Isolation of Sprint Drills

Isolation (Sprinting) Drills

Written by Drew Harrison & Peter Warden - The University of Limerick, Ireland

Origins of Isolation Drills Common Errors Description of Selected Drills Origins of Isolation Drills Rehearsal of the skill of sprinting must be done regularly and correctly. Although it may be true that sprinters are born not made, all athletes can be made to run faster. Warden (1986) points out that the term 'drills' should be more correctly and fully termed 'rehearsal drills' to emphasis the fact that the drills should be used to rehearse some aspect of running skill. In athletics, the term 'sprint drill' is frequently used and this mistakenly infers that the exercises are only of use to sprinters. In fact increasingly more middle and long distance athletes are benefiting by including drills as an integral part of their training. It is believed that the origin of many of these drills is the training regimes of the old Eastern block countries however it is probably better to look for their origins in the running skills they are intended to improve. They are the 'part' in the 'whole-part-whole' or 'part-whole' methods of skill learning and hence the frequent use of another descriptive term 'isolation drills'.In it is unfortunate that many versions of the drills being practised by sprint coaches and athletes today are not only a waste of time but some actually encourage bad habits. Whichever drills are used must be correct for the sprinting action and should be the result of careful analysis and accurate observation. Common Errors Observation of good running technique shows that the lower leg does not flick out ahead of the body and paw back like the legs of a trotting horse. But some coaches continue to employ a drills to teach this incorrect action? Another factor in good sprinting is that the body should be upright or leaning very slightly forward. It should certainly not lean back at 45 degrees. Again, many coaches and athletes employ leaning back actions when doing high knee lift drills. All skills drills must be specific to some correct aspect of running technique and performed accurately. Remember: practice makes permanent. Some drills are not really technique drills but are speed or even speed endurance based. In fact, all drills can be biased to produce almost any effect that the coach desires. The coach must ask himself if the drills his athletes are doing are actually producing the effect he wants. Is the loading right? If skill acquisition is the aim, is it the correct skill for the athlete? Often coaches seem to employ a shot-gun effect when using drills. 'Let's use them all then we're sure to get the effect that we want.' Drills should be selected for each athlete to improve specific aspects of technique or correct faults. It is seldom necessary for all the athletes to do all the drills possible. Drills should not be copied slavishly but should be selected to produce a specific effect. Description of Selected Drills The following is by no means an exhaustive list of rehearsal drills but they are the ones which experienced coaches have found to work. There do not seem to be any accepted names for sprinting drills so those that follow are ours and may differ slightly from other coaches' terminology. Heel Flicks This is an exercise which has come under doubt in recent years. The usually accepted method of doing this drill is for the athlete to flick the heel high behind the body, attempting to make it come into contact with the buttocks. During this movement the knees are deliberately kept low. Detailed observation of the sprinting action shows that this is not an accurate part of sprinting technique. The lower leg does not flex before the knee is pulled through. It flexes as the knee is pulled through. It would seem that this drill would be more appropriate if the heel was flicked up behind quickly at the same time as the knee is pulled forward. The body must be kept upright and not bent slightly forward in the middle. The arms must also be used in a correct sprinting manner. The emphasis should be on speed of movement. Figure 1: Walking Sprints With most skills, it is better to learn the move&endash;ment slowly before attempting to do it quickly. In fact, if an athlete cannot do a skill slowly he will most certainly not be able to do it quickly. The walking sprint drill is a pure rehearsal drill in that it allows the athlete to do the correct sprinting action slowly. Since the athlete is moving very slowly the coach has the time to observe and correct faults as the athlete moves. The athlete also has time to mentally take stock of his position and correct himself. Coaching Points High knee lift Lower right leg almost vertical Right foot cocked Fully extended supporting leg Upright body Full range of arm movement From this position the right leg is pushed down and slightly forward to the ground heel first. The other knee is then lifted forward and up into the position shown in Fig 1. The whole movement is repeated over some thirty to forty metres. The emphasis is on skill, i.e. the movement must be done slowly and correctly. The athlete must also concentrate on keeping the hips high. Prancing or Lifting Drill The prancing drill is a logical progression from the walking sprint drill. It is really just that drill done faster. The athlete concentrates on high hips, a high knee lift and on keeping good sprinting form. The drill is done slightly faster than the previous one but by no means full out. This is still in the realms of skill rehearsal. Once this drill is done very fast, it becomes a speed drill and is usually termed Fast High Knees. The big problem with both of these is the tendency for athletes not to complete the drive and to bend in the middle into a semi-sitting position. Occasionally the athlete begins to lean backwards. This latter fault is more common in young sprinters and in those with weak abdominal muscles. The action must be behind the body so the hips must be kept high. Pawing Drill The most important action of the leg and foot during sprinting is the backwards movement of the foot relative to the forward motion of the whole body. In other words, from a the position In Fig 1 the foot is brought to the ground with a downwards and backwards motion of the knee and foot - a sort of 'pawing' action. The 'pawing drill' involves an alternate pawing action on each leg usually a short hop is made by the ground leg to introduce a forward motion element into the drill. The drills described above are the chief ones for use in the area of skill rehearsal. They should be repeated several times in a skill session and done over a set distance rather than for a set number of repetitions. For exampIe, a skill session could begin with the following: 4 x 40m walking sprint drill 4 x 40m prancing 4 x 40m fast high knees 4 x 40m pawing drill This is very hard work. Intervals should be fairly long as fatigue will quickly set in. The loading should be less for younger athletes. Reduce loading by reducing the distance covered in each repetition. As the fourth drill is speed orientated we have now progressed from skill to speed. Knee Drive (Figs 2 and 3) Figure 2 Figure 3 This drill is much more of an isolation exercise in that it isolates one particular aspect of the sprinting technique. Initially this can be used as a skill drill for athletes who have particular problems with high knee lift. It can also be used as a strength exercise by adding a resistance to the ankle. The resistance can take the form of a small weight or, better still, an elastic or pulley. If the resistance is kept low and the repetitions high this becomes an endurance exercise. Coaching Points Hurdle at approximately crotch height Start with foot back and arms in correct sprinting posture Drive knee forward and high until the toe just reaches the underside of the hurdle crossbar Arms move through full sprinting range Repeat action several times with one leg before exercising the other leg