If you've trained with us before you'll know that we use skipping as part of our warm-up. And if you've had a background in track and field you're probably familiar with skipping drills as well. But for some skipping drills may seem strange. And sometimes our athletes give us strange looks when we demo and then expect them to perform skipping drills. So why do we skip? Well for a number of reasons.
First of all I like skip drills because they help restore the normal functioning of human movement. When we walk it should be bilaterally opposed meaning that the opposite arm swings with the opposite leg. There is a purpose to moving in this way as it allows to efficiently accept the load of the body as we make contact with the group and then unload as we step off. The energy of this process is utilized more effectively when we move in this way. Skipping helps us to ingrain this proper movement pattern before we progress to jogging, running and eventually to sprinting.
Skip drills are also good because they allow to get everything in alignment. Our foot contacts the ground properly. Our knee drive is to parallel with the ground. The chest is up and the head is tall. The free leg, the one not on the ground, can act as a zipper on the planted leg and prevent us from over-striding. Lastly, as we stand tall it is difficult to bend forward at the waist.
Another reason skip drills work well is because they can be done to a cadence. If you ever have the chance to go a track meet arrive early and watch the athletes, specifically the sprinters, warm up. The skip drills have a nice, even and balanced cadence to them. You can close your eyes and visualize the efficiency and smoothness of the motion. It's almost like a dance step. When someone is having trouble learning a skip movement I might clap or call out the tempo of the steps so the individual can get this timing down.
But the biggest reason I like doing skip drills is that it encourages the athlete to land on the ball of their foot. It's almost impossible to perform a skip drill properly if not landing on the ball of the foot. For some this may sound foreign to what they been told. You'll hear that we should run 'heel-toe' and this is even 'coached' in some running clinics. I use coached in parentheses because I don't believe that is the best way to run well, to run efficiently, to run pain free or to sprint. By getting on the ball of the foot, dorsiflexing (toes to shins) and landing with the foot under or behind the center of gravity you'll be way ahead of the game in your running performance.
If you would like to learn more about how to incorporate skipping in to your warm-ups come on out and try one of our weekend workouts. The first one is always on us.
Chris
okanaganpeakperformance.com 'always moving forward'
250.212.2972
Why do You Use Skipping in Your Warm-Ups?
