Drills to Improve Mechanics, Speed, Coordination & Elasticity

1

Standing Stationary Arm Swings

Arm Action

Purpose
Improve running mechanics and speed by providing teaching cues for upper-body movement while in a stationary position

Procedure
● Stand with the feet together and swing the arms in a sprinting motion.
● Each arm should move as one piece with the elbow bent at about 90 degrees.
● Keep the hands relaxed.
● The hands should come up to about shoulder level in front of the body and should pass the gluteus in the back.
● The arm action should be forward and back without crossing the midline of the body.

Complex Variations
● Seated Arm Swings: Sit on the floor with your legs straight out in front of you and swing the arms as described above. Be careful not to bounce off of the floor as the drill becomes more vigorous. This drill will help train the correct position of the arms as the hands pass the lowest point of the swing by avoiding contact with the ground.

● Weighted Arm Swings: Use light dumbbells held in the hands to work on shoulder strength. Use enough resistance to provide a good training stimulus but not so much as to alter good arm
mechanics.
● Contrast-Resisted Arm Swings: Perform arm swings with 1- to 2-pound weights for 10 to 20 arm swings, then drop the weights and perform 10 to 20 arm swings without resistance.

2

Ankling

Basic-Technique Speed

Purpose
Increase foot speed and elastic ankle strength

Procedure
● Jog with very short steps, emphasizing the plantar flexion phase of ground contact and low foot recovery.
● Keep quiet but fast feet.
● Land and push off the ball of the foot. Minimize ground contact and maximize foot contacts.

3

Straight-Leg Shuffle

Basic-Technique Speed

Purpose
Increase hip strength and elastic ankle strength

Procedure
● Run while keeping the legs straight and the foot dorsiflexed.
● Emphasize fast ground contact with the ball of the foot and pulling through with the hips.

4

Butt-Kickers

Basic-Technique Speed

Purpose
Increase foot speed

Procedure
● From a jog, pull the heel of the lower leg up to and bounce off the gluteus.
● As the leg bends, the knee should come forward and up.

5

Wall Slides

Basic-Technique Speed

Purpose
Improve knee lift and enhance frequency of turnover

Procedure
● Perform these the same way as the Butt-Kickers but do not allow the heel of the recovery leg to travel behind the body.

6

A-March Walk

Supplemental Speed

Purpose
Increase foot speed

Procedure
● March using perfect posture and arm action.
● The knee on the recovery leg should be brought high and stay fully flexed while keeping the ankle close to the gluteus and dorsiflexed.
● When the recovery knee is at the highest point, the opposite "ground" foot should emphasize plantar flexion.

FROM: Training for SPEED, AGILITY and QUICKNESS: Editors: Lee E. Brown and Vance A. Ferrigmo--Chapter 3