Sprinting Tips - Combating Breathlessness and Speed

[Hughser]

Righto guys,
Got a headsup today from an ex-TA recce sniper. I told him I absoloutely hated sprinting (which I do), and was finding it difficult to regulate my breathing and achieve speed.

Luckily for me, he said he was one of the fastest sprinters in his recce force.

First off, I tried both of these tips today, and it does what it says on the tin.

1. For Breathlessness, I was told, when your preparing to zomp into action for a sprint.. suck in a huge breath, count to 3 whilst sprinting and then regulate your breathing to every 3 seconds. Taking huge gulps of air, breathing in on 3, breathing out on the next 3.

2. Speed, which always defeats me, instead of using the whole of your foot, run on the balls of your feet - by which i mean only letting the first third of your foot hit the floor. This allows you to take long strides and you'll notice you wont tire as fast. One warning with this though, if your using this technique try to avoid slippy ground, you can't balance as well as you could using the whole of your foot, so theres more risk of falling awkwardly.

My tupence for the week,
Hope it helps.

[Paulc83]

sounds good ill have to try it out.
also when finishing a longer run that by opening up my stride over the last 1/4 mile it really helps me finnish better.

[KJ-Edwards]

Thanks mate, my spirinting is not that bad, but as they say, there is always room for improvement. I will have to give that a go, sounds like a great tip

KJ

[jarhead]

im a pretty good sprinter, i do long deep breaths when i run, also i find a point ahead of me and aim to run pass it, this helps.

also remember to move your arms in right way, and the elbows are alined properly.

[Konassin]

3 second breaths???? I must be built differently then, because i'm breathing in and out like a bellows when i'm sprinting.

But for speed, heres a couple of simple tips.

1) concentrate on keeping your shoulders relaxed. If you start to hunch and tense your shoulders then it impairs your breathing, tires you out quicker, and slows you down.

2) Concentrate on moving your arms faster. The speed your arms move at controls the speed your legs move at. Try it. Try and increase how quickly you're pumping your arms back and forth, and your speed will increase noticably.

[Hughser]

3 second breaths???? I must be built differently then, because i'm breathing in and out like a bellows when i'm sprinting.

But for speed, heres a couple of simple tips.

1) concentrate on keeping your shoulders relaxed. If you start to hunch and tense your shoulders then it impairs your breathing, tires you out quicker, and slows you down.

2) Concentrate on moving your arms faster. The speed your arms move at controls the speed your legs move at. Try it. Try and increase how quickly you're pumping your arms back and forth, and your speed will increase noticably.

Moving your arms faster really does work, although keeping my shoulders relaxed while concentrating on moving my arms I havent mastered yet.. good tips mate, keep them coming.

As for 3 second interval breathing, the idea is to get in control of your breathing, and not let it control you. It builds mental strength and good rthym. The latter is very important, for example when your aiming down a scope, steady breathing will decrease shudder.

[jammin87]

Good one to help you relax your shoulders a bit is to keep your palms open, don't clench those fists.

[KJ-Edwards]

yeah, i find relaxing ur hands help alot 2

[daz89]

Does speed really matter on a PRMC (bottom field)? I'm not the fastest sprinter so I'm pretty sure I'll be near the back of the pack. But I'll give it 100% every time?

[KJ-Edwards]

Give a 110% mate

[Paratrooper01]

Does speed really matter on a PRMC

Speed wont particulary matter on your PRMC perhaps, but think about the real life situations you might face if you become a Royal Marine...

I came back from Afghanistan in October and im telling you speed and endurance is the name of the game. Make sure you are a good sprinter to avoid getting shot, and make sure you can patrol with a heavy load for a good few hours.