Phase 1: Stability Ball
A stability ball can serve as a great tool to use for tactile feedback, in order to ensure that your athlete is truly feeling these sprinting drills and performing them with proper coordination and body mechanics.
PROGRESSIONS:
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1️⃣ Stability Ball Half Kneel Start Sprinter — Start with INSIDE knee down on floor. Drive INSIDE knee up and stand in statue tall hip lock position.
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2️⃣ Stability Ball Skater Start Sprinter — Start with INSIDE knee in skater squat position hovering above floor. Drive INSIDE knee up and stand in statue tall hip lock position.
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3️⃣ Stability Ball Half Kneel Start Sprinter w/ Exchange — Start with OUTSIDE knee down on floor. Drive OUTSIDE knee up to complete hip flexion swing through, and then alternate by rapidly driving INSIDE knee up and stand in statue tall hip lock position.
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4️⃣ Stability Ball Skater Start Sprinter w/ Exchange — Start with OUTSIDE knee in skater squat position hovering above floor. Drive OUTSIDE knee up to complete hip flexion swing through, and then alternate by rapidly driving INSIDE knee up and stand in statue tall hip lock position.
Phase 2: Body Weight
Mastering technique with your body weight alone during these sprinting drills can provide you with the necessary feedback to ultimately help you improve your overall body control, balance and speed.
PROGRESSIONS
⠀
1️⃣ Half Kneel Start Sprinter — Start with INSIDE knee down on floor. Drive INSIDE knee up and stand in statue tall hip lock position.
⠀
2️⃣ Skater Start Sprinter — Start with INSIDE knee in skater squat position hovering above floor. Drive INSIDE knee up and stand in statue tall hip lock position.
⠀
3️⃣ Half Kneel Start Sprinter w/ Exchange — Start with OUTSIDE knee down on floor. Drive OUTSIDE knee up to complete hip flexion swing through, and then alternate by rapidly driving INSIDE knee up and stand in statue tall hip lock position.
⠀
4️⃣ Skater Start Sprinter w/ Exchange — Start with OUTSIDE knee in skater squat position hovering above floor. Drive OUTSIDE knee up to complete hip flexion swing through, and then alternate by rapidly driving INSIDE knee up and stand in statue tall hip lock position.
Phase 3: Medicine Ball
The utilization of the medicine ball (MB) can help to provide an increased demand to control the trunk via lower body and upper body sequencing, in addition to imposing a greater emphasis on tasking the body to "build the breaks" and hone in on deceleration mechanics.
1️⃣ MB Half Kneel Start Sprinter — Start with INSIDE knee down on floor. Drive INSIDE knee up and stand in statue tall hip lock position. Keep MB pressed overhead entire time to promote relative anterior core stiffness, and to engage lower body with upper body via trunk control.
⠀
2️⃣ MB Skater Start Sprinter — Start with INSIDE knee in skater squat position hovering above floor. Drive INSIDE knee up and stand in statue tall hip lock position. Dynamic MB press coordinated and sequenced with lower body to advance the trunk control demand.
⠀
3️⃣ MB Half Kneel Start Sprinter w/ Exchange — Start with OUTSIDE knee down on floor. Drive OUTSIDE knee up to complete hip flexion swing through, and then alternate by rapidly driving INSIDE knee up and stand in statue tall hip lock position. Keep MB pressed overhead entire time to promote relative anterior core stiffness, and to engage lower body with upper body via trunk control.
⠀
4️⃣ MB Skater Start Sprinter w/ Exchange — Start with OUTSIDE knee in skater squat position hovering above floor. Drive OUTSIDE knee up to complete hip flexion swing through, and then alternate by rapidly driving INSIDE knee up and stand in statue tall hip lock position. Dynamic MB press coordinated and sequenced with lower body to advance the trunk control demand.
Matthew Ibrahim is the Co-Owner & Lead Performance Coach of TD Athletes Edge and the Co-Founder of the Hip Hinge 101 Workshop. He has presented at EXOS at Google Headquarters and Stanford University, in addition to his work being featured in Men’s Fitness and STACK Media. Over the past decade he has worked with youth and high school athletes, collegiate athletes, and members in professional sports in the NHL, NBA, NFL, MLB, MMA and UFC.
He is a big fan of interacting on Instagram and regularly posts about training, performance and recovery tips. Follow along here:
https://www.instagram.com/matthewibrahim_/