Which hand goes down in a three-point stance?

The hand opposite your front foot. With the left foot forward, the right hand goes down and the left arm is cocked back. On the first move the down hand rips back as your back leg drives forward, and the free arm punches forward.

Is a three-point or two-point stance faster for the 40?

The research is thin and mixed. A 2023 conference study of 16 college sprinters found three-point starts faster than standing starts over the first 10 m, while an older study found standing and crouch starts reached 25 m and 50 m in similar times. Timing method changes results by tenths of a second, so test both stances with the same timing setup and keep the faster one.

When does the clock start in the 40-yard dash?

At the NFL Combine the athlete starts when ready, without a gun, and the clock starts on the athlete's first movement. Reporting on the Combine describes the start as hand-timed, with a laser stopping the clock at the finish. Reaction time is not part of the time.

Where should your weight be in a three-point stance?

Forward. For the 40 you only go straight ahead, so shift weight onto the down hand and front foot until you would fall forward without the hand, while keeping pressure on the back foot. A football stance for game snaps keeps the weight more balanced so you can also move back or sideways.

How to set a three-point stance for the 40-yard dash

Q: How do you get in a 3 point stance for the 40-yard dash?

Put your stronger leg in front, toe one to two foot lengths behind the line, and set the back foot so its toes line up with your front heel, hip-width apart. Put the opposite hand down just behind the line under your shoulder, cock the free arm back by your hip, raise your hips slightly above your shoulders and shift your weight forward onto the hand.

By the Sprint University coaching team

For a 40-yard dash three-point stance, put your stronger leg in front with the toe one to two foot lengths behind the line, and the back foot's toes level with your front heel, hip-width apart. Put the opposite hand down just behind the line under your shoulder, raise your hips slightly above your shoulders, and rock forward until a good share of your weight is on the hand.

At the NFL Combine there is no gun. You start when you are ready and the clock starts on your first movement, so reaction time doesn't count. What counts is how much push you get from that first move, and a loaded three-point stance is set up to give you a big one.

How to set a three-point stance for the 40

Your stance has one job: let both legs push hard and forward on your first movement. Set it the same way every time, in this order.

1.Pick your front foot

Your stronger push-off leg

Most athletes put the leg they would jump off or push from in front. If you aren't sure, time a few 10-yard starts with each foot forward and keep the faster one.

2.Set your feet

Hip-width apart

Stand with your front toe about one to two foot lengths behind the line. Step the back foot back until its toes line up roughly with your front heel. Both feet point straight ahead, about hip-width apart side to side.

3.Put the hand down

Opposite hand to front foot

Kneel on your back knee, then place the hand on the side of your back foot just behind the line, under or slightly ahead of your shoulder. Make a high bridge with your fingertips and thumb, arm straight.

4.Load the free arm

Elbow bent, hand by the hip

The other arm, on the side of your front foot, goes back with the elbow bent and the hand at or just behind your hip. It is cocked to punch forward on your first move.

5.Raise the hips

Slightly above the shoulders

Lift your back knee off the ground and raise your hips until they sit a little higher than your shoulders. Your front knee bends to roughly a right angle and the back knee is more open, so both legs can push.

6.Shift your weight forward

Onto the hand and front foot

Rock forward until your shoulders are over or just ahead of the down hand and you feel real pressure through it. If someone pulled the hand away, you should fall forward. Keep pressure on the back foot too.

7.Head and eyes

Neutral, eyes down

Let your head hang in line with your spine and look at the ground a yard or so ahead. Looking up at the finish lifts your chest and pulls your hips down.

The how to get faster for football guide uses the same stance. These measurements are a starting point. Leg length, hip mobility and strength change what works, so adjust one thing at a time and time your 10-yard split to check.

Part of the stance	Starting point	Signs it's off
Front foot	1–2 foot lengths behind the line	Cramped over the line, or stretched with a flat back knee
Stagger	Back toes level with front heel	Feet side by side, or back foot so far back it can't push
Foot width	About hip-width	Feet crossed in line, or wide enough to swing the hips
Down hand	Just behind the line, under the shoulder	Hand far ahead of the shoulders, so weight sits back
Hips	Slightly above the shoulders	Hips level with the head, or sitting low near the heels
Weight	Forward on hand and front foot	Hand barely touching, heels pressed down

The 40-yard dash start: your first steps

The start is a push. Both legs drive the ground back while the down hand rips back past your hip and the free arm punches forward. Your back leg drives through low and fast for the first step. The sprint arm swing guide covers what the arms do in acceleration.

Make the first movement forward. Any rock backward, or a short step back with the front foot, costs time, and with the clock starting on first movement it costs it after the clock is running.
Land the first steps under or behind your hips. A first step that reaches out in front lands as a brake.
Stay low and let your body rise gradually over about the first 10 yards. In acceleration, faster sprinters keep more of their force pointed forward as they speed up, and popping upright points it up.
Run through the finish. Pick a point a few yards past the 40 so you don't ease off before the line.

The block start guide goes further into the push and first steps, and acceleration drills covers training the next 30 yards.

How the NFL Combine times the start

At the Combine, players are timed at 10, 20 and 40 yards. A Steelers scout quoted by NFL.com said they time the 10 to see how fast a player gets off, and the 20 to see if he has long speed. The 10-yard split is the part of the run your stance controls most.

The NFL has used partly electronic timing at the Combine since 1999. Reporting from 2013 described the start as timed by hand, with the electronic timer started on the player's first movement and a laser at the finish stopping it. Players ran twice, and each run was timed by two handheld stopwatches and the electronic timer. Times shown live can change: in 2022, Tyquan Thornton's unofficial 4.21 was posted right after his run and his official time was later given as 4.28 after review against the electronic timing.

What that means for your start:

There is no gun to react to. Settle, hold still, and go when you are ready.
The clock starts when you move, so any movement before your real push, such as a flinch, a rock back or a false step, adds to your time.
Your 40 is only comparable with times taken the same way. Hand times, laser times and timing gates started by a pad under your hand will all differ.

The average 40-yard dash time page compares hand and electronic times, and fastest 40-yard dash lists the best Combine runs since 1999.

The Sprint University app

Train the acceleration your 40 depends on

Sprint University programs acceleration, top speed, speed endurance, plyos and strength week by week from your current times. On a low-readiness day it keeps the intensity and trims multi-set blocks to about 70% of their sets.

Get Sprint University

Three-point vs two-point stance: what the research shows

Few studies compare stances directly, and the ones that exist are small. They do show that the way a sprint is started and timed can change the result by tenths of a second.

In a 2012 study, 25 athletes ran 40m from blocks, a three-point stance and a standing start under different timing triggers. Three-point starts timed from the moment the hand left the ground were 0.17 seconds faster over 40m than block starts timed from the gun. The authors put the differences down to whether reaction time was included and to the momentum and body position the athlete had when timing began.
A 2023 conference study of 16 college sprinters found block starts fastest over the first 10m of a 50m sprint, and three-point starts faster than standing starts. The authors suggested the three-point start could replace the standing start in training. It was published as an abstract, without the times.
A 2004 study of six university sprinters compared standing and crouch starts over 50m. The standing start gave a higher speed over the first steps, the advantage was gone by 10m, and there was no significant difference in time to 25m or 50m.
A 2023 study of 12 team sport athletes started from a staggered two-point stance and triggered five timing methods on every rep. Depending on the method, athletes had moved different distances and reached different speeds when the clock started, and their 5m times differed by small to very large amounts. The authors' advice was to compare sprint times only when the starting method is identical.

In a 40 timed from first movement, you want the stance that gives you the biggest push on that first movement. The three-point stance is the standard choice, but none of these studies tested football players running a 40. To find out which is faster for you, time 10-yard starts from both stances on the same day with the same timing method, and keep the faster one.

The three-point stance in football

On the field, linemen, fullbacks and some running backs use a three-point stance for a different job. A game stance has to let you go forward, backward or sideways at the snap without tipping off which one, so it is more balanced than a 40 stance:

Feet about shoulder-width or a little wider, with a smaller stagger.
Back flat and hips about level with the shoulders.
Less weight on the down hand, so you can step back into a pass set.
Eyes up at your target.

For the 40 you only go one way, so narrow the feet to hip-width, lengthen the stagger and put much more weight forward. The same athlete will usually have two different three-point stances, one for snaps and one for timed sprints.

Three-point start drills

Practice starts at the beginning of a session, after a full sprint warm-up, while you are fresh. Rest fully between reps.

Stance and hold

5 × 3 s holds

Set your stance, hold it still for three seconds while a coach or a phone camera checks your hips, hand and weight, then stand up and reset. It builds a setup you can find the same way every time.

Three-step get-offs

5–6 reps, walk-back rest

From your stance, explode through three steps and stop. Check that the first step lands under or behind your hips and that your body stays low. This is the drill for the first move, without the fatigue of a full sprint.

Falling starts

4 × 10 yards

Stand tall, lean forward from the ankles until you have to step, then sprint 10 yards. It teaches the long forward lean you want out of the stance.

Resisted starts

3–4 × 10–15 yards

Start from your stance with a light sled or a partner holding a band around your waist. The resistance forces a long, low push. Follow each set with a free start so you practice the speed as well as the push.

Timed 10-yard starts

4–6 reps, 2–3 min rest

Full-effort starts from your stance to 10 yards, timed the same way each time. The 10-yard split tells you whether a change to your stance helped.

Common mistakes

Rocking back before you go: A rock back or a step back with the front foot happens after the clock starts. Hold still and make your first movement a push forward.
Weight sitting back: The hand barely touches and the heels are down, so your first move has to bring you forward before you can push. Shift your shoulders over the hand.
Hips too high or too low: Hips level with your head make the back leg straight and weak. Hips sitting low make you stand up before you push. Start slightly above shoulder height.
Popping straight up: Standing up in the first two steps points your force upward. Stay low and rise gradually over about 10 yards.
Reaching with the first step: A long first step lands in front of your hips and brakes. Drive the knee forward and punch the foot back down under you.
Looking up at the finish: Lifting your head pulls your chest up and your hips down. Look at the ground a yard ahead and let your eyes come up as you rise.

You can rate your 40 time against high school, college and Combine averages, or convert it with 40-yard dash to 100m.