Adrian Wheatley, sprints and hurdles coach at the University of Illinois, uses these exercises to prepare his athletes for max velocity training. Runners must be ready to put their bodies through rigorous training or they won’t be able to perform their best and risk succumbing to injury.

Max Velocity Drills

Drill Summary: In this video, there are seven different warm-up drills to be used before a sprinter goes through max velocity training. The drills include: toe taps, butt kicks, straight-leg shuffle, ankling, high knees, A-skip and backward run.

Keys to the Drill:

1) Toe taps: hit the ground on the ball of the foot.
2) Butt kicks: knees up, pull feet straight up.
3) Straight-leg shuffle: small shuffles, tall posture.
4) Ankling: relax the upper body.
5) High knees: shoulders stacked over the hip.
6) A-skip: tall posture, keep toes upright.
7) Backward run: reach long, open the hips.

This video came from Championship Productions’ video “Fundamental Drills and Mechanics for Successful Sprinting.” View other world class Track & Field videos!