How to Sprint Faster

I am often asked and e-mailed by athletes, parents and coaches what they can do to run faster. It seems like everyone is is feeling the need for speed these days. Whom can blame them, it what separates the pros from the joes!

So here are three things you can do that will have you running faster:

Work on Your Arm Mechanics - Too many athletes have poor running technique. If you are not efficient, you are wasting energy and slowing yourself down. The arms should be at a 90 degree angle while running. The should swing from the shoulder maintaining that angle. This will help drive and propel the body forward. Many athletes chop their arms which is wasted energy and not efficient.

Use Resisted Sprints to Increase Speed - Resisted sprints provide huge returns in terms of speed development. They teach the body the feel of foward body lean and acceleration angles. I use resisted sprints with the Speed Tools Speed Resistor. We use these everyday at my Athletic Edge Sports Training Center. We perform 15 yard resisted sprints with the speed resistor with good form.

Train the Core - When I tell athletes this they usually think of a ripped six pack. You need to train your core for movement and performance, meaning train the abs, obliques, hip flexors, back erectors, and glutes explosively for movement. So leave the crunches behind, and start training the core with med balls and dynamic movements such as overhead toss situps, russian twists, and rotational throws. These will develop power in your core and help you run faster.

Summer Training
The summer is ticking away! What are you doing to make yourself better this summer? If you are looking for an edge on the competition check out Training for the NFL program, it gives you the specific training routines I use down here with my athletes preparing for NFL training camp. It even includes my position specific conditioning protocols.

Where can you get a 4 phase training program that gets incredible results for such a great price?
Train Hard!

Mike Gough BSc, CSCS
http://www.procombinetraining.com/
http://www.combinefreak.com/
http://www.speedtoolsusa.com/

PS. Don't forget to get your Speed Tools Speed Resistor today to start getting faster!

NFL Pro Timing Day - Cleveland Browns Philip Hunt

NFL Pro Timing Day of Phillip Hunt of the Cleveland Browns performing his 40 yard dash, vertical jump, short shuttle and L-Cone.

Biggest Speed Training Mistakes

Last week I had the honor of speaking to the football players at a local high school. There coach called me and asked me if I could come in and talk to the athletes before they were about to time some 40 yard dashes.

I went through a quick tutorial on the 40 yard dash start position trying to give these young atheltes some technical cues they could put to work right then and there to run a faster time. It was a cliff notes version of what I cover in my Combine DVD but I hit on the major tips.

The coach then asked me what were the biggest problems that hindered speed development in athletes. I responded with a lack of flexibility and arm mechanics...

Athletes as a whole don't stretch enough or not at all, they are tight and stiff, and especially high school athletes whom are going through growth spurts tend to be very inflexible. I told the athletes that flexibility training is THE most overlooked component of speed training. So if you want to get fast... Get flexible!

Arm mechanics especially in the top speed phase of the 40 yard dash can either make or break your time. I see too many athletes running with a short choppy arm swing. This short arm movement shortens your stride length, so at top speed when you want to open your stride up, you are shortening it and losing speed. Next time you run when you reach full speed exaggerate your arm swing to run a faster time.

Summer football training is just starting, if you need a surefire program to make the most of your training and train like an NFLer get my Training For The NFL Program.

Speed Sleds

Check out our speed sleds, if you are up to the challenge! We use these sleds daily to increase acceleration off the start. Get the Sled to lower your 40 yard dash

How to run a faster 40 yard dash tip

The past couple of weeks I have been working with some athletes that are having trouble with the back end of their 40 yard dash. When analyzing their 40 yard dash their 10 and 20 yard time were right in line with running a good 40 yard dash time, but the final result was not what I had expected. The 40 yard dash time was just too slow.

So with a good 10 and 20 yard split time, I watched video of them running to see what I could find that was holding them back. What I found with both athletes was their stride length was short for their top speed phase, and when watching the video the problem was existing from their arm action.

There arms were short and quick, causing their legs to be the same... Not good if you are looking for stride length during the last 15 yards. So we went to work, I told them to exaggerate the arms in the final 15 yards, creating a longer swing of the arms, to focus on pulling the arm back while the other fires forward, and the result was astonishing.... A faster 40 yard dash!

Both athletes applied this technique in training and on testing day with great success. If you are having issues similar to them you should try this technique.For more tips like this get my Combine Freak DVD where I teach you all the compnents to running a fast 40 yard dash!

Train Hard!
Mike Gough BSc, CSCS

http://www.procombinetraining.com/
http://www.combinefreak.com/
http://www.speedtoolsusa.com/

PS. Check out our speed sleds, if you are up to the challenge! Get the Sled to lower your 40 yard dash

NFL Pro Timing Day Sebatian Vollmer

NFL Pro Timing Day of Sebastian Vollmer, 2nd Round Pick New England Patriots in the 2009 NFL Draft. Vollmer trained with me here in Bradenton, FL. Vollmer went from a Free Agent rated prspect at the beginning of the season to a second round selection. He lead all offensive linemen int he country with a 37.5" vertical jump. His pro day and all star game performance rocketed him up the draft board.

My NFL Draft Experience

Whew! What a weekend that was! Last Wednesday my wife and I travelled to New York City for the 2009 NFL Draft. This year was a special year for me as my client Eugene Monroe was invited by the NFL to be there. Eugene and his agent Sunny Shah of 320 Sports invited my wife and I up to take it all in.

We arrived Wednesday in the afternoon, settled into the hotel then went downstairs to see Eugene, and another one of my clients Josh Vaughn, a RB from Richmond. We met up with them later at a nightclub called TAJ where 320 Sports was having a pre draft party. It was a fun night and a pleasure to meet Eugene, family and friends.

Thursday and Friday we poked around NYC taking int he sights which was highlighted by a dinner at TAO. If you have never been to TAO you need to go there at least once, it is awesome.

Before I knew it the big day was here, we all met down in the lobby at 11am to get our credentials and tickets for the draft, then went to the westin to have a family and friends lunch with Eugene and all the other invited players put on by the NFL. After lunch we were shuttle to the Radio City Music hall for the draft to begin.

The atmosphere at the hall was awesome. There were crazy fans yelling running around with their teams jerseys on. It was cool to see ESPN's Mel Kiper, Todd McShay, Chris Berman, Chris Mortensen along with NFL Network's Mike Mayock, Jon Gruden, and other tv personalities. we found our seats and the draft started.

There was not much suspense for the first pick Matthew Stafford, as he had already reached a deal with the Lions. The 2nd pick was St.Louis whom I thought might take Eugene, but they passed and selected Jason Smith of Baylor. Then came the out of the sky picks of Tyson Jackson (Chiefs) and Heyward-Bey(Raiders) which threw a wrench into things. Then the Jets moved up for Mark Sanchez, and finally with the 8th pick Eugene was selected by the Jacksonville Jaguars.

When the Commissioner made the selection and said Eugene's name I was very happy, excited and proud. He had worked so hard to make this happen, I was happy he had his family and friends there to share it with. He was speechless, excited and emotional. His journey for now is over. He has a new home in Jacksonville.

A new chapter begins this Thursday, when he has mini camp. Knowing Eugene, nothing will change he will still be the hard working, grinding athlete he has always been.

Later that night I was at dinner and I got a text that my other OT prospect Sebastian Vollmer was selected in the 2nd round by the New England Patriots. This is another great story as he was born and raised in Germany, and started this season as a Free Agent rated prospect. In my next post I will tell Sebastian's story.

Got to run, that's all for now.

Eugene Monroe selected 8th Overall at the 2009 NFL Draft

University of Virginia OT Eugene Monroe was selected 8th overall by the Jacksonville Jaguars on Saturday. The 6'5" 309 lbs. freak trained with Mike Gough in preparation for the NFL Combine. Congrats to Eugene and his family.

Overspeed Training for Athletes

I am often asked if Overspeed sprints are a good way of developing speed. My answer is yes!

Overspeed sprints make the neuromuscular system fire faster than normal, this allows the body to perform movements like starts, change of direction and accelerations with quicker stride turnover. They can enhance your 40 yard dash time.

Here are two ways of overspeed training:
1. Run on a slight downhill grade.

2. Use a bungee cord to pull you into an accelerated sprint or backpedal.

Trust me, you should not soley perform just overspeed training drills outlined in my Pro Combine Preparation Manual. These should be included in a program along with resisted speed drills as well.

For athletes who find it difficult to accelerate and get the body firing off the start, adding overspeed training to your program may be the missing link.

How to Get a Football Scholarship

Every year alot of my athletes that I work with secure football scholarships to some of the top football schools in the country. Florida, South Carolina, Ohio State, LSU, they all come calling.

Here is my recipe for getting a football scholarship:

1. Get good game film of you playing and make a tape of your highlights and two of your best games. Be sure to provide the complete game.

2. Train your butt off to test out well in the combine tests (use my Combine Freak DVD for preparation). Make sure you are running a fast 40 yard dash, and quick short shuttle, and a good vertical jump (Again get my DVD as I will teach you how to do this).

3. Get your coach to get you into a "One Day" Camp at a school that is a good fit for you. these one day camps are often invite only, and only a select number of prospects get invited to them. They will time you in the 40 yard dash, short shuttle, and vertical and do some positional drills... Based on this, if you perform well you might get an offer right then and there.

4. Get you SAT scores as high as you can as earlry as you can. There is one thing that makes a recuiter happy is to know that you are already qualified.

5. Work hard in the classroom, on the field and with your training.

If you follow these 5 steps you will be on the right track for securing a football scholarship.


Train Hard!
Mike Gough BSc, CSCS
www.procombinetraining.com
www.combinefreak.com
www.speedtoolsusa.com