So in this article we will be focusing on The 40 yard dash in particular the start. Now An important part of having a good get off is mobility the more range of motion you have in the starting phase equals the less steps you need to get out of the starting phase and transition into the next part of the 40.
Weakness in the hip flexors can limit your ability to lift your knee
The muscle group that's responsible for picking up your knee when running is the hip flexors, which include the iliopsoas, sartorius, rectus femoris, tensor fasciae latae and pectineus muscles. Weakness in the hip flexors can limit your ability to lift your knee. Which will make your first step less effective.
So for today’s combine prep we are going to focus a bunch on hip flexor mobility and the first 10 yards of the 40 yard dash
So we will start off with the warm up dynamic mobility and the speed ladder to get the yourself ready to go and then we will start off with the 40s.
So since it’s day one we will only be focusing on and on the get off Which can become repetitive but it’s OK we need to drill the technique into you.
If you are a little bit more advanced but you are still getting into the swing of things you still want to follow this plan. If you want to make it a bit more challenging hand-weights I recommend no more than 5 pounds
Hand-weights Will Advance this basic movement challenging you to add Fast & powerful arm swings to your get off
Mobility exercise:
(All Exercises in the video Below)
iliopsoas:
Reverse Lunge psoas Reach
3 x 5 each leg
sartorius
Box Step up
( Slow Deceleration Explode Up)
3 x 5 each leg
rectus femoris
V-sit Leg extensions
3 x 10
After we’ve done some mobility movements we want to hop on the field and start running
Explosive Start Focal Points
So things you want to focus on today to help you have an explosive start:
-Staying low
-Driving your knees forward as you run
-Gaining as much distance as you can each step without losing balance or power
-Driving the arms powerfully from check to pocket
-Head pointed down the whole time
You’ll then run four 10yard sprints make each one better then the last and focus on technique
Once you are done with those reps we Will get into our last 40 yard dash Drill for today
What we will need for this drill is 5 speed hurdles but you can be creative and use any object that’ll give you a similar look
Then line each speed hurdle at least 1.5 yard apart from each (the more distant you can go with out losing balance or power the better)
Lineup in your stance and get off. Focus on staying low and improving your stride length with your knee drive.