Sprint Training — sprint technique

Putting together a high quality workout is something we can all agree is important if we want to develop as athletes. What is more important though is how these training sessions are organized through time, since the goal of training is to achieve a cumulative effect from many training sessions in an effort to inch the body toward higher levels of performance. Going too easy, too hard, or having poorly planned intervals between sessions can be the demise of an athlete’s progress. To get the most out of training, we need to select the right workouts, implement them at appropriate...

In the world of sprinting, our ability to sprint is limited most by how we apply force to the ground more so than how much force we put into the ground. Smashing the ground with your foot moving forward or out to the side is less effective than producing less force that you’re better able to apply into the ground in the proper vector. Because biomechanics and sprinting technique do play a pivotal role in whether we stay healthy and run faster or stay injured and run slow, it is important that we all have a fundamental, GED level understanding...

• To sprint fast, athletes must exhibit optimal technique. You can run faster if you learn to use your legs like hammers. Learn how, in this post by Cody Bidlow of ATHLETE.X!

References

• Key to speed? Elite sprinters are unlike other athletes., By Margaret Allen
• Are running speeds maximized with simple-spring stance mechanics?, By Kenneth P. Clark, and Peter G. Weyand
• Foot speed, foot-strike and footwear: linking gait mechanics and running ground reaction forces., By Kenneth P. Clark, Laurence J. Ryan, Peter G. Weyand
• Sprint Acceleration Mechanics: The Major Role of Hamstrings in Horizontal Force Production., By JB Morin et. al.
• Alteration of swing leg work and power during human accelerated sprinting., By Nagahara et. al.