Running Drills To Help Improve Performance

Try these running drills to help improve you’re running and to prevent injury.

Runners who regularly incorporate drills into their training are better able to recruit muscles needed for the task, leaving them less injury-prone. You can incorporate these drills as part of your warm-up or practise them a couple of times a week in a park or on a field to help improve your performance. 

Top 5 running drills to try

1. Skip/Run with High Knees
   Start by skipping with high knees (Drive your knee up forcefully lifting you off the ground and keep your feet flat – toes up towards your shin). Once you have repeated this movement for 2 to 3 minutes, run back and forth with high knees for an additional 2 to 3 minutes.
2. Bum Kicks
   Start by jogging and bringing each ankle towards the bum, alternating. Do this slowly at first and then after a couple minutes, do a few drills at a running pace.
3. Power Skips
   Think of how you skipped with high knees (above), but now, you are going for more height. Momentum is created by driving the knee up and also forcefully pushing off the ground. Do these for 2 to 3 minutes.
4. Side-to-side Skip
   This helps build strength and coordination among stabilising muscles. Skip side to side by bringing your feet together and then shoulder width apart. Let your arms cross over each other in front of the body as you skip.  Do these for 2 to 3 minutes.
5. Carioca Exercise (sometimes called Grapevine)
   The carioca running drill involves shuffling sideways or performing a lateral shuffle with a high-knee crossover stepping motion. Cariocas improve coordination, agility, core strength, and cardiovascular fitness, among other benefits. Do these for 2 to 3 minutes running back and forth.