Are you a runner looking to chip time off your 5km or 10km? Mirafit ambassador team GB sprinter Harry AA has been chatting to us about how sprint training can benefit your running and gave us the lowdown on some strength training tips too.

What is Sprint Training?

"It's about efficiency, saving energy and maintaining form."

Sprint training isn’t all about running all out every session. Harry told us that when it comes to sprinting the most important thing is moving your body as efficiently as possible. What’s the best way to do so? Drills such as A and B skips are one way.

A and B skips are exercises whereby you skip whilst lifting one leg up to knee height and then change sides. The difference is, with B skips, once you lift the knee up to hip height, you kick the foot forwards before bringing it back to the ground. Both exercises teach you how to drive your knees higher, keep your body upright and stiffen your ankles, all essentials for running faster and more efficiently.

How Does Sprint Training Improve Running?

"You pick up bad habits when you're fatigued."

Should endurance runners incorporate sprint sessions in their training programme? Absolutely. If you want to run faster and more efficiently then drills and sprint sessions can help you to do so. Harry explained that bad habits occur when you’re tired and therefore drills are essential for training your body into the correct movements. He told us when running, you should make sure you:

• Run through the balls of your feet

• Stay relaxed

• Use your arms

• Pop your thighs

Including some speedier runs will start firing up those fast twitch muscle fibres, so when you come to the end of a race, no matter how long, your muscles will be ready for a sprint finish.

What is strength training?

"A lot of distance runners I know train in the gym."

Strength training is a form of exercise that uses resistance, usually weights, to improve muscle strength and endurance. When it comes to strength training to improve your running performance there are certain training methods to consider -

Compound Movements

These are multi-joint movements that use large muscle groups such as squats, deadlifts and bench press. Doing these exercises build overall strength which is essential for speed and ensuring that your muscles are strong enough to cope with the impact running has on the joints in your lower body.

Olympic Lift Derivatives

The two main Olympic lifts are the snatch and clean and press. These movements are complex and take a long time to execute well. However, their derivatives are much easier to learn and can have a more beneficial impact on running performance. This is because Olympic lifts help to increase power, this is especially useful when you are trying to get a sprint finish at the end of a race. Make sure you’re using an official Olympic Barbell when doing the lifts as they have been designed specifically for these types of movements.

Single-Sided Movements

Most exercises have a single-sided counterpart, such as single leg squats and Bulgarian split squats. Although you won’t be able to lift as much weight doing single-sided movements, it will help to maintain muscle balance which is essential for runners. Using Rubber Dumbbells is a great way to add load to your single-sided movements.

How does strength training improve running performance?

"It starts with efficiency, learning how to move your body with the use of efficiency."

In the past there has been a lot of stigma in the running community towards strength training, with many being afraid of becoming too ‘bulky’ if they add weight to their programme. However, that’s not the case. Here are some reasons Harry gave us as to why every runner should include strength training to their programme -

• Injury prevention

• Rehabilitation

• Increase power

• Increase muscle and tendon strength

• Reduce muscle imbalances

Ready to lace up and head to the track? If you want more of an insight into how Harry trains? Stay up to date on Instagram by following @mirafitofficial and @aikines

Written by guest author Eryn Barber.

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Tags: Exercise Type > Strength ; Misc > Mirafit Ambassadors