DRILLS

Arm Swings

Think “nip to hip” with your hands lol. You shouldn’t swing your hands above your chest. You want to actively push your elbows BACK, especially when you start going uphill. It should feel like you are elbowing a person behind you, keeping your hands low on the forward swing (below the nip lol)

Cross Overs

This is an agility drill where you step sideways putting your foot in front of and then behind the support leg. Use your arms to counterbalance. 

Benefits: strengthens ankles, strengthens hip stabilizers and knees, improves balance.

Toe Walking

Walk on your toes with your toes pointed straight shins in line with your second and third toe, walk for about 20 feet, fully extending on to your toes. After approximately 20 feet transition so your weight is on your heels keeping your toes in line with your shins as much as possible.

Heel Walking

Walk on your heels with your toes pointed straight shins in line with your second and third toe, walk for about 20 feet, fully extending on to your toes. After approximately 20 feet transition so your weight is on your heels keeping your toes in line with your shins as much as possible. Keep your spine straight and aligned without flexing at the waist.

High Knees

High knees are a standard running drill, but often performed with poor posture. The idea is to stay stable and supple in the upper body while driving the range of motion in the legs. For a warmup, this drill is less about the speed of the movement and more about keeping your core and spine engaged and tight with large hip flexion. Perform about 20 total, allowing your body to travel forward slightly. Turn around and repeat back to where you started.

High Knees

DO:

-- Keep a straight spine, tall chest

-- Engage your core

-- Drive the thighs to about parallel to the ground

DON’T:

-- Bend your chest down like an abdominal crunch

-- Try to get your knees as high as possible

Kick Butt

Butt kicks are a running drill used for improving running technique. The drill strengthens hamstrings and glutes muscles while stretching the quadriceps by imitating overemphasized leg swings as the foot loses contact with the ground.

How to do butt kicks properly:

  1. Begin by standing with your feet hip-distance apart, look straight ahead, and keep your upper body straight.

  2. Pull the heel of the right foot toward the buttocks while standing on the ball of your left foot.

  3. With the ball of your right foot hit the ground below your center of mass and at the same time pull the heel of the left foot toward the buttocks.

  4. Continue alternating sides and moving forward.

Your arms should follow your leg movements, as they do when you are running. As you are doing the butt kicks your foot should be bent towards your shin (dorsiflexion).

Fast Feet

This running drill is all about moving fast while not moving fast forward. That means having light, quick steps in the feet but not running ahead. Visually think about being on the world's smallest bicycle, and your feet are quickly turning the pedals over at a cadence above 150 RPM. Your arms should be trying to move even faster than the feet to make the whole body connect.

DO:

-- Use your arms to increase foot speed

-- Keep your core engaged

--Keep a slight bend in the hips

DON’T:

-- Drive the knees up

-- Move forward quickly

Strides

These running drills can be great for ‘waking up’ the muscles before a run. They should be performed on a soft but reactive surface, usually grass. The key is to ramp up, then down in a controlled manner just a few times. These are not hard efforts, but rather they are times when you can re-focus on near-perfect running while cycling up, then down in your gears. Walk back to start to have plenty of recovery between strides.

DO:

--Increase your stride length

--Accelerate and decelerate through the stride

--Drive off the foot through the big toe

DON’T:

--Sprint

--Go above 85% effort

--Run for time

All the drills should be 25-50 meters then walk back and repeat 3 times. Find them in your membership area (aka webpage)

Have fun and let's run!

FORM: When running, think “hip to nip” with your wrists. You shouldn’t swing your hands above your chest. You want to actively push your elbows BACK, especially when you start going uphill. It should feel like you are elbowing a person behind you, keeping your hands low on the forward swing

Inside Ninja

Legs are hip distance apart. As you move forward swing one leg in front of the other crossing over your midline. Then alternate legs. This drill is great for range of motion of the hips as well as knee and ankle stability and strength.

Outside Ninja

Legs are wider than shoulder distance apart. As you move forward swing one leg towards the center and back out then alternate the other leg. This drill is great for ankle strength, hip mobility, and coordination.

Squat & Walk

Come into a comfortable squat with your body weight more in your bum than your knees. 

Alternate heel lifts (walk in place) whip swinging your opposite arm. 

Benefits: balance, coordination, activate the glutes

Leg Swing

Leg Swings provide an easy, effective way to help prepare the body and brain for the neuromuscular demands of running. ... This can often prove key in reducing your system's protective guards and enjoying a pain free run. Unlike static stretching, leg swings increase mobility without reducing your performance readiness.