Power Cleans

Power cleans work the lower back, knee extensors, trapezius, and hip extensors. This can make one more explosive coming out of the blocks in short sprints and a stronger, more powerful runner overall by performing these with heavy weight and low repetitions. This will help increase the effectiveness of the fast twitch fibers which enable a sprinter to perform at high speeds. This exercise involves concentric contraction when lifting and eccentric contractions when you drop down into the squat.

Box Squats

Box Squats are another great exercise for building explosive strength for not only sprinting but for coming out of the starting blocks as well. It is a squat that requires you to come to a complete stop when you sit down and then you must drive upward. Regular squats allow you to use some momentum where box squats involve a person to really use their hip extensors imparticularly to drive that dead weight upward. You want to sit down so that you are well below parallel which makes it harder to drive the weight upwards. Besides the hip extensors, this also attacks the knee flexors and extensors and hip flexors. These again should be performed at low repetitions to train the fast twitch fibers. This also can help increase the range of motion since you are squatting down further than a regular squat. There is eccentric contraction of the hip flexors and knee flexors and concentric contractions of hip and knee extensors.

Jump Squats

Jump squats are great to do for athletes looking to gain explosive power, especially for short distance sprinters anywhere from the 55m dash to the 200m dash. They work on the hip flexors and extensors, knee flexors and extensors and strengthen your calf muscles. They especially aid a runner in exploding out of the starting blocks. This improves the fast twitch muscle fibers due to the low repetitions and heavy weight and involves concentric contractions exploding upward and eccentric contractions in the knee flexors and hip flexors.

Video

Stance

The hands are rotated so that the fingers face outwards and the thumbs are facing in right before the starting line. The arms are fully extended and your center of gravity is on your hands. The head is facing downward and relaxed. The right hip is flexed 120 degrees while the left hip is flexed at about 80 degrees. The right knee is flexed at 90 degrees and the left is at 80 degrees. The glutes are raised above the shoulders and you should be on your toes as all your weight is shifted forward onto your hands..

Shoulder Girdle- Scapulothoracic protraction (abduction) by the pectoralis minor, serratus anterior, and subclavius of both scapulas.

Scapulothoracic Elevation/Upward Rotation in both scapulas by the levator scapulae, serratus anterior, upper and middle trapezius, and rhomboids.

Shoulder Joint Movements and Muscles- Flexion at the glenohumeral joints. Isometric contraction takes place at the glenohumeral joints by the anterior deltoid and upper pectoralis major.

Elbow- Extension in radiounlnar joints by the triceps brachii and anconeus muscles. Isometric contraction occurs because the position is held for a few seconds.

Hip- Flexion in hips by the iliacus, psoas major and minor, rectus femoris, sartorius, pectineus, adductor brevis, adductor longus, and gluteus minimus. Isometric contraction occurs because the position is held for a few seconds.

Knee- Flexion in knees by the biceps femoris, popliteus, semi-mambranosus, and semi-tendinosus. Isometric contraction occurs because the position is held for a few seconds.

Cycle 1

Push off with power leg, in this case my right leg. Dominant arm brought forward and non-dominant extended backward. Non-dominant leg begins to stride forward as I push off with dominant leg off of toes. I land on my left foot staying on the balls of my feet at all times. All contractions are concentric because it was one fast explosive motion off the starting line.

Shoulder Girdle- Scapulothoracic protraction (abduction) by the pectoralis minor, serratus anterior, and subclavius on the right side.

Scapulothoracic retraction (adduction) by the rhomboids and middle/lower fibers of the trapezius on the left side.

Scapulothoracic Elevation/Upward Rotation by the levator scapulae, serratus anterior, upper and middle trapezius, and rhomboids on the right side.

Scapulothoracic depression/downward rotation by the  pectoralis minor and lower trapezius muscles on the left side.

Shoulder Joint Movements and Muscles- Glenohumeral joint is concentrically contracted through flexion in right arm by anterior deltoid and upper pectoralis major muscles.

Glenohumeral joint is concentrically contracted through extension in the left arm by the latissimus dorsi, teres major, lower pectoralis major, and posterior deltoid.

Elbow- The right radioulnar joint flexes and is concentrically contracted through the elbow flexors which include the biceps brachii, brachialis, and brachioradialis.

The left radioulnar joint extends and is concentrically contracted by the elbow extensors which includes the triceps brachii and anconeus.

Hip- The left hip is flexed and concentrically contracted through the hip flexors which includes the  iliacus, psoas major and minor, rectus femoris, sartorius, pectineus, adductor brevis, adductor longus, and gluteus minimus.

The right hip is extended and concentrically contracts through the hip extensors which includes the biceps femoris, semi-tendinosus, semi-membranosus, and the gluteus maximus.

Knee- The right knee extends and concentrically contracts through the biceps femoris, semi-tendinosus, semi-membranosus, and popliteus.

The left knee flexes and concentrically contracts through the rectus femoris, vastus intermedius, vastus lateralis, and vastus medialis.

Cycle 2

Right arm begins to extend backward and left arm comes forward. Head stays down for the first 15-20 meters and gradually lifts, in this case it is up. Left leg begins to extend and prepares to strike the ground. The right leg begins to flex at the right hip and knee and is brought upward. Make sure to run "on your toes".

Shoulder Girdle- Scapulothoracic protraction (abduction) by the pectoralis minor, serratus anterior, and subclavius begins to occur on the left side.

Scapulothoracic retraction (adduction) by the rhomboids and middle/lower fibers of the trapezius begins to occur on the right side.

Scapulothoracic Elevation/Upward Rotation by the levator scapulae, serratus anterior, upper and middle trapezius, and rhomboids begins to occur on the left side.

Scapulothoracic depression/downward rotation by the  pectoralis minor and lower trapezius muscles begins to occur on the right side.

Shoulder Joint Movements and Muscles- Glenohumeral joint begins to be concentrically contracted through flexion in left arm by anterior deltoid and upper pectoralis major muscles.

Glenohumeral joint begins to be concentrically contracted through extension in the right arm by the latissimus dorsi, teres major, lower pectoralis major, and posterior deltoid.

Elbow- The left radioulnar joint begins to flex and is concentrically contracted through the elbow flexors which include the biceps brachii, brachialis, and brachioradialis.

The right radioulnar joint begins to extend and is concentrically contracted by the elbow extensors which includes the triceps brachii and anconeus.

Hip- The right hip begins to flex and is concentrically contracted through the hip flexors which includes the  iliacus, psoas major and minor, rectus femoris, sartorius, pectineus, adductor brevis, adductor longus, and gluteus minimus.

The left hip begins to extend and concentrically contracts through the hip extensors which includes the biceps femoris, semi-tendinosus, semi-membranosus, and the gluteus maximus.

Knee- The left knee begins to extend and concentrically contracts through the biceps femoris, semi-tendinosus, semi-membranosus, and popliteus.

The right knee begins to flex and concentrically contracts through the rectus femoris, vastus intermedius, vastus lateralis, and vastus medialis.