 cm

• Flight time: 700 ms

• Peak force: 3.22 kg/kg (L: 1.55 | R: 1.72, asymmetry 7.0 %)

• Deceleration RFD: 1 318 kg/s (L: 619 | R: 699, asymmetry 11.5 %)

• Peak power: 78.1 W/kg (L: 38.8 | R: 39.3, asymmetry 1.2  %)

• Absolute power: 5 236 W (L: 2 776 | R: 2 877, asymmetry 3.5 %)

When you watch sprinters, the best aren’t just strong—they’re elastic machines, converting every inch of stretch into forward momentum.

The result? A number that reveals how effectively you’re using your body’s spring.

From here, we pushed into rhythm territory with…

Test 3: Repetitive Jumps

Then came the Repetitive Jumps—a series of continuous, reactive jumps measured over a short burst.

Here’s the data from that session:

• Average Jump Height: 35.1 cm

• Average RSI: 3.70

• Average Force: 313.4 kg

• Average Contact Time: 145 ms

This test isn’t just about how high you can go. It’s about how you can express power with minimal ground contact.

Why this matters for sprinters:

• It reveals your stretch-shortening cycle efficiency—how fast and cleanly you can reload power.

• It exposes breakdowns in rhythm, stiffness, or coordination that could bleed time in your top-end phase.

If I drop contact time to ~120 ms while keeping 35+ cm height?

We’re talking elite turnover.

Then we moved to the final test. The most brutal one. Static. Maximal. No movement at all…

Test 4: Isometric Mid-Thigh Pull

Last on the list: the Isometric Mid-Thigh Pull.

No video here unfortunately.

But you step into position, grip the bar, and pull as hard as humanly possible against an immovable object.

Image source: ResearchGate

Here’s the data from that session:

• Net Peak Force: 323.3 kg (L: 142.8 | R: 180.5, asymmetry: 20.9 %)

• Time To Max Force: 3.98 s

No technique to save you. No bar speed. Just you, your nervous system, and the raw force you can generate.

Why this test hits different:

• It isolates your maximal force potential—what your body can summon without any momentum or stretch.

• It’s brutally honest. You can’t “game” the test with cheating.

This is the part of the sprint few people train directly—how hard and how fast your body can activate every available fiber.

And because there’s no movement, fatigue doesn’t mask effort. You either produce force or you don’t.

The asymmetry (20.9%) shows a significant max strength imbalance—right leg over-dominance.

That means I need more targeted unilateral strength training and physio from my favorite specialist as well.

Image Source: Flow Hight Performance

And when it was over, I had one thing most sprinters never get:

A data-backed snapshot of what my body can actually do.

Analysis: More Than Just Numbers

Some of the results confirmed what I already felt in training.

But others quietly exposed what I’ve been missing.

That’s the value of testing.

It doesn’t just tell you if you're improving—it shows where, how, and what’s next.

One Session > Months of Guessing

People will spend entire off-seasons guessing if what they’re doing is working.

If you're serious about sprinting — I’m talking shaving tenths, not just staying fit — then this kind of regular testing isn't optional. It’s the edge.

Thank You, Pali

Big thanks to Pavol Vagaský.

He didn’t just run me through a bunch of tests—he paid attention. The little cues, the pacing, the exactness of every setup—it showed.

You can tell he’s done this a hundred times, and he still brings the kind of presence that makes you want to hit every single rep as hard as you can.

What a time to be alive!