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Sprinting Technique - Sprint Faster with a Proper Foot Strike

Outperform

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SprintsRunning formWarm-ups and drills

Coach Karim explains how to avoid landing on your toes and develop a proper flat foot strike when sprinting.

Get the full sprinting masterclass outperformsports.com/product/sprinting-smarter-sprinting-fas… Learn how to sprint faster by maximizing ground contact and developing a proper foot strike. A common mistake many sprinters make is striking the ground on their toes resulting in massive ankle amortization and increased ground contact times. The goal of these drills is to get the athlete to develop a flat foot strike by overemphasizing landing flat on the heel. The result will be a flat foot strike during sprinting (landing on the forefoot or where the track spikes are). During upright sprinting elite athletes generate between five and ten times more vertical force compared to horizontal force (Seagrave, Mouchbahani, & O’Donnell, 2009). Large forces, applied in a short time, in the right direction, and through the optimal range of motion allow fast sprinters to cover 69% more ground per stride than their slower counterparts. In this lesson Coach Karim teaches the correct technique to maximize force application to the ground and shares some key sprinting drills to help develop a correct foot strike. Check out our latest post on proper sprinting form here: outperformsports.com/proper-sprinting-form/ *Thanks for all of the comments and questions. We posted this video to answer them youtu.be/dN9sChyubSc

Why it's here

4 people recommend this

What commenters say. Recommended for beginners to learn proper foot strike mechanics and avoid the braking effect of landing on the toes.

@Based-Wigglesin r/Sprinting • Recommends

On “240 lbs learning to sprint. My starting point.”

…p driving a car everywhere and choose a bike by default. And you won’t beat up your body in the process. Alongside biking, learn basic sprint drills (A march, A skip, high knees, butt kicks). Find a sprinter warmup on Google or Youtube and just learn the basics. To understand what successful basics look like, check out these videos: Footstrike: link to this video Posture: link to this video Check out KneesOverToesGuy’s video which explains why training your back chain is so important. Most people have too strong of quads relative to hamstrings and back because all most folks do in the gym (for those who do leg day) is quad-dominant exercise. That is another path to injury. Note: you cannot find this video b…
35View on Reddit

@BigDickerDaddyin r/Sprinting • Recommends

On “BACK ON TRACK?!? Been working on my posture & high hips.. I’ve been out of training for 1.5 years and this was my first time back in sprint spikes?! Anything I need to work on?”

You have a pretty solid base, the first thing I would start working on is your foot plant, especially on your left foot you’re landing on your toes which is causing you to land a little more in front of yourself than you should be, getting the foot dorsiflexed will get rid of any braking effect that comes from landing in front of yourself, also you will get the achilles to do more of the work and it will be a lot easier to get power off the ground and also eliminate the time it takes for your heel to come down and then back up off of every step (a video that explains it well). A good way to practice this is by trying to “land on your heel” while doing drills like A and B skips. The other t…
19View on Reddit

@PowerfulPainting3552in r/Sprinting • Recommends

On “First few steps”

Mighty fine job on opening your stride! Looks pretty good! Got some analysis for you to. 1. When you strike the ground your heel is way too close to the ground you. You need your heels to be high above the ground, especially in you drive phase. Here's some really good videos to improve it. Foot and Ankle Strengthening Exercises Foot Contact Time Drills Essential Foot drills 2. Your arm swing is incomplete. You throw your arm back good but when swinging it to your face, you stop it halfway. Here's the drill I used to fix that problem. I had the exact same issue until just a few weeks ago when I found this drill. Once you correct this, you'll feel 10x faster. Arm Swing Drill
2View on Reddit

@Dangerous-Product544in r/Sprinting • Recommends

On “How can I make my hips travel in the air I've discovered this is the reason why I overstriding. my hips not pushing forward or in the air.”

I saw your video, albeit short. No, you are not over striding. But you seem to be a "toesy" runner. Coach Karim best describes it in his X pollination channel. See this video: [video What you should do is focus on landing flat footed. Like you are aiming for the heel to be the one stepping into the ground. In practice, your heel shall not strike the ground first. By doing this, you'll be able to take advantage of the vital Achilles tendon reflex. Your posterior chain will also be fully functional, you will produce great force and you'll be effective during the air mechanics. That is to say, your hips will travel in the air just like you want them to. Pracctice!Practice!Practice!
1View on Reddit

@Based-Wigglesin r/Sprinting • Mentions

On “Sprint form help”

Looks like you have a good base. I would suggest first learning the concept of dorsiflexion. Use sprint drills (A march, A skip, etc) before every practice to drill this movement into your brain over time. Check out this video for background: link to this video Also you are running in the back yard a little bit. Here is another good resource from the same creator: link to this video
3View on Reddit

@Based-Wigglesin r/Sprinting • Mentions

On “100m Starting Technique”

…Your body needs to put force into the ground in this position (you don’t get a wall support on the track, you need strength to balance forces). You need to learn to push using your entire body, not just your legs. Also… you are going to hurt yourself running on your heels. Learn the basics here. A strong foundation takes you far! Footstrike: link to this video Posture: link to this video…
2View on Reddit