1. Start with Wall Drivers
The most important part of sprinting is the start. To practice the correct starting form:
- Stand in front of a wall in a two-point stance, as shown in the following video.
- Drive into the wall, achieving triple extension (hip extension, knee extension, ankle plantar flexion) on your back leg, and drive your front knee forward and up to hip height. Your front knee should be bent at 90 degrees in the top position.
2. Perform Heavy Sled Drags
Another way to practice efficient acceleration at the start is to perform Heavy Sled Drags for 10 to 15 yards. To be considered "heavy," the weight on the sled should be close to your max Squat. The key here, as with Wall Drives, is to achieve triple extension on the back leg while powerfully driving your front knee forward. Then drive your front foot down and back into the ground to propel yourself forward instead of reaching out and "pulling" yourself forward.
3. Dvelop Isometric and Eccentric Hamstring Strength
The best way to train your hamstrings to improve running speed is to perform eccentric and isometric exercises. When running, the hamstrings don't act primarily as knee flexors. Instead, they work to keep the knee joint stable as force transfers from the hips. They also assist the glutes in hip extension and slow down knee extension during the swing phase.
For isometric strength, do Bent-Knee Hip Thrusts on a ball or bench for three sets of 10 to 15 reps. Start with your knees at a 10- to 20-degree bend and maintain that angle throughout the entire exercise by contracting your hamstrings. Don't rest your butt on the ground. Just tap and go. Add weight in the form of a barbell or dumbbell placed across your waist if necessary.
4. Use Good Arm Swing Mecanics
An easy way to speed up your sprint is to make sure your arms are moving efficiently. As you run, keep your elbows at 90 degrees and bring each hand up in front of your face. Lower your hand as if you're about to put it in your pocket. Don't let yourself hunch forward with slouched shoulders; it will slow you down.
The Rev-Up Start is a good drill to ingrain good arm swing mechanics. Get into a two-point stance and move your arms as if you were running. Keep your shoulders back and your arms at 90 degrees. After a few practice arm swings, take off into a sprint and maintain focus on your arm swing.
5. Improve Stride Length
Many runners make the mistake of taking lots of short, choppy steps when they try to run fast. A better option is to take longer strides, and make them as powerful as possible. To lengthen your stride, focus on getting full triple extension on your back leg, rather than attempting to reach forward with your front leg. If your foot lands in front of your center of gravity during acceleration, it will slow you down; so focus on driving your feet back at ground strike instead of just letting your feet smack the ground.
Hello i'm Óscar and i do this post about how to improve your speed. I think that the speed is a important part in a lot of sports, it could be useful too if you go late to school or to meet your friends.
ResponderEliminarIn this post you have five steps that you can use to start to improve your speed, i like this post because u learn some exercises that i dont know what you could use it to improve your speed. I hope you like the post and that has helped you.
Thanks for teaching us this post. It has been very good for me, because before the speed test I wasn´t sure how to starting position, how to run faster ...
ResponderEliminarI think I make one of the mistakes you have named in the post: When I try to run faster I start to take shorter and shorter steps, so I travel less distance and I get very tired . I also support my heels.
I have to practice more and try to do what the post says: take longer strides, and make them as powerful as possible
Hello, Óscar. I have been reading your post and I've seen that's is very interesting. I found interesting the mistake of many, as it is said in the post the taking lots of short steps when they are trying to run faster; actually I supposed that, but I didn't supposed that it happened to a lot of people. Another thing that caught my attention was the moving of arms, you'd probably see very funny doing that, practicing moving your arms as if you were running.
ResponderEliminarIf you like athletism and you are fan of it or you are going to participate in races or competitions this post explain us how to improve in this type of sport. For example, one of the most important things is to perform a good start because the seconds that you can gain or you can lose are so important to the rest of the race, this post explain us how to improve in this. It tells us ways to train speed, like run with weight. The post says that to run well not only the legs are important, how you move the arms is important too.
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