I ran 40 yard dash in 5.8 today. Am I abysmally slow?

That's a bit too slow.
Typically an athlete running an all-out 40 yard sprint can usually do a 100m performance (RT included) in about 2.4 times their 40. So OP, would be somewhere around a 13.8-13.9 runner.
I'd paint OP as a ~28.5 guy, which isn't too bad.

OP, what are you training for? For HS football (outside of linemen, that isn't a fast time). But it's not bad for a distance runner.

Oh, just saw how you've said you've run under 28. That would be consistent with a 5.7-5.8 40.
Look at what the top college athletes do to train for the 40 at the combine. Lots of lifting and plyos to build power. Study the start phase of top 100m sprinters.

Typically? Is that the conversion for Bob Hayes, W. Gault or Herschel Walker? He doesn't look good sprinting. I'm not giving O.P. a F.A.T. sub-14 100m. As I stated to O.P., I worry about his health attempting to sprint 40 yards all out. Some of his side to side motion could be: 1) One leg longer than other leg; 2) muscle imbalance.

Leg length discrepancy and certainly muscle imbalance increase the risk of sprinting injuries.

I agree with Deno on this. There is no point trying to go from upper 5 to mid-5 40 yard dash.

If you want my honest opinion. It looks bad.

Its not that slow, its just that there is too much forced movement and wasted energy.

Train more, learn to raise legs and drive from them, not from your upper body

Don't let these pricks discourage you. If you enjoy it, then keep at it. Very few have the potential to make it big, but who cares, see how much you can improve. You need to work consistently and work on strength. See if a coach will give you some pointers and a basic program.

The video is grainy, so it’s hard to say for sure, but your form looks like it could use alot of improvement. Additionally, if you are a distance runner, you would need to focus on sprints and starts for a few weeks to significantly improve your times; your body would not be physiologically optimized for sprints. Deadlifts, cleans and step-ups in the gym, bounds on the turf.

In terms of form, it looks like you have way too much head movement. Keep your head facing the ground the first twenty or so yards, the gradually lift it up the final twenty. This will ensure you are in drive phase for long enough. Focus on arm pump and leg drive. Finally, run with focus on intensity and relaxation, if that makes sense. If your face is tight, you’re not relaxed enough.

You jumped over a woman? Was she standing or sitting??

You are not good at the 40 because you probably don’t train for it. I played HS football and had a decent 40 time, but I remember doing a 12 minute fitness run in gym class and we had some pretty fast guys who were absolute garbage when we tested for that.

You need to stop the slow distance training and long intervals to even sniff low 5’s.

I recently got dusted by my 14 year old son in the 40. All he does is play golf and surf. I went for a 3 mile run with him three weeks ago and he could not keep up with me and had to stop and walk. This was a only a 7:30 pace.

The 40 and the 5k might as well be completely different sports.

It's a figure used to compare ballpark potential 40yard times and 100m times. I never claimed it was super accurate, but yeah typically you would expect a similar ratio with other times.

As a white guy who's run 4.3x and at my peak was probably capable of 4.2x (depending on timing utilized)...I just shake my head.

I'm also not reall clear what kind of insights OP is really going for or could benefit from. But the 5.8, and the "form", don't have a lot going for it outside of just trying to give generally positive feedback from a "participation trophy" POV.

It reminded me of someone almost falling over for 40 yards.

You have to add in about .50 to .60 to that to get an NFL combine standard time.. So probably around a 6.3 to 6.4 by NFL combine standards.

Your 4.3 is probably a 5.0 by NFL standards. You have to remember that doing it on a football field on a soft surface makes it tougher to do... So if you did 4.3 on the track hand timed then that's the equivalent of around 4.8 on the track depending on how you hand timed yourself... Then add in .20 to that to make up for the softer football surface. Running on a harder track surface is always going to be faster...

I'd think working on your 200m and 400m is way more relevant (if you want to work on the sprint side of things).

I've hand timed myself in 4.3 as well. I'm nowhere near a 4.3 though. I'm at 4.95 to 5.05 by NFL combine standards.

That's a really good vertical compared to your broad jump..

lmao. the nfl combine standard time is actually slightly FASTER than how I timed my 40. I slow motioned it 16x to get the EXACT moment my hand started moving and took the time it took my torso to cross the 40 yard line. Then I divide this number by 16.

So by nfl standards, I'd probably be around 5.6.

yeah, it's a shame

I do agree 5.8 is a bad time.

i was a distance runner and i got decent at it running a 19:30 for 5k and 5:45 mile. I'm just working on my explosiveness now, trying to be more aesthetic too.

My top speed ain't too bad atm actually, 20-21mph. It's mainly my start/form that needs work. I think after I polish this and my form I can shave off a good amount of tim.