Here are a few sprint training ideas today for runners who want to improve.

Think of yourself as an athlete, like a dragster. To be faster, your engine needs more power. To get an engine upgrade, you need to train smartly with weights for years. If done properly, this will take care of your engine requirements to the best of your genetics.

At the same time as you do this, you need to work on getting your engine to deliver what you want through the tyres. This requires you to allow your nervous system to practise using the improving engine as often as possible in the most effective way. But, you need to sprint over short distances faster than ever, practise starting quicker than ever, and jump or bound or do whatever power activity you do better than ever before.

Your brain needs practice accessing and using your newly available power & strength.

This is what sprint training is. You are training to allow your brain to convert the new engine’s abilities into improved running speed.

Bodybuilders and weightlifters can lift much more than most sprinters, but without sprint training, they won’t have running speed. 

Small doses of the best quality sprint training are the key to steady performance improvement.

So, the plan is to
1/ Upgrade your engine – by doing smartly planned weight training
2/ Convert the gains by doing Sprint Training – small amounts at 100% effort.

Do your homework by performing a variety of core (back & abdominal) exercises. This helps link the key power muscles and the running action.

Also, help your brain convert the newfound strength/power by doing innovative bounding exercises like those explained at the page Oztrack Bounding Training for Track Athletes

Balance all the different elements of training each week so the different activities do not spoil the quality of the others. Everything should steadily improve if done correctly throughout your development; if it doesn’t, do something slightly different. Maybe do less.

Variety of quality is the KEY.

The biggest mistake for sprinters is to do too much. It is amazing how little you need to do when it’s done perfectly, and doing slightly more than that is bad. This is why you need a coach and should do what they tell you. Coaches should be confident, and it’s better to do less, even if the athlete is frustrated at how little they are doing. Be firm.

If the athlete is steadily improving, you are doing the right thing. So keep it like that.

Regards
Steve Bennett
www.oztrack.com

There are many great strength exercises

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=API9PfT94fw