Running to Improve Performance in Other Sports
If you want to improve in baseball, football, basketball or
hockey, learn to run faster. To run fast in competitive sports, you
have to run fast in practice and lift heavy weights to become
stronger. Run a series of short fast sprints with a short rest
between each. Do resistance exercises because stronger
muscles drive you forward with more force.
No coach should ever require players to run sprints at
the end of every practice or lift heavy weights more often than
twice a week. Every time you run fast or lift heavy, your muscle
fibers are damaged and feel sore on the next morning, and take
at least 48 hours to heal. If you try to run fast or lift heavy when
your muscles feel sore, you are at increased risk for tearing them
and not being able to play at all. In the preseason,
knowledgeable coaches have their players scrimmage hard and
run sprints on one day, then practice plays and take it easy on
the next. During the season, they play so often that players
should not be asked to do much additional hard training.
Checked 9/29/08