Lower 40 yard dash time

[YoungLT21]

How can i lower my 40 yard dash time from a 4.7 to a 4.4.(i have 3 years)

[NueveUno]

thing you can do is focus on 3 things... explosion, leg strength and most importantly technique...
Do some powercleans and squats to increase your leg strength and explosion

PRACTICE YOUR 40!
Technique is eveyrthing

How you come out of your stance and your stride length... the first 10 yards are everything... Focus on longer strides and a good jump out of your stance run your 40 often to practice... just good technique could drop yoru 40 from a 4.7 to a 4.55-4.6.... Monitor your steps and practice...
I brought my 40 up from

Summer going into Junior year-5.4
SPring after Senior SEASON-4.66
Now-4.59-4.63 consistent

[Jhawk Fitness]

Read the December Q&A at www.TopSpeedTraining.com

[lancebriggs55]

squats dont really have anything to do with it.

Powerlifters can squat 600 plus pounds but i bet you none of them can run a 4.4 40 yard dash.

It is alot of hamstring and calve strength.

[NueveUno]

dude are you serious? squats have alot to do with it... you ever seen anyone who cant squat at all run a 4.4? doubtful

[NueveUno]

and if you said yes to that question 1 of 3 things occured..

1-he didnt run 40 yards
2-his time is not accurate
3-he is 12lbs

[Robb_P]

squats dont really have anything to do with it.

Powerlifters can squat 600 plus pounds but i bet you none of them can run a 4.4 40 yard dash.

It is alot of hamstring and calve strength.

My god......

[watchandsee23]

he just lost all chances of earning my respect. What an idiot...

[lancebriggs55]

This kid at my high school ran a 4.6 40 yard dash but his squat max was like 300 at 215 pounds.

I was 225 and could squat 420 but my 40 was 4.9 seconds. Explain that.

Another good example, a 6'1 180 pound receiver ran a 4.49 with a squat max of 275.

Squats do help with explosion, but the acutal stride is based on form, strong hamstrings, calves, lower back and shoulders.

[lancebriggs55]

My god......

hey buddy, you should always capitalize when you say GOD.

[NueveUno]

This kid at my high school ran a 4.6 40 yard dash but his squat max was like 300 at 215 pounds.

I was 225 and could squat 420 but my 40 was 4.9 seconds. Explain that.

Another good example, a 6'1 180 pound receiver ran a 4.49 with a squat max of 275.

Squats do help with explosion, but the acutal stride is based on form, strong hamstrings, calves, lower back and shoulders.

DUde just becasue you squat alot doesnt mean your fast... it is a focal point that helps in yoru speed but alot of Highschool lineman can squat in the 350lb range and run 5.0s theres so many factors of a 40 its ridiculous... we were amazed that the you said squats had NOTHING to do with it

[watchandsee23]

This kid at my high school ran a 4.6 40 yard dash but his squat max was like 300 at 215 pounds.

I was 225 and could squat 420 but my 40 was 4.9 seconds. Explain that.

Another good example, a 6'1 180 pound receiver ran a 4.49 with a squat max of 275.

Squats do help with explosion, but the acutal stride is based on form, strong hamstrings, calves, lower back and shoulders.

There are many factors like stated before in this thread I think long achilles(sp?) tendons. Some people are more explsoive then strong so that is why they are fast. Some people have good genetics and are built to run.

[Zenkei18]

squats dont really have anything to do with it.

Powerlifters can squat 600 plus pounds but i bet you none of them can run a 4.4 40 yard dash.

It is alot of hamstring and calve strength.

ya do u know how much they weigh a lot of the time?

[fballplyer90]

squats dont really have anything to do with it.

Powerlifters can squat 600 plus pounds but i bet you none of them can run a 4.4 40 yard dash.

It is alot of hamstring and calve strength.

I think what he is trying to say is that squats are not just the only component, a lot of people when asked how do I run fast on this forum just respond: start squatting.

Yea squats can definitely help, but it will do nothing if the athlete cannot transfer that strength into power, does not have good form, is not flexible through the hammies and hips, or he/she doesnt have good turnover (i guess it could be related to power).

Obviously squats can help but IMO there are definetly things that an athlete could focus on that would be more beneficial to running faster then squats

[watchandsee23]

most of the people that ask for help lack strength and getting stronger with is the easiest way to get faster and quickest for someone who lacks LB strength....

[Hulk06]

it's all in the wrist strength, man...strong wrists=faster 40 time...sure, relative body strength helps and so does form, as does low bodyfat and proper start..but when it's all said and done wrist strength is what seperates the boys from the men.

[Robb_P]

[QUOTE=fballplyer90;13299530]
Yea squats can definitely help, but it will do nothing if the athlete cannot transfer that strength into power, does not have good form, is not flexible through the hammies and hips, or he/she doesnt have good turnover (i guess it could be related to power).[/QUOTE

But squats improve many of these things:

- heavy squatting teaches the body to recruit as many motor units as possible. The motor units must be recruited at a reasonble rate, before the athlete crumbles under the load. The neural adaptations also mean that slow twitch fibers start to behave more like fast-twitch fibers (although you cannot completely change fiber type). These are all closely related to expressing strength quickly (in other words: Power!)

- Form is affected by the level of strength you have. The shin angle at the start, for example, is often talked about by coaches. Many do drills to try and achieve this (falling starts).

But when they actually practice starts, they notice that the athlete cannot keep this shin angle and they get frustrated. What they do not realise is that the athlete cannot keep his shins that low without falling flat on his face. He is not strong enough.

Ben Johnson, however, could achieve this; he also could squat over 700lbs (did 2x6 reps at 600lbs past parrellel).

- weightlifting itself will increase ROM, as long as you use full ROM (so squats past parrellel here....) and train agonists and antagonists equally. Squatting will help flexibility, provided you supplement it with hamstring work/gluteal work. Unilateral work (split suqats, lunges etc) are also very helpful and will increase ROM in the hips.

- Not entirely sure about you mean by turn over. Are you referring to the stride frequency or "stepping over the knee"? Either way, it is helped by squats

Thus, when people can't be bothered to write a lot but want to help someone get faster ...... they simply type "start squatting".

[imoffg]

first off, way to go on being dedicated this early on. secondly, NueveUno is right on. Explosive moves that target your slow-twitch fibers are going to be golden for leg strength.

[fballplyer90]

To Robb

I agree with everything you said, I know how beneficial squats can be, but if you give me two athletes and put one only in the weight room and take another and put him through speed/agility workouts and keep him out of the weightroom, the second athlete is going to be faster and be able to move better on the field.

I just think that too many highschool athletes put too much emphasis on weightroom work and not enough on "field work" there needs to be more of a balance.

also inside the wieghtroom, i also think high school athletes concentrate too much on going heavy all the time, I think kids would benefit more from focusing on speed workouts as well ( just like westside) and also plyos etc. ...so they can better transfer the strength that they aquire in heavey squatting to power

I know for many high end athletes, I have worked out with a decent amount, and myself put more emphasis on field work then weightroom, i try to balance each, but if it comes down to it and I have to choose one or the other I would choose the running workout (whatever it may be) over lifting.

I know i got alittle off topic, but i think you get the idea of what im saying

[Robb_P]

To Robb

I agree with everything you said, I know how beneficial squats can be, but if you give me two athletes and put one only in the weight room and take another and put him through speed/agility workouts and keep him out of the weightroom, the second athlete is going to be faster and be able to move better on the field.

I just think that too many highschool athletes put too much emphasis on weightroom work and not enough on "field work" there needs to be more of a balance.

also inside the wieghtroom, i also think high school athletes concentrate too much on going heavy all the time, I think kids would benefit more from focusing on speed workouts as well ( just like westside) and also plyos etc. ...so they can better transfer the strength that they aquire in heavey squatting to power

I know for many high end athletes, I have worked out with a decent amount, and myself put more emphasis on field work then weightroom, i try to balance each, but if it comes down to it and I have to choose one or the other I would choose the running workout (whatever it may be) over lifting.

I know i got alittle off topic, but i think you get the idea of what im saying

Yep, agree completely - I was just pointing out that people respond to these questions by typing "start squatting" so much because it is fast but good advice

There is no doubt that weight training is NOT a substitute for running, barring a certain few freaks out there.

[watchandsee23]

It depends on the athlete. If an athlete has a very high strength to bodyweight ratio but not very explosive. Running would probably benefit the athlete more. But if the athlete Relative body strength is low but they seem to be able to jump high giving their low strength levels the weight room would do more for them then running sprints...

[HoosierBoy]

squats dont really have anything to do with it.

Powerlifters can squat 600 plus pounds but i bet you none of them can run a 4.4 40 yard dash.

It is alot of hamstring and calve strength.

That's because they're 20%+ bodyfat. Squats and any other leg work will help improve stride length.

One tip to the OP: having a good 40 time is nice, but do yourself a favor and keep 99% of your focus on your actual sport.

[aryiman]

what lifts can i do to help my hamstrings?

[SteR-]

what lifts can i do to help my hamstrings?

- glute ham raises
- stiff legged deadlifts
- squats
- hamstring curls

[watchandsee23]

how about regular deadlifts and GHRs....

[DHoff25]

My squat max is 240 and i run a 4.54 so i'm guessing squat has...squat to do with your 40. It's all about how you train your fast twitch muscles and it ALL depends on how fast you get out of your stance.

[bdpdeuces22]

Judging by your tagline, I'm going to guess that you trying to become faster for football. Here's how i see it, 40 speed really is not a 100% guaranteed good way to guage "football speed". It's a good starting point but not a great way to judge whether someone is fast on the football field. How many times does a player start out of a 3 point stance and run a straight line for 4 to 5 seconds in a game? Very few, depending a lot on position. Running backs (you?) need to be more quick than fast most of the time. Try doing lots of agility drills and plyometrics to increase explosiveness to increase lateral quickness, it will pay of huge in the end. Coming from experience, young RB's need to work on field vision more than anything. You can be the best athlete on the field, but if you can't read a hole and explode through it, all the athletic ability doesn't mean as much. Gotta have that knack for the game of football.

[HenryHill]

My squat max is 240 and i run a 4.54 so i'm guessing squat has...squat to do with your 40. It's all about how you train your fast twitch muscles and it ALL depends on how fast you get out of your stance.

It's not about what weight you can squat, it's about how much you can squat relative to your bodyweight. You squatting 240 at 125 pounds is a LOT better than some 200 pound guy lifting 300. You will be faster/more explosive because you have a higher squat in comparison to your body weight. The second part of your post is correct though. Getting out of your stance and fast twitch muscle fiber are very important.

[Jhawk Fitness]

It's not about what weight you can squat, it's about how much you can squat relative to your bodyweight. You squatting 240 at 125 pounds is a LOT better than some 200 pound guy lifting 300. You will be faster/more explosive because you have a higher squat in comparison to your body weight. The second part of your post is correct though. Getting out of your stance and fast twitch muscle fiber are very important.

Very good post though muscle fiber makeup has a lot less to do with it than people think. I cannot stress enough how important proper technique is.

[the next arnold]

I would say oly lifts would be a fair bit more effective than regular squats for increasing explosive speed