EVER HEARD OF THE SPRINT TIMING TECHNIQUE??

Sprint timing technique was originally popularized by world-class speed coach Chris Korfist. I could bet almost no one reading the title above has heard of the word before, unfortunately. We will dive into the nitty-gritty here shortly, but in its simplest sense, you can view Sprint Timing as your total body"vertical" based posture during high-speed sprinting.

Ideally, the body should remain tall at midstance once the initial acceleration phase is complete and an athlete becomes upright. To simply gauge sprint timing, look at the upper-body position as the back leg swings next to the front leg at mid-stance. Any leaning forward at this stage clearly indicates poor sprint timing.

An Effective Precursor to Speed

There is zero doubt that if you or your athletes do not exhibit sound Sprint Timing, then you will be doomed. The inevitable negative outcome here will cause subsequent overstriding, overuse of various local muscles, longer ground contact times, an unfavorable forward lean, and early deceleration, to name a few. But before we move on to how to practice sound sprint timing, just know exactly how you should look. The objective here is to stay very tall and stiff throughout your torso, hips, and feet with a slight bend at the knees. On a final note, please bear in mind that this is not a conscious measure that will inevitably decrease your speed potential (read here). The length of your body and rigidity ultimately stem from the strength, speed, and power exhibited by your entire body, which can only be generated from complete and sound athletic training performed repeatedly week in and week out.

THE SOLUTION

As I wrote in my speed book over a decade ago, there is simply no magical cure or technical drill that will automatically encourage sound technique. Please read that again. The whole idea of training sprint technique is absurd, and it's so sad that the false notion still exists strongly in training culture today and probably always will. The reality is that if you want good high-speed rhythm and timing, then you will need the necessary prerequisites, which include fast reactive capabilities from head to toe, freshness, posterior and anterior chain strength and power, yielding proper front and backside mechanics, and total body stiffness. Any deficit experienced at any of these checkpoints will result in poorer results. Let's look at each one of these quickly now.

Reaction Time

This one almost certainly goes without saying, and I don't want to sound like a broken record here. Although reaction time is already pretty much determined and highly regulated by the central nervous system, you want to make sure you are recovering properly. 1 And this leads us to the next factor...

Freshness

If there is still one "missing link" in athletes' and coaches' programs today, especially in team-sport settings, it's undoubtedly the lack of recovery and freshness needed to consistently run at top velocity. The mindset has always been to run past fatigue at high frequencies. Unfortunately, this approach comes at the expense of poor adaptation to higher speeds and motor learning, resulting in poorer performance. 1 2 Don't get me wrong here. I'm all for character building and training to failure when it comes to conditioning, and it's just as important, if not more initially, than developing speed in some. However, you have no choice but to be fresh if you want to get faster.

Total body strength

We could break strength development down into several training categories and sub-systems of your anatomy. To simplify, though, the focus should always be to get as strong as humanly possible if you are an athlete. I will sound like a broken record now and reiterate the classic cliche that you are only as strong as your weakest link. The body or "kinetic chain,"' if you will, is very interdependent. Any detected weakness anywhere in the body will be recognized by the brain and weakness will ensue elsewhere as a result. For example, recent research by Dr. Ramsey Nijem that was supported decades ago by former researchers, showed that the Gluteus Maximus, Hamstrings, and hip flexors are collectively responsible for proper high velocity mechanics and front side timing (coordination types) that allow for proper Sprint Timing outcomes. So if any of these powerful prime movers of the hip are lacking in action, then compensation or substitution patterns will be elected, rendering you weaker and slower everywhere. As I've always advocated, fast sprinters are always made in the weight room, with the exception being your genetic freaks, which are far and few between.

SCIENTIFIC REFERENCES:

#1-110‐Ross A, Leveritt M. Long‐term metabolic and skeletal muscle adaptations to short‐sprint training: implications for sprint training and tapering. Sports Medicine 31: 1063‐1082, 2001.

#2-127‐Stephane P, Sebasiten R, Khaled S, and Olivier G. Neural and muscular adjustments following repeated running sprints. European Journal of Applied Physiology 109: 1027‐1036, 2010.