I wasn’t sure were to post this.
Anyway I have been doing Sprints at the beach to improve my leg power and quickness and maintain my cardio fitness for rugby during the off season.
I sprint about 25 metres on the sand, I run from the shoreline to the dunes so its a slight incline.
I do 4 sets of 5 sprints, just walking back between each sprint and then having a 2 minute rest between each set of 5.
The first couple of times I’ve done them they were realy good, a bit of muscle soreness the day or to after in my glutes, hamstrings and lower abs.
Yesterday though towards the end of the workout I was feeling alot of tightness in my adductors. I did a thorough cool down and stretched, but after driving home (about 15 mins) I found it really painful walking due to the soreness in my adductors (also thought it was in my hips at first). They are still sore today.
I’m not sure if it was because of the sand. It was low tide yesterday so the sand was a bit wet and I sank in alot more than the other times, which I guess put more strain on the adductors because they had to stabolise.
Does anyone else do sprints on the sand? for wat purpose?
I’d like to hear any comments on my workout.
Also would it be better to sprint along the beach so I’m not going from wet, very hard sand to dry sand?
Sprints on sand for Speed… You said that your running slightly at an incline running from shoreline to dunes, then running across (longways) would be contraindicated if you are running at a different incline for both of your feet (like walking on the slant of a driveway),
Unless you can find an level part of the beach u can run, then i would do just like your doing, up and down rather than across.
[quote]Ryan P. McCarter wrote:
There’s got to be a better place for you to sprint. Sand just has too much give.[/quote]
Yeah, I could sprint on the footy oval but its a bit boring, and its right in town so there is more people around.
I love being able to jump in the water and have a swim once I’ve done my cool down.
There was an article on here last week were they were running up the dunes, I was already doing it before the article but it encouraged me to keep doing them.
Would you say that its not good at all, or just not good for improving speed.
I’m doing it about once a week ATM
[quote]xivb4m wrote:
Sprints on sand for Speed… You said that your running slightly at an incline running from shoreline to dunes, then running across (longways) would be contraindicated if you are running at a different incline for both of your feet (like walking on the slant of a driveway),
Unless you can find an level part of the beach u can run, then i would do just like your doing, up and down rather than across.[/quote]
Thanks mate, I also run barefoot. does that make any difference?
Doyle, I am hearing you buddy. I play Aussie Rules so I have the same kind of issues as you.
I always felt sprints along a flat beach felt silly once you’ve built any speed up. Good for short accelaration but not top speed.
Going up sand hills feels better because you never get that much speed up and are working on your leg power the whole time.
I take an incredibly scientific approach and if I’m feeling a bit slow I make sure I focus more on some sprinting on the oval to get the mechanics right and get the top end speed up.
There’s a fucked up track in Adelaide called the ‘Snake Pit’ which is about a 300m track up down and around sand dunes which is a staple of lots of clubs preseasons. None of my coaches will listen to me that it’s not specific enough to football to plod around there ha ha.
Sprinting on sand might actually not be that bad for improving acceleration, but I’d be surprised if your top speed improved at all. It just forces you to muscle it too much. Of course, if you’re playing a team sport, top speed probably won’t matter that much.
[quote]Ryan P. McCarter wrote:
Sprinting on sand might actually not be that bad for improving acceleration, but I’d be surprised if your top speed improved at all. It just forces you to muscle it too much. Of course, if you’re playing a team sport, top speed probably won’t matter that much.[/quote]
Yeah I was focusing on improving my acceleration more so than top end speed, I’m quick enough once I get going, just slow of the mark.
Thanks mate
Doyle
[quote]AndyG wrote:
Doyle, I am hearing you buddy. I play Aussie Rules so I have the same kind of issues as you.
I always felt sprints along a flat beach felt silly once you’ve built any speed up. Good for short accelaration but not top speed.
Going up sand hills feels better because you never get that much speed up and are working on your leg power the whole time.
I take an incredibly scientific approach and if I’m feeling a bit slow I make sure I focus more on some sprinting on the oval to get the mechanics right and get the top end speed up.
There’s a fucked up track in Adelaide called the ‘Snake Pit’ which is about a 300m track up down and around sand dunes which is a staple of lots of clubs preseasons. None of my coaches will listen to me that it’s not specific enough to football to plod around there ha ha.
[/quote]
Thanks AndyG, did you ever get real sore adductors?
Yeah its stupid to do 300m of continual constain speed running when you would never do that in a game (definately not in Rugby).
Running in a straight line isn’t exactly specific either but at least the work/rest ratio is closer to real game.
I’m mostly doing it for acceleration, and to keep the cardio up.
When it gets closer to the season, I’ll mix it up a bit, sprint round some staggered cones to improve my agility, carry a footy while I sprint and do a jog recovery instead of a walking recovery.
Over the course of this summer I ran sprints in the deep sand twice a week. Even got my friend, a volleyball player to join me after a while. After doing a good dynamic warm-up with mobility work mixed in we would do max sprints ranging from 10 yds to 80 yards, walk back and recover. This is a great way to do a useful form of “cardio” as well as strengthening the stabilizers of the hip and especially the ankle. Acceleration sprints in the sand will definately work that drive and power needed in a contact sport like rugby.
I think some are mistaking your work here when you say “sprint”. If you were a track athlete and needed to work on your sprinting mechanics then yes there are better places to sprint. As an addition to your training, there are few things better than hitting it hard in the sand.
I would say do your stretching on the sand, sitting in your car and then stretching 15 minutes later it might as well be the next day, you’re already cold and tight by then.
[quote]lukepropst wrote:
Over the course of this summer I ran sprints in the deep sand twice a week. Even got my friend, a volleyball player to join me after a while. After doing a good dynamic warm-up with mobility work mixed in we would do max sprints ranging from 10 yds to 80 yards, walk back and recover. This is a great way to do a useful form of “cardio” as well as strengthening the stabilizers of the hip and especially the ankle. Acceleration sprints in the sand will definately work that drive and power needed in a contact sport like rugby.
I think some are mistaking your work here when you say “sprint”. If you were a track athlete and needed to work on your sprinting mechanics then yes there are better places to sprint. As an addition to your training, there are few things better than hitting it hard in the sand.
I would say do your stretching on the sand, sitting in your car and then stretching 15 minutes later it might as well be the next day, you’re already cold and tight by then.[/quote]
Thanks mate, Yeah I guess I should have made it more clear that I’m not working on sprinting technique or mechanics or anything.
I do my stetching on the sand, I just meant that I felt sore after I got home which is only 15 mins away. I normally don’t get sore untill the next day.
How long does your session got for?
Where you training for a sport or just for general fitness and body composition?
I’m no expert but I’d say you still need to spend time running on grass to get the mechanics right. That will probably come closer to the season when training with the team though. I’d break up the beach sprints with a few sessions on grass every few weeks to make sure your form doesn’t go to shit.
The thing that sucks about sprinting for me is not being sure whether you are improving or not. I might have to get someone to time some 100m or something. Would you be able to time anything shorter than that accurately?
[quote]AndyG wrote:
I’m no expert but I’d say you still need to spend time running on grass to get the mechanics right. That will probably come closer to the season when training with the team though. I’d break up the beach sprints with a few sessions on grass every few weeks to make sure your form doesn’t go to shit.
The thing that sucks about sprinting for me is not being sure whether you are improving or not. I might have to get someone to time some 100m or something. Would you be able to time anything shorter than that accurately?[/quote]
Yeah probably a good idea. I’ve been thinking of going to an athletics coach and getting them to tweak my running style too.
I guess it would depend on who is timing and wat equipment they are using. I know that rugby league players are often timed over 20m because it relates better to game performance, not sure how they do it though.
