Alot of athletic coaches will focus on sprinting form. It’s important, but what is more important is to have the strength, power, conditioning, and speed turnover that will allow you to run fast.
No matter how great your sprinting form is, it will never allow you to outrun another athlete that has more speed, power, and explosiveness than you.
So you need to ensure that you do the following.
- Develop your explosiveness and power so that it is superior to the other athletes that you will be competing against.
- Develop your speed endurance so that you can run at a more intense speed for a longer amount of time.
- Develop your sprinting form and technique so that you can run as efficiently as possible.
Please pay attention to point number 3. As you develop your conditioning, you want to minimize the amount of wasted energy so you can run more efficiently, at a higher intensity.
Things that you will need to consider in your sprinting form depends on how you plan to execute the race that you are about to run.
What are the factors in the sprinting form that you need to consider?
Starting phase
You will need to train with reverse lunges, reverse lunge bounds, and reverse lunge sprints to train your muscles to explode out of that position.
Drive phase
- You need to be able to explode outwards and drive your body forward. This means your body will be on a 45 degree angle for the first 20-30 metres of the race.
- Your sprinting form and conditioning needs to allow you to project force pushing you forward. This means you need to train the muscles (quadriceps, glutes, hamstrings, and hip flexors) to explode in a way that activates those muscles to drive.
- Sled runs (Pushing and pulling), single leg glute bridges, and explosive lunges will help with developing the power needed for your drive phase.
Acceleration phase
Acceleration will rely on your hip flexors. Conduct bounding training for distance to maximise your power from every step. Glute bridges, squats, power cleans, and lunges will also help you with your acceleration.
What should you keep in mind with your sprinting form?
Project your force in a straight line.
- You want to power the force behind you.
- You want your arms to move in a straight line going forward and behind you.
- You want your knees and ankles to rotate in a straight line in front and behind you.
Keep your ankles above your knees when you sprint.
This will help you to extend your stride length.
Condition your body to run intensely over distances longer than your race.
This will help you to maintain your form, since your form will breakdown as your body fatigues.
If you run 100m or 200m sprints, condition your body to maintain a fast sprinting pace over 400m. This will allow you to maintain form and finish strongly in the race.
