Sprinting Technique
By breaking your sprinting technique into its component parts you can
focus on and improve specific phases of the action.
Excellent sprinting
technique has some of the following characteristics...
Arm Action
Arms should swing from the shoulder. Keep them relaxed and at approximately
90 degrees of flexion. Focus on swinging your arms in a straight line.
Body Posture
Your entire body should lean forward slightly as you run. Do not bend from
your waist, this will adversely affect your center of gravity and correct
running mechanics. Instead the slight lean forward should come from the ground
up. Try also to keep your head and trunk still and your entire body relaxed..
Ground Contact
Run on the balls of your feet NOT your toes. If you think about it your toes
are fairly weak and offer little or no stability.
Stride Length
There is a fine line between overstriding and understriding. If stride length
is too great and your foot lands in front of your center of gravity it will
cause you to brake.
If your stride length is too short your stride frequency will be high but you
won't cover much ground. Not the most efficient use of your energy!
The sprinting technique drills below will help develop excellent form. The
number of times you practise these drills depends on your situation. Sprint
athletes will obviously dedicate more training time to improving sprinting
technique than football players for example.
Perform the drills immediately after your warm up or on a rest day. They are
not designed to fatigue you or provide a training overload. Make sure you are
fresh when you perform these sprinting technique drills. Quality is everything!
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Sprinting Technique Program
These sprinting technique drills can be performed in this order or alternatively
focus on just 3-4 drills. There is no need to perform multiple sets and repetitions.
Raise Knees: 10 meters - jog - 10 meters - rest
Sprint 10 meters concentrating on raising knees as higher than normal. Jog for 10
meters and then sprint for 10 meters and rest.
Fast Knee Pick Ups: 10 meters - jog - 10 meters - rest
Jogging on the spot raise your knees to waist height while emphasising arm action.
Move forward 10 meters with this action concentrating on the number of ground
contacts rather than how fast you cover the distance. Try to get as many ground
contacts as possible.
Flicks: 10 meters - jog - 10 meters - rest
While sprinting over 10 meters concentrate on flicking your heels up to touch
your butt.
Leg Speed: 60 meters
This is a normal sprint over 60 meters except all of your focus should be on your
legs. Try to gauge the optimum leg speed for you by taking different stride lengths
to see which yields the best results.
Skipping: 40 meters
High Hops: 3 x 40 meters
Bound from one foot to the other. The action is similar to skipping except your are
trying to gain as much height as possible and stay in the air for as long as possible.
Remember to recover fully between attempts.
Elbow Drive: 40 meters
Sprint for 40 meters concentrating on driving your elbow in a straight line. Keep your
elbows flexed at right angles while keeping your arms relaxed.