Go to any track on any given day and the chances are you’re going to see athletes doing A-skips and B-skips at some point. But how well do these drills actually replicate the movements of maximal sprinting? This article will look into the results of an article examining the kinematic and spatiotemporal differences between sprinting and these popular drills, providing valuable insights for coaches aiming to maximise sprint performance.

The muscular strategy shifts identified by Dorn, Schache, and Pandy (2012) provide essential insights for sprint training, particularly for 100m and 200m sprinters. Coaches should focus on developing hip muscle strength and power to improve stride frequency and optimise sprint performance.

This research paper examines the biomechanics of sprint running and how these factors affect performance in the 100m race. The study explores the importance of ground reaction force (GRF), particularly its horizontal component, in determining acceleration. The authors used a motorised instrumented treadmill to measure GRF in detail and found that the ability to orient GRF forward is crucial for sprint performance, even more so than the total force produced. The study also investigates how different levels of athletes, ranging from non-specialists to world-class performers, apply force differently during sprinting. The results highlight the need for training programs that focus on both physical strength and technical skill development, specifically in orienting force forward during acceleration.

Check out this simple set of variations that you can apply with your sprints, jumpers, throwers, and endurance athletes.

Coaches have long thought hurdlers and sprinters start their races differently. However, research analysing World Class sprinters and hurdlers show that sprinters and hurdlers aren’t as different as you think out of the blocks.

In all sprint running races (100m to 400m), every hundredth of a second gained or lost in the race counts. But, most importantly, the fastest male and female sprinters attain incredible top running speeds, with peaks in excess of 44km per hour and 38km per hour in the men’s and women’s 100m races, for example. So what makes a fast runner?

In the International Journal of Sports Physical Therapy, Lorenz and Domzalski have released a detailed rehabilitation program for athletes returning to sprinting after a lower limb injury. The program is a simple 3-stage process with clear criteria for progression to reduce the risk of injury reoccurrence.

Loren Landow, owner of Landow Performance, shows some example progressions and cues for correct accleration mechanics. This video has been produced by the National Strength and Conditioning Association in the USA.

Based on a lecture by Tom Tellez, this article shares his approach to coaching the sprints. This article covers the notes that were made, outlining what he identified as the key priorities for each stage of a 100m and the verbal cues that he used with his athletes.