19 replies to this topic

[CBs]

Hi im 13 years old but i would really like to know how to increase my stride power.as you watch other young athletes like myself run u can see that they have way more power off the ground then i do,can someone please tell me how to increase my stride power?

[Simmo]

Hi CBs

I wouldn't worry too much about stride power at your age. You don't say why you need it, but if you are aiming to be a distance runner, my advice is not to do long runs at this stage. Try and compete in a variety of events - sprints, hurdles, jumps, as well as distances up to maybe 3km. If you enter longer fun runs (up to 5-6km maybe), just treat them as fun or training. Also stay involved in other sports. AFL, basketball, taekwando etc will all be good for improving leg power as opposed to stamina.

[Rudolf]

Simmo is correct. If You see Your future as a distance runner, for the next 3 years forget about it.
Tell Your coach, You decided to be a sprinter and ask to be relocated to sprinters group, do trainigs with them, and race 60,100,150,200 metres.
Participate in hurdless and jumps too, even shot put depends on explosive legs.
Play basketball, volleyball, beachvoleyball, ask the coaches there about improving Your vertical jump.
Play with girls skipping the rope and skipping the rubber band.
Join the bobsled team = Cool Running

Edited by Rudolf, 30 January 2007 - 08:36 AM.

[CBs]

hey its me again thanks for the comments but i have no interests in other sport its my main sport and i take it very seriously ive been to state three times in a row for cross country have been reserve for nationals and ive went for 800ms once my pbs-


100m-15:6
200m-32:1
400m-1:05:8
800m-2:24:2
1000m-3:09
1500m-4:47
2000m-6:36
3000m-10:14

i'd also like to say that i did those pbs wen i was 12 and as u know by my results you can tell i dont have much speed so i would like to know drills that could improve my stride power,and also my dad is my coach and he was a sprinter and he always says the reason we dont have alot of international distance runners in Australia is because everyone wants to be a sprinter.Thanx

Edited by CBs, 30 January 2007 - 03:34 PM.

[SlowManiac]

Hey CBs,

Its great that you are so committed to your running and you clearly have talent. However, I would not disregard what the others are saying about using other sports to help you train for running. It is easy to become overly focused on one sport. There is such a thing as too much running and it can cause you to lose some of the passion you have.

I think ball sports especially are great for improving explosive power - play squash, soccer, rugby, or hockey. They are all great fun and will improve your running. You can even use games and training sessions just for this purpose - eg. practice exploding away from a standing start

[CBs]

i would like to tell you that i have been playing soccer for 7 years and look where it has got me i have absolutly no where near as much stride power to other young athletes all i have is leg speed and no i dont over train and i will not burn out at the moment ive been doin 800m training to improve my stride power but it is not working i also run a distance of 2000m each session every 2nd day and a slow jog every second day and that means i will not burn out look at all the other athletes my age who does about 10000m each session and they are not burning out.

Edited by CBs, 30 January 2007 - 04:12 PM.

[azza]

No disrespect, but have you hit your teenage growth spurt yet? If not, then expect your body composition and strength to change pretty drastically when you do. That could bring with it the stride power you are looking for.
I hit mine when I was 14, and found I was much better at all sports I tried (once I got used to the longer limbs )
Good luck!

[CBs]

thanx azza u have helped heaps i will take that advice,i havent hit my growth spurt yet by i cant wait, thanx every1 for your help

[fitnessfreak]

i rekon the idea of stopping long distance running and going to sprints is obsured
he will lose his fitness and go back a few years back in training i say u just cross train with basketball for leg strength i too do soccer although im joining into basketball that should help dramiticly leg strenghth and fitness .
and cb's the kids your age doing 10 km training a day are way off wack .
i say at the most you should be doing is 5k .
at the moment im doing 2k and day in repitions .
and im on an easy week moving onto 6.5 k although i'm 14 turning 15 .

[clivemunro1]

hey cb's,
considering your only 13 going on 14 i highly doubt it is neccesary to develop more stride power. doing weights and other strengthening drills at your age will just disrupt your growth. I beleive the best way to develop stride power is felxibility and hill sprints. stretch plenty before and after each training session and if you ever have time find a 100m reasonably steep hill and run up it 5-10times at 90% i.e almost as fast as you can, this develops your leg power and drive which will result in a faster/stronger/bigger and more efficient stride. i highly beleive the best methd to strengthen your leg muscles is just simply growth.

clive

[Bellthorpe]

Is every poster in this thread posting from a mobile phone by SMS?

Edited by Bellthorpe, 21 January 2008 - 09:03 PM.

[Chelli]

CBs, on Jan 29 2007, 11:14 PM, said:

Hi im 13 years old but i would really like to know how to increase my stride power.as you watch other young athletes like myself run u can see that they have way more power off the ground then i do,can someone please tell me how to increase my stride power?

I think you will develop this as you mature. As I remember I was hopeless at sprinting when I was around 12 or 13 as I could only run the 100m in 16-17 seconds. I would never run on the track at school carnivals because I knew I didn't have any speed

By the time I was 15 or 16 at school I was running the 100m in high 12's. This was without any training or strength work. I guess as you get older and reach maturity you become quicker and stronger without the training needed at that age. I think while your body is growing it is wise not to train too hard whilst young as you are prone to injury and it can disrupt your growth. This leads to the young athlete leaving the sport altogether.

Edited by Chelli, 22 January 2008 - 05:59 AM.

[Sawadee]

Interested to know if CBs has had his so called growth spurt yet! I wonder if he can now run 100m faster than 15.6 a year on!
Unlike Chelli my 100m time improved only about 0.5 seconds from the age of 11 until 18! This is despite growing from 140cm to 180cm!
Everyone is different!!

[clivemunro1]

Chelli, on Jan 22 2008, 06:57 AM, said:

I think you will develop this as you mature. As I remember I was hopeless at sprinting when I was around 12 or 13 as I could only run the 100m in 16-17 seconds. I would never run on the track at school carnivals because I knew I didn't have any speed

By the time I was 15 or 16 at school I was running the 100m in high 12's. This was without any training or strength work. I guess as you get older and reach maturity you become quicker and stronger without the training needed at that age. I think while your body is growing it is wise not to train too hard whilst young as you are prone to injury and it can disrupt your growth. This leads to the young athlete leaving the sport altogether.

thanks chelli for copying what I posted

[southy]

CBs,
CliveMinroe has hit the nail on the head. If you want to improve your power do short hill sprints, and hill bounding. Do drills like high knee skips, and exercises requiring hopping and jumping.
But start out gently , not too much too fast.
I wouldn't stop your distance work but during the track season I would do more short middle distances races such as 800s and not do only the longer ones like 3000s. Limit the amount of overdistance you do. I see many people get into the habit of doing lots of long slow runs and they just get slower and slower. Your body gets good at what you practice so practice doing more short sprints at training.
Do some fast 200 and 400 races at the track as well. Have fun, enjoy youreself, run some sprint races for the fun of it.

[clivemunro1]

cb's. to increase stride power there are 3 things you must take into account. speed, flexibility and strength/power.

to increase flexibility you simply just do lots of stretching and drills before and after each run, i would also consider doing ativities such as yoga once or twice a week.

to get speed you have to run be able to run fast (if that makes sense) meaning that if you want to be able to sprint you must do sprint workouts, sprinting is completely different to the running that your used to, its like rugby and soccer, they both use balls but are completely different games. to increase your speed i advise you to do some short sharp sprint before and after training and also after a long run or easy run, if you have any time, go down to your local track or field and do some 50m sprints as hard as you can which will tune up your speed dramtically. also, if you are going to an allcommers or club races and you see that there is a 100, 200, 400, long jump or even hurdles after your key distance event i would advise you for fun to enter it.

to increae power and strength into you do not attempt to do weights or gym sessions! i cannot emphasise to you just how bad that is for your young body, i am study sports science and we have done studies where people who do weights from a young age have turned out with lack of growth, injuries and back problems. to increae your power and strength i would simply just go to a steep 100m hill and practice running up it as hard as you can say 5-10times.

if you carry on with doing speed/power/flexibility work i can guarantee your 800m and 1500m time will go down considerably, as you will actually have a kick in you at the end of a rcae.

[BCs]

buy a pogo stick

[CBs]

BCs, on Jun 9 2008, 09:09 PM, said:

buy a pogo stick

yeah good call Ben ... name copier haha

[Peterhorse]

BCs, on Jun 10 2008, 06:09 AM, said:

buy a pogo stick

perhaps not a pogo stick but a scooter maybe?? the book i am reading on running technique at present suggest that the action of pushing off to power a scooter, especially up a slight incline, will develop exactly the sort of thing you are talking about - teaches you to push off from behind your centre of gravity. if you land with your heal (like i do when running), it will have a braking effect, whichis exaggerated on the scooter. i'm keen to try it. at least you guys woulnd't get the payouts i will get if take this up and get on my son's scooter around the neighbourhood here!

[CBs]

Peterhorse, on Jun 9 2008, 08:44 PM, said:

perhaps not a pogo stick but a scooter maybe?? the book i am reading on running technique at present suggest that the action of pushing off to power a scooter, especially up a slight incline, will develop exactly the sort of thing you are talking about - teaches you to push off from behind your centre of gravity. if you land with your heal (like i do when running), it will have a braking effect, whichis exaggerated on the scooter. i'm keen to try it. at least you guys woulnd't get the payouts i will get if take this up and get on my son's scooter around the neighbourhood here!

thats actually a good idea...im keen to try that aswell....thanks