Running

The best athletes from any sport have one thing in common. They are all very fast; this gives them a huge advantage over any opponent that is slower than they are. There are three areas that athletes need to be aware of to become as fast as they can possibly be. These are: to perfect your form, to find your weakness, and to train your weakness. Most quick athletes know that, when worked on, these three things will make a mediocre runner into a fast runner.

Many runners are unaware that there is a form and technique to running, but the truly fast runners have mastered it. Not only does good form make you faster, it also reduces the chances of pulling a muscles or injuring yourself while running. What is good form, you ask? There are two main techniques you want to be sure to master. While running you want your knees to be parallel with ground with each step. You also want to maintain a slight forward lean. It is much easier to improve these if you have a running coach to watch and critique you while you run.

All runners have a weakness when it comes to running, and to be faster you need to find what that weakness is. Your weakness might be your reactive speed or even excessive lifting strength. Heading to a weight room to work on squats is the best way to test this. Being able to squat more than 1.5 times your body weight means that your weakness is reactive speed. If you are unable to lift 1.5 times your body weight then your weakness is lifting strength or power.

Finding your weakness does not help your speed at all if you don’t train your weakness. The purpose of finding your weakness is to become aware of it so you can work to make it a strength. If your weakness is reactive speed, then plyometrics can help boost your reactive speed and turn it into a strength. If your weakness is that you cannot squat 1.5 times your body weight then you need to hit the weights. Squat at least three times per week, and focus on doing at least three sets of eight to ten reps. This will make your squat go up substantially in just a few weeks and you will become much faster.

Follow these guidelines and you will be well on your way to becoming much faster and a much better athlete overall.

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