Today, the recognized king of speed, the cheetah, can reach speeds of more than 100 km / h. A person can accelerate to more than 40 km / h, 8 times faster than the average speed during normal walking and 4 times faster than the average running speed. How to accelerate your running speed and what is needed for this?
A person has 2 ways or modes of movement:
- Walking. With this method of movement, a minimum of energy is spent, the distance traveled and the carrying capacity increase. The only drawback of walking is the low speed of no more than 18 km / h.
- Running allows you to develop high speed. Today, up to 43 km / h on a straight line and more than 45 km / h on the descent.
The maximum speed indicators of a person while running are recorded at track and field competitions. But, in humans, as in any animal, when an extreme situation occurs, the adrenal glands simultaneously release a hormone into the bloodstream, which mobilizes all possible reserves of the body to perform the only action possible at the moment for self-preservation - norepinephrine. Such cases are not recorded anywhere, therefore, the maximum running speed is not known for certain.
What determines the running speed?
The maximum speed that a particular person can develop while running depends on the following parameters:
- Overcoming the distance. The concept of speed is characterized by two indicators: maximum - measured by special devices on a short segment of 30,50,100 m at the time of its achievement; medium - characterized by a time indicator. The less time was spent on overcoming a particular distance, the higher the average speed. To determine it, it is enough to have a stopwatch and a calculator.
- Body position while running. Regardless of the length of the distance, you need to minimize air resistance - reduce the frontal area
- The ratio of lean mass of muscle, water and fat. The more muscle mass, the less water and fat mass, the higher both maximum and average speed will be.
- Step width. The wider the stride, the greater the maximum running speed. This parameter has a mediocre effect on average speed. Here rhythm comes first.
- Diet. Fats release the maximum amount of energy during breakdown. But this process takes longer than getting energy from carbohydrates. Carbohydrates and proteins provide 2 times less energy. Proteins are part of muscle fibers, therefore, the body extracts energy from them last. Sugar is a difficult carbohydrate to break down. Therefore, it is better to consume glucose, fructose and maltose before the race. Dairy products, alcoholic beverages, grapes should not be consumed 2 days before the race, as muscles will hurt a lot after exercise.
- The body's aerobic capacity. At distances of more than 200 m, blood does not have time to supply oxygen to every cell. In the process of training, you need to teach muscle cells to independently extract oxygen from carbohydrates.
Speed running technique
Running technique is developed through long training sessions. For medium distances, you can develop the correct technique in 6 months, for long distances - in 9-12, and for sprints - 100, 200 m, not less than 12 months. Therefore, if you urgently need to run this or that distance as quickly as possible, it is better to run in the usual way.
The fact is that the subconscious is much faster than the conscious, if you think about each action while running, the result will only worsen.
If there is more than 1 week before the race, you can try to bring some simple actions to automatism:
- The arms are bent at the elbows at an angle of 90 degrees, extended forward outward, backward inward, and not vice versa, as is customary when walking;
- The foot should touch the ground gently to push off faster;
- The support at each step is made not on the heel, as when walking, but on the center of the foot, if the calf muscles are well pumped - on the toe;
- The amplitude of hand movements should set the required running speed, and not create additional air resistance.
How can I increase my running speed?
If you ask an experienced trainer how much time it takes to increase the speed of running at a particular distance, this or that person, only those who do not understand anything about the preparation of athletes, or just for fun, will name specific terms.
In practice, neither the coach nor the athlete knows the final result, right up to its registration with measuring devices at the competition. This is one of the many specificities of athletics. Naturally, the only way to achieve the best results, whether for athletics or any other sport, is through constant training.
Basic aspects of training
The main aspect of athletics training is the psychological aspect, which consists of 3 components:
- motivation,
- desires
- responsibility.
Motivation is what you need to spend so much time and effort for. It can be passing standards, worthy performance in competitions, getting into the top three, winning, setting a record.
After a person has decided what he needs to run faster for, he has a desire to achieve his goal. After the first workout, severe muscle pain appears, referred to in sports slang as sore throat. For the next workout, you need to come on time and start exercising, overcoming the pain. In the future, the loads will only increase.
And the coach will not say: "Well done!" until the first results are achieved. During the training process, desire and motivation disappear, only responsibility remains. It is responsibility that is the key component of the psychological aspect.
Another aspect is the physique. You cannot become a sprinter, stayer, or middle distance runner. Everyone has a predisposition for some kind of discipline. A good trainer identifies this predisposition after a few general workouts.
Exercises
All athletics exercises are divided into general and specialized. General ones are performed regardless of the distance for which the person is preparing. Specialized ones differ for sprinters, long distance runners and middle distance runners.
There are many running exercises. But, not everything can be done by a beginner, otherwise the consequences can be unpredictable from sprains to a heart attack.
The simplest exercises that do not cause fatal consequences are:
- squats,
- running in place, or running on a treadmill. You should run on your toes as long as possible, take as wide a step as possible, and run at different speeds. If the exercise is not controlled by the trainer, it should be performed until a slight tingling sensation in the muscles and or until you feel a little short of breath
Important! On the second day after starting the exercise, some muscles will ache. It is necessary to perform the same exercises through force without increasing the load. In this case, the lactic acid will be dispersed throughout the body. On the third day and in the following days, the pain will not be felt so clearly.
Tips for increasing your running speed
- When jogging, try to keep your feet in line. If it doesn't work, try to put banknotes on one line at the distance of your running step and convince yourself that the banknote on which your foot stood is yours. This technique has helped some champions!
- If you smoke, you shouldn't do this before your morning run and at least 1.5 hours after it.
- It is better to drink coffee after your morning run, otherwise you will not feel a real load on your heart.
- Before jogging, drink a glass of energy drink, and after that - no more than 100 g of imported protein or 150 domestic, or 15 meat tablets.
- If you need to accelerate your run for non-athletic purposes, do not take any drugs other than protein and energy, especially anabolic steroids and other doping drugs - liver health is more expensive.
As a conclusion
With regular training in the human body, metabolic processes are accelerated, the endocrine glands begin to work in an enhanced mode, releasing adrenaline and other endorphins into the blood, muscle fibers begin to rebuild, etc.
If the dosage is incorrect, the load can cause irreparable harm to health, and sometimes life. Therefore, training to increase running speed is best done under the clear guidance of an experienced trainer.
