CORE STRENGTH AND THE
SPRINTS
Natasha Kaiser-Brown
Drake University
Sprint Mechanics
Lower Body
Knee Drive
Touchdown
Leg Recovery
Upper Body
Torso (slight forward
lean)
Shoulders (low and
relaxed)
Arms: Closed Angle
(in front of shoulder)
Open Angle (at hip)
Sprint Mechanics
Cues
“Knee Up-Toe Up”
“Stay Tall”
“Relax your Shoulders”
“Don’t Run Side to Side”
“Use your Arms”
Weaker athletes are not capable of getting into or
maintaining these positions due to underdeveloped core.
Sprint Mechanics
“All movements of limbs hinge on the strength of
the torso. Abdominal muscles, traps, pecs, back”.
Quad Muscles/Hip Flexors- attach to the front of
the torso
Hamstrings/Glutes-attach to back side
How to Identify Core Problems
Watch from the side and directly in front
Carrying extra weight
Does the athlete run side to side?
Do they have excessive forward lean (center of
gravity is pushed)
Do they lean too far back (center of gravity is
pulled)
Do they over rotate (face and torso can be seen
from the sidelines)
Examples of Training Core
Crunches
Reverse Crunches
Dynamic Flexibility Lead leg pick-ups, Eagles front and
back, Inverted anything
Walking over Hurdle Drills-Balance, flexibility, ISOLATE the
core
Pilates during their off season 2x week (dvd’s, classes,
written exercises)
Leg lowers, Superman’s, V-Sits with rotation, bicycles,
planks,
How to Incorporate Core Work
into the Workout
Continuous Warm-up:
Proprioceptor Work (barefoot, knee up, arm
crossed, eyes closed for 30 sec hold)
Jogging
50-100 Crunches (variety)
Dyn. Flex.
Sprint Drills
Striders
Sprints
Workouts: (Early Season)
Hurdle Drill Circuit (4x drill, run, abs)
Walking or Running Stadiums
Running Hills (form, power, speed, endurance)
10x Pit Jumps
Plyo’s (box jumps-keep an eye on upper body as
arms swing through)
Strength Training
Squats (low weight-high reps)
Single leg squats (low weight low reps)
Hang Cleans (total body lift)
Box step-ups
End weights with ab circuit
Physio Ball work (abs, feet on ball-hip raises, feet on the
ball push-ups or planks, 5lb plate, held with both hands
above head, rotate)