Running Drill Types
As with all types of exercises, some of these will perform more than one purpose. Those which involve an element of strength could also be included in the circuits section.
We have simply tried to include them in the most relevant category.
Remember when performing drills, as with most exercises, that it is important to work initially on the technique of the drill, before worrying about performing it at any speed.
Once you are comfortable with what you are meant to be doing then, for drills where it is appropriate, you can work on increasing the speed.
Warm up drills
General running drills will usually be seen as an extension of a stretching regime - in fact many would call them dynamic stretches. A lot of athletes will stretch after having done a warm up jog and then proceed to do some general drills, which will further stretch the muscles in a dynamic fashion. These can be seen as an intermediate step between static stretching and doing a running session. At Momentum Sports we believe you should miss the static stretching phase completely and move straight to dynamic stretches.
Also included in these are some drills designed for general co-ordination, such as skipping, which involve the athlete thinking about movement, but aren’t involved directly in event preparation. Read more about Warm up drills.
Mobility and Strength drills + Plyometrics
Mobility and Strength drills can be similar to those above, but are generally more strenuous and can equally well be perform prior to a circuits or weights session as before a running session.
Here we will treat plyometrics as falling under this category. It is perfectly reasonable for these to be a session on their own. They are also important in the improvement of co-ordination. Read more about Mobility and Strength drills.
Event Specific Drills
Event specific drills are, by their very nature, designed to replicate all or part of the action that will be needed for competing in the desired event. The most obvious version of these as far as runners would be concerned are hurdle drills, although, equally these can be performed for flat runners as well.
A major part of the performance of this sort of drill is to educate your motor neuron system into performing actions that you wish to do with ease. Technically correct repeated performance of these drills will enable better technical running within track sessions and races. Read more about Event Specific drills.