Train to run faster

I also fall back on my training in elite sports mental performance to train to run faster. I used this sports hypnosis cd, when my body wanted to quit. This cd is designed to help you be your very best in your sport.

Many sports are based on the key elements of sprint training, like the explosive full body movements of American football, the chest passes and explosive jumps of basketball, and the reactive and quick sprint moves in hockey and soccer.

Naturally to excel in your specific sport you will have to develop the skills necessary for that sport. This article will look at some of the sprint exercises and drills that will help you to run faster no matter what your sport.

If you have never used blocks in your workout, then you are missing a critical part of explosive power integral to your training. Driving out of the blocks means that the arms must be used to keep the legs going. Otherwise, you fall flat on your face. Fast active arms, keeps your legs driving forward.

Standing starts or even crouch starts do not develop the muscles around the knees necessary to handle the explosive thrust forward of the body hurtling down the track. This is one of the best exercises to train to run faster if you are a North American football player.

Doing this exercise without the weight that football players normally drag behind them, will develop explosive power and allow them to drag the weight even more efficiently. If you have never used blocks, try using them in your work out and you will feel the difference as this exercise engages muscles that you did not even know you had. You only need to do 10 metre drills a number of times to get the necessary result.

Medicine ball work is an integral part of sprint training and I began using them in my workout when I trained with world record holder Evelyn Ashford in California. Her coach, Pat Connolly, taught me how to use it in 1985, after the L.A. Olympics. Even now it is a part of my work outs.

Medicine ball exercises can be used in a variety of ways to develop core body strength and power, as well as used in conjunction with plyometrics. Medicine ball work when done for power can employ exercises like chest passes, over head passes, one arm passes, hop and toss passes, and so on.

All training today should be kept as close as possible to sport specific training, and the medicine ball is an excellent drill to use for this purpose.

Medicine balls come in a variety of weights starting as low as 2lbs to as high as 25lbs. In basketball many skills including the jump shot and 3pt jump shot can be improved with the use of the medicine ball.

The acceleration in sprints is from 0-40metres, some say 30m, but as an Olympian I was cutting off my acceleration at 30m. The top or maximum speed is reached at about 30 to 60m depending on the level of maturity of the athlete.

The ability to sprint with proper technique is paramount to developing young as well as elite athletes. Many coaches can look at their athletes and know they are not running well, but most have no idea how to correct the mistakes they see to train to run faster.

Training acceleration and top speed is a waste of energy if the technique is missing. Correct technique sets up the athlete’s motor neuron response meaning it allows the electrical pathways of the central nervous system to fire at optimal levels.

The faster and more direct the brain communicates to the muscles the faster the athlete moves.

Reactive and quick sprint moves develop with good technique, and are immediately noticeable in a single training practice. In soccer, I train athletes how to run faster with soccer speed training.

For example, after one session with me, a young athlete that had failed the bleep test or beep test ( a test of cardiovascular fitness), because of poor technique, was able to significantly increase her level.

What happened in that time period, which was two weeks? It was impossible to develop endurance over that time, so one thing that changed was the development of good technique, which allowed her to train to run faster.

Good technique also leads to increased confidence. This athlete knew I was an Olympian and had faith in my ability to train her. Confidence is rarely born, but can be trained.

Speed and explosive power is central to almost every sport. I touched on only a few of the skills necessary to sprint faster.

I was a sprinter, but I also trained my lateral movements with specific drills, because every muscle had to support the speeds I reached to be the best in the world.

If you would like to train to run faster, contact me for my rates and availability.