How can i make myself a faster sprinter?

I want to know how to make myself a faster sprinter because i've got a race in a couple of weeks. Im 12 years old in year 7 im 7 stone 1 and 5 ft 3. Any suggestions would be good thanks.|||2 weeks is a short time to try to get much faster, but being 12, you have lots of time.





First, you are going to hear a lot of advice. Run faster, hit the weight room, etc. will gain a training effect from almost any program. For example, you show up at the beginning of the season having done nothing. It is pretty difficult for a coach to make you slower over the course of a season. You go through a program and you will improve by the end of the season. Most of the time you will improve -- it is called "training effect". Look at the Tire Suggestion. Obviously some coach thought of this because they have seen people pulling sleds. This falls under training effect. It will improve you by adding resistance, but it is a very inefficient and dangerous training program. The parachute resistance has its place, but it should be used sparingly and for specific motions. Most athletes that I know do not have the technique or the power to do use it effectively.





For serious athletes, there are 2 ways to get faster. One is to make your movements more efficient (think of a distance runner who tend to "bounce" when they run and arms sometimes are out of sync). The other is to put more power into the ground (Coach Isaac Newton said for every action there is an equal but opposite reaction).





Efficiency of movement. You are going to explode out of your stance at approximately 45 degrees. In order to do this you are going to have to ensure that you are strong enough. Some exercises that you can do is to lean against a wall at a 45 degree angle . Bring up one of your knees and that ensure that your legs are parallel. This is the position that you will be in out of the blocks. I went through a 90 minute training session on just how to get in the blocks and the first step so I am simplifying it a lot. Over the next few steps you will go from 45 degrees to a slight lean forward as you move from accelleration to a max velocity run. Your striking foot in front of you should land approximately 6 inches in front of your body. Many people strike in front of this because they point their toes. You want your feet to be dorsiflexed (i.e. picture an ankle with a good taping). This will ensure that you are "pushing" yourself forward using your glutes, rather than pulling yourself forward using your quads. Remember what Coach Newton said!





Power: explosive power. Full body movements are key. Think of cleans or snatches. Even plyometric jumps are goods. You want to focus on higher weight and lower repetition. You are not going to be doing 10 reps, but rather more like 4-6. Focus on getting your hips and glutes involved (the explosiveness of your hips moving forward is what brings the weight up). This will help with getting your hamstrings involved too. Think about the pelvic tilt of a world class sprinter. They look like the strut everywhere they walk. It is actually because they have strengthened those muscles so much it has tilted their hips.





Efficiency is the best methodology. If you are efficient in your movements, you will run less tired. If you are running 2-3 miles at a time, you are working your slow twitch muscles. You want to be a fast twitch machine! Instead look to be in shape. In the off season, do cross training. When you get to the mid-late winter time, then you need to focus more on your event. Get some endurance work but shorter sprint type workouts with rest. Run some multiple sprints at about 60-75% of your best time. As you get closer to the season, you will run less (closer to your desired distance) but at a higher speed. This will be closer to 80-90% of your best time.





Hit the weight room. Focus on developing your glutes, hamstrings, and obliques. This will ensure that you don't have muscle imbalances. Runners tend to have strong legs but weaker upper bodies. You can do secondary exercises for arms, calves, shoulders, etc, but focus on primary!





Newton's Law never changes. Remember - efficient movements and dorsiflex for power.





Good luck!|||What they do in my highschool football team is tie an old tire to them and have someone else sit in the tire, then they run with it. The more you run with it the more you'll get used to dragging the extra weight, and when you run solo you will keep running as if you were carrying the tire so will end up sprinting faster|||I am a sprinter too and same age. I did situps 2x a day which improved lots. I went for regular jogs with my dog and you should try "Multi - Stage Fitness Test. Download it and when it beeps you run 20 metres and gradually the speed builds up. I can now run 14 flat and i have never done proffessional training.





Hope this helps!


x.|||run 400 metres every day and write down your times, to see you increase your timing. Remember, a good sprinter never stops training. Plus protein shakes will build up muscle and stretch your arms and legs every morning and night. You should start as soon as posible to get in a routine. Hope this helps. Good luck.|||Resistance running.....buy a small parachute to run behind you...will increace your speed and power (look em up on the internet they are very cheap).....or wear weights around your ankles when you train


You will run with much more power and speed when you take them off


Also regular training is the obvious one|||Try getting some running spikes if you don't already have them.