Knee extensors can't be ahead of hip extensors. Hamstrings, specifically m. Biceps Femoris, is along with the glutes the most important muscle for sprinting, without a doubt. Contraction time of the m. biceps femoris is one of the telltale signs of a good sprinter.
I’ve also came to this conclusion as well. Hamstrings and glutes are what makes sprinters. I believe sprinters have stronger and more explosive glutes and hamstrings than even bodybuilders
I could "MAYBE" see extensors coming ahead of hamstrings in terms of power generation, but good hamstrings keep you from getting hurt. If you are hurt you aren't training. That said, I would still put hamstrings in front of extensors in rank of importance for that reason alone...they keep you training and getting faster. Unsolvable repeated injuries to soft tissue is an absolute nightmare for any athlete, but especially for sprinters because you need to train fast to be fast and you can't do that hurt.
Glutes not "gluten". The spell check did me like that. Glutes generate the force the rest of the muscles need to carry the load. The hamstrings sufficiently strong and very mobile. Enough calf and ankle strength to carry the force with stiffness and without collapsing. Strong enough low back and abs to control the body.
at the end he said he wasn’t trying to put them order or make people prioritize the muscles in this order just to shed light on the most important muscles used in sprinting
My top 10: 1. Glute medius 2. Glute max 3. Hamstring 4.soleus 5.Psoas 6.Abs for holding pelvis postion 7.quad 8.adductor 9.chest/lower and middle traps 10.maybe delt
@@aodoemela Because single leg work helps me sprinting a lot more than bilaterally work. Every time I worked glute medius,I can stop the front leg swing forward better and the back leg push harder a few days later. Glute max may be the one works more in reality. But I feel like speed is hindered by glute med the most.
Wow, incredibly informative video. Thanks. I just turned 49 and have recently experienced a surge in my desire to sprint again. My biggest concern is injury, especially the hamstrings and groin area. So hopefully this video will help me train them properly to avoid that. My biggest takeaway from this were the explanations of how and when the muscles are used throughout the sprinting movement. Gave me some ideas on what I need to work on to avoid injury.
Build up your mobility to be as flexible as possible. You should have a strong core. Bodyweight calisthenics mixed with weight training to build strength and generate force and control in all the athletic positions. Bodyfat dropped under 10% you should be at a "fighting weight" for your height. They've taken top end speed to a science since you were in high school. Also acceleration they can even train you for a good vertical jump. Theres a guy your age who did it. He came back stronger more fit and lower bodyfat than he ever been. He tested himself on the track and ran 11.7. Back in high school he was only a 12.2 but he was skinny fat not as developed. In ten months of training he got it to 10.9. The next year he hit 10.7 and he wasn't using blocks or spikes which would have given. 2 to .3 seconds. Even then he could have got his bodyfat down more and better acceleration. He had a good stride for top end speed but acceleration could have been better. So it has been done before. The passion and desire mixed with effective planning and training and obviously good Nutrition and recovery will surprise you with the results.
If I was going down that path I'd build the body first. Get to mu fighting weight and ensure i have an athletic amount of strength at that weight. Some good numbers is 2 to 3x bodyweight squat, 1.5 body weight power clean. Its not a bad idea to have a vertical jump of 35" or greater. Mobility is also insanely important.
I just completed my first season of sprinting at 45. I had a season of football (Aussie Rules) under my belt which helped, but put the biggest initial focus on flexibility (as Dennis noted). I have a daily hip/back/leg stretching routine that I do religiously. I then added light (single plate hold) RDLs, pistol squats and basic core stuff (whilst doing sprint training 3x per week mid season). Now in my first offseason I'm doing heavier weights with a barbell a couple of times a week (front squat/back squat/split squat/hip thrust/power cleans/bench press). Body has held up pretty well other than an annoying right calf issue that I think may be nerve related). Results may vary, but I think at our age having flexibility as the foundation of your non-track work makes the most sense. I got to 7.3/11.7/23.9 by the end of my first season (5 months of training).
@@alanyt2000 Holy shit, nice numbers. 6.9 might be a good target for for your next 60m and the rest of the numbers will fall in line. The guy who ran the 11.7 and then brought it down to 10.7 in 18 months is here: th-cam.com/video/T9r0K_qfwCE/w-d-xo.html , He never ran with spikes or blocks. Pretty much training most of the year for speed and bringing all your strength numbers to a good athletic number work out well, flexibility and mobility is under rated and you should have it as it allows you to be in all the athletic positions most easily. Some encouragement is Christian Coleman ran 11.8 as a Sophomore, 10.9 as a Junior and a 10.29 as a Senior in High school As a 45 years old, "maybe" you won't make it to 10.29 seconds, but you can certainly get it to 11.0 or slightly better if you train year round and you will feel great. Body fat level is also a big deal and affects performance greatly even over 40 yards. THis study shows : speedendurance.com/2015/04/21/correlation-between-body-fat-and-sprint-times-part-2/ Sprinters tend to look like sprinters and are built like sprinters. There is a range of bodyweights that works within a height sometimes it's too low and others its too much weight.
@@dennisrobinson8008 Cheers Dennis. Anywhere near 7 for the 60 and 11 for the 100 would be pretty amazing. I think the Aussie national records are 7.2/11.2. Thanks for the link. Checking that out now.
Nice talk on hip flexors for muscles involved when sprinting. I knew hip flexors were involved when running, but not to such an extent. Definitely going to work on strengthening hip flexors as a means of increasing sprint speed
can't believe the psoas isnt higher. Should be #2 after glutes imo. 70% of the power is generated at the hip, and psoas is the principal hip flexion muscle, which is responsible for half of the stride cycle
Good lord u have to be kidding me the psoas are more important than the hamstrings calves wuads and literally the hip flexors. Hamstrings control hip extension and knee flexion two much bigger rules than just knee flexion
The psoas is important but what has to be undestood is the it does contract under load during a sprint. Speed and acceleration are correlated with how much power one can generate against the ground so glutes quads and hams are always gonna be on top
@@Messup7654 ffs obviously the hamstring is more important - at it's score speed is about power production and the hamstrings and glutes produce that power...
Hamstrings?? It amazes me that people do not realize that hamstrings are the dominant muscle in sprinting along with the glutes. They are literally throwing the ground behind you with every step.
@@Messup7654 hmmm u may be right what im trying to say is that most sprinters have mjch stronger hip flexors compared to the average person because they use them lots.
Actually.... For ((my)) body... whenever I scored my fastest speeds,... It was my Glutes and Hamstrings that felt the most strong. And. I happen to be born extremely rounded. And my body is very well proportioned.
I'm sorry, but hamstrings not being mentioned is a big mistake in my opionion. Hamstrings and glutes and psoas is where top speed comes from, where as quads are the driving phase muscle, and in my experience as a 10.50 sprinter with 15+ years of training under my belt, hamstring genetics/development is one of the main factors with extraordinary sprinters For example those who are blessed with elite genetics had insane hamstrings and even without spacific training were repping nordics, where as i only got there with training and saw my top speed increase noticably after putting more focus on that part of my body.
haha calf mass and quad mass has negative correlation with top speed. so more calfs and quads are bad! The most important muscles are in the center. The more proximal the muscle the more important. So the key muscles are the whole core followed by the hips and back. #1 is probalby the psoasand or the pelvic floor. #2 is glutes and hip rotators. #3 spine muscles and lats
It certainly strikes a chord with me. I was a sprinter in high school and college and I always feared guys that had big legs, but those guys never beat me. The most dangerous guys seemed to simply be the guys with shapely legs. I remember one time me, my coach, and one of the throwers on the team were walking together. The thrower had these huge, powerful looking legs, and my coach commented on how impressive they were. I was like, what about my legs coach? He says. "Soandso has Workhorse legs, You...have Racehorse legs.
@@jasonprince6271 size doesn’t determine strength and power. Al those skinny guys are powerful like Usain Bolt big muscles don’t mean strong powerful muscles
Am I the only one who almost never get sore in any other muscle than my quads? Does everyone feel that way or is it just me specifically that has underdeveloped quads?
I love you and your video. It was beneficial to me, and no doubt thousands of others. Now, time to go outside and do some exercises ❤🎉 I sometimes see footballers crosstrain by sprinting bare foot on a sandy beach, OR doing uphill reps. Do you recommend that for a purely track-minded individual? I personally love the feeling of sprinting up steep roads in what feels like a non-stop "drive phase". At least the recovery walk down is nice 😅
Thanks, yes I would say that uphill reps are definitely beneficial for track. As for training barefoot on beach I'm not entirely sure but I think training barefoot on grass can help
Many guys in the comments say glutes and hamstrings are very important so maybe train them on machines or with Nordic curls, hip thrusts, stiff-leg deadlifts, etc.
Train all of your muscles search up strength training for sprinting and power training for sprinting. You should do squats which train the flutes quads hamstrings and calves do Nordic hamstring curls which isolate the hamstrings do hip thrust which target the flutes and hamstrings resisted hip flexor lifts tibialis raises power cleans which trains hip extension and pylometeics and jumps
No I'm sure muscles around the thigh bone have absolutely fuck all to do with sprinting. It's probably more important to have long hair, or nice teeth....
Me too, but thinking about it now, hams and glutes are the same "push leg part back" type of muscle, but much bigger and hence much more impactful than calves
Knee extensors can't be ahead of hip extensors. Hamstrings, specifically m. Biceps Femoris, is along with the glutes the most important muscle for sprinting, without a doubt. Contraction time of the m. biceps femoris is one of the telltale signs of a good sprinter.
I’ve also came to this conclusion as well. Hamstrings and glutes are what makes sprinters. I believe sprinters have stronger and more explosive glutes and hamstrings than even bodybuilders
Gluten most powerful muscle in the body. Properly activated gluten are a huge portion of very many athletic movements.
I could "MAYBE" see extensors coming ahead of hamstrings in terms of power generation, but good hamstrings keep you from getting hurt. If you are hurt you aren't training. That said, I would still put hamstrings in front of extensors in rank of importance for that reason alone...they keep you training and getting faster. Unsolvable repeated injuries to soft tissue is an absolute nightmare for any athlete, but especially for sprinters because you need to train fast to be fast and you can't do that hurt.
Glutes not "gluten". The spell check did me like that. Glutes generate the force the rest of the muscles need to carry the load. The hamstrings sufficiently strong and very mobile. Enough calf and ankle strength to carry the force with stiffness and without collapsing. Strong enough low back and abs to control the body.
at the end he said he wasn’t trying to put them order or make people prioritize the muscles in this order just to shed light on the most important muscles used in sprinting
This is a very astute, high-quality breakdown!!
Thank you 🔥💪🏾
This is a fantastic breakdown and something Ive looked for, for years.
My top 10:
1. Glute medius
2. Glute max
3. Hamstring
4.soleus
5.Psoas
6.Abs for holding pelvis postion
7.quad
8.adductor
9.chest/lower and middle traps
10.maybe delt
The chest should not be included.
@@aodoemela Because single leg work helps me sprinting a lot more than bilaterally work. Every time I worked glute medius,I can stop the front leg swing forward better and the back leg push harder a few days later. Glute max may be the one works more in reality. But I feel like speed is hindered by glute med the most.
@@aodoemela I just realized my list is more for acceleration😂For top speed might move down glute med to 3rd .Then switch calves to achilles.
@@aodoemela But for overall 100m or 200m it really depends on the runner.
Wow, incredibly informative video. Thanks. I just turned 49 and have recently experienced a surge in my desire to sprint again. My biggest concern is injury, especially the hamstrings and groin area. So hopefully this video will help me train them properly to avoid that. My biggest takeaway from this were the explanations of how and when the muscles are used throughout the sprinting movement. Gave me some ideas on what I need to work on to avoid injury.
Build up your mobility to be as flexible as possible. You should have a strong core. Bodyweight calisthenics mixed with weight training to build strength and generate force and control in all the athletic positions. Bodyfat dropped under 10% you should be at a "fighting weight" for your height. They've taken top end speed to a science since you were in high school. Also acceleration they can even train you for a good vertical jump. Theres a guy your age who did it. He came back stronger more fit and lower bodyfat than he ever been. He tested himself on the track and ran 11.7. Back in high school he was only a 12.2 but he was skinny fat not as developed. In ten months of training he got it to 10.9. The next year he hit 10.7 and he wasn't using blocks or spikes which would have given. 2 to .3 seconds. Even then he could have got his bodyfat down more and better acceleration. He had a good stride for top end speed but acceleration could have been better. So it has been done before. The passion and desire mixed with effective planning and training and obviously good Nutrition and recovery will surprise you with the results.
If I was going down that path I'd build the body first. Get to mu fighting weight and ensure i have an athletic amount of strength at that weight. Some good numbers is 2 to 3x bodyweight squat, 1.5 body weight power clean. Its not a bad idea to have a vertical jump of 35" or greater. Mobility is also insanely important.
I just completed my first season of sprinting at 45. I had a season of football (Aussie Rules) under my belt which helped, but put the biggest initial focus on flexibility (as Dennis noted). I have a daily hip/back/leg stretching routine that I do religiously. I then added light (single plate hold) RDLs, pistol squats and basic core stuff (whilst doing sprint training 3x per week mid season). Now in my first offseason I'm doing heavier weights with a barbell a couple of times a week (front squat/back squat/split squat/hip thrust/power cleans/bench press). Body has held up pretty well other than an annoying right calf issue that I think may be nerve related). Results may vary, but I think at our age having flexibility as the foundation of your non-track work makes the most sense. I got to 7.3/11.7/23.9 by the end of my first season (5 months of training).
@@alanyt2000 Holy shit, nice numbers. 6.9 might be a good target for for your next 60m and the rest of the numbers will fall in line. The guy who ran the 11.7 and then brought it down to 10.7 in 18 months is here: th-cam.com/video/T9r0K_qfwCE/w-d-xo.html , He never ran with spikes or blocks.
Pretty much training most of the year for speed and bringing all your strength numbers to a good athletic number work out well, flexibility and mobility is under rated and you should have it as it allows you to be in all the athletic positions most easily.
Some encouragement is Christian Coleman ran 11.8 as a Sophomore, 10.9 as a Junior and a 10.29 as a Senior in High school As a 45 years old, "maybe" you won't make it to 10.29 seconds, but you can certainly get it to 11.0 or slightly better if you train year round and you will feel great.
Body fat level is also a big deal and affects performance greatly even over 40 yards. THis study shows : speedendurance.com/2015/04/21/correlation-between-body-fat-and-sprint-times-part-2/
Sprinters tend to look like sprinters and are built like sprinters. There is a range of bodyweights that works within a height sometimes it's too low and others its too much weight.
@@dennisrobinson8008 Cheers Dennis. Anywhere near 7 for the 60 and 11 for the 100 would be pretty amazing. I think the Aussie national records are 7.2/11.2. Thanks for the link. Checking that out now.
Nice talk on hip flexors for muscles involved when sprinting. I knew hip flexors were involved when running, but not to such an extent. Definitely going to work on strengthening hip flexors as a means of increasing sprint speed
Thank you, this is so good.. it shades light to so many things so not to waste time in the gym but know what specifics to target...🎉
thx for this, im starting to train for 100, 400 and 800 and now I know what to workout
Fyi, according to the comment section, the most important muscles for a sprinter are actually glutes and hamstrings
🙋🏽♂️Greetings from Zimbabwe 🇿🇼 🍿👀🇿🇼 Maswera sei?
Talk about the importance of flexibility in the ankle, hip, shoulder etc on sprint performance
Brilliant Video. Brilliant!!!
can't believe the psoas isnt higher. Should be #2 after glutes imo. 70% of the power is generated at the hip, and psoas is the principal hip flexion muscle, which is responsible for half of the stride cycle
Good lord u have to be kidding me the psoas are more important than the hamstrings calves wuads and literally the hip flexors. Hamstrings control hip extension and knee flexion two much bigger rules than just knee flexion
The psoas is important but what has to be undestood is the it does contract under load during a sprint. Speed and acceleration are correlated with how much power one can generate against the ground so glutes quads and hams are always gonna be on top
@@Messup7654 ffs obviously the hamstring is more important - at it's score speed is about power production and the hamstrings and glutes produce that power...
Time for a dominant season!
1.Glute 2.Hamstring 3.Psoas
Hamstrings?? It amazes me that people do not realize that hamstrings are the dominant muscle in sprinting along with the glutes. They are literally throwing the ground behind you with every step.
I think you can feel your psoas while lifting your knees, but it's hard to tell if it's that or your abs
Nah ur right I find that hip flexor are the most important especially because they are weak in most people
@@saketh9177 just because people don’t train them doesn’t mean their the most important 😂
@@Messup7654 hmmm u may be right what im trying to say is that most sprinters have mjch stronger hip flexors compared to the average person because they use them lots.
Calves, then everything that deadlifts work, then abs, then everything that squats work
Actually.... For ((my)) body... whenever I scored my fastest speeds,... It was my Glutes and Hamstrings that felt the most strong. And. I happen to be born extremely rounded. And my body is very well proportioned.
thxs needed this for summer
Is it just me or does this man look identical to Patric Bateman? ( 0:12 - 0:15 )
Good work
Amazing video!
Thought they'll be number 1❤
Espalda, Hombros, Abs, Pantorrillas, Quatriceps
in order of priority:
1-hip flexors (psoas)
2-glutes (all 3 muscles)
3-hamstrings
4-achilles tendons, not calves
5-abs and lumbars
It’s also important to know what muscle-integration or I’m other term fascia-integration means.
Drive (Willpower) is muscle number 1😌
no such thing as will power.
you mean neural fuel.
or something like that.
no, the #1 muscle is "having fun"
Wait how come you didn’t mention hamstrings??? I’m so confused!!
6:49
I'm sorry, but hamstrings not being mentioned is a big mistake in my opionion. Hamstrings and glutes and psoas is where top speed comes from, where as quads are the driving phase muscle, and in my experience as a 10.50 sprinter with 15+ years of training under my belt, hamstring genetics/development is one of the main factors with extraordinary sprinters
For example those who are blessed with elite genetics had insane hamstrings and even without spacific training were repping nordics, where as i only got there with training and saw my top speed increase noticably after putting more focus on that part of my body.
hamstrings number 1 for top speed, glutes and quads for acceleration, core for stability
Glutes are for top speed as well.
aka big ass
haha calf mass and quad mass has negative correlation with top speed. so more calfs and quads are bad!
The most important muscles are in the center. The more proximal the muscle the more important. So the key muscles are the whole core followed by the hips and back.
#1 is probalby the psoasand or the pelvic floor. #2 is glutes and hip rotators. #3 spine muscles and lats
It certainly strikes a chord with me. I was a sprinter in high school and college and I always feared guys that had big legs, but those guys never beat me. The most dangerous guys seemed to simply be the guys with shapely legs.
I remember one time me, my coach, and one of the throwers on the team were walking together. The thrower had these huge, powerful looking legs, and my coach commented on how impressive they were. I was like, what about my legs coach? He says. "Soandso has Workhorse legs, You...have Racehorse legs.
Glutes, low back abs. Calfs and ankle need to be strong and stiff but not excessive mass.
@@jasonprince6271 size doesn’t determine strength and power. Al those skinny guys are powerful like Usain Bolt big muscles don’t mean strong powerful muscles
@@Messup7654 you think Usain Bolt was skinny? I must be thinking a different guy called Usain Bolt.
Quads get u past the first 10 meters
Lordosis + scoliosis and being the fastest ever
Am I the only one who almost never get sore in any other muscle than my quads? Does everyone feel that way or is it just me specifically that has underdeveloped quads?
I love you and your video. It was beneficial to me, and no doubt thousands of others. Now, time to go outside and do some exercises ❤🎉
I sometimes see footballers crosstrain by sprinting bare foot on a sandy beach, OR doing uphill reps. Do you recommend that for a purely track-minded individual? I personally love the feeling of sprinting up steep roads in what feels like a non-stop "drive phase". At least the recovery walk down is nice 😅
Thanks, yes I would say that uphill reps are definitely beneficial for track.
As for training barefoot on beach I'm not entirely sure but I think training barefoot on grass can help
Aren't glutes also the strongest muscle in the body?
Certainly
the jaw muscle is
out of all of these muscles which ones should I actively train and which ones should I passively stress through sprinting. thanks for the vid 🙏🏿
Many guys in the comments say glutes and hamstrings are very important so maybe train them on machines or with Nordic curls, hip thrusts, stiff-leg deadlifts, etc.
Train all of your muscles search up strength training for sprinting and power training for sprinting. You should do squats which train the flutes quads hamstrings and calves do Nordic hamstring curls which isolate the hamstrings do hip thrust which target the flutes and hamstrings resisted hip flexor lifts tibialis raises power cleans which trains hip extension and pylometeics and jumps
1. Hamstrings
2. Glutes
3. Quads
4. Calf
5. Iliopsoas
6-10. The rest
Dead on
Surely the Heart is No1
Dude those delts are a telltale sign for peds
who is the old sprinter at video time 9:44 ? thank you
Don Quarrie
Are these muscle groups also as important for 400m?
Yes
Iliacus???
Only enough get strong harmstrings, glutes and calves to be a faster person in the world.
Good english
Glute is n. 1
Yohan Blake and Shawn Crawford are beasts
Quads don't help run faster 100m
Yes they do
😂
No I'm sure muscles around the thigh bone have absolutely fuck all to do with sprinting.
It's probably more important to have long hair, or nice teeth....
Quads get u past the first 10 to 20 meters
🤍🤎🏁
PC muscle is the most important
ngl I thought calf is the most important muscle
ITS DEF IIMPORTANT BUT I DONT THINK ITS MPOST IMPORTANT SORRY FOR CAPS BTW
@@MR.CLEAN777 IT FINE 👌🏻
Calf and ankle for foot stability.
Me too, but thinking about it now, hams and glutes are the same "push leg part back" type of muscle, but much bigger and hence much more impactful than calves
I mean think about it. Usain Bolt doesn’t have big calves. A lot of fast people have small calves.
W
The hamstrings are number 1
And glutes
Great and precise information. Thanks