Fall 08 layout - Racewalking

1 WALK! Magazine Vol. 4, Issue 3, fall 200822 RacewalkSpeed, Strength andTechnique Exercises and DrillsBy Dave McGovernTo racewalk well requires strong and active feet,ankles, hip-flexors and core , most of us aren t born with theseattributes. At my clinics I ll occasionally meet some-one with beautiful Racewalking technique who drives the advancingknee powerfully forward, rolls effortlessly from heel to toe and pushesoff the tip of the toe behind the body at the end of a long, powerfulstride. Invariably, when quizzed, it turns out the walker has come froman athletic background.

2 Basketball, soccer and volleyball players, run-ners and dancers all tend to have the lower leg and hip-flexor strengththat makes great racewalkers. But what happens if you don t? Are you predestined to a future of slow,stumpy technique? Of course not! You can make up lost ground bydoing technique drills and exercises to strengthen these importantracewalking muscles. If you haven t been using these muscles, startslowly. Add a few drills at a time, a few repetitions at a time, then seehow you feel the next day or two before adding to your program.

3 Theseare also great exercises to use as warm-ups for speed workouts. Heel walking and toe walking:Walk on the heels with short steps, first with toes forward,then toes out, then toes in. Then walk on the toes, repeat with toes out, then toes in. Startwith about 20 steps each and build to cover up to one lap on the track doing the steps:Racewalk with very short and quick steps one foot almost on top of the other. Be sure to pullthe thigh all the way back so the knees fully or grapevine drill :Cross one foot over the otherwhile twisting the torso in the opposite direction, again andagain and again, moving sideways down the track.

4 Great forfoot speed and strength, but also for strengthening many ofthe core support and propulsive muscles involved in SSCCOORRNNCCOOAACCHH SSCCOORRNNEERRWALK! Magazine Vol. 4, Issue 3, fall 200823 Knee pumps:While holding onto a fence or other sturdy support and keeping the backstraight, extend the legs far behind the body keeping your weight on the balls of the the knees vigorously while rolling up to the toes. While doing so, pull the other thighback so the knee fully straightens behind the dips, toe dips/raises:Standing on a step with your forefeet, let your heels dip belowthe plane of the step.

5 Lift and raise your heels, alternating feet. For toe dips and raisesstand with your heels on the step, then lift and lower the walking/back-ward running:When run-ning, start with shufflingsteps, build towards longstrides and high :Run in placewith a high back kick and aslight forward lean. Butt-kicks improve footspeed and strengthen :(Above) Starting atthe bottom of a flight of stepsraise on foot one or two stepsabove the other foot. Quicklylift the rear foot one or twosteps above the planted footby driving the knee several times beforeswitching to the other skipping:(At right)Skip for height, then for distance.

6 Focus on a strongpush through the toes of theback foot, keeping the backleg as straight as lunges: Keeping therear leg far behind the body,extend the front foot so the frontknee stays over the ankle. Squatstraight down with the torso erect. Walk forward, then squat downon the new front foot. Repeat tolunge forward down the ! Magazine Vol. 4, Issue 3, fall 200824 Crunches, oblique crunches:There are many variations onthe abdominal crunch. Start on your back, tightening the lowerabdominals to flattened the lower back and provide a pelvictilt.

7 Lift the upper back straight off the ground don t curl for-ward. Hold, then lower. Variations include oblique crunches(second photograph) and bicycle crunches to the center, andto the opposite knee (third photograph).Reverse crunch:This is abit of a variation on areverse crunch. Start onyour back with the legselevated 6-8 off theground. Curl up, pause,then shoot the legsupward, pause, then comeback to the curl position,then to the start :Lying on your stomach, extend and lift one armand the opposite leg. As a variation, lift both arms and McGovernhas competed all over the world as a member of the NationalRacewalk Team, but he still enjoys using local road races to hone his skills.

8 One of thecoaches for the team at the 2008 World Cup in Cheboksary, Russia, Dave hascoached both elite and novice walkers to excel in competitions near and far. Visit hisweb site at planks:Resting on your elbows and toes, hold your body rigid like a plank ofwood. Variations include lifting one leg straight off the ground. Side planks can be done byresting on the forearm with the elbow bent, or with the arm extended (right).