Top 10 ways to improve your Forty Yard Dash (Drive Phase) 1) Prowler March Teaches proper drive phase/acceleration technique, Improves body/Shin angles, Improves force production when striking the ground 2) Chain Bounding Teaches proper drive phase/acceleration techniques, reduces recovery, increases knee drive, improves force production when striking the ground, each step adds more weight improving force production with each step = making an athlete learn to produce more force/power with each step 3) Slide Board Mountain Climbers Increases Psoas strength, increases how fast the Psoas fires which improves how fast you can pull your knees up/Knee Drive, Teaches legs to fully extend which increases force production, Teaches proper drive phase/acceleration technique, Teaching Que “splits the thighs apart” 4) RB Pull Through/MB Keg Toss both are the same exercise just done with 2 different pieces of equipment, Teaches the hips to fully extend, this produces more force/power on the take off of the forty, Teaches the legs to fully extend improving stride length, improves Glute strength/power 5) RB resisted Pushup Starts Teaches an athlete to take off at a low angle, improves and athletes shin/body angle on a sprint, Improves force/power production 6) Sled Sprints (LIGHT WEIGHT 10-20% of body weight) light resistance teaches muscles to fire fast, teaches proper shin/body angles, make sure to emphasize Knee Drive and Arm Action 7) Seated Arm Action coaching ques are the most important, 1) arms stay locked at 90 degrees 2) Cheek-2-pocket 3) Pull your elbows back 4) DO NOT cross your body with your arms 5) The faster the arms move the faster the legs move (every action has an opposite & equal reaction) 8) 10’s, 20’s, 40’s done in soft sand (beach) improves EVERYTHING, ESPECIALLY STRIDE LENGTH 9) HEAVY SLED DRAGS or PROWLER PUSHES Improves shin/body angles, builds strength in the actual sprinting movement which equals more force production, Must still be done as fast as possible 10) RB Resisted 40 Stance Take off- only focus on the first 5 yards of the 40, teaches you to take off low, Improves shin/body angle, Teaches proper take off technique Do you notice a common theme? Knee Drive/stride length, Body/shin angles, force production. To run a fast forty yard dash you want to stay in the Drive Phase of a sprint as long as possible. These exercises are all designed to improve the drive phase of a sprint. Keys to the Drive phase are 1) Arm Action 2) Body/Shin Angle 3) Knee Drive/Stride Length
Posted on: Tue, 05 Nov 2013 23:47:25 +0000