Sprinting Fundamentals

SUNY Geneseo like most high schools suffers from limited budgets, and lack of facilities. We have developed our program taking advantage of what is available and being creative as much as possible.

The Sprint workshops will be divided into 3 sessions: I. Core workout and active warm up drills II. Devises and Tools III. Relay Techniques and drills.

Session I We will begin this session with an overview look at our current core workout which is patterned after the Building Better Athletes dvd by Aaron Mosher. This dvd is available from M-F Athletics and is highly recommended. We use this program fully once bi-weekly and portions in most practices during warm up activities.

Basic Core Workout

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. Side-to-side hops Front-to-back hops Jumping Jacks Seal Jacks Iron Cross Jacks In Out Plyo In Out with Squat In Out Twist with Squat Modified Burpee (squat thrust) Deep Squat Jump Dot Drill Dot Drill with Reverse Split Jumps Side to Side Skier Toe Flip Twist Jump (U Plyometric) Ankle Flips Plyo Pushups Single Leg Side to Side Knee Raise Under Hurdle Lunge Lunge with Over Head Stretch Walking Cross Over Walking Reach (touch ground with leg up) Walking Quad Stretch Lateral Hip Press Pivotal Squat Inch Worm Reverse Inch Worm Pivot Under Hurdle Lunge With Rotation (arms out) Leg Cradle (pick up toe) Rabbit Hop (inch worm with hop) Crab Walk Bear Walk Spiderman Spiderman 2 Spiderman 3

One of the biggest problems facing sprinters is injury. Proper warm up before workout or racing is essential. We believe in an active warm up before the activity with good cool down and stretching to follow the workout. Warm up: We begin by jogging followed by an active warm up. Our basic active warmup we refer to as being UCLA drills.
UCLA Warm Up Drills with active Stretching All drills done over approx 40 meters: Butt Kicks (under-not behind) B-Skip Fast leg (left/right) A-March Straight Leg Shuffle Carioca (2 ways-step over knee) Bunny hops (forward and backwards) Skip for Height Skip for Distance Skip Crossing Arms Skip Rotating Arms forwards Skip Rotating Arms In Opposite Directions Dot Drills Fast Feet Anklers (to warm Shins) Sprints Additional Warm Ups: Leg Swings (Hip warm ups) Frog Leaps Push Ups Sit Ups (crunches) Squat Thrusts Quick Reactions (on whistle) Pop Ups

Next we add sprint specific drills depending on the days focus. Our weekly workouts are divided onto 5 main categories: 1. LSD/Fartlek Runs: These provide the base for all other activities with the distance/time involved varying from 4-5 miles depending on the major event distance for the athlete. Aerobic training.

2. Plyometric: These drills use the athletes body as a resistance to add power to their performance. These includes the use of stairs, box jumps, 90 touch drill, pop ups etc. Sprinting is an explosive exercise which utilizes this extensively. 3. Speed Training: This day includes block work, use of toys, form work drills etc. 4. Interval Training: Works on endurance and kick. Anaerobic training. 5. Hill Work: Works on strength, stamina, and stride. Sprint/Speed training: Sprinting can be divided into three stages the start, acceleration, and maintenance. Drills use rotations, wall form, reaction drills, arm drills to work general sprint form. Starting: See accompanying diagrams for proper starting positions. We stress proper position, loading heals, and explosive arms movements. Videotaping can be a real help here. Acceleration for work drills should be next for proper race position training. Interval training should include a variety of options. We use over d istance work (500s and 300s), 400s with defined rest periods, 120 yard accelerations, Sprint ladders etc. Plyometrics include a variety of stair workouts, 90 touch drills, lunges, drop down/up, drop down/up/out, step-ups, and others to increase leg speed, stride length, and power.

Session 2 Sprint Toys and accessories Bullet belts (resistive devices) Proper Block technique (see diagrams on following pages) Over speed bungee cords (assistive devices) Sprint Ladders 5-6-7s

Session 3 Relay drills and activities Position of athletes in lane Starting drill Constant baton pass Timing through the zone Types of passes (underhand, overhand, push, non-blind)

Proper Starting Bock Technique