Why do I need to sprint?

• To improve your general fitness level.  Common sense tells us that if you're not tired, you'll play better.  

• If you look at the game of football, you will find that it is made up of a series of short intervals of near-maximal speed and explosiveness interspersed with short recoveries.

• It's all about speed and quickness.

The Basics of Sprinting

• You should have a slight forward lean after the start. Your back should be flat, with the hips tilted forward and your abs tight.

• Your head should remain steady with your eyes forward.  Try to keep your jaw relaxed.

• The shoulders and hips are perpendicular to the direction of run.

• Your lead foot should contact under or just behind your body’s center of mass.  Contact between the ball of the foot and the ground should be a pushing motion, as it is this movement which generates the forces for forward momentum.

• Push your thigh towards the ground.  Your foot should be pointed straight ahead.  Foot contact should be ball-heel-ball, and not on the balls of the foot only.

• Your arms should have minimal lateral movement - don't let your hands cross over your body any farther than about half way.  Your elbow drive backward will speed up your leg action.  It's actually been proven that the faster you move your elbows, the quicker your feet will move.

Okay, now that you're technically an expert, let's figure out what you should be running.

Developing a Sprint Program for you

Okay, again, common sense will tell us that the wide receiver and the defensive tackle will not follow the same sprint regimen.  The position you play will ultimately determine which kind of sprinting you need to do.  If you're a defensive back, a wide receiver or any other type of player that will have to do long hard running, your workout should include 50-100 yard sprints with short recovery periods.  Tackles and guards will want to perform 5-20 yard sprints from a three point stance position.  Linebackers and fullbacks need to perfect the 20 yard sprint, but also should work in a couple of quick 5 yard bursts and an occasional 50 yard sprint, as their position will demand a little of everything.

Your entire sprint workout should last no more than 15 minutes (not including stretching and warm up jogging).  In much less than a hour of your time, you can make yourself a better football player.  The best thing about sprinting for fitness?  It feels so good when you stop.

Disclaimer:  These exercises and tips are posted only for your personal reference and are suggestions only.  All information on these pages is presented on an "as-is" basis and makes no representations or warranties of any kind. Pensacola Power Inc. and it's affiliates will be, in no way, held responsible for any injuries or accidents that occur while performing these suggested exercises.  As always, seek advise from a qualified medical professional before beginning a new fitness program.