How To Run A Faster 40 Yard Dash
This is the time of the season where I am sure that you are asked the same question over and over: 'How do I run a faster 40?' Here are the Top 7 Tips to be able to increase your straight ahead football speed and 40 yard time dramatically without having to run a step. The focus is on the starting position in the 40 yard dash. Starting Position
Tip 1 – Foot Placement
The start of your 40 yard is extremely important since it sets up your entire run. You want to put yourself in the best position possible to be able to explode off of the line. You must first determine your 'quick' leg and your 'power/strong' leg. An easy way to determine your “quick” side vs. your “power” side, fold your arms in front of you. The hand that is tucked under your bicep/armpit is your quick side arm. If your left hand is tucked under, your right leg is your “quick” leg. Your quick leg is going to be in the back position when starting in a 3-point stance and your power leg will be in front. The front leg is going to be the leg that is really starting the initial drive out so you want your strongest and most powerful leg in front. Technically, the distance between the front foot (power leg) and the starting line should be approximately 55-60% of your leg length. The distance between feet should be shin length, which is about 42-45% of total leg length. A simpler and equally effective spacing is to start by placing front foot (power leg) two foot-lengths from the starting line and the rear foot (quick leg) another foot length between the front and rear feet. Spacing can be adjusted from there based on comfort, existing strength levels, etc.
Tip 2 - Shoulder Position at the Start
The position of the shoulders while in the starting is a subject for debate. Some coaches instruct their athletes to bring their shoulders out slightly past their hands, thus bringing the center of mass closer to the starting line. First off, at some football combines, this movement is illegal so check with an official at your combine if you prefer to use this technique. I have found that leaning forward at the line often makes athletes fall forward at the start. So, their first step is catching and trying to control their body instead exploding out. They are actually trying to keep their feet underneath them to avoid falling forward and not creating horizontal velocity during the drive phase. Your thumbs should be directly under your shoulders. This maximizes the distance of the shoulders from the ground. The shoulders should be directly over or slightly behind the hands. This will keep the hips from moving forward and upward on the set command. The quick side, (rear) knee should be in contact with the ground.
Tip 3– Leg Angles (Starting Position / 3-point stance)
The front knee angle should be between 90 and 110 degrees, while the rear leg angle should be between 120 and 135 degrees. Existing strength levels will be the primary factor determining whether your knee angles are closer to 90 and 120 degrees, versus 110 and 135 degrees. This means that weaker athletes will have the hips higher in the air (closer to 120 and 135). Evidence suggests that angles in this range allow for the greatest stretch reflex in the hamstrings, as well as the greatest amount of velocity when exiting the starting line. It is important that you know your limitations. Even advanced male athletes, at the high school level, usually do not have the strength and power capabilities to successfully use lower knee angles when in the set position. A tell tale sign of poor acceleration mechanics and/or body angles is seen when an athlete becomes completely upright within the first few steps of a race. Rapidly decreasing shin angles are the most obvious evidence of limited strength and power output. Tip 4 – Head Alignment
You have probably seen and heard many different ways to align your head while in the 3-point stance. Some coaches want you to keep your head down and looking back at your legs at the start. Other coaches believe that you should have your head up so that your eyes are looking forward. This may work on the football field since you need to see the ball snapped and know what's happening on the field, but we are looking to your body in the best 'exiting' position possible. Your head position should be properly aligned with your spine (so it is straight). Looking down and back normally causes the athlete to break at the hips while driving out while trying to maintain that position. Also, another problem that I have seen with trying to keep the head down is that it can cause the athlete to lean too far forward while in the starting position and it causes a breaking of the hips in the drive phase.
Tip 5 – Hip Height
Hips should be above the shoulders. The degree of height above the shoulder will affect knee and hip angles, thus affecting force application and acceleration. The higher your hips the more weight you can shift to the hands. Make sure that your hips aren't too high or you won't be able to support all the weight and your first step off of the starting line will be short almost 'catching' your body from falling. If your hips are too low, you could have too much weight back where your body can't explode as ideally as you would like to overcome inertia. Also, you are most likely to 'pop' straight up on your first step, negating your acceleration phase. Tip 6 – Hand Placement
Hands should be placed about shoulder width apart to start. The hands should also be arched, so that only the fingertips are actually touching the ground. Doing this ensures that you will not place too much weight on your arms which forces your legs to move the majority of your body’s mass. The thumb and index finger are going to take on the majority of the weight. They will also run parallel with the starting line. Your quick side hand is going to be the hand that is going to be left on the ground supporting during the set position. Your power side hand will be raised off of the ground. Keep the power side arm at 90 degrees with that hand by your hip. Keeping your power side arm at 90 degrees at the starting position will enable you to come through with that arm quickly when driving out. The biggest reason to keep that arm at 90 degrees at the starting position is if your 40 yard time is being timed by a stop watch and not electronically. If someone is manually timing your 40 yard run with a stop watch, they are going on your first movement. If your power side arm is up to 120 degrees or so, it is easier to see that arm move first and it won't be as noticeable if it is kept at 90 degrees. So, it might be slight time saver, but as you know, every little bit helps. During your speed training sessions, practice to make as little movement as possible (be completely still) prior to exploding off of the starting line. Tip 7– Focus
Most football combines time their 40 yard runs electronically or FAT (fully automated timing). One of the easiest ways for them to time is to have the electronic timing device connected to a gun, when the gun fires, the timing starts. So, here is a tip if you are getting your 40 timed by your reaction to the gun. There are two things you can focus on. One is to focus on a motor set, which means to focus on your first movement, not the gun. Second, would be a sensory set. This means that you would focus your attention on the starter’s gun. Focusing on the gun isn’t necessary because you are going to hear it and react to it whether you are focusing on it or not. By focusing on a sensory set as opposed to a motor set, you are likely to get a slower reaction time to the gun. By waiting to react to the gun, you have to wait to hear the gun, and then your brain has to acknowledge the sound of the gun, and then send a signal to your muscles to react to the gun. This might only take .10, but it is time you cannot afford to waste. Instead, you should focus on driving the power side arm (if your right leg is forward, then drive your right arm) up as soon as the gun goes off. This will help bring your quick side leg through as well as help you drive through your power side leg.
Other Football Tips Articles
Getting Too Old Or Too Tired To Play Sports? Start Collecting Instead I played football from the age of eight years old until age twenty and then continued in bodybuilding to this day at the age of 45. Even though I look younger than my age and younger guys approach me all the time to play rugby or sandlot football my knees and hips just can’t take the abuse anymore. If you are like me and you still want to stay i ...How to Be Irresistible to Women You don’t need a guitar, rock-hard abs, or even a full head of hair to make a great impression on a woman. Follow these tips, and she’ll want to hear from you again real soon:1. Go out with another woman. If you’re going out to a club or a bar, take a female friend or your sister with you. Women are often more amenable to talking to men w ...New QBs Provide Many Questions for Major Programs As we expect every year, several major college programs have gone into preparations for this season without a definite starter at quarterback. This year seems particularly intense, as both National Champion Texas and runner-up USC are searching for new starters. With the college football season a little more than a week away, most of the races f ...Football - Ultimate Tailgaters Supply List For years now, tailgating parties have been a regular part of all college and professional football games. People spend a lot of time and effort on putting together the best tailgate parties possible. Some will spend literally thousands of dollars over the course of a football season on these parties alone. Football tailgating parties before ...Sporting Goods Gifts Got any gift ideas for someone on a special occasion? You may have grown tired of the stereotypical gifts such as shirts, CDs, DVDs, books, lockets, key chains, and so on; maybe it is time you give someone close to you something that he or she can truly appreciate and use. Is that person into sports or addicted to outdoor activities? Then you sh ...Lead By Example, Help Your Kids Learn How To Exercise Properly Remember when you were young, you could play all day and wake up the next morning without any soreness. And I am sure you remember it was much easier to keep weight off. Children and teenagers are just naturally more flexible, they have a higher metabolic rate and a lot of energy to burn. To help them continue to build strength and not become o ...The Advantages of Playing Online Poker Online poker has gained so much following in recent years that casinos have begun putting video poker machines in their casinos to lure those who are used to playing online video poker. And who could blame these players for going gaga over online gaming. Besides the conveniences provided by playing inside the house, online poker is for others mu ...American Football vs European Football American football is usually confused with European football. The difference between the two is greatly, but the same use of title can confuse others. The difference between American and European football is simple by definition. Football is used mostly with the hands to control the ball, and the European football is what most people call Socce ...#52 Minnesota Golden Gophers Preview Spring practices are in the books and fall camps will be here before you know it so that means getting an early jump on the 2006 NCAA football season. Knowing the teams now will save you time in August and Matt Fargo is here to help you get a grasp of what to expect this upcoming year. We go from worst to first in this 2006 College Football Prev ...Great British Sporting Events In this article I write about some of the most famous British sporting events which take place on a yearly basis. My name is Steve Hill from Birmingham and I love to watch most sports especially football, tennis, snooker, horse racing and cricket.I am currently looking forward to the Fifa World Cup and the winter cricket Ashes tour to Aus ...Online Poker Tips- How To Become A Successful Online Poker Player This article is all about online poker. I have been enjoying playing poker on the internet for a couple of years now and in this article, I give free tips on how to become a successful online poker player.For me playing poker is not just about attempting to win money, it is also fun. I love the fact that you can interact with other player ...Cheap Auto Insurance for Teenagers Prom dresses. Football camps. School clothes. Cell phone bills. Teenagers come with hefty price tags! But we love them, and we want the best for them; that’s why when it comes to auto insurance, not only do we want to shop for cheap auto insurance for teenagers, but we want to shop for the best auto insurance for teenagers, as well. Since ...Freestyle Football is Trendy Nowadays, But How and Where It Evolved? In this day and age, we often see freestylers perform ridiculous and yet amazing tricks and moves not only on TV advertisement but on the internet as well. Whenever I play footy with my fellow friends, they enjoy doing fancy footwork regularly which sometimes makes me envy and sometimes amazes me as well. At the time, I wondered how and where it ...Stress Reduction Tips for Parents The best way to reduce your stress is to really know what it IS, that is making you stressed! So sit down for a minute and think about last year. You can look at a calendar to remind yourself of events, or appointments. This may jog your memory, such as realizing that taking your kids to the doctor can stress you out. Stress can also grow from y ...Voice Coaching - Training Your Voice to Give Better Presentations Picture a cool crisp autumn morning in the wide open farming lands in the Great Southern region of Western Australia at Wagin, home of the annual Wagin Woolarama and Giant Ram.Imagine a white metal caravan with brown carpet on the inside walls fitted out as a outside broadcast van on a dusty, damp road by the edge of a large green footbal ...Some Of The Key Points To Consider When Buying Cleats Cleats are sports shoes that help you maintain balance. They also improve your motion. Their designs are made according to the needs of the sport. This means that those that are great for soccer will be inadequate for a baseball game. It is, therefore, very important that you ensure the cleats you intend to buy are those made for the sport you i ...Drew Henson Week 5 Pass By Pass Analysis Overview: More of the same from Drew. He finished the game 17-28 187 yards 2TDs and 1 INT. He continued to show his great escape ability as well as his arm strength and accuracy on any route that works the middle of the field. He continues to struggle with the long passes.I wish he was in a more wide open offense where I could see hi ...Vegetarian Thanksgiving - No Turkeys? What comes to your mind when you first think of Thanksgiving? The big fat golden-brown turkey? To millions, a Vegetarian Thanksgiving would mean no heaps of turkey meat at their dining table to feast on, but to the turkeys it would mean freedom to LIVE.Thanksgiving is a time for giving thanks to God for blessings received during the year. ...Top 7 Similarities of Business and Sports It is so very interesting that some of the best entrepreneurs have some sports in their background. It makes sense because business is a rather competitive game indeed. Just how much similar is a sporting event or sports to business? Well, pretty similar and many sports exist truly because there is commercial value. Professional Basketball, Base ...President Bush Jokes Of Beer Drinking With Super Bowl Champion Steelers President Bush Met with the Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers on Friday, at the White House, while speaking with them he made reference to people drinking some Iron City Beer in the East Room. This was due to the racket that the team was making while waiting on the president to arrive. Chants of " Here we go Steelers, Here ...Blackjack Card Counting- An Easy & Simple Method For Profits Enclosed you will find a simple, easy way to card count which you can learn in 10 minutes and you will soon be playing with a positive edge against the casino and piling up big profits.It has been proven mathematically that certain cards are favorable to the player and others are favorable to the dealer in the game of blackjack.Bla ...Miami Travel Guide They say that there are more pink flamingoes made in plastic then there are in reality. And where does one find the plastic ones the most? Miami. Welcome to Miami. Will smith sing all the way? They say that party never ends on the Miami beaches. Being on the southern most tip of America it enjoys the maritime climate. So very fit for the other w ...
|
