Running
Boost your speed with these indoor sprinting drills
If you’re a runner looking to gain an edge from the convenience of your home, here’s your guide to indoor sprinting drills.
Running can help you get into shape — and indoor sprints are one way to get you there. "We train six days a week, maybe 3-4 hours," sprinter Elijah Hall says. "That's the training method that we started when we became pro because when you become a pro, it's a little more intense."
Elijah Hall trains in Houston, Texas
© Michael Starghill / Red Bull Content Pool
Whether you're a pro or not, sprinting drills are a great way to up your athletic performance. Doing them regularly has been proven to help you improve sprinting speed, boost your overall running form, and increase agility. It’s also obvious why indoor sprints have a huge convenience factor. If the weather isn’t smiling upon your outdoor jog or you don’t have access to a running track, sprints can still get the job done for your workout.
Benefits of indoor sprinting drills
Other than convenience and not being at the mercy of the weather, there are many reasons you should add indoor sprint drills to your routine.
First, there’s speed. Sprinting, which may seem obvious, is about ramping up and running at a faster pace. And the more you practice sprinting, the easier it will be to reach a top speed. It’s also been proven that quick drills may help retrain your muscle fibers. Tapered exercises — instead of only rest or running long distances — are believed to help runners be more explosive in future athletic events.
Sprinting drills also help enhance your agility, which is the ability and coordination to change directions and accelerate or decelerate quickly. Agility isn’t just something runners need, but can help across most sports and everyday life. For example, if you’ve ever tried to run after a bus, you know your level of agility.
Elijah Hall trains in Los Angeles, CA
© Caydie McCumber / Red Bull Content Pool
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Essential indoor sprinting drills
New to sprinting drills? Start with these key indoor sprint training exercises.
High knees
This drill is essentially sprinting in place while kicking your knees up as high as possible. Start by standing upright, and your feet should be shoulder-width apart. Now, sprint in place with the goal that your knees come up to your chest. It’s important to engage your core and pump your arms quite a bit. Sprint in place as hard as you can and try to always land on the balls of your feet.
A major benefit of the high knees drill is that it engages almost all of your major muscles. It obviously improves your knee lift for running. But it also helps your overall posture and elevates your heart rate within seconds. All of these are crucial for a running form made for speed.
Butt Kicks
What a name, right? That’s because these will kick yours. Butt kicks are known to up your hamstring strength and flexibility. They may sound easy, but don’t underestimate them.
Start by standing with your feet at hip distance. Warm up and teach your body the motion by doing the first set slowly. Engage your hamstring to bring your right heel to your bum. Slowly straighten your leg again and place the ball of your foot on the ground. Switch sides and repeat a couple of times.
When you feel you’ve got it down, do it the sequence faster. You can also pump your arms to get your upper body involved. A set should last around 30 seconds, but feel free to go at a pace that feels right for you.
Stair sprints
Who says you have to do drills only in your living room? Stairs are some of the best helpers for building running power and explosive starts. As with any drill, start easy and build up to the full drill. This one is all about upping the ante in each phase to maximize that sprinting oomph.
Start by simply walking up and down around 20 stairs. Then jog up the same stairs and back down for another 20 reps. Lunge-walk up the stairs by skipping a step and walk down normally. Then, jog up the stairs while skipping a step, and jog down. You get the gist. You can then evolve this drill by quick-stepping up and down, squat-jumping up and walking down, and with side lateral squats up with a walk down. This is a great drill that can grow with you, and it can be done from anywhere with a set of stairs.
Jump roping
Mikaela Shiffrin works out in Santa Monica, CA
© Dustin Snipes / Red Bull Content Pool
Ropes are great for indoor sprint workouts. They’re easy to store, require only a very small space, and are just plain fun. Ropes can also help you improve footwork, endurance, and speed. Jumping rope, also called high knee steps, is a skipping motion while jump roping. Basically, you shift one leg at a time over the rope as you’re swinging. Try to do it more and more quickly. Shoot for 10 sets of 30 intervals, each with rest between sets. Aim for 30 seconds of calm.
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How to incorporate indoor sprinting drills into your training routine
Making these sprints part of regular workouts is a huge benefit for any runner, no matter if you’re a short, medium, or a long-distance specialist. If you’re totally new to sprinting, take it slow. You don’t want to risk injury.
In a perfect world, sprint drills should happen three times a week while allowing at least one rest day in between. As you’re weaving these drills into your regular routine, be sure to rest after them, too. Your body needs it.
A proper sprinting routine can also show results within just a few weeks. So even if you’re a beginner, you may not be for long. If it’s starting to come easy to you, try adding sprints with higher intensity. Also, ask yourself what your fitness goals are — if you’re preparing for an event or just getting into shape — and use that metric to shape your routine.
One more note: Variety isn’t only the spice of life, it also matters when you’re exercising. Targeting different muscle groups helps your body forge new neuromuscular connections. It also keeps you from getting bored with your routine.
Go the distance (without leaving home)
Indoor sprinting drills are an effective way to get into shape or peak running performance without needing major equipment. They’re super flexible depending on your fitness level and can advance with you as you improve. As long as you warm up before each drill and rest afterward, you can also perform them whenever is good for you. As far as exercises go, there really aren’t many others that are as convenient, powerful, and neuro-stimulating as indoor sprinting drills.