I am often asked and e-mailed by athletes, parents and coaches what they can do to run faster. It seems like everyone is is feeling the need for speed these days. Whom can blame them, it what separates the pros from the joes!So here are three things you can do that will have you running faster:
Work on Your Arm Mechanics - Too many athletes have poor running technique. If you are not efficient, you are wasting energy and slowing yourself down. The arms should be at a 90 degree angle while running. The should swing from the shoulder maintaining that angle. This will help drive and propel the body forward. Many athletes chop their arms which is wasted energy and not efficient.
Use Resisted Sprints to Increase Speed - Resisted sprints provide huge returns in terms of speed development. They teach the body the feel of foward body lean and acceleration angles. I use resisted sprints with the Speed Tools Speed Resistor. We use these everyday at my Athletic Edge Sports Training Center. We perform 15 yard resisted sprints with the speed resistor with good form.
Train the Core - When I tell athletes this they usually think of a ripped six pack. You need to train your core for movement and performance, meaning train the abs, obliques, hip flexors, back erectors, and glutes explosively for movement. So leave the crunches behind, and start training the core with med balls and dynamic movements such as overhead toss situps, russian twists, and rotational throws. These will develop power in your core and help you run faster.
Summer Training
The summer is ticking away! What are you doing to make yourself better this summer? If you are looking for an edge on the competition check out Training for the NFL program, it gives you the specific training routines I use down here with my athletes preparing for NFL training camp. It even includes my position specific conditioning protocols.
Where can you get a 4 phase training program that gets incredible results for such a great price?
Train Hard!
Mike Gough BSc, CSCS
http://www.procombinetraining.com/
http://www.combinefreak.com/
http://www.speedtoolsusa.com/
PS. Don't forget to get your Speed Tools Speed Resistor today to start getting faster!
