How do I develop an awesome kick like Elliot Heath?

Once or twice (nonconsecutive days) per week, at the beginning of your session--well, after a good warmup, of course, including several 60-80m accelerations that gradually build to touching near-top speed in the last one or two reps--do this:

From a standing, walking, or (preferably) jogging start, run as fast as possible (controlled) for six seconds. Take a slow, easy walk (and/or stand) for at least a couple of minutes; then repeat. Over the course of the month, build gradually from four of these sprints to eight or ten of them.

These sprints can be done on the flat, preferably with the wind at your back, or uphill. It may be most useful if you can alternate flat/hill, from one of these sessions to the next.

In the second month, do eight-second reps, but cycle back to starting with just four or five, building over the course of the month to doing eight or ten.

Third month, go with ten-second reps. Again, start with just four, and build to maybe six or eight.

It is imperative that you do these

1) at the beginning of your training session, not at the end;

2) NEVER when your calves are sore;

3) with a MINIMUM of a couple minutes' rest between reps, so that you have no oxygen debt when starting the next rep;

4) with relaxed, CONTROLLED form--no flailing or grimacing, etc.--especially maintaining relaxation in the elbows (so that, when it's behind your torso, your elbow will be somewhat more open than when it's in front, e.g.

http://www.mkrob.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/gayx-large.jpg

).

These brief reps will build your sprinting skill and power, and the neurological patterns that you'll need to really "blast away" from your competitors. You have to do these at the beginning of your session, when you're fresh, because they cause considerable stress on the central nervous system--and learning CNS skills is always best done when fresh (which, for instance, is why you should practice changes in your free throw technique at the beginning, not end, of a basketball practice).

Good luck. Please keep us updated on what you end up doing, and your race results!

Too much science in that post above.

How to get a good kick:

1) After a tempo run - 4 x 200 with full recovery in 25 to 28.

2) Hills sprints

3) The most important...go motherf***ing crazy the last 300. Mentally go insane and push yourself - THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT.

Nice to see a decent answer so quickly!

wow! Thanks a lot! This sounds legit! Hopefully it works!

Lease, how long should the rests be between those sprints? full recovery 6-8 minutes or like 3-5 minutes between sprints?

So you want to know how to kick like a crazy SOB, here ya go:

4:59 am-wake up. Kick a cat, dog, (preferably) a small child or baby

5:30am-16 miles shakeout around 5:00 pace. Make sure your relaxed.

8 am- solve an unsolvable math problem

10am-1000x100m sprints all out with a few seconds rest

2pm- kill someone...thats right you heard me

6pm-hire a dirty street hooker and contract the AIDS virus

6:19 pm-kick the AIDS virus

8pm-the cops should be on to you for killing that person at 2pm, out kick the cops

9pm- 20 miles at 5k race pace

Your welcome

doneathlete wrote:

So you want to know how to kick like a crazy SOB, here ya go:

4:59 am-wake up. Kick a cat, dog, (preferably) a small child or baby

5:30am-16 miles shakeout around 5:00 pace. Make sure your relaxed.

8 am- solve an unsolvable math problem

10am-1000x100m sprints all out with a few seconds rest

2pm- kill someone...thats right you heard me

6pm-hire a dirty street hooker and contract the AIDS virus

6:19 pm-kick the AIDS virus

8pm-the cops should be on to you for killing that person at 2pm, out kick the cops

9pm- 20 miles at 5k race pace

Your welcome

its You're, not your, get it right

lean forward when you run, have a comb over and drool a little whenever you run an XC race.

Constantine wrote:

its You're, not your, get it right

Hey Keanu Reeves, shut up and go make another crappy Matrix sequel. Animation, really?

I'd recommend leveling up until you reach a power level that is OVER 9000.

doneathlete wrote:

Constantine wrote:

its You're, not your, get it right

Hey Keanu Reeves, shut up and go make another crappy Matrix sequel. Animation, really?

Don't be angry your post was painfully lame.

Funny. Forget about guys like Wheating, Lagat, Bekele. Elliot Heath is the man who you should aspire to. Its kind of like being a Chicago Bulls fan in the 1990s and aspiring to be John Paxson.

Just teasing though. Its a good question.

How? wrote:

Lease, how long should the rests be between those sprints? full recovery 6-8 minutes or like 3-5 minutes between sprints?

Practically speaking, if you keep the bursts as brief (and as few) as specified, you should be able to get away with the shorter rests. If in doubt, however, err on the side of longer rests, fewer repetitions, and shorter sprints.

By keeping the bursts brief and relaxed (which does NOT mean slow--actually, you'll run your fastest when you're relaxed), you'll avoid almost all lactic-acid formation, so you should be (almost) completely recovered after a few minutes.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Keep in mind that all of the above is primarily oriented toward developing that sudden burst, in the latter stages of the race, that breaks you away from your competition. Time permitting, I'll have more to say about the overall finish--right now, I'm a little pressed.

Here is your answer:

http://www.scienceofrunning.com/2008/03/lydiard-got-it-wrong.html