SPRINTING: BASIC DRILLS

Common running mistakes are tilting the chin up and scrunching shoulders Elbows at 90 degrees and don't bend much rotate at shoulder Hip to eye level hand travels just behind hip through pocket height Opposite arm is the same angle as the lead leg. Drive elbows down then back (just back hunches shoulders) Head and eyes level Sitting Arm Action: Sit on the ground with legs together in front. 1) work on relaxed form. Increase speed. 2) Pump hard enough to raise your body off the ground Standing Arm Action: On balls of feet or lunge position, use arms only. Strong and full swing Head and eyes level. Shoulders low and relaxed. Elbows at 90 degrees Standing Foot Strike: Standing on one foot (holding onto something) knee to hip height, lightly strike the ground beneath the body. Basic Walk: start on balls of the feet, walk with each knee to at least hip height. When foot comes up, dorsal flex (toe towards knee) Plantar flex (straighten foot) right before it hits the ground Foot lands on ball just ahead of body, ripping through, digging (Check for kick back by standing with your back just in front of a wall and practice form.) Add skip Basic Walk + Kick Out: knee up, kick out so leg is straight at 90 degrees,, then down Add skip Straight Legs: Jog with legs as straight as possible while landing on the balls of your feet. High knees against wall: Holding yourself up against a wall near 45, run in place with knees up, staying on balls of your feet. High Knee Skip and bound Butt Kicks: arms tight to side with short motion. Heels kick top of hamstring (not back of butt) 10 slow, 10 medium, 10 fast Cariocas: For agility, keep knees bent and upper body low. For sprint speed and hips, stay more upright and raise the knee high when crossing over front leg. Bicycles: Every 3 steps land back on the same foot by quickly cycling the other foot in the air. Fire Feet: relaxed shoulders, high hips, head and eyes level Falling Start: Exhale every other pump

Walking on Toes Aims - develop balance and strengthen the lower leg muscles (reduce shin splints) Amount - two repetitions over 20 to 30 metres Action - walking on the balls of the feet - free leg to be lifted so that the thigh is parallel with the ground, lower leg vertical and the toes dorsi flexed (this end position can be held for a second or two to develop balance and a feel of the free leg position) Walking on Heels Aims - develop balance and strengthen the lower leg muscles (reduce shin splints) Amount - two repetitions over 20 to 30 metres Action - walking on the heels of the feet - free leg to be lifted so that the thigh is parallel with the ground, lower leg vertical and the toes dorsi flexed (this end position can be held for a second or two to develop balance and a feel of the free leg position) Sprint Arm Action Aims - develop shoulder muscle power and endurance Amount - 10 to 20 seconds Action - assume the lunge position, brace abdominals, maintain a straight back, fast sprint arm action Leg Cycling Aims - develop correct leg sprint action and strengthen hamstring muscles Amount - 10 to 20 seconds on each leg Action - stand next to a wall or rail that you can hold to maintain balance, stand tall, brace the abdominals, stand on the leg nearest the wall, lift the thigh of the other leg so it is parallel with the ground, the lower leg vertical and toes dorsiflexed, sweep the leg down and under your body, pull the heel up into the buttocks, cycle the leg though to the front, pull toes up, bring upper thigh through to be parallel with the ground, extend the lower leg and commence the next cycle Leg drives Aims - develop hip flexor strength and speed Amount - 10 to 20 seconds for each leg Action - stand facing a wall with your hands on the wall at chest height, position your feet so that the body is straight and at 45 degrees to the wall, keep you neck in line with your spine (head up), bring one leg up so the thigh is parallel with the ground, lower leg vertical and toes dorsiflexed (starting position), drive the foot down towards the ground, as the toes make contact with the ground, quickly pull the foot up and return the leg to its starting position Butt Kicks Aims - develop correct leg sprint action in the mid section following the drive off the rear leg Amount - two repetitions over 20 to 30 metres Action - fast leg movement on the balls of the feet - drive the knee up and bring the heel to the underside of the backside and the thigh parallel with the ground

Skips Aims - to develop correct leg and foot action in preparation for the foot strike Amount - two repetitions over 20 to 30 metres Action - skipping on the balls of the feet - free leg to be lifted so that the thigh is parallel with the ground, lower leg vertical and the toes dorsi flexed Side strides crossover Aims - to increase flexibility and range of hip movement Amount - two repetitions over 20 to 30 metres Action - steady jog sideways on the balls of the feet - right leg across the front of left leg, left leg across the back of the right leg, right leg across the back of the left leg, left leg across the front of right leg and repeat this sequence. Skip and clap Aims - to increase flexibility and range of horizontal leg movement Amount - two repetitions over 20 to 30 metres Action - skip on the balls of the feet - bring the whole leg up so it is horizontal with the ground, toes dorsi flexed and at the same time clap the hands together under the leg. The arms then come back up to the side to form a crucifix. Skip Claw Aims - to develop the claw action of the leading leg Amount - two repetitions over 20 to 30 metres Action - skip on the balls of the feet - bring the whole leg up so it is horizontal with the ground, toes dorsi flexed and then pull the lower leg down so that the ball of the foot claws the ground pulling you forward Skip for height Aims - to develop rear leg drive Amount - two repetitions over 20 to 30 metres Action - skipping on the balls of the feet - emphasis is on the rear leg drive and drive back of the elbow - free leg to be lifted so that the thigh is parallel with the ground, lower leg vertical and the toes dorsi flexed

Plyometric work
Leg Plyometric drills can be include as appropriate e.g. single leg hopping, bounding, bunny hops, tuck jumps - one set of 5 to 10 repetitions (aim for quality not quantity) Chest pass Aims - develop shoulder and chest strength and speed Amount - 10 to 20 seconds Action - stand approximately 2 metres away and facing a wall, hold a light medicine ball (2-5kg)

in your hands on its sides, knees relaxed, brace abdominals, keep back straight, push the ball powerfully away against the wall, meet the rebound with bent arms and hands ready to immediately push the ball back (do not catch then push back) Speed Hops Aims - develop reactive ability of your leg muscles Amount - 10 to 20 seconds on each leg Action - brace abdominals, keep back straight, look forward (not down), hop on the spot keeping the legs relatively straight (knees not locked), as the ball of the foot lands push explosively back up, minimise knee bend on landing Speed Hops Leg Cycling Aims - develop fast sprint leg cycling action - see Leg Cycling exercise above Amount - 5 to hops on each leg Action - brace abdominals, keep back straight, look forward (not down), hop forward on one leg, pull the heel up into the buttocks, cycle the leg though to the front, pull toes up, bring upper thigh through to be parallel with the ground, extend the lower leg and land on the ball of the foot, immediately explode back up and commence the next cycle

Run outs
Aims - to develop a tall, relaxed and smooth sprint action Amount - six repetitions over 40 metres Action - tip start and gradually build up of speed over the 40 metres - first two reps focus on a tall action, next two on tall and relaxed and the last two on tall, relaxed and smooth Aims - to develop the elbow drive Amount - three repetitions over 100 metres (60 metres effort + 40 metres run out) Action - tip start and over the first 30 metres gradually build up the speed and a tall, relaxed and smooth action - at 30 metres gradually add elbow drive to reach full sprint speed at 50 metres maintain the tall, relaxed, smooth and drive action to 60 metres - sprinting through the 60 metres point is essential - gradually slow down over the next 40 metres

Page Reference
The reference for this page is: MACKENZIE, B. (2002) Sprint Drills [WWW] Available from: http://www.brianmac.co.uk/sprints/sprintdrills.htm [Accessed 9/11/2011]

Common Mistakes - Trouble Shooting Sprinting Mechanics 1. Arm Action- If you run with tense arms, practice loose, swinging movements from a standing

2.

3.

4.

5.

6. 7.

position. Remember to swing from the shoulder and have them relaxed at approximately 90-140 degrees flexion at all times. Although the arms work opposite direction to the legs, they must be coordinated with the action of the legs for maximum sprinting efficiency. Drive the hand from the chest level through the "hip pocket". While swinging the arm, keep the elbow tight to the body. This will help eliminate the rotational forces that produce an inefficient motion. Body Lean- Your body should have a slight forward lean (no more than 4-6 degrees). It is important to note that the angle of the lean comes from the ground, not the waist. The lean is caused by displacing your center of gravity in the direction you are running, leaning and bending from the waist will interfere with the correct mechanics of sprinting. Arch both the upper and lower back slowly. This will help main an erect torso and keep the hips in proper position. Foot Contact- Do Not Run Up on Your Toes! The toes offer no power or stability to you and if you run on your toes, you will not be able to run as fast. Instead, snap the down leg back beneath the hips, the foot should naturally hit on the balls of their feet. You can then push against the ground, but do not reach and pull the ground; this strategy will result in injuries, poor sprinting mechanics, and slow times. Over striding- This is the worst and most often misunderstood element of sprinting. Do not reach and over stride to increase stride length, but rather push against the ground and let the foot land underneath the center of gravity. Any placement of the foot in front of the center of gravity will cause "braking forces" that will result in slowing the body down. Lock the down leg out into full extension to maximize the power production of the stride. Under striding- To prevent being too quick because too much turnover will cause you to run fast in one place and not much ground will be covered. Remember that quality sprint speed is combination of stride length and stride frequency, and one does not replace the other. Drive the lead leg up and out, punching it toward the finish line, not just lifting it upward. Tension- Do not try to power through a race or sprint effort. To run fast, stay relaxed. Running tight will result in slower times. Eyes- Focus the eyes straight ahead in what is called a "conversational plane". To do this, you must avoid tilting the head in any direction.