Sprinting Drills

I have already talked in previous blogs about the drills we use to warm up. We do the same warmup every day, but we recently just added two new drills that I am going to start including in the workout. They are accelerations and hurdle walkovers.

Accelerations are to be done right after the drills. They are quick thirty meter sprints that are supposed to work on your fast twitch muscles.

There are two different types; fast and slow twitch muscles. Fast twitch muscles are much better at generating short burts of strength and speed. By doing acceleration drills, it is good to get the thirty meter bursts of energy.

Although they fatigue more quickly, it is good to do them everyday so you can build up the stamina that you will need during competition. Fast twitch fibers generally produce the same amount of force per contraction as slow muscles, but they get their name because they are able to fire more rapidly. Having more fast twitch fibers can be an asset to a sprinter since they need to quickly generate a lot of force.

There are so many things to learn about fast and slow twitched muscles. This is one of my favorite sites to visit. Athletequickness.com has many ways for athletes to work on becoming faster. In most sports, being fast is a key element in order to be successful. I hope you find the site as helpful and enjoy it as much as I do.

The second drill we do are hurdle walkovers. Hurdle walkovers are done over a set of ten-fifteen hurdles. They are designed to strengthen your hip flexors and also increase balance. In order to get a good idea of what a good hurdle walkover should look like, take a look at this video.

I know it could be hard to do hurdle walkovers if you do not workout at a track or have access to the hurdles. If you don't have access to hurdles, one could watch the video and get the motions down so you wouldn't need to use a hurdle. If you can get your hips high and stay on your toes, you may be able to get the same exercise done without a hurdle. You could also use something about the same height as a hurdle, or at least a little higher than past your knees. Make sure to stay on your toes in order to work the calves and try not to touch the hurdle with your hands.