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Sprinting, Sprinters and Speed Training
 While
Running is a great activity to aid in fat loss, it has one drawback,
it only speeds your up your metabolism while running and for a short
period afterwards. If you would like your metabolism to fly at the
speed of light 24 hours a day, I have a secret for you. It's called
sprinting. Sprinting not only burns HUGE amounts of calories while
sprinting, it also keeps your metabolism flying for days after.
Sprinting combined with running / jogging can bring amazing results,
especially when combined with a clean
and healthy diet!
Benefits to sprinting
Sprinting is an amazing exercise period. It is a great tool to help
in fat loss, kill stress as well as increasing your metabolic rate
for days. On top of all this, sprinting is a great exercise for
your hamstrings and can help sculpt and tone those muscles you would
kill to have.
How far should I sprint?
I recommend doing 50m-100m sprints to start out. I recommend finding
a 400m track and sprint for 50-100m, then walk at a brisk pace double
what you just ran. I suggest doing upwards of 10 sprints per session.
Beginners should probably cut that in half and work their way up
to doing progressively more sprints.
How many days a week should I be sprinting?
I suggest spreading your sprinting out evenly and doing it two times
a week. I typically do mine on Mondays and Thursdays. It is imperative
you leave enough time for recovery between each day as your muscles
will need time to grow and heal. Not only will spreading it out
help you recover faster it will also keep your metabolism peaked
more evenly and prolong the effect.
Sprinting Mechanics
No two athletes run exactly the same; however sprinting mechanics
should remain the same for all athletes. This article examines how
to identify and troubleshoot flaws in mechanics and offers correct
technique suggestions for the six major areas of sprinting mechanics.
Arm Action
 If
the athlete runs with tense arms, have them practice loose, swinging
movements from a standing position. Remember to have them swing
from the shoulder and keep the arms relaxed and at approximately
90° of flexion at all times. Although the arms work in opposite
direction to the legs, they must be coordinated with the action
of the legs for maximum sprinting efficiency.
Body Lean
The athlete’s body should have a slight forward lean (no more
than 4-6°). It is important to note that the angle of lean comes
from the ground and not from the waist. The lean is caused by displacing
the athlete’s center of gravity in the direction they are running
and leaning and bending from the waist will interfere with the correct
mechanics of sprinting.
Foot Contact
DO NOT RUN UP ON YOUR TOES!!! The toes offer no power or stability
to the runner and if they run on their toes, they will not be able
to run fast. Instead, have them stay on the balls of their feet
and push against the ground, but don’t reach and pull toward
the ground; this strategy will result in injuries and poor sprinting
mechanics and slow times.
Overstriding
This is the worst and most often misunderstood element of sprinting.
Don’t have them reach and overstride to increase stride length,
but rather have them push against the ground and let the foot land
underneath the center of gravity. Any placement of the foot in front
of the center of gravity will cause "braking forces" that
will result in the body slowing down.
Understriding
Try to prevent being too quick because too much turnover will cause
the athlete to run fast in one place and not much ground will be
covered. Remember that quality sprint speed is a combination of
stride length and stride frequency and one does not replace the
other.
Tension
Don’t try to power through a race or sprint effort. To run
fast, stay relaxed, running tight will result in slower times.
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