How to Maintain Sprinting for a Long Time

Hi, I'm Franz Snideman, and today's video is, "How to Maintain Sprinting for a Long Time." And, what we're talking about here is how to actually sprint for longer distances. The maximal distance that we can sprint is roughly going to be about 400 meters. Once we get past 400 meters into an 800 or a mile, we're technically -- we're not sprinting anymore. So, 400 meters is about our max. So, if you have ambition to run between 100 and 400 meters, what we're going to do today is teach you some exercises and drills that'll help you learn how to maintain better sprint posture, and that's really what we're after here -- how to maintain the sprint posture for up to 400 meters. Alright, one of the best drills to improve your endurance is to learn how to use your shoulders, especially in the longer sprints, like the 200 and 400 meter. When you get fatigued and your legs don't move, one of the things we know from neuroscience is that the hands will actually control the feet. So, if you feel like your feet aren't moving, you start swinging your arms. So, this seated arm drill's going to teach you the proper elbow mechanics and shoulder mechanics. So, what we do is we sit, nice tall posture, and I want to articulate from my shoulder. So, I'm going to move from my shoulder. I'm not going to extend my elbow. Great drill, because it's self-correcting. I can't extend my elbow, because I'm going to hit the floor. So, this forces me to keep that elbow bend, and the movement's coming from my shoulders. So, I can sit here anywhere from 30 to 60 seconds, really working arm strength. As I pick up the pace, you'll notice that I get a little bit of undulation. My body will start moving like a pogo stick -- that means power. Sprinting's all about power. Use those arms. Okay, one of the problems we see in sprinting longer distances is that the trunk starts to break down. People start to rotate, they start to sway side to side. That means that they're not moving efficiently in a straight line, and typically it's core weakness, and also just a lack of endurance. So, we teach a plank. So, you're going to go on your forearms, you're going to put your feet together. You're going to lightly squeeze your glutes, take the curve out of your back. Lift your chest up, look in between your hands. And, this is where it gets tough, because breathing is tough in this position because your abs are basically body armor right now. So, what do you do, is you just sip air in and out, and ideally you're breathing through the nose. So, even though there's tension in the abs and in your legs, you want to be very careful that you're maintaining breathing -- do not hold your breath here. And, I say 30 to 60 seconds is enough. And, make sure your body's straight, we don't sag, we're not too high. You really want to feel the abs engage and the glutes engage. That's the plank.

 http://www.livestrong.com/video/1007592-maintain-sprinting-long-time/