Athletes of all ages want to reach their full potential in speed and power. These three keys will give you an understanding of what it takes to run faster, train harder and develop sound running mechanics.

Study and implement correct body positions

To put yourself into proper running positions, you must first understand the movements involved in accelerating and sprinting. Your body always leans forward when you’re running. At no point during a sprint should your center of gravity be behind you. During acceleration, your body should have a 45-degree forward lean to load your legs and explosively propel yourself forward as quickly as possible.

RELATED: Get Faster With This Sprint Form Checklist

Once you have taken off and begun your drive phase, you should aim to reach triple extension in your back leg—i.e., full extension in the hip, knee, and ankle joints—making a straight line from your head to your foot. While your back leg is extending, your front leg should be doing the counter-movement of driving the knee up with the foot dorsiflexed.

In addition to knee drive and triple extension, a powerful arm action must take place to facilitate peak potential of your sprint. Arms should be at 90 degrees and firing from your hip and past your cheek. Many sprinters feel that the movement is complete when they get their hands in that position. What they don’t understand is that it starts at the shoulder and is emphasized with the elbows firing up.

Optimal movement patterns in sprinting rely on a powerful knee drive with a forceful and explosive step on the backside and aggressive arm action on each side. Below are some sprint drills that really emphasize form and technique.

• A-March
• A-Stomp
• A-Skip
• High Knees
• Alternating Fast Leg
• 3-Step Hold

Increase stride length and stride frequency

Stride length is the amount of distance you cover in one step. Stride frequency is the rate at which your legs move. The goal is to have these work together to ultimately increase your speed. Too much of both will result in overstriding or cutting your step too early, before you get an effective stride.

Finding the right length and frequency takes practice. It requires drills and repetition. A great drill to improve them is Acceleration Ladders. You start with a short distance between spaces and increase the distance as you run through, forcing your stride to get longer to reach the next space.

RELATED: Lengthen Your Stride for Maximum Speed

You can also perform overspeed training. This gives you the sensation that you are running faster than your top speed. The drill is set up to pull you forward using a bungee. When you begin, you must push out strong and make your steps fast, because the bungee will be pulling you forward at an accelerated rate. You will have no choice but to increase your stride length and frequency.

Another drill that is great for overspeed training is Treadmill Turnovers. Start by standing on the rails of a treadmill while it is moving at high speed. When you’re ready, step onto the belt and force your legs to turn over quickly. This drill should be done with a spotter or under supervision. You want to keep your energy system anaerobic, so you should aim to perform this drill for only about 10 seconds per set.

RELATED: 5 Easy Ways to Improve Your Sprint Speed

The more you practice these drills and put yourself in the proper positions, the more natural they will come in your sprints.

Perform resistance training and plyometric drills 

When you train to become faster, it is crucial to include a resistance training component. Performing exercises like Squats, Power Cleans, Bench Press, Deadlifts, Lunges and Step-Ups will make you a stronger, more explosive athlete. A sprinter should have a strong lower body and a strong core.

In addition to lifting, you should be performing plyometric exercises during practice. Plyos are the most important tool for getting faster. The help you build explosion in your legs, teach you power relative to speed, and allow you to perform reactive and efficient jumping drills. Among the most important plyometric drills are Bounding, Box Jumps, Hurdle Hops and Ankle Hops. These strengthen the smaller muscles as well as the primary muscles—all geared toward the goal of getting faster.

The following is a sample training program that allows plyometric workouts 2 days a week and resistance training 3 days a week.

Follow these 3 keys and you will be on the right path to breaking personal bests.

Lift 1	Plyometric 1	Lift 2	Plyometric 2	Lift 3
Power Clean 5×5	Ankle Hops 3×20	Squat 5×5	Ankle Hops 3×20	Bench 5×5
Front Squat 4×8	Tuck Jumps 3×12	Deadlift 5×5	Tuck Jumps 3×12	Push Jerk 4×5
Seated DB Shoulder Press 3x10Single Arm DB Row 3×10 each	Hurdle Hops 3×5	Incline DB Bench 3x10Seated Rows 3×10	Hurdle Hops 3×5	LatPull Downs 3x10Front/ Lateral Raise 3×8 each
	Broad Jumps 3×10		Single Leg Partner Jumps 3×10 Each
Bulgarian Split Squat3x10 eachWeighted Glute Bridges 3×10	Single Leg Bounds 2×20 yards	DB Curls 3x10Cable Triceps Extension 3×10	Box Jumps 3×5	Lunges 3×8 eachStep-ups 3×5 each
	Right, Right, Left, Left Bounds 3×30 yards	Leg Extension 3x10Leg Curls 3×10	Depth Jumps 3×5
KB Swings 3×10	Bounds 4×30 Yards		Seated Box Jumps 3×5	Single Leg RDL 3×8
Core 1 (Medicine Ball)		Core 2 (Hanging Core)		Core 3 (Core Stability)
Russian Twists 3×25 each		Double Leg Knee Lift 3×10		Plank 3×30 seconds
Pike Ups 3×15		Straight Leg Lift 3×10		Side Plank 3×30 seconds each
Toe Touches 3×25		Side Raises 3×10 each		Plank Pushups 3×20 each
Sit Ups 3×15		Heels to Heaven 3×10		Stability Ball Plank Circles 3×8 each
Single Leg Pike Ups 3×20 each		Straight Leg Holds 3×15 seconds		Ab Roll Outs 3×10

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