The fastest way from point A to point B is always a straight a line. When sprinting you want to do everything you can to keep yourself running in a straight line as efficiently as possible. Where many athletes slow themselves down is the technique they use when running. To run faster, you need to cut out the wasted motion. The key areas that produce wasted motion are the neck and arms. We are going to break down how to cut down on this wasted motion to make sure you are getting the most out of your sprints. The reason wasted motion is so harmful to running fast is that you are doing more work than necessary. Imagine every time you wrote a paper; you did double the work? Imagine every time you had to put a post on Instagram you had to post it twice? Would you like this? There is no way you would like this. We hate doing more work than necessary, and you should hate it when sprinting as well. The goal is to move forward with as little effort as possible while going as fast as possible. You have been tricked into believing that the key is too much in as much energy as possible.
Wasted Motion From The Neck
When you see someone with wasted neck motion, you often see the head moving all over the place when running. One of those motions is the check protruding out from the body with each stride. The second form of neck motion is the kind that turns the head from side to side. The third is when the head slides from shoulder to shoulder as if the neck is attached to the body with wheels. All three of these motions waste time. For your body to execute specific firing patterns, it must wait for these motions to be done to keep the body in sync. These wasted motions actually slow you down because even if you’re body can move faster it won’t move faster then these wasted motions. The crappy part about fixing wasted motions in the head is that you just have to slow down and think about it. There is no way around it. It sucks because when you run and have to think a lot, you automatically move slower. You have to think long-term when making this change. The other place that may need attention is your core. Sometimes neck motion stems from not having a stable core when running. The way things should be is that your core is stable and your arms and pelvis just rotate around a core that does not move. If the core moves through, then the shoulders going to move and that will make the neck move. Exercise of Choice – Front and Side Planks
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Wasted Motion from Arms
The wasted motion that stems from the arms is one of the easiest to see. The reason is that it often results in arms that look crazy when running. The arms control what the lower body does so this wasted motion no only makes your slower, but it can lead to injuries. There are so many places here where you can see this wasted motion. One of the most popular is arms that are too wide when swinging on the back side of the body. The second is when arms cross the center line in front of the body. Another wasted motion a lot of athletes have is either keeping the elbow collapsed so that the arms are tight. The 4th is when you let the arm come too high in the front. The hand should go to eye level, but some bring it much higher than eye level. All of these are easy to spot when running. They all also produce massive inefficiencies. Like I said early, the quickest path is a straight line and your arms going all over the place does not help you to be faster. If you cross your arms over your body, one of the best things you can do to fix this is holding batons in both hands. The reason is that you if you cross your arms you will hit yourself in the face with the batons. For people who bring the elbow too high or who don’t bring it high enough, it is a simple mental cue that needs to be made. You just need to be aware you are doing it, and you will be able to make the change.
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What About The Legs?
The problem with the legs is that they are controlled by the arms. The legs are just often responding to arm speeds and positions. Now is it possible that you could have wasted leg motion? The answer is yes! One of the worst ways athletes have wasted motion is by over pushing. Over-pushers get in a position where they don’t want to take their feet off of the ground. The result is they keep pushing and let their legs get far behind them. Any time you see an athlete that has legs that look like they could kick themselves in their back, it means they are over pushing. Over pushing is a form of wasted motion because it is not helping you reach your destination faster. The ideal place that you want to be to run fast is with your thigh in front of your body. Any time your leg gets behind you, you have a problem. Over pushing is one of the biggest mistakes you see in youth athletes that try too hard to run fast. The harder your try, the more force you try to use and you may do so, but you forget about the part of being fast. Fast athletes put force through the floor quickly. Having front side mechanics allows you to do this.
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Conclusion
- 1Keep your neck steady
- 2Don’t let your arms get wild
- 3Don’t overpush
Wasted motion when sprinting is not your friend. You want to do everything you can yo rid yourself of this vile practice that only slows you down. Our speed course “Speed Kills” allows you to send in video and get a critique done. If you are interested, enter your email here. We would love to help you eliminate your wasted motion. Click the button below!
