What are some things I can do to sprint faster?

Question

Things like tucking in our shirt when you run.

Answer 1

i know you're looking for quick easy improvement but one of the best things you can do to help sprinting is weight lifting. this will improve your overall strength and give you more power out of the blocks. it will also help your muscles get used to working hard under extended strain and pressure which will improve your endurance in longer sprints...i know for a fact that lifting helps because it helped me drop 3 seconds off my pr in the high hurdles in less than a year

the other way you sprint faster is work hard...if your coach throws in an optional practice on a saturday, go to it! if you get to choose between running 10 200s or 12, go for the 12...you have to be dedicated and willing to work hard to be able to sprint faster...yes, a great deal of sprinting is natural talent, but in order to develop that talent into greatness you have to work very hard

Answer 2

I dont know if this works for everyone else but I run on my toes and tilt forward. Just push yourself harder and I am sure your sprint will pick up speed.

Answer 3

work out with your legs and run on your toes

Answer 4

keep your hands straight not in a fist

Answer 5

Tuck in your shirt.

Get proper spikes.

Dig with the balls of your feet. (dont run on your toes, heels, or flat footed.)

Dont look straight up. Look down about 3 feet in front of your legs.

Answer 6

Ok, I'm going to make some points really quick before I get into some things that could really help you. I see these two things said a lot "run on your toes" and "don't look straight a head look a little down in front of you"

1.) you CAN'T run on your toes. If you ran on your toes you would look like a ballerina going down the track. You run on the balls of your feet.

2.) When you come out of the starting blocks you will be looking down. Once you are up straight you will be looking straight down the track (past the finish line). Your head weight 11-13 pounds. now if you look down your head will be pointed down. that is a lot of weight on top of your body. Keep it alligned on the top of your shoulders, don't lean it forward because that will just pull you down and you are trying to go forward. And don't hold it back either. Remember where your eyes are looking is where your head is facing. So look straight ahead

Ok with that said and out of the way let me see if I can help you a little.

Tucking in your shirt is a good idea, but wearing a tighter shirt is even better. It won't drastically change you times though. I had a friend that was in training for the olympics and he used to shave his head and legs. He said it made him more aerodynamic, but I didn't see any drastic improvements in his running except for the fact that more people gave him weird looks.

The best thing you can do to change your times is to get your training and technique faster. Here is some information on technique:

Before you start to read about proper sprint mechanics it is important to know that everything that is mentioned below you will be able to practice and do.  It has nothing to do with a person’s biomechanics.

Posture:

This is crucial.  When sprinting, you are always in a straight line.  Your alignment is head, hips and balls of the feet. It is the same as when you are standing tall. (Think about a straight board.)

Feet and Legs:

1)Always have toes up (****** foot or dorsi- flexed).  Foot and shin should be at a 90 degree angle. (Your Achilles tendon will be in a stretch reflex position.)

2)Always have the ball of your foot strike the ground first.  You want to see your shin angle straight up or even better slightly forward.  

3)When your foot strikes the ground your leg will be slightly bent and your foot will be slightly out in front of your center of gravity.  

4)For the first 10 meters of your race or practicing an acceleration push all the way to a straight leg and push all the way through your toes (bridge on your toes).  After 10 meters you want to bring your foot to a toes up position and keep it there.  Also, after 10 meters you will not push to a straight leg, your leg will be bent when it starts to go forward.   You want to hot-foot it off the ground.  Remember that the instant your foot strikes the ground you are not fast enough or strong enough to get anymore out of your stride by pushing to a straight leg and pushing to a bridged toe.  

5)At the start of your race or acceleration you will have lower heal recovery, but after the first few steps your heal will come all the way up under your butt (full leg cycle).  (If you have a full leg cycle your quadriceps will produce a greater stretch reflex.)

Knees and Legs:

Run with high knees.  When sprinting your quads should be 90 degrees to your torso.  You are looking for a big knee separation (or in other words, your knees are as far away as possible from each other). You are looking to put as much force into the ground as possible and one way to achieve this is to have a high knee lift.  At the instant of ground contact, your free leg knee (free leg that is not on the ground) should be right next to your other knee or in front of it.  You should be hot footing it off the ground.  If you are hot footing it off the ground and you are in a toe up position, there will not be a separation between your knees at the point of contact.  

Hips:

1) Your hips should always be underneath you and in alignment with the rest of your body.  After the drive phase and you are tall, your hips must be facing straight down the track or even be slightly tilted up.  The hip joint produces most of your power.  Stand tall and don’t be the clasped board.  When you are tall you will create a large stretch reflex in you hip.  Remember when you are sprinting that you are 7 to 8 times your body weight.  Proper hip alignment will allow more force to be returned to the body, which can be directed into forward movement.  One of the goals of being a sprinter is to put as much force into the ground as possible.  

2)When running you will see a slight rise and lowering of the hips.  When the ball of your foot first strikes the ground your center of gravity will be slightly lower and as you push off the ground your hips will rise. Basically you will see a lowering and raising of your center of gravity (hips) every step you take.  Running is a series of catching yourself every step you take.  

Stomach: Tight.

Arms and Hands:

Have your hand come to the level of your chin with a closed angle between your forearm and biceps.  From this position throw your hand straight down towards the ground to produce as much force as possible. Your arm and hand should be right next to your side. You don’t want your arms crossing in front of your too much.  (An open hand will produce more force then a closed fist.  The reason is the longer the lever, the stronger the lever and your arm is longer when your hand is open. Also, when you have an open hand you are more relaxed.  A clinched fist is not relaxed and this will produce strain.)

You want your arm to come almost completely straight next to your side.  After you throw your hand straight down next to your side your elbow will come up to about the middle of your back.  Since you are hot footing it off the ground and your leg will be bent behind you, your elbow will not come back too far so you may be able to get your hand back in front of you to use it again for your next stride.  You  

Shoulders:

If you are standing tall and your arms are hanging to your sides, your shoulders are relaxed and low.  This is the same position your shoulders must be in the whole time sprinting.



Head and Neck:

Always in the same alignment has your chest.  You should not move your head and your face and neck must be relaxed. If you strain your face or neck you are tense and you will not be an efficient sprinter. Be relaxed but also in control.

Whole Body:

You want to have controlled, relaxed, and fluid movements.  A relaxed runner is a fast runner.  

The objective:

1)The obvious objective in sprinting is to go as fast as possible, but you will not live up to your potential unless you do the things mentioned above.  

2)To put as much force into the ground as possible.

3)To run efficient.  A relaxed runner can be an efficient runner.

Good luck with getting faster.