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400m Training

Sprinting form

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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.

  1. Develop your explosiveness and power so that it is superior to the other athletes that you will be competing against.
  2. Develop your speed endurance so that you can run at a more intense speed for a longer amount of time.
  3. 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.

How to run 400m faster.

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The solution for this is simple. Avoid decelerating and run at the maximum speed for as long as possible.

Unfortunately, it is easier said than done. But there are simple ways for you to train, improve, and plan your 400m race so that you can run the distance in a faster time.

Below are some tips for running a faster 400m race.

Maintain your form throughout the race.

You want to keep your form so that you maintain the same stride length and power throughout the race. As your body fatigues, your form will break down which means you will have a shorter stride length and you will need to put in more effort to finish the distance.

To improve, you need to do cadence training. This means running repetitions of 400-600m in 80-95% of your maximum speed, but focusing on maintaining your form for the duration of the run.

Run to a rhythm.

Your cadence should be to a rhythm during the event. This should allow you to pace your energy and execute the speed and endurance bursts needed for the event.

Improve your explosiveness.

You need to improve your explosiveness so that you generate more horizontal power when you are running. Doing exercises such as bounding, skipping, hip thrusts, and reverse lunges will help you improve your strength and power.

Improve your core and hip flexor strength.

These can easily fatigue. So you want to improve the strength so that you can get your knees higher and increase your stride length when you are running.

Sprint starts

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Getting a great start in a race will put you at an advantage. Once you are in front at the start, the rest of the field has to play catch-up with your pace, speed, and deceleration.

If you have done the right speed-endurance conditioning training, your competitors will find it difficult to catch you if you have got off to a blistering start.

There are a few things you can focus on to improve your start when sprinting so you can gain the advantage needed to excel in the race.

You need to be able to explode from the start position.

In the sprints, you will be in a crouching starting position. But you won’t be able to get the full advantage if you aren’t able to explode using the power in your hips, glutes, hamstrings, calves, and ankle flexion to get out and into your acceleration mode.

Rather than focusing on the starts solely, work on the explosive exercises that will allow you to get your body in the right position so you can power out of the blocks successfully.

What exercises will you need to do to help you improve your start?

Reverse lunges.

Do these to train your muscles how to explode from a low single-leg position. The emphasis will fall on your glutes as you power up.

Squats

Aim to do this with good technique and ideally in barefeet. Aim to do full squats to get your muscles used to exerting power from a low position.

Deadlifts

You want to get your body exerting power through the complete hip hingement. Progressively overload the muscles using this exercise and explode so that you will be able to generate more power on the track.

Weighted hip thrusts.

These will help you build strength and power, which will see you improve your horizontal acceleration, speed, and stride length.

Bounding from a static start for speed and distance.

You want to get your body used to exerting power. So you will need to do bounding from a static starting position (ideally in a low position to simulate the starting position, such as a 3-point start) and then power through for maximum power and turnover.

What starting drills should you focus on?

You want to focus on the first 20-30m of the race, which is the power phase, which will transfer into the acceleration phase.

You will be taking the power development that you have been doing at the gym and with plyometrics and put it into a real-life racing scenario.

You will also train yourself to improve your reaction time. However, it is more important for you to drive out of the starting position comfortably and with quick turnover.

Your quick turnover won’t be any good if you don’t have the power to lengthen your stride. So make sure you continue to develop your power and stride length as it will be important in the latter stages of the race.

Starting drills – 20m starts.

Have someone start a timer and record your 20m speed times. If you have access to an electronic timer, that would be ideal as you will be able to record more accurate data and eliminate the human error with the timings.

Conduct each start (at least 10) and aim for 95% intensity since you want to focus on developing your technique, power, turnover, and control.

Sprinting start running angle.

You will be powering out on a 45-60 degree angle until you reach the end of your acceleration phase. You must train your body to power horizontally whilst your body is at that angle.

Speed endurance and technique

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Have you considered how much your speed endurance and running technique impact your running performance? Especially with sprinters that seem to accelerate towards the end of a race, they are actually slowing down at a rapid pace due to their muscles fatiguing.

The only way to overcome this is to build your speed endurance.

If you look at some of the best sprinters or runners in general, you will see that when they were at their peak performance, they had a phenomenal amount of speed endurance.

For example.

Usain Bolt in the years leading up to the Beijing Olympics where he broke the 100 and 200m world record was actually training as a 400m sprinter and clocked 45 seconds for the race around the track.

He said it in the video below.

Michael Johnson trained mainly as a 400m sprinter and broke both the 200m and 400m world records.

Wade Van Niekerk trains as a 400m athlete and holds the world record for the event, but has run sub-20 seconds for the 200m.

Speed endurance with the right technical training works.

It allows the athlete to hold their form and to execute more horizontal force at a higher intensity during the race.

What’s needed for athletes to execute this?

Athletes need to factor in speed endurance training into their program and they must excel in the speed endurance events so their muscles can execute more power for longer during the race.

What kind of training is required?

Realistically, you are looking at speed endurance over 200m, 300m, 400m and 600m to maintain speed.

Doing the training at no more than 95% of the maximum speed is key to building the strength endurance. This means the athlete needs to know what split time to run in order to maintain their technique over the distance.

For example, if you run 10 seconds for the 100m, you would aim to do speedwork at 10.5s for 95% intensity.

If you run 25 seconds for the 200m, you would aim to do speedwork at 26.25s for 95% intensity.

Get your best time and multiply it by the following. (You can use this calculator)

IntensityTime multiplier
95%Multiply your best time by 105%
90%Multiply your best time by 110%
80%Multiply your best time by 120%
70%Multiply your best time by 130%

You can also use this calculator to get the speed metric that you need to maintain based on your personal best time.

100m timeIntensity time
10 seconds10.5s
11 seconds11.55s
12 seconds12.6s
13 seconds13.65s
14 seconds14.7s
15 seconds15.75
200m time
21 seconds22.05s
24 seconds25.20s
27 seconds 28.35
30 seconds31.5s
400m
50 seconds52.5s
60 seconds63s

Resources

David Rudisha training discussion

Kenyan running training program

David Rudisha training discussion

Michael Johnson’s training discussion

Clyde Hart – Coach to Michael Johnson

How to sprint more relaxed.

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Beleive it or not, one of the things that can help you improve your speed significantly is running relaxed. Something that we tend to do is tighten up if we feel as if we are under pressure whilst running. It might be that we are losing in a race or that we feel that we need to run faster to beat our personal record time.

You will never reach your full speed potential if you run with a tense body. So you must train yourself to run relaxed and in a way where you can maximise your horizontal force output so that you can run as quickly as possible.

Here are a few things that you can do to help you stay relaxed.

Focus on a single point in front of you.

You want to focus on reaching the end point. Choose a point such as a pole or a marker and focus only on reaching that point.

Focus on bringing your elbows backwards.

Many athletes pump their arms and keep their fists clenched. Instead, focus on driving your elbows backwards as far as possible in a relaxed manner.

Focus on keeping your body fluid.

No part of your body should be tense. Just stay as relaxed as possible when you are running.

Run your own race.

You need to focus on executing your own race in order to win the race. Focus on executing the different phases of your running so that you will drive, accelerate and maintain your speed for the duration of the race.

Focus on executing your technique.

This is the most important thing that you can do. You must focus on executing your technique so that you will run as relaxed as possible. Your technique will be what you have practiced with the A and B steps, as well as other running drills that you have practiced.

The conditioning training that you’ve been doing should allow you to run faster simply by executing more power and having more speed endurance.

Focus on your breathing.

Concentrate on the way you inhale and exhale as you run.

Develop your conditioning to allow yourself to run more relaxed.

The better your fitness and conditioning, the easier you will find it is to run relaxed. Strengthen your muscles (especially your core) and your strength endurance so that you can run with more intensity for longer.

Are there some other ways or methods that you use to relax whilst you run? Let us know in the comments below.

Increase your speed by improving your ankle flexion!

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This is an incredible hack for developing speed. However, many people either don’t know about it or choose not to do it as a way to improve their speed and power. Quite often, we hear about coaches saying that athletes need to improve their flexibility. But alot of the time, they are unclear in explaining the benefits from improving an athletes flexibility.

When it comes to improving your ankle flexion, there are clear benefits that you will notice.

  • Improved range of motion
  • Increase in stability and strength
  • INCREASE IN SPEED

The third point is the one that you really want!

So in this post, we will share some of the things that you can do to improve your speed as a result of improving your ankle flexion.

Test the range of motion in your ankle.

See how many centimetres is in your ankle’s range of motion. If it is less than 10cm, you will need to do stretching exercises to improve the range of motion. You want to get to 15cm or more.

Knee-to-wall exercises

Stand with your front foot next to the wall. Stand with your other foot behind you and bend your body towards the wall so that your knee touches the wall. This should get your body used to the movement of having your knees in front of your ankles and also improving your range of motion.

Lower calf stretch

Put your leg behind you and keep your foot on the floor. Bend your back knee and lower into the floor. Maximise the stretch and hold it for up to 30 seconds to lengthen the muscle. Repeat this stretch 3 times on each leg.

Upper calf stretch

Have one foot in front of the other and bend forward whilst keeping your back foot on the ground. This will stretch your upper calf.

Deep squats.

Deep squats are ideal once you have increased your ankle range. You will be able to develop additional strength and explosive power through your ankle.

To protect your back, do these initially as front squats. If you don’t have the ankle range initially, you can use weightlifting shoes or conduct the exercise on a weight plate that will give your ankles an angle, compensating for the loss in the range of motion and allowing you to keep your knees forward.

Single leg squats

To really develop the strength in your ankle, conduct deep single leg squats (or at least go as low as you can). Make sure you maintain the proper technique. This will help you develop the strength in your flexible muscle tissue.

Calf raises (gym equipment)

You can use the calf raise equipment at the gym to help lengthen your ankle’s range of motion. Simply add weight and go down into the movement. Hold it at the bottom for 15-30 seconds. Ideally, do this as a single leg exercise.

Dedicate at least 3 sessions a week for developing your ankle’s range of motion.

Until you get the range of motion that you desire, dedicate 3 sessions a week so that you improve the range of motion.

Let us know about your improvements in the comments below.

Improve your running technique to run faster with less effort.

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The two don’t sound like they go hand-in-hand, but it is true. If you learn how to run with good technique, you end up conserving more energy, which will allow you to run longer and faster. There are a couple of factors that you need to keep in mind when it comes to the benefits from the running technique. This is because the running technique alone won’t make you run faster. It needs to be combined with the conditioning of the body.

If you condition your body in the right way and learn to run with the right running technique, you will run faster.

What do you need to do with your running technique?

You need to keep your hips high by running tall.

You can do this by focusing on running tall, however you must focus on running horizontally. Do not project your force vertically. Project it horizontally so you can increase your horizontal speed.

Focus on accelerating off each stride.

This is something that you must focus on during each phase of the sprinting process. From the drive phase where you are building your initial acceleration, to the transition phase and improving your leg turnover.

Aim for your heel to come over your knee while you are running.

You want to improve your stride length while you are running. You can do this by bringing your knees up. However, it is easier to focus on bringing your heels over your knees. This will also help you improve your leg speed turnover.

Stay relaxed.

You must not be tense when you are running. You must remain as relaxed as possible. Yet focus on having the muscles execute the horizontal force to make you run faster.

Your arms should be coming straight up and down.

It’s important that your arms do not swing from side to side otherwise it will force your body to go off-balance. Make sure your elbows drive backwards and your hand comes by your ear.

Your head should be straight and focused on a fixed point in front of you.

Focus on a point in front of you and run straight towards that point. Focus on your technique whilst running to that point.

Running drills that you can practice at home.

High knees

A skip

B skip

Combine the technique with your speed training conditioning.

As you improve your body’s conditioning to execute more horizontal force, you should notice that you will run faster simply because you are executing more power whilst maintaining your form. You will also notice that your rate of deceleration will slow down simply because you are conserving more energy whilst you are running.

Practice these and let us know your improvements in the comments below.

Get instant speed with straight leg running drills.

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This one is a quick, yet very effective post about straight leg running drills. This drill will help you activate the muscles in your hip so you can execute more power and explosiveness, thus allowing you to run faster.

Whether you plan to run faster in a sprint, middle or long distance running or in a sport, start incorporating these drills into your workouts so you can improve your horizontal speed quickly.

What are straight leg running drills?

You can see a demonstration of the drill below.

Why are they beneficial?

These drills work the hips, hip flexors, and hamstrings. Particularly, the muscle groups that contribute to greater horizontal speed. If you can execute the strength of those muscles with additional speed, you will run faster due to having a more explosive stride and also increasing your stride length.

It is common to see sprinters doing straight leg running drills as a part of their warm-up to activate the muscles around their hip area.

Variations that you can try.

Straight leg bounds

Similar to the running drill, however you bound for distance my maximising the power in each stride. You can do this for 30m (10 bounds for 3 repetitions).

Straight leg drills on a hill/incline

This will definitely work your hamstrings. Be careful with this on an incline as it does put more stress and tension on the muscles.

Straight leg drills with a weighted sled

You can take a weighted sled (with light weights) and do the straight leg running drill with added resistance.

Straight leg drills into running

You can do the straight leg drills so that you can feel your hips coming higher. When you are ready, transition into running with a similar movement and accelerate for 20-30m.


Try this and let us know what you have experienced in the comments below.

Get faster with weighted hip thrusts!

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One of the weighted exercises that seems to be underrated when it comes to developing lateral speed is the weighted hip thrust. It is a simple movement that will incorporate the use of the glutes, hamstrings and hip flexors that will allow you to use more strength and execute more power when running.

The more power your legs can execute, the longer your running stride will be and the faster you will run. You will also be able to run more efficiently because you will be using less energy and taking fewer strides.

In this post, I want to show you a couple of variations that you can incorporate into your speed and development training.

Body weight hip thrust

Start by doing the movement with just your bodyweight. You want to place your body on something sturdy like a bench. Let your back rest on the bench and have your feet flat on the floor. You will be pushing your pelvis up, but you will be pushing through your heels.

Push until your hips come forward. You should feel your muscles activate.

You can see a good video demonstration below.

Weighted hip thrust.

This is the same, however you will do the movement with a barbell. Add enough resistance weight for you to do the movement. To avoid the weight adding too much pressure on your hips, use a foam protector or yoga mat to protect your body against the force of the weight.

You can see a video demonstration below.

Single leg hip thrust

When you feel more confident, start incorporating the single leg hip thrust into your routine. Make sure you straighten out your leg and push through your glute.

You can see a video demonstration below.

Repetitions and sets.

You want to aim to do 8-10 repetitions and you want to do 3 sets for each exercise.

When you are doing the movement, you want to build your explosive strength, so make sure you power through your hips with the resistance weight.

When you feel like the intensity is becoming too easy, increase the resistance weight.

The improvements and gains should carry over to your other weightlifting exercises such as the power clean, deadlifts and squats.

You should also notice improvements in your plyometrics, sprinting and jumping ability.

Should you do barefoot sprints training on grass?

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One of the things that worked for me while I was growing up was training on grass areas in nothing but my bare feet. As I got older, I became accustomed to synthetic tracks and forgot about the benefits of training in bare feet. When I resumed some basic bare feet training, I found that I became faster, stronger and more powerful. This is because I found that I increased the muscle range and control that I was losing through using shoes and synthetic surfaces. So in this post, I want to explain some of the benefits of bare feet training and some ways you can incorporate it into your speed training.

Increase your muscles range of motion

You should feel an immediate difference when you start running on grass with your bare feet. You will find that on grass surfaces, there is a bit more “give”, so the muscles will have to execute more power into the ground in order to propel you forward. You will find that due to the surface, your muscles will experience a greater “range of motion” in order to execute more power.

You train more stabilising muscles

This is one of the best things about training on grass with your bare feet. It forces you to use all of your muscles (especially in your ankles and toes) for more flexion, muscle activation, and power. When you train with shoes, you lose some of this as the force is absorbed by the shoe.

Your muscles and joints won’t experience as much shock.

If you have experienced extreme muscle soreness, then it is advised that you train on grass. The softer surface will allow you to train with more intensity, without your muscles experiencing as much shock compared to training on hard surfaces.

Are there alternative surfaces that you should consider training on?

Soft sand at the beach

This is handy because the force that is executed in the sand will be absorbed, making it more difficult for you to propel yourself forward. It will help you train your body mechanics in a way that will force your body to run forward. When you transition back to a harder surface such as sand or grass, you will notice the improvements in your power execution and lateral speed.

Have you trained on grass to develop your speed? What benefits have you experienced?

Let us know in the comments below.

Thanks for reading.