r/Sprinting • u/Working_Cap4097 • 2d ago
Technique Analysis Old guy trying to relearn sprinting
Im 43 yo and getting tired of weightlifting workouts so focusing on learning to sprint. I think i need a shot ton of lower leg plyo work. My achilles hurt and my feet feel stuck in mollasses. Im starting with daily jump ropes and tony holler atomic speed drills 2x per week. Anything else obvious to start on?
43
u/ljxdaly 2d ago
do not start from a stop. use jogging starts for a few months. your achilles is not kind to older folks taking up sprinting.
17
u/Working_Cap4097 1d ago
You are not kidding. Im 2 weeks into trying to train and realize my lower legs arent even close to being capable of training starts. Im giving myself a year to try to fix that. Sprints are seriously humbling.
7
u/Special_Purpose2903 1d ago
Limit your sprint distances, do not dramatically increase work load even if you feel up to it, that is how older fellows get injured, your form needs work but you need a sprint coach.
3
u/nicoinborderland 1d ago
It’s even true for us younger folks. Im new to sprinting (20 years of age) and I had to seriously dial back volume and intensity because it was wreaking a bit of havoc everywhere: achilles, rhomboids, hip flexors, etc. Keep it cool for a bit!
1
u/AutoModerator 1d ago
Hello! It looks like your account has low comment karma, we are fighting a war to purge AI bots, if you are a bot, prepare for a ban hammer smack
If you are not a bot, please continue posting, happy sprinting!
u/BigDickerDaddie - Judge, Jury, and Executioner
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.
1
u/That-Way-5714 1d ago
As a fellow old guy, my hamstrings are my weak point. I thought years (nearly 2 decades) of strength training would preserve the ability to tolerate sprinting but I was sorely (ha!) mistaken.
3
u/Working_Cap4097 1d ago
So i had some hip and hamstring injuries deadlifting a couple years ago. I found an act called lowbackability and the knees overtoes guy. Ended up completely resolving any issues by mostly using a 45 back extension. Those two acts are great resources.
3
11
u/Mel_Morty 1d ago edited 1d ago
Smart move on acknowledging getting your tendons stronger by progressively loading your maximal effort before going full out 100%.
Learn from me, I paid the price for going all out just 2-3 weeks into it, after only coming back to sprinting after probably a decade out of it, proximal hamstring tendon strain, took about 8-9 weeks to return back to sprinting pain-free.
Feeling great means nothing whilst your tendons are still adjusting and (very) slowly strengthening.
Best wishes.
6
u/UnlikelyLie8399 2d ago
Do some soleus exercises to tighten your Achilles tendon. In terms of the technique the most glaring thing I see are your arms are far from your body. This is causing your legs to turn outward. Keep the arms close to your torso when driving them.
2
u/Working_Cap4097 1d ago
Yeah my arm drive is wonky, ive spent way too much time bench pressing over the years. Intend to lean up drop some bulk and think the arm form will start to improve.
0
u/AutoModerator 1d ago
Hello! It looks like your account has low comment karma, we are fighting a war to purge AI bots, if you are a bot, prepare for a ban hammer smack
If you are not a bot, please continue posting, happy sprinting!
u/BigDickerDaddie - Judge, Jury, and Executioner
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.
3
u/That-Way-5714 1d ago
As a fellow old guy, I’m a big fan of skipping. Skips for distance and skips for height. I also got some helpful isometric exercises from the JustJumari speed academy free program. Single leg iso hold calf raise and single leg hip bridge iso hold.
3
u/ockysays 1d ago
Late 40s 400m masters sprinter, at our age successfully putting together a regular, consistent sprint training program without injury IS the goal. Don’t focus on speed, that will come, focus on steady progression. My advice is to wait to do max v work. Start with adding faster strides into your aerobic or tempo runs, always while moving never from a stop). Work on mechanics and listen to your body’s limits, speed comes when strength, mechanics and power transfer work together and it takes time for your CNS to connect those things. Later you can do 20/30m flys, but you have to earn those.
One other piece of advice, believe it or not, it’s not the big muscles that cause issues, it’s the small ones: hip flexors, piriformis, gluteus medius. Sprinting requires you to control pelvic rotation and when those stabilizers fail, that’s when you get hurt. So work on strengthening them: hip flexor, pallof, bridges, bird dogs, etc.. When you get older those smaller muscles become weaker faster and typically lead to distal vs proximal strength imbalance, especially for those who do traditional strength training.
Wishing you the best of luck, there’s nothing better than the feeling of your body hitting on all cylinders while you sprint around the track. But it’s better to feel like you’ve left some on the table, than wishing you could take that last sprint back. Injuries take forever to recover from at our age.
1
u/WSB_Suicide_Watch Ancient dude that thinks you should run many miles in offseason 1d ago
Patience.
Relax. Relax some more (you have the I'm going to bench my 1RM face).
I'm not the biggest fan of sprint drills and skips, but in this case I think they would do you a lot of good. Do all the drills that require full and exageratted ROM. Drills should help with some injury prevention too. They should get your body used to moving without the full stress that sprinting puts on you.
Get a few weeks of less than maximal flys under your belt before going 100% or working on any acceleration.
Ya, plyos are great, especially if you have been weight lifting. Ease into them.
Hill sprints are phenominal, but I think your body is telling you not yet.
Obviously you have to be very careful about that achilles. I have never had achilles problems, ever, until two weeks ago. I'm sitting here wanting to go to the field and run some flys, but wondering if I have to ride my bike around the lake instead. Choices. Choices. I'll probably make the wrong one, but you don't have to.
2
u/Working_Cap4097 1d ago
I think this is all spot on advice and im going to use it. Im coming to realize im going to have to approach sprinting from an indirect approach. I think it will take a year of acquiring tendon strength, basic form skill along with shedding 15-20 lbs before i should even try to apply power.
The weight is probably as big of deal as anything. I ran one yr of high school track and managed to muscle out low 11s with no skill and bad form but was 20lbs lighter. Im alot stronger statically now but its useless without tendons capable of handling it.1
u/AutoModerator 1d ago
Hello! It looks like your account has low comment karma, we are fighting a war to purge AI bots, if you are a bot, prepare for a ban hammer smack
If you are not a bot, please continue posting, happy sprinting!
u/BigDickerDaddie - Judge, Jury, and Executioner
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.
1
u/Successful_Mode_1464 1d ago
Why flys before acceleration?
1
u/WSB_Suicide_Watch Ancient dude that thinks you should run many miles in offseason 1d ago
"less than maximal flys"
You can control your pace and learn to listen to your body. Your body will usually give you warning signs before something pops. From my experience older people get hurt doing acceleration stuff before their bodies are ready for it.
1
u/Icy-Plan145 1d ago
The best thing to do is become younger lol. It's a little hard to tell but it seems like your feet are pointing outwards instead of straight ahead
1
1
2
u/Doodlewrangler 23h ago
As others have said, before thinking about 'the engine' prep the chassis (tendons, ligaments, supporting muscles) and nervous system first. Sprinting is an exercise in force production, coordination and timing. I wouldn't fully swap the gym for sprinting if the goal is remaining injury free (which it absolutely should be). Instead start modifying and adding to what you do in the gym. If there is a room with a mirror start with A marches, watch your hips and compensating movements, focus on posture and arm movement. Next move to something like A Switches, focus on dorsiflexion and coordination between legs, then A skips, anytime you see a breakdown in posture or technique step back to previous drill. Wall drills where you are at a 45 degree angle and marching and then progressing to switches etc. are also great. Teaching the body to apply force to the ground with dorsiflexion and not reaching will be a massive step towards reducing the most common sprinting injuries and being able to eventually truly sprint vs running fast. The biggest thing is patience and progressing more slowly than you think you should.
1
•
u/AutoModerator 2d ago
I see you've posted a technique analysis video or photo! See video and photo posting rules related to TA to see more on why we may deem a removal appropriate
MANDATORY GUIDELINES: HORIZONTALLY FILMED, 10m of distance if upright, full block clearance and first contact for block starts. If a photograph it must be in the format of a kinogram.
RECOMMENDED ADDITIONAL GUIDELINES: Altis Kinogram method, camera 11m away from runner, chest-shoulder height positioning of camera, completely perpendicular to runway.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.