Improve your acceleration technique to give you a competitive advantage.
Sprint speed is not only a necessity in track and field, enhancing your ability to sprint quickly will be of benefit in nearly every sport. The majority of amateur athletes and fitness enthusiasts concentrate nearly all of their training with an aerobic focus, to improve stamina and endurance. However, focusing some effort on improving sprint speed will increase your lactate threshold, assist your endurance training and enhance your performance on the track, field, pitch or court.
Instructions
1. Work on your technique. Executing the correct sprint technique can make big differences in your speed.
Through the acceleration phase, drive your knees up hard and swing your opposing arms backward as you stride. Keep a straight line from your head through your torso and legs. Start leaning forward at a 45-degree angle for maximum trajectory with your center of gravity slightly ahead of you. Keep your upper body relaxed and your trunk fixed. As you accelerate, gradually rise into an upright position, keeping your body in a straight line.
For maximum sprint speed after the acceleration phase, keep the lead knee driving forward with the trail leg flexing underneath so the heel moves towards the buttock before driving forward and exchanging legs. Keep upright: Imagine a pole running from the top of your head straight down into the ground. Your arms should have an aggressive hammering action, but your shoulders and upper body must remain relaxed. Land on the ball of your foot with your weight directly below you; landing in front will slow you down. Keep your ground-contact time as minimal as possible to increase leg speed; imagine you are running on hot coals.
2. Undertake strength and power training. Resistance training such as weightlifting will help build the explosive muscle fibers needed for sprinting. Get into the gym twice a week, and focus on compound lifts that target a number of muscle groups such as squats and power cleans.
Dynamic sprint exercises can also help develop strength and power. Sprint short distances uphill, or pull a weighted sled, which is particularly effective for improving your acceleration phase.
3. Improve core strength. A strong core enables you to keep your trunk rigid when you run, allowing more of the force applied to the ground with your legs to carry you forward rather than being lost through a loose torso. Add variations of the plank to your warm-up and cool down, and make ab circuits a regular feature in your workout regimen.
4. Sprint regularly. Adding fast strides to the end of training session, or performing sprint interval training on a regular basis, will train your neuromuscular system to fire quicker and more efficiently.
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