Speed Drill You Should Be Doing | Kbands High Knee Build-Ups
Have you ever wondered if you were doing the right exercises to increase your speed? Should you be sprinting, weightlifting, completing plyometric drills, or even running distance more often? A lot of questions come up and need to be answered. The best way to increase your speed is to effectively train fast twitch muscle fibers. Understanding what exercises to complete is a major component of your success. This speed drill is a basic build up drill that should be completed by all beginner level athletes. Though, advanced level athletes can also benefit from continuous repetitions of this drill to enhance running form. Take a look at the video demonstration as Trevor Theismann explains the correct form and ballistic movements needed to increase your speed.
As you can see this speed drill is very easy to complete for athletes of all ages. If you’re new to this drill, do not use any resistance bands until you understand the proper form utilized during each stride. If you are more advanced, increase the muscle stimulation utilized by your body with a set of Kbands. This exercise will help recruit more muscle fibers during each repetition.
Why Is High Knees So Important For Sprinting Fast
The High Knee Drill is one of the most basic exercises all athletes should be completing. The reason for this is it enhances muscle recruitment and drive off the ground. By exaggerating the motions of an elevated knee, you’ll enhance your body‘s ability to properly drive-through hip flexion. Hip flexion is a piece of the running form that is completed during the drive phase of your sprinting. By completing continuous repetitions of high knees, your hands and body will gain the ability to drive your knees forward and maintain rhythm during sprinting.
What If You Are Young, Should I Use Resistance
Even young athletes can benefit from this type of drill. Lots of parents worry about overtraining their young athletes with resistance. This came from weight training in the late 80s and early 90s. Research showed that lifting heavy weights on underdeveloped athletes could stunt youngsters growth. Weight training showed that it could potentially damage growth plates and hinder young athletes growth potential. Resistance training on the other hand is very different. Resistance bands recruit more muscle fibers, and if used properly cannot damage growth plates. Large loads or lifting heavy weights is very different than resistance training. The load of resistance bands should be enough to cause resistance, but not enough to hinder range of motion.
When Should You Do This Drill
Anytime you are new to an exercise you should not complete new drills before competition. Off-season training is a great time to expand the exercises that you are completing. As you get more comfortable with the exercises, begin utilizing them during normal training routines. Off-season training may include 3 to 4 days of ballistic speed training. In season training may only include maintenance work in addition to competition. If you have any questions on how to set up your training routine feel free to contact us or leave a comment below for immediate assistance.
What We Recommend
As you become more comfortable with this drill, start utilizing it during your dynamic warm-up. After some light jogging, hamstrings, hip flexor, and quad stretching you can bring this exercise in to warm up the body. Begin with 2 to 3 sets without resistance and then start utilizing the resistance bands. Go through the sequence within the video and move onto your next warm-up drill. This may be four 20 yard sprints, followed by three 60 yard sprints. Your dynamic warm-ups can also include partner drag sprints and core training before any given practice.