Dec 3, 2007 5:01 PM
improving your kick
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what are you guys doing to improve your kick for this track season? ive never had a great kick and this year for xc i started using a jump rope after practice and lifting and i really started to develope a kick, so i think im going to keep doing that.
and of course their are the obvious things like hills and running but what else is out there?
Good question. Some would say that that is THE question.
I don't know. I have never had a good kick. The ability to pick it up at the end of a race is mental though.
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quote:
Originally posted by scrapps1:
what are you guys doing to improve your kick for this track season? ive never had a great kick and this year for xc i started using a jump rope after practice and lifting and i really started to develope a kick, so i think im going to keep doing that.
and of course their are the obvious things like hills and running but what else is out there?
Usually after a long run (or at least once a week), I like to do 2-4x 100m fast sprints (around 90-95%) with full recovery. Actually it's more like 120 meters, because I like to jog a little before bursting out into a sprint.
Also, when your sprinting at the end of the race ignore how the guy beside you is doing. If he seems to be sprinting past you more than likely you'll slow down and give up. I've seen this happen a lot to some people.
- Do striders in your general aerobic runs to keep your leg speed up.
- Consciously lengthen your stride (when you're kicking), it's often easier to focus only on this (which will make you go faster) than to focus on going faster.
- Negative split all your runs. Start off at a jog and you'll gradually build up to a decent pace. I reckon this is really crucial. I don't really do the other two things, but I have quite a good kick (3:15 last km in a 40:01 10k haha).
- And obviously you'll have a bigger kick if you negative split your race.
- There is a big mental aspect to it too, try repeating a mantra "I will not slow down" or something like that.
I dont have a kick to save my life (i.e. last night's meet I was leading the mile into 100 to go and got passed by three people. But I think my kick has gotten better for me by running the last mile of any run hard and trying to sprint the last .5 or so. I focus on my turn over rate as it is awful and that seems to help. Also, my distacne team runs 10x100m before practice to help with speed
If you want to develop a "kick", then you have to learn how to sprint. When a sprinter "kicks", the first thing he/she does is hold their breath for a bit while he drives his arms and starts to knee lift. While kicking, the respiration rate is reduced dramatically. The "kick" is also paced and not run like a 50 meter dash (unless only 50 meters from the finish).
I coached a distance runner who learned how to sprint when she was young. In a high school indoor invitational race (3000m), after leading the entire race, she was caught by someone with 200 meters left and won the race by 12 seconds. She was also dead tired because she doubled (1000m and 3000m) in another meet a couple of days earlier and hadn't recoverred. After the mile she decided to run for the win and forget about time. But, the "kick" was there because it is something very technical (especially if you have some natural speed).
Drills...I was one of the fastest kids on my HS team, but during 200 workouts would get beat by freshmen...started doing drills and my leg speed caught up with my endurance...it is the fastest, easiest, and most effective way to improve your turnover.
Just do it. No matter what happens in a race, you can still kick. Dig deep. Once you have reached your nadir of pain, you still can sprint for 400 meters before you cannot go anymore.
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