Current:Home > MarketsWant to run faster? It comes down to technique, strength and practice. -Zenith Profit Hub
Want to run faster? It comes down to technique, strength and practice.
View
Date:2025-04-19 05:43:55
Whether you’re a weekend warrior trying to shave time off of your casual jog, or an elite athlete trying to shave a few tenths of a second off of your 100-meter dash – the advice for how to run faster is – surprisingly – generally the same. It comes down to form, strength and practice.
To find out what they recommend for increasing your speed, we spoke with elite athlete trainers Jeremy Golden, the former Director of Athletic Training at Santa Clara University and the current Director of Fitness at Tehama Golf Club in Carmel, California, and Marcos Esquivel, CSCS, the owner and lead trainer at MDE Athletics in Chandler, Arizona.
How to run faster
The knee-jerk reaction for many athletes trying to increase their speed is to simply run more often. Run more sprints. Go for longer jogs. While this is a vital aspect of training – you need practice to hone in your form and increase your general conditioning – Golden and Esquivel emphasized the need to work on technique and strength, in addition to practice.
It is also something that is highly specific to the individual. You may want to consider getting a professional trainer’s opinion, since it’s something that’s hard to see, or know, on your own. “It’s probably one of the most individualized things you can do in training because everybody is different – everybody moves differently. It could be as simple as your shin angle when you’re landing, or you’re not producing force here, or you’re leaking power here. All those things can play a role,” explains Golden.
Hip flexor muscles are essential:Here's how to stretch them properly.
How can I increase my running speed?
The first step is addressing your technique. Golden says, “The first thing I look at is someone’s running mechanics. I look at their gait, or how they’re moving, and I’m going to incorporate certain drills that are going to help with that.” Golden says some of the drills he likes to have his athletes do are stationary wall runs or just simple skips. These drills can help with posture, shin angle, and knee height issues, which are fairly common.
Different techniques may apply depending on whether you’re sprinting, running long-distance, or training for a specific sport.
How can I run faster and longer without getting tired?
General conditioning, from lots of hours in practice, will naturally help increase your endurance. But spending time in the weight room may be your best weapon against fatigue. “Any time I’ve been around a cross-country runner, and they’ve been successful, they’ve gotten stronger. They haven’t forgotten about the weight room. To run faster for longer, you have to have good strength,” Golden emphasizes.
Esquivel agrees. “I have a guy who runs marathons, and he was skeptical about weight lifting – like he thought it would impact his speed in a negative way. But after getting stronger, he was like ‘Wow, I’m like 40 seconds faster per mile,' Esquivel beams. “They get more distance per stride,” he adds.
Esquivel says for people who want to run faster, he emphasizes strength in the hips, glutes and hip flexors. Golden echoed this suggestion as well, referring to these muscle groups as the “posterior chain.” He recommended these exercises:
- Romanian deadlifts
- Leg curls
- Glute bridges
- Squats (to 90 degrees, if you can get there!)
Key takeaway – make sure you’re using good technique, get reps in the weight room, and PRACTICE.
Weightlifting or resistance training?Learn how to build strength and muscle mass
veryGood! (4)
Related
- Krispy Kreme offers a free dozen Grinch green doughnuts: When to get the deal
- Climate contradictions key at UN talks. Less future warming projected, yet there’s more current pain
- 3 climate impacts the U.S. will see if warming goes beyond 1.5 degrees
- FedEx driver shot during alleged carjacking in Denver; suspect remains at large, police say
- Justice Department, Louisville reach deal after probe prompted by Breonna Taylor killing
- Pop singer Sabrina Carpenter’s music video spurs outrage for using NY Catholic church as a setting
- Massachusetts unveils new strategy to help coastal communities cope with climate change
- Judge dismisses liberal watchdog’s claims that Wisconsin impeachment panel violated open meeting law
- Tarte Shape Tape Concealer Sells Once Every 4 Seconds: Get 50% Off Before It's Gone
- Free COVID tests headed to nation's schools
Ranking
- Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Triathlon
- Hamas says it's open to new cease-fire deal with Israel as hostage releases bring joy, calls for longer truce
- Judge enters $120M order against former owner of failed Michigan dam
- Tiffany Haddish arrested on suspicion of DUI in Beverly Hills
- The Best Stocking Stuffers Under $25
- 30 famous Capricorns you should know. These celebrities belong to the winter Zodiac sign
- Where to watch animated film 'Reindeer in Here' this holiday
- Gay couple in Nepal becomes the 1st to officially register same-sex marriage in the country
Recommendation
2 killed, 3 injured in shooting at makeshift club in Houston
The Libertarian Developer Looming Over West Maui’s Water Conflict
Amazon launches Q, a business chatbot powered by generative artificial intelligence
Springsteen drummer Max Weinberg says vintage car restorer stole $125,000 from him
North Carolina justices rule for restaurants in COVID
House begins latest effort to expel George Santos after damning ethics probe
Honduran opposition party leader flees arrest after being stopped in airport before traveling to US
Oil prices and the Israel-Hamas war