Best Acceleration Drills for Athletes Vol. 2

Every athlete who wants speed needs to prioritize acceleration. Acceleration is your ability to build to maximum velocity as quickly as possible. However, without solid acceleration mechanics and power, you won’t be able to build to a fast maximum velocity. That’s why acceleration is so important.

So, today I want to share two more of the BEST acceleration drills for athletes that will help you build to faster speeds (You can find Vol. 1 here). The two best acceleration drills I want to share with you are:

Falling Starts
Jump Back Starts

In the following post I’m going to dive into the unique benefits of each drill, along with an in-depth description of how to perform each drill.

For now, just know these drills will enhance your acceleration mechanics, and your overall speed. ESPECIALLY when you perform these drills followed by your sport-specific start. This is my Isolate-Elevate-Integrate method that basically manipulates your body into running with proper mechanics.

Falling Starts

The falling start is not as much of a mechanical drill as much as it’s a drill to raise the threshold and velocity of the movement. The whole goal of this movement is to train the cross extensor reflex of the athlete. This drill accomplished that goal by forcing the athlete to react to tipping over by popping the thigh and opposite arm.

The forward fall increases the intensity of the reaction needed to react off the ground, thereby increasing the velocities of these movements.

Again, the goal is to take the enhancements from these drills and reintegrate them into a full on sprint. So, you should perform falling starts followed by a start specific to your sport. That can be a 40 start, 60 start, or a standard start.

Proper Technique for Falling Starts

Start with your feet hip width, arms by your sides
Come up onto the balls of your feet
Tip forward until you’re about to fall
Quickly react by popping one thigh and the opposite knee
Continue into your acceleration mechanics with a forward lean and big powerful steps

Jump Back Starts

Jump Back Starts are another acceleration drill that are less about technical mechanics, and more about increasing the velocity of the movement. Almost in the same way as the falling starts, the increase in the velocity comes from reacting off the ground after the athlete “jumps back”. The reaction will also enhance the athlete’s cross extensor reflex. Again, this is the popping of the thigh and opposite arm that is so critical to sprinting at high speeds.

After you perform your jump back starts, proceed into your sport specific start.

Proper Technique for Jump Back Starts

Start with your feet hip width, arms by your sides
Take a small hop back. When you jump back, your shoulders should stay in the same spot. Your lower half should pop back so that you have a forward lean
Upon landing, react off the ground (the feet should land in a staggered stance) by popping the thigh and opposite arm
Continue down the turf/field with proper acceleration mechanics

The Components of Speed

If you really want to sprint faster, you need to nail down every component of speed.

And acceleration mechanics are only a small part of that.

You’ll also need to nail down frontside/backside maximum velocity mechanics, and relative force production in order to become the feared speed demon you envision yourself as.

The tools you’ll need to become that faster version of yourself are:

Plyometrics
Absolute Strength Training Modalities
Speed Mechanics Drill
Elastic Strength Training Protocols
Advanced Core Stability Training

And a bunch more.

And thousands of athletes are currently using Athletic Speed System to receive all those tools, and sprint faster in LESS TIME than ever before.

If you’re serious about your speed, you should probably be doing the same.

You can find more info on Athletic Speed System below: