How to Be a Faster Running Back
The running back position takes a lot of strength, power, agility, and speed. You need to be elusive enough to shake off tackles. You have to be strong enough to keep getting up after hits. You must be fast enough to race down the sidelines and not get caught from behind. When you break all of this down, if you were faster, you wouldn't have to worry so much about getting hit because you'd be able to speed away from would-be tacklers. All you need to do is follow the right procedure to turn your speed up a notch.
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Instructions
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Wear added resistance. In the game of football, you have a lot of dead weight already attached to your body from your equipment. This isn't even counting a wet and muddy uniform. To simulate this extra weight, wear added resistance to your body during the course of your daily activities. This can be ankle weights, a weighted vest, a gravity belt, or a combination of them all.
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Do steep hill runs. Find a nearby hill that is approximately 100 yards in length. Do a 10 to 15 minute warm-up run and come to the bottom. Run to the top, then jog back down. Do a series of them before doing a 10 to 15 minute cool down to finish up.
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Do resisted sprints. This is where a power chute comes into play. This is a tool that gets fastened to your body. While running sprints, release the chute behind you. This causes resistance in the air and makes it harder to run.
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Work the core. A lot of explosive speed and power is generated from the core. Do exercises that involve resistance such as overhead medicine ball throws, kneeling rope crunches, and weighted pullover crunches on a BOSU. A BOSU is a functional training tool that looks like an exercise ball that's been cut in half. It has a flat side and dome side so it can be used either way.
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Become more flexible. Flexibility has a few distinct benefits. It can help reduce pulled muscles. It can help speed recoveries, and it can help keep connective tissue from getting damaged. It can also increase your range of motion. This will enable you to take longer strides. Attending yoga classes is a good way to target the whole body.
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Work on your lateral speed. Performing exercises on a BOSU will increase your lateral agility and balance. These are two other important points that factor into running faster. Some examples of exercises are lateral side steps, 180 spins, hop scotch, and power step-ups.
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Tips & Warnings
When doing the hill runs, wear the added resistance. Just lessen the weight a little bit.
Be aware of any knee pain when wearing ankle weights. If you should happen to experience any, take them off.
