SPRINTING: BASIC DRILLS

Common running mistakes are tilting the chin up and scrunching shoulders
Elbows at 90 degrees and don't bend much rotate at shoulder
Hip to eye level hand travels just behind hip through pocket height
Opposite arm is the same angle as the lead leg.
Drive elbows down then back (just back hunches shoulders)
Head and eyes level
Sitting Arm Action: Sit on the ground with legs together in front.
1) work on relaxed form. Increase speed.
2) Pump hard enough to raise your body off the ground
Standing Arm Action: On balls of feet or lunge position, use arms only. Strong and full swing
Head and eyes level. Shoulders low and relaxed. Elbows at 90 degrees
Standing Foot Strike: Standing on one foot (holding onto something) knee to hip height, lightly strike
the ground beneath the body.
Basic Walk: start on balls of the feet, walk with each knee to at least hip height.
When foot comes up, dorsal flex (toe towards knee)
Plantar flex (straighten foot) right before it hits the ground
Foot lands on ball just ahead of body, ripping through, digging
(Check for kick back by standing with your back just in front of a wall and practice form.)
Add skip
Basic Walk + Kick Out: knee up, kick out so leg is straight at 90 degrees,, then down
Add skip
Straight Legs: Jog with legs as straight as possible while landing on the balls of your feet.
High knees against wall: Holding yourself up against a wall near 45, run in place with knees up, staying
on balls of your feet.
High Knee Skip and bound
Butt Kicks: arms tight to side with short motion. Heels kick top of hamstring (not back of butt)
10 slow, 10 medium, 10 fast
Cariocas: For agility, keep knees bent and upper body low. For sprint speed and hips, stay more upright
and raise the knee high when crossing over front leg.
Bicycles: Every 3 steps land back on the same foot by quickly cycling the other foot in the air.
Fire Feet: relaxed shoulders, high hips, head and eyes level
Falling Start:
Exhale every other pump

Walking on Toes
Aims - develop balance and strengthen the lower leg muscles (reduce shin splints)
Amount - two repetitions over 20 to 30 metres
Action - walking on the balls of the feet - free leg to be lifted so that the thigh is parallel with the
ground, lower leg vertical and the toes dorsi flexed (this end position can be held for a second or
two to develop balance and a feel of the free leg position)
Walking on Heels
Aims - develop balance and strengthen the lower leg muscles (reduce shin splints)
Amount - two repetitions over 20 to 30 metres
Action - walking on the heels of the feet - free leg to be lifted so that the thigh is parallel with the
ground, lower leg vertical and the toes dorsi flexed (this end position can be held for a second or
two to develop balance and a feel of the free leg position)
Sprint Arm Action
Aims - develop shoulder muscle power and endurance
Amount - 10 to 20 seconds
Action - assume the lunge position, brace abdominals, maintain a straight back, fast sprint arm
action
Leg Cycling
Aims - develop correct leg sprint action and strengthen hamstring muscles
Amount - 10 to 20 seconds on each leg
Action - stand next to a wall or rail that you can hold to maintain balance, stand tall, brace the
abdominals, stand on the leg nearest the wall, lift the thigh of the other leg so it is parallel with the
ground, the lower leg vertical and toes dorsiflexed, sweep the leg down and under your body, pull
the heel up into the buttocks, cycle the leg though to the front, pull toes up, bring upper thigh
through to be parallel with the ground, extend the lower leg and commence the next cycle
Leg drives
Aims - develop hip flexor strength and speed
Amount - 10 to 20 seconds for each leg
Action - stand facing a wall with your hands on the wall at chest height, position your feet so that
the body is straight and at 45 degrees to the wall, keep you neck in line with your spine (head up),
bring one leg up so the thigh is parallel with the ground, lower leg vertical and toes dorsiflexed
(starting position), drive the foot down towards the ground, as the toes make contact with the
ground, quickly pull the foot up and return the leg to its starting position
Butt Kicks
Aims - develop correct leg sprint action in the mid section following the drive off the rear leg
Amount - two repetitions over 20 to 30 metres
Action - fast leg movement on the balls of the feet - drive the knee up and bring the heel to the
underside of the backside and the thigh parallel with the ground

Skips
Aims - to develop correct leg and foot action in preparation for the foot strike
Amount - two repetitions over 20 to 30 metres
Action - skipping on the balls of the feet - free leg to be lifted so that the thigh is parallel with the
ground, lower leg vertical and the toes dorsi flexed
Side strides crossover
Aims - to increase flexibility and range of hip movement
Amount - two repetitions over 20 to 30 metres
Action - steady jog sideways on the balls of the feet - right leg across the front of left leg, left leg
across the back of the right leg, right leg across the back of the left leg, left leg across the front of
right leg and repeat this sequence.
Skip and clap
Aims - to increase flexibility and range of horizontal leg movement
Amount - two repetitions over 20 to 30 metres
Action - skip on the balls of the feet - bring the whole leg up so it is horizontal with the ground,
toes dorsi flexed and at the same time clap the hands together under the leg. The arms then come
back up to the side to form a crucifix.
Skip Claw
Aims - to develop the claw action of the leading leg
Amount - two repetitions over 20 to 30 metres
Action - skip on the balls of the feet - bring the whole leg up so it is horizontal with the ground,
toes dorsi flexed and then pull the lower leg down so that the ball of the foot claws the ground
pulling you forward
Skip for height
Aims - to develop rear leg drive
Amount - two repetitions over 20 to 30 metres
Action - skipping on the balls of the feet - emphasis is on the rear leg drive and drive back of the
elbow - free leg to be lifted so that the thigh is parallel with the ground, lower leg vertical and the
toes dorsi flexed

Plyometric work
Leg Plyometric drills can be include as appropriate e.g. single leg hopping, bounding, bunny hops, tuck
jumps - one set of 5 to 10 repetitions (aim for quality not quantity)
Chest pass
Aims - develop shoulder and chest strength and speed
Amount - 10 to 20 seconds
Action - stand approximately 2 metres away and facing a wall, hold a light medicine ball (2-5kg)

in your hands on its sides, knees relaxed, brace abdominals, keep back straight, push the ball
powerfully away against the wall, meet the rebound with bent arms and hands ready to
immediately push the ball back (do not catch then push back)
Speed Hops
Aims - develop reactive ability of your leg muscles
Amount - 10 to 20 seconds on each leg
Action - brace abdominals, keep back straight, look forward (not down), hop on the spot keeping
the legs relatively straight (knees not locked), as the ball of the foot lands push explosively back
up, minimise knee bend on landing
Speed Hops Leg Cycling
Aims - develop fast sprint leg cycling action - see Leg Cycling exercise above
Amount - 5 to hops on each leg
Action - brace abdominals, keep back straight, look forward (not down), hop forward on one leg,
pull the heel up into the buttocks, cycle the leg though to the front, pull toes up, bring upper thigh
through to be parallel with the ground, extend the lower leg and land on the ball of the foot,
immediately explode back up and commence the next cycle

Run outs
Aims - to develop a tall, relaxed and smooth sprint action
Amount - six repetitions over 40 metres
Action - tip start and gradually build up of speed over the 40 metres - first two reps focus on a tall
action, next two on tall and relaxed and the last two on tall, relaxed and smooth
Aims - to develop the elbow drive
Amount - three repetitions over 100 metres (60 metres effort + 40 metres run out)
Action - tip start and over the first 30 metres gradually build up the speed and a tall, relaxed and
smooth action - at 30 metres gradually add elbow drive to reach full sprint speed at 50 metres maintain the tall, relaxed, smooth and drive action to 60 metres - sprinting through the 60 metres
point is essential - gradually slow down over the next 40 metres

Page Reference
The reference for this page is:
MACKENZIE, B. (2002) Sprint Drills [WWW] Available from:
http://www.brianmac.co.uk/sprints/sprintdrills.htm [Accessed 9/11/2011]

Common Mistakes - Trouble Shooting Sprinting Mechanics

1. Arm Action- If you run with tense arms, practice loose, swinging movements from a standing

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position. Remember to swing from the shoulder and have them relaxed at approximately 90-140
degrees flexion at all times. Although the arms work opposite direction to the legs, they must be
coordinated with the action of the legs for maximum sprinting efficiency. Drive the hand from the
chest level through the "hip pocket". While swinging the arm, keep the elbow tight to the body.
This will help eliminate the rotational forces that produce an inefficient motion.
Body Lean- Your body should have a slight forward lean (no more than 4-6 degrees). It is
important to note that the angle of the lean comes from the ground, not the waist. The lean is
caused by displacing your center of gravity in the direction you are running, leaning and bending
from the waist will interfere with the correct mechanics of sprinting. Arch both the upper and
lower back slowly. This will help main an erect torso and keep the hips in proper position.
Foot Contact- Do Not Run Up on Your Toes! The toes offer no power or stability to you and if
you run on your toes, you will not be able to run as fast. Instead, snap the down leg back beneath
the hips, the foot should naturally hit on the balls of their feet. You can then push against the
ground, but do not reach and pull the ground; this strategy will result in injuries, poor sprinting
mechanics, and slow times.
Over striding- This is the worst and most often misunderstood element of sprinting. Do not reach
and over stride to increase stride length, but rather push against the ground and let the foot land
underneath the center of gravity. Any placement of the foot in front of the center of gravity will
cause "braking forces" that will result in slowing the body down. Lock the down leg out into full
extension to maximize the power production of the stride.
Under striding- To prevent being too quick because too much turnover will cause you to run fast
in one place and not much ground will be covered. Remember that quality sprint speed is
combination of stride length and stride frequency, and one does not replace the other. Drive the
lead leg up and out, punching it toward the finish line, not just lifting it upward.
Tension- Do not try to power through a race or sprint effort. To run fast, stay relaxed. Running
tight will result in slower times.
Eyes- Focus the eyes straight ahead in what is called a "conversational plane". To do this, you
must avoid tilting the head in any direction.