40 yard dash times

[Ben dur]

at the combine it is all electronic and it starts at first movement as patrick said

but in highschool

i would say 90% of the times you hear are hand timed

the HAND timer starts when the athlete moves, and ends when the athlete finishes

as you can imagine it is almost a 2 man team event
where the timer, even if he anticipates the movement, has a margin of error, and the finish aswell is anticipates, and there is a margin of error, usually towards the lower time, because nobody would ever want to be accused of sabutaging a 40 time...


as you can imagin if someone has 1/10 of a second reaction time, and anticipates the finish by 1/10 of a second

well they just turned a 4.5sec. into a 4.3sec

or a 5.0sec into a 4.7sec

or even a 5.1sec into a 4.8 sec

wheras if the same runner performed it at a track and field event with reaction time, and an electronic timer

that 4.3 hand timed 40 would turn into a 4.5+ reaction time 4.6 or 4.7

so these incredible 4.3 times would likely be running 4.6+ on in a "race"

and even at 4.6 i dont believe half the people who spew that one

 

[Ben dur]

wow... just read Tmans post...

sorry...

 

[T_man]

wow... just read Tmans post...

sorry...

Was a copy and paste I won't take credit for it

 

[kh1]

Sprinters start at a speed of 0 and generally accelerate for the first 50 meters and then start to slowly decelerate during the last 30-40 meters.

A more accurate way to estimate Bolt's 40 yard dash time would be to use the 60 meter dash world record as a bench mark. The 60m WR is 6.39 seconds by Maurice Green. Bolt really started pulling away from the field around the 40-50 meter mark, so I would guess Bolt's 60m split would be about 6.35 seconds.

This means that Bolt ran the last 40 meters in 3.34 seconds or 0.0835 seconds per meter. If we assume his speed over the last 40 meters was the same as his speed between 40 yards (36.576m) and 60 meters, than his 40 yard dash time would be......drumroll please.....4.394 seconds.

There is a 0.1 or 0.2 second reaction time between the sound of the gun and when the sprinters start running.

This same reaction time works the opposite way for 40 yard dash times because coaches start the stop watch on the movement of the runners. Therefore the stopwatch starts 0.1 - 0.2 seconds after the runner goes.

So this means that when you hear a player at the NFL combine ran the 40 yard dash in 4.30 seconds, if he were running on a track with a starting gun, he would really have run between 4.50 and 4.70.

Therefore if you account for the reaction times, if Usain Bolt were to run the same 4.394 second 40 yard dash at the NFL combine, they would likely clock him at somewhere between 4.00 and 4.20 seconds.

Why use someone else as a proxy when we know that Bolt actually ran a 6.29 60 meters -- follow the link it has his splits

Wrong, stopwatches are used for handtiming.

NFL combine 40 yard starts at zero, and first movement is electronically timed by a starting line plane break, just like the end line.

To be as correct as possible, in my assessment

1. I used Bolt's actual 0-30 meter split (3.78)

2. I calculated the time to run the next 6.57 meters by calculating his average speed between 30 meters and 40 meters

I subtracted the reaction time of Usain Bolt from his elapsed time through the first 40 yards

Bolt would have run a 4.199 exactly, my analysis is correct, yours is not.

 

[T_man]

Why use someone else as a proxy when we know that Bolt actually ran a 6.29 60 meters -- follow the link it has his splits

Wrong, stopwatches are used for handtiming.

NFL combine 40 yard starts at zero, and first movement is electronically timed by a starting line plane break, just like the end line.

To be as correct as possible, in my assessment

1. I used Bolt's actual 0-30 meter split (3.78)

2. I calculated the time to run the next 6.57 meters by calculating his average speed between 30 meters and 40 meters

I subtracted the reaction time of Usain Bolt from his elapsed time through the first 40 yards

Bolt would have run a 4.199 exactly, my analysis is correct, yours is not.

Bolt's split minus reaction time is 3.615. The time for 30-40m is 0.87, which means we can assume he used 0.572112s for the next 6.756 meters. His time was 4.187112 if you're calculating it that way. Your analysis is wrong.

By the way I don't see what your analysis proves or disproves of my post. It was a rough estimation which fell within both your and my calculations.

But 100m is an event for speed endurance and Bolt conserves some energy for the end, as his fastest times (and times he pulls away) are post 50m. However if he was to do a 40 yard dash I'm guessing he would run it all out from the start. I think a time lower than 4.1 would be expected but you can't ever calculate these things.

 

[Merkaba]

Bolt's split minus reaction time is 3.615. The time for 30-40m is 0.87, which means we can assume he used 0.572112s for the next 6.756 meters. His time was 4.187112 if you're calculating it that way. Your analysis is wrong.

By the way I don't see what your analysis proves or disproves of my post. It was a rough estimation which fell within both your and my calculations.

But 100m is an event for speed endurance and Bolt conserves some energy for the end, as his fastest times (and times he pulls away) are post 50m. However if he was to do a 40 yard dash I'm guessing he would run it all out from the start. I think a time lower than 4.1 would be expected but you can't ever calculate these things.

Have you calculated the splits to see if he is actually "pulling away" post 50m or that he decelerating at a rate lesser than his competitors? The latter is usually the case.

 

[T_man]

Have you calculated the splits to see if he is actually "pulling away" post 50m or that he decelerating at a rate lesser than his competitors? The latter is usually the case.

Yep. 40-50m 0.85
50-80m - 0.82 each 10m
80-90m - 0.83

None the people he was being compared against, and i don't think anyone else either, have posted a 0.82 10m split. Furthermore, at 80-90m the average time was 0.86 whereas bolt's was 0.03 seconds faster than them, having the next person behind at 0.85.

Those 50m are faster than any 10m split from 0-40
90-100m was 0.90 but this was the 08 olympics in which he is seen to slow down in a boasting way so this cannot be classed as his actual sprint time for 90-100m.

 

[MaXeDouT]

Just wondering if someone with brains can help me out? I am currently a freshman in high school and i was asked to play varsity. At the moment I am 6'1 and 235 and i run a 5.65 40 yrd. Is this exceptionally well? I am still working in improving it but I would like some helpful feedback.

 

[Spaullba]

Its not very fast, but it could be worse for someone your age and size. Get in the weight room and lift, and run track for your high school. They will teach you the proper form to run with, which makes a huge difference. Also the fourty yard dash is alot about technique. Technique alone can take 1-3 tenths of a second off your time. I could go into some of the specifics of proper running form, but it probably wouldnt be understood very well over an internet forum and can be much more technical than lifting form... Plus I'm no guru, just run track, they will teach you well.

I'm guessing you play on either the o-line or d-line or TE (?). If you are playing on the inside of the o-line or d-line just try to get that time below a 5.3 (if you can get it even lower thats even better). If you are playing TE or DE (or even lb) I would try to get that time down to under 5.0. In the 4.8 area would be a reasonable goal. This is by the beginning of your senior yr in high school, so you got plenty of time to work. There are a lot of good speed and agility schools out there that you can consider depending on how serious you are about football, but they are expensive and sometimes just running track can help you achieve the same goals.

 

[Spaullba]

Plus reading through the old posts on this thread makes me laugh my fu**ing ass off. "I ran a 4.6 into the wind, bare foot, uphill"... Ok, yeah thats why half of the best college athletes arent even running a 4.5 fourty. you only hear about the most elite athletes running crazy times. But the majority of college football players, even good ones dont run faster than a 4.6 (even at skill positions like rb and db).

Run a 4.6 ELECTRIC, measured precisely, and stop lying about your 40 times people... I ran a 4.75 electric at the Nike combine I went to in 2006 and I was in the top 10 out of nearly 100 people at my position (lb). So some people need to stop lying to themselves... /end rant

 

[Merkaba]

I always kept my time as a relative time. I knew who the people were on the team that were faster and just ungodly fast and ran with them from time to time to gauge my speed. Even if its hand timed, if you run a 4.6 against a guy that runs a 4.3 it really confirms your speed. Thats the way I felt.

 

[Spaullba]

I also find that if you run against someone you tend to run a bit faster, the competition can fuel you. Tbh I am not a huge fan of the fourty yard dash to determine football ability or game speed. I know people who do not have the fastest fourty in the world, but on the field they will run your ass down (including myself).

 

[Merkaba]

And this is why 10 and 20 are starting to be timed more. I think most people "in the know" know that there is a difference. You hear the term speed then you hear "football speed". The fastest guy I've ever seen, in person, in my life was on our team. He wouldn't even run full speed in the 40, supposedly because he didn't want the coaches to know. I know personally how fast he is though. But in the 100 I could beat him, on a good day.

 

[Spaullba]

Yeah. Plus a lot of it has to do with how you can run with 20-40 lbs of football pads on your body, and after you are already fatigued. There are very few times in a football game where you are going to be coming out 100% rested, and the guys who can run fast with weight on their shoulders and after being out on the field for awhile are the ones who have "game speed".

 

[MaXeDouT]

Thanks for the good advice and feedback Spaullba! Yes, I am a OL,DL,DE, and LB. Since February I've been taking lifting seriously and have been working out around 4 times a week and i run every other day and on weekends i run twice. If you could I have been searching around many forums other than this site and I would like you to tell me what you think about my running routine since you seem to know quite a bit.
I run for 20 min.
first 6 min: light jog at 5 intensity from 1-10
1 min of highest intensity (10)
2 min. of medium intensity (7)
1 min high int.(10)
2 min medium int. (7)
1 min high intensity (10)
2 min medium int.(7)
then a 5 min. cool down at around 4 intensity.
Any feedback is greatly appreciated!!

 

[Spaullba]

Um, thats not bad for getting in shape but it may not be ideal for ideal for speed building. I would do one day of endurance running, like maybe run a couple miles at a steady pace (maybe a 6 on your scale of 1-10). Another day I would do some sprinting. Run 10 or 15 50 yard sprints with a 45 sec to a minute of rest between each. These should be absolutely as fast as you can. Another day I would do some stop and go and change of direction drills. You can do hollow sprints where you accelerate as fast as you can for 10-20 yards, coast for 10-20 yards, then quickly burst and sprint through for the final 10-20 yards. You could do some sort of cone drills where you are working on starting and stopping and footwork. I wouldnt run more than 3 days a week. You should be in the gym at least 3 days a week as well. Lower body lifting will help you get explosive off the line just as much if not more than running will.

Your coaches will likely make your team do conditioning once your off season practices start to pick up. Do w/e he says once you hit that point, but id mix it up with some long distance aerobic running, anaerobic sprinting, and change of direction running like I mentioned above. Hope it helps..

 

[Raymond Sugar]

I used to Run a 4.5, Fastest guy on our team Ran a 4.3

 

[MaXeDouT]

Thanks again Spaullba I'll try it out.

 

[KelJu]

When I was in highschool, our couch fudged all the numbers. Lol, he looked like he was curling 60lbs when he spotted bench presses.

I guess this is to add intimidation factor to other teams or some shit, or maybe give kids more confidence. Either way, I got my 300lb bench shirt when I was in 11th grade. Fact of the matter was I had never benched more than 275 before the day of the lift. He also adjusted the scales I think. No way I gained 10 lbs the day of weight ins.

 

[beachblondie1379]

That's not accurate at all. Only 2 lineman in the NFL in 2006 can run under a 5.0 and the average is a 5.15 for a 295 guy. Most highschool guys 6'2 275+ can't run near a 5.0. Infact at 6'3 276 I ran a 5.8 and that's a school record.

Wow, okay well... I ran faster than that when I was 11-years-old, not exagerating, it is a fact. I ran a 5.4 when I was 11.

 

[ceazur]

I'm 6'3'' 185lbs and run a 4.7

 

[Malthus77]

40 Yard Dash

I used to be a track guy, frustrated by the natural speed of the true talents in the sport. So I studied and a trained very seriously. With proper technique and training maybe you can shave 5-7% off of your 40 yard dash time. This is my advice:
* If possible, join a track team and get trained by a proper Sprint coach.
* Weight train.
* Run a lot of sprints.
* Learn proper starting techniques (like sprinters do).

I find it fascinating that a 48 year old guy like Herschel Walker can run the 40 yard dash in 4.38 seconds - amazing!

 

[eaglesfan!]

i am absolutly everywhere with my 40 is could be anywhere from a 4.6 to a 5.2, depends on how im feeling or whos timing. i play running-back for my high school but i would say im in the faster group of guys. most lineman on my team run around a 5.5-6 but i play in Manitoba Canada where the players aren't usually as athletically gifted as Americans do to only being able to play outside 4 out of the 12 months.

 

[irish_2003]

what a reasonable/average 40 yard dash time?

when i was getting out of the army, i accepted a walk-on tryout with a D-I college as a placekicker/punter.....they clocked me at a 4.67 average in 3 attempts with 3 different watches......i don't think it's very fast overall, but for a kicker yes.....to my understanding Emmitt Smith also ran a 4.67

 

[Testoman98]

Form is everything when it comes to speed. I ran a 4.45 going into my senior yr in high school, and that's what I concentrated on. Power will help obviously when looking at olympic level sprinters, but I was all of 130lbs then so its not everything. The main thing is if you're looking to gain some mass, then your speed training has to be just as important. You don't wanna put on weight then not be able to move it.

 

[tigersdb2]

I played safety for a D1AA (not a good team by any means) and we had maybe 3 kids on our team who ran sub 4.45 electric. If you're running a true sub 4.6 and it translates on the field, you're plenty fast to play with anyone. Technique and intincts become much much bigger components at that point

 

[jetpride43]

I'm bout 5.9 to 5.11 183lbs and my high school football team ran 40 yard dashes yesterday just to get a time for spring so we know where to go and im a freashman and i ran a 5.43 in flat bottom shoes and a hamstring cramp so and our freashman running back ran a 4.6 flat

 

[jetpride43]

Spaullba
sense you seem to know a lot from what i have read what do you think someone like me should be running in the 40 .. Lb last year 5'9"-6'0" 183lbs

 

[Diesel618]

I broke 4.0 for some D1 scouts but I had some character issues so they passed on me. I'm the best that never was basically

 

[Shooters]

5.5 for me. I haven't done it in a couple years.