improveing my time in the 100m dash

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hello folks.

I would like to know how I can improve my time in the 100m dash. What type of running or weght lifting exercises can I take to improve my time? My fastest is an 11.7 that I did in high school and I would like to get down to a 11.5. Does any body have any good suggestions? I'm a little older now, I'm not a kid anymore I'm 23, thank you.

i don't really have sprinting experience but i know a good amount about training in general so i'll see what i can do.

weight lifting: high weight, low rep sets. these train your body to recruit more muscle fibres with every rep. you'd be doing a weight that would only allow you to do 1-3reps, you wouldn't be building new muscle (or very little new muscle) but you should see an improvement in your weight for that rep range. these wouldn't be your main focus, they're slow movements but they train your fast twitch muscles. cleans are a very good exercise for sprinters. you have to lift a weight from the ground to your shoulders (the first part of the clean & jerk), and you have to do it very explosively. this'll train those fast twitch muscles again. jump squats are another good one.

as for running exercises, i'd say tonnes of sprinting exercises would be the obvious choice but i don't know any specifics. you don't really want to train much other than your fast twitch muscles since you don't use them in the dash, so don't go for long runs because that will be counter productive.

thank you beef burrito. Anyone else have any suggestions?

anyone?

cross train through the following for example:

starts (get to your max speed as fast as you can, then motor down for the next rep)
40 yrd dash
100 m
200 m
400 m

Do ladder drills as they would really help with the leg strength that you need do to the starting and stopping. Make sure to spend as much time as possible at top speed. Also, chop your feet and hands as though beating drums when slowing for a faster and more stable slowdown.

5 - 10 - 15 yrds
box drills

Do form running as your warm-up every time you practice (~ 10 yrds each way unless otherwise mentioned):
(not all of these in one day) arm movement is important in all of these

- High knees (run almost in place bringing your knees as high as they go, as quickly as you can) [run type drill]
- Butt kickers (keeping your upper legs as still as possible (your knees and thighs should never be in front of your body) bring your heels to you gluts as fast as you can) [run type drill]
- tapioka (aka. grape vines - face perpendicular to your track with feet shoulder width apart. You really want to move your hips on this one. Now run sideways up the field by crossing your back foot alternatively in front and in back of your front foot. Your shoulders should remain square to the side of the field. Go as fast as you can and do it on a grass field until you get the hang of it in case you trip yourself.) [sideways run]
- karioka (like the above except you focus not on speed but on how much distance you cover in each step. Get low and over exaggerate each movement. this is to be done slowly.) [sideways run]
- cherry pickers (skipping, but you try to skip as high as you can) [skipping/ jumping]
- skipping (skipping as fast and long as you can) [skipping]
- bounders (one legged jumps, jump with the left leg while bringing the right knee high into the air. Switch knee positions just as you reach maximal height so that you land on the right leg with your left foot never touching. repeat on the right side.) [jumping]
- lunges

Also, do plyometrics. Find a good workout online and do it twice a week or so. A good workout is an hour long of almost constant movement, or as much of that as you can stand. It should combine maximal bounding with endurance bounding (you'll see, oh yes, you will see <he he he> ).

There are other opinions on the subject, but this one is mine.

Oh yah, be sure that you eat well enough to have energy after such a workout.

does anybody know what I should eat before I do my sprniting exercises and also would going for long walks hurt my fast twitch muscles, please respond. Thanks

well any long aerobic exercise will, to some degree, affect your fast twitch muscles. unless you're training to be a competitive athlete, i don't think it'll hurt enough to worry about it. i don't think olympic sprinters go for long jogs but your average high school sprinter usually does and i'm sure a lot of them are under 11.5s