These drills are designed to train your body to improve running form by breaking down a running stride into smaller parts and focusing on correct form. As the length of the race increases your muscles become tired and your form is more likely to break down. This can lead to injury and decreased performance.

Benefits of Drills:

• Recruit muscles needed for running
• less injury-prone
• Increased running economy/efficiency
• ingrain proper movement patterns
• better prepared when fatigue threatens to break down your form

 

How/When to Do Drills:

• Best performed on a soft surface
• Perform after you have completed your warm up or after your run is over
• 2x per week minimum
• 2-3x 10 seconds per drill doing 3-4 drills

 

Here are a few things to keep in mind when completing the drills. Try to push off the ground with your toe. Drive your knee up when appropriate. Try to be powerful on these. Keep good body control and envision yourself running. Do each drill for 10-15 yards.

A-Skip :

Standard skip like grade school. Be powerful. Swing your arms in stride. Start slow and get the motion. Bring your thigh up so that it is parallel to the ground. Get good push off from your toes.

Butt Kicks:

Bring your heel to your back side. Imagine you are running and still drive the knee up in front as you bring your heel toward your behind.

B-Skip:

Same motion as the A-Skip. But after you bring the knee up, kick your knee straight in front of you. Land back on ball of foot and repeat. Go slow to get the correct motion and form.

Straight Leg Shuffle:

Keep legs straight land on your toes and pop off.

Fast Claw:

This is a quick motion where you pop your knee up parallel with your hip. Imagine your foot is clawing at the ground on the way down. Jog for thirty feet every third step quickly drive your leg through a running stride. Take a few jog strides and switch legs.

Carioca with high knee:

Standing sideways. Bring your trail leg up and over in front of your lead leg. Cross in back and repeat. Keep shoulders facing side. Don’t swing your shoulder or hips back and forth. Keep shoulder fixed. Motion should be from the trail leg hip. Up and over.

High Knees:

Drive your knee up so that your thigh is parallel to the ground. Quick knee drive.