Toes Up Knees Up Elbows Back
A really important part of every runners training is speed work. There are lots of runs where your objective is to make yourself more aerobically fit so that you can perform better but the purpose of paying attention to form during speed work is to train your body to move smoothly allowing you to use all of the aerobic strength you have built up in your other training. When doing speed work, don’t strain and over exert. Stay controlled and stay efficient in your running style and when you start doing speed work, don’t think of it as an exercise in sharp and unpleasant running, rather you should pay attention to how your body moves when you sprint and after doing the right amount of speed work, your body should be able to replicate these motions in a race.
Strong muscles are essential for sprinting or jumping. Perform basic, multiple-muscle movements, like squats, dead lifts and lunges to strengthen all the lower-body muscles at once. Since your goal is to increase strength, perform two to six sets of each exercise. Put enough weight on the bar that you can complete at least four reps, but no more than eight. When you can complete eight reps, increase the weight. Incorporate weights into your workout two to three times a week. Plyometric drills use body weight and dynamic movement to improve jumping ability. Perform a variety of moves such as box jumps and deep knee bend jumps to increase power in your lower body. To increase the intensity of your plyometric workout, raise the height of the bench or box used during jumps or speed up the workout. Work up to two to three sets of eight to 15 reps of each exercise. Complete two to three plyometric workouts a week.