How to Run a Faster 40 Yard Dash: 6 Proven Methods From a Sprint Coach

By Cody Bidlow | Last Updated: March 2026

I'm Cody Bidlow, sprint coach and founder of SprintingWorkouts.com. I've coached NFL combine prep athletes have run the 40 myself — 4.42 in practice and a 4.49 at the APEX Open in Austin, TX, where I won the event in October 2025.

I've also spent over 15 years as a competitive sprinter and track coach, working with athletes from youth level through the pros. This page covers the exact methods I use with my athletes and in my own training to get faster at the 40-yard dash.

Whether you're preparing for the NFL combine, a college pro day, a high school showcase, or you just want to be faster on the field, improving your 40 time comes down to six things. Here they are:

1. Master your 3-point stance
2. Train your acceleration (the first 10-20 yards)
3. Develop explosive power and rate of force development
4. Build top-end speed
5. Improve your sprint mechanics
6. Track your times with proper equipment

Let's break each one down.

1. Master Your 3-Point Stance

The 40-yard dash starts from a 3-point stance — two feet and one hand on the ground. Your setup directly affects how much force you can put into the ground on your first step, as well as affecting your ability to set yourself up for the subsequent ground contacts. Getting this right is critical to your early acceleration and progression to top speed.

Setup: Place your front foot 1.5 to 2 feet behind the line. Your rear foot goes roughly one foot further back. Your hand goes down just behind the line, with your weight distributed over the three points of contact and your arm perpendicular or slightly forward relative to the ground. Your hips should be slightly higher than your shoulders.

Common mistakes:

• Having your front foot too close to the line, as this well raise your shin angle and send you up, instead of out. It also creates a bunched position which limits your ability to apply force.
•  Placing your feet too close together, which reduces your stability and therefore your ability to apply force.
• Putting too much weight on your hand, as this increases the time it takes to clear the ground and start moving forward.

Practice it: Don't save your stance work for testing day. Rehearse your setup in training so that when you get to the line, your body knows what to do without thinking, and your setup is second nature.

2. Train Your Acceleration (The First 10-20 Yards)

The first 10-20 yards is where 40 times are often won or lost. A fast start requires that you apply large forces into the ground at the right angle, progressively building stride length while your posture transitions from a low drive angle to upright.

The key is to direct forces down & back into the ground, applying vertical force to support your body weight and horizontal force to send you forward.

To achieve a high stride frequency without reducing stride length, you must stay relaxed so that you can move through large ranges of motion, loading elastic tissues, and increasing angular velocity of the leg.

When I ran my fastest 40, I wasn't trying to mash the ground as hard as I could out of the gate — I was building through the acceleration, relying on elasticity and rhythmic limb exchange.

That's a strategy I actively rehearse: make the first 20 meters fast, but do it with the greatest ease possible. Then continue to rise, continue to accelerate, and let the speed come to you. Forcing it as hard as you can might produce a decent 10-yard split, but it's a bad pattern if you want to run a fast full 40.

How to train it: Short sprints from a 3-point stance (10-30 yards), sled sprints at moderate-to-heavy loads over 10-20 yards, and acceleration drills that reinforce low body angles and progressive posture change. If you have access to timing gates, time your 10-yard split to track improvement.

3. Develop Explosive Power & Rate of Force Development

Sprinting fast requires that you produce large forces in very short periods of time. Ground contact times in fast sprinting can be as low as 0.08 seconds — that's less time than it takes to blink. It doesn't matter how strong you are in the squat if you can't express that strength in under a tenth of a second.

Start with general strength. Squats, hex bar deadlifts, lunges, and step-ups build the foundation. Aim for 1.5 to 2 times your body weight in your primary lower body lifts. Once you're there, chasing bigger squat numbers has diminishing returns for the 40.

Shift to explosive work. Once general strength is established, your training should emphasize rate of force development — how quickly you can produce force, not just how much. Power cleans, jump squats, hex bar jumps, and plyometrics train your nervous system to fire fast. Combine these with resisted sprints (heavy sled work over short distances) and you're building the specific explosive capacity that transfers directly to the first 10 yards of the 40.

The principle: Get strong enough first, then learn to express that strength fast.

4. Build Top-End Speed

Most athletes hit their maximum velocity somewhere between 25 and 35 yards into the 40. While a novice may reach top speed at 20 yards and then slow down the rest of the way, and elite sprinter will continue to accelerate through and beyond the 40 yard mark.

Speed training methods that transfer to the 40:

• Flying sprints: Accelerate over 20-30 meters into a 10-30 meter zone of maximum velocity sprinting. This teaches your body to run fast without the fatigue of a full acceleration buildup.
• Ins and outs: Also called sprint-float-sprint. Alternate between maximal speed zones and relaxation zones. A typical setup: accelerate 30m, float 10m, sprint 10m, float 10m, sprint 10m. This trains relaxation at speed and helps you develop different gears.

Speed work should be done when you're fresh, with full recovery between reps. This isn't conditioning. The goal is quality, not volume.

5. Improve Your Sprint Mechanics

Good technique doesn't just make you look fast — it makes you actually fast. Small mechanical inefficiencies compound across 40 yards and can cost you tenths of a second.

Key cues to focus on:

Arm action: Drive your arms down & back, not across your body. Your front arm should punch forward aggressively, and your rear arm should match that effort behind you. Arm speed coordinates with leg speed — faster arms help you maintain higher stride frequency.

Posture progression: Start low from your 3-point stance, then progressively rise through the first 15-20 yards. Don't stand up all at once after two steps — that kills your acceleration. And don't try to stay low for too long — that wastes energy. The transition from drive phase to upright sprinting should feel smooth and gradual.

Relaxation: This is the most underrated aspect of sprinting fast. If you tense up, your muscles fight each other and you slow down. Focus on staying relaxed in your jaw, your hands, and your shoulders, especially in the back half of the 40. When I'm sprinting well, it feels like I'm letting my legs cycle rather than forcing them.

Vertical force: Once you're upright, focus on striking the ground beneath your center of mass and driving down, not pushing backward. Gravity is the main force you have to overcome in sprinting, and an emphasis on vertical force application is what keeps you off the ground and moving fast.

6. Track Your Times With Proper Equipment

You can't improve what you don't measure. If you're serious about your 40 time, you need electronic timing — not a coach with a stopwatch.

Hand timing is consistently 0.2 to 0.3 seconds faster than electronic timing, which means the "4.4" your coach timed you at is probably a 4.6 or 4.7 in reality. That difference matters when you're evaluating your progress or comparing yourself to combine standards.

What I recommend: A laser-based timing system that gives you accurate splits. The ability to time your 10-yard split is especially valuable because it tells you whether your start or your top speed needs more work. Read my full timing gates buyer's guide to find the right system for your budget, or check out my OVR Sprint review — it's the system I use in my own training.

If you have timing data but aren't sure how to interpret it or build a training plan around it, I offer coaching consultations where we break down your numbers and design a plan to address your specific weaknesses.

40-Yard Dash Analyzer

Use this calculator to rate your 40 time by position or analyze your splits to find where you're leaving time on the table.

For reference, my 4.49 at the APEX Open rates as Elite for a Track & Field athlete. Try your time below.

Ready to Get Faster?

If you're serious about improving your 40, you need a structured program — not just random sprint workouts. I coach NFL combine prep athletes through EliteU and work with sprinters at every level.

For a complete training plan: My 100m dash training programs build the acceleration, speed, and power that transfer directly to the 40-yard dash.

For individual help: Book a coaching consultation and we'll review your times, your training, and build a plan specific to your goals.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a good 40-yard dash time?

It depends on your level and position. At the NFL combine, the average across all positions is roughly 4.7 seconds, with wide receivers and cornerbacks averaging 4.52 and offensive linemen averaging 5.10. For high school athletes, anything under 4.8 is strong and under 4.6 is elite. Use the calculator above to rate your time for your specific position group.

How long does it take to improve your 40 time?

With consistent training focused on the methods on this page, most athletes can see measurable improvement within 6-8 weeks. The biggest early gains come from stance improvements and acceleration mechanics — those can show results within 2-3 weeks. Strength and speed development take longer but produce the largest long-term improvements.

What's the difference between hand-timed and electronically-timed 40s?

Hand timing is consistently 0.2 to 0.3 seconds faster than electronic timing because the person starting the stopwatch reacts late. A hand-timed "4.5" is typically a 4.7 to 4.8 electronically. The NFL combine uses a hand start with electronic finish, which is slightly faster than fully automatic timing. Always know which method was used before comparing times.

Can track athletes run fast 40-yard dashes?

Absolutely. Sprint training and 40-yard dash training overlap heavily — acceleration mechanics, power development, and speed training all transfer. The main difference is the 3-point stance (track sprinters use blocks) and the shorter distance. I've competed in both and the training methods are nearly identical.

Should I train speed endurance for the 40?

Generally, no — not as a primary focus. The 40 is over in less than 5 seconds. Your training time is better spent on acceleration work, short speed development, and power training. Speed endurance becomes relevant the greater your skill level, as the longer duration exposure to sprinting (over 60-90 meters) hardens your technical skills, creates tissue changes, and wires your nervous system to keep sprinting fast even as fatigue accumulates.

What shoes should I wear for the 40-yard dash?

If you're running on turf (like at the NFL combine), wear lightweight turf shoes or football cleats. If you're running on a track, sprint spikes will give you the best traction and energy return. Check out my guide to the best sprinting shoes for track practice or my track spikes buyer's guide for recommendations.

My name is Cody Bidlow. I've been sprinting and coaching in Track & Field for over 15 years. I've coached combine prep, track teams, and professional athletes from the MLB to the track. For more content, check out ATHLETE.X on YouTube and Instagram, or explore my training programs and coaching services.