The Importance of a Solid Warm Up

Speed (S)kills

“Speed kills” is a phrase often heard in the athletic world to emphasize the idea that the faster the athlete is, the more successful he or she will be.  As a health professional and a performance coach, it is important to teach athletes that being fast does not always have to rely on genetic background.  There are plenty of specific mechanics that can turn speed into a skill.  

We can first break the term “speed” into two categories: linear speed and multidirectional speed.  In this post we will just be discussing linear speed, which can then be broken into two more subcategories: acceleration and top speed.  

ACCELERATION

Acceleration is the ability to reach maximum speed in the shortest distance and time.  In order to do this, there are some focal points that should be applied:

1.     Body at a 45-Degree Angle

                        The athlete’s ankles, knees, hips, shoulders and head should all be aligned in a 45-degree angle in relation to the ground.  Whether the athlete is running in the Combine 40-yard dash, a track event or the middle of a game, the sprint will generally start from a 2- or 3-point stance which will allow the athlete to naturally yield this 45-degree angle. This angle should be maintained for the first 10-15 yards of a straight-ahead sprint, or until athlete reaches top speed.

2.     Hips Forward

                        The athlete should focus on driving the hips forward while moving through those first few yards.  This will allow more space for extension at the knee and hip in the stance leg and hip flexion in the flight leg.  With this comes greater hip flexor, quad and gluteal activation, and thus increased power output.

3.     Knee Drive

                        In order to produce enough horizontal ground reaction force, the athlete must drive a knee as far forward as possible while still maintaining that 45-degree body angle and hips forward.  The athlete should then think about pushing back into the ground as hard as possible.   

TOP SPEED

Top speed is the ability to maintain maximum speed while maintaining maximum stride length and stride frequency.  Think about the transition from acceleration to top speed like a plane taking off and gradually going from that 45-degree body angle to more of an upright torso, likely around a 10 degree forward lean.  Top speed begins at around the 20-yard mark and will last until the athlete can no longer maintain their fastest speed.  Focal points here include:

1.     Leg Fold and Recovery

                        As soon as the athlete’s foot leaves the ground, the athlete’s calf should meet the hamstring (fold), immediately followed by a knee drive just below parallel to the hip (recovery).  This is the leg fold and recovery phase of top speed.  Recovery is considered the time it takes the leg to travel from toe off to the point when the leg is about to drive back into the ground.  The more efficient the recovery phase, the more force the athlete can put through the ground.

2.     Ankles Dorsiflexed

                        The key here is to land on the ball of the foot with the ankle dorsiflexed (aka “toes up”) in order for the athlete’s lower leg to absorb the shock of each stride in the most optimal position.  This then allows the athlete’s leg to quickly rebound and spring into a recovery position to prepare for the next stride.  This will also allow for decreased ground contact time, which is ultimately the goal when looking to improve speed.  

3.     Leg Release 

                        Here is where the foot begins to descend back toward the ground.  The knee extends, ankles stay dorsiflexed and ball of the foot hits the ground just in front of the athlete’s center of gravity and then underneath the hip to propel the athlete forward.  The athlete’s knee should extend as the athlete is actively driving the foot down towards the ground.  This will keep the athlete’s leg rigid and activated in order for it to efficiently absorb the initial shock upon ground contact.  

FROM START TO FINISH

There are also a few techniques that must be performed throughout entire sprint that are essential to the athlete’s success in executing the skills needed for the acceleration and top speed phases specifically.    

1.     Core Rigidity

                        Having a tightened core for the duration of a sprint is an important prerequisite to even begin thinking about how the extremities should perform.  Without core activation, the athlete will be insufficient at absorbing the ground contact forces.  Without that absorption of forces at the athlete’s center of mass, the energy will disperse to the athlete’s limbs and cause unnecessary compensatory movements.  These compensatory movements waste energy and inhibit speed.            

2.     Arms at 90-Degree Angles

                        When it comes to sprinting, the arm action directly affects how fast the legs turnover.  The athlete will be a much more efficient sprinter if the arms are kept tucked by the athlete’s sides, 90 degrees at the elbow, wrists straight and hands open but relaxed.  The further the elbow moves in front of the torso, the higher the knee drive.  The further the elbow extends behind the body, the more powerful the force into the ground at foot contact. This also demonstrates that arm mechanics have to be aggressive in order for legs to reciprocate.

APPLICATION

When applying these key linear speed principals to a training session, it is important to break each step down by utilizing specific drills to target the desired skillset.  Make sure to end each training session by combining lessons learned into one big picture so the athlete can understand and practice these new skills in a more practical context.  In addition to training these specific mechanics, it is vital to simultaneously work on relative body strength as well as absolute strength.  The goal is to generate the necessary muscular and neural adaptations to perform these linear speed movement patterns effectively.  Once these tools are implemented, practiced, and perfected, the athlete will be better equipped to reach their maximum speed potential.