Hip Flexor Training To Run Faster | Exercises To Do Every Week
Are you looking to run faster? Is speed something you were lacking and need to develop? Consistency and proper training habits can help you achieve your goals. One of the major muscle groups that most young athletes are lacking is hip flexor strength and explosiveness. If you can become consistent with your training and efficient with exercise choices, you can increase your speed. Stream the video below on the suggested exercises that you should do each week.
Three Exercises To Do Every Week To Run Faster
In the video you saw three exercises to complete each week. Staying consistent with these exercises can greatly improve hip flexor strength. High knees, scissor kicks and bounding scissors are a great way to help improve hip flexor strength in quad explosiveness.
Why Are Hip Flexors Important To Running Speed
Hip flexors aid in hip extension. Lifting the knee up to a proper height for acceleration to the ground will help propel you forward. If your body lacks the strength necessary to quickly chamber your leg after driving off the ground, then you’ll lose action potential out of your legs. Quickly chambering your legs will help stretch and load the hamstrings and glutes for the next stride. Understanding how the body works together can greatly improve your training techniques. The antagonist muscle must ready the power muscles used for running each stride. The more explosive you are on the front side, the greater ability you have to drive off the ground. Weak hip flexors often will cause athletes to be lazy with their legs. Whenever you work to chamber your knee, you may not reach the proper height for maximal ground striking. These three exercises help target to hip flexors and should be completed every other day.
Serious Sprinters Pay Attention
During the first exercise you’ll see the resisted high knee with Kbands. This exercise is very simple and most athletes do it. The problem is that most athletes complete this exercise and get little to no benefit. When completing a proper high knee you must pull your toes up as you reach the parallel position. Learning how to properly chamber the leg will help with a more powerful foot-strike. Each stride must be consistent with arm action and foot position.
The second exercise is no different. Arm action must be consistent with the legs. This is a great way to learn rhythm and comfort in your body. Strike the ground off the balls of your feet and quickly exchange the legs.
The third exercise on the other hand, is a power bounding exercise. Work to maintain straight legs and don’t flip your legs out to the side throughout this motion. Drive your legs through the resistance and build muscle. Just like a bench press or weighted squats, Kbands will add resistance to each motion. This type of training will help build muscle directly in the body parts that are required for sprint speed. For any questions or comments please feel free to email us and we will help you meet your training goals.