- Right, since we are in Kona I thought I'd enlist the help
of my good buddy, David McNamee.
He has, of course, been the fastest runner
here on the island at a time, which year was that?
- 2015, my first year.
- There you go, so we thought it would be a really good idea
to ask David to share his favorite run drills.
(Slow electronic music)
- Right then David, what is going to be drill number one?
- So drill number one, we're going to focus on glutes
and we're going to start very simply with, sort of,
a walking, slow high knee.
- Okay, do you want to take me through it?
- So, it's very simple, we just go up, down
trying to feel the activation in the glutes.
- [Presenter] Opposite arm, opposite leg just like running?
- [David] Opposite, just like running
and then we, sort of, simple progression
just to make sure we use the glutes
and not cheat by using the back,
is the exact same but with the hands above the head.
- [Presenter] Okay
- [David] And that just forces you to use the glute,
rather than cheating
- And just go through this for five, 10 how many?
- Usually do 10 steps and then just walk back.
(Slow electronic music)
- Right then David what's number two?
- So drill two, we're going to look at the glutes again
but also thoracic rotation
- Right - 'Cause obviously in running,
to be economical you want the thoracic to be moving freely.
- [Presenter] So what are we going to do
that differs from the previous one?
- So now we'll do the similar with the legs
apart from you're going to rotate the chest.
So, very simple
- Opposite knee to opposite
- Opposite knee, opposite elbow
- Right - And just walk forward
(Slow electronic music)
- Okay, so that's two so far on glute stability,
what's our third drill David?
- So the third one is, it's a difficult one.
It's glutes again but it's also the pelvis.
- Talk me through it.
- So we raise one knee and then you want to rotate it out
rotate it back and then down
and it's very much about stability and control
and yeah this
- [Presenter] Testing me here
- [David] This is not an easy one
- So this is all about pelvic strength?
- Yeah, pelvic strength, stability, just to try
and strengthen you up to avoid
your knee collapsing.
- [Presenter] Should we be thinking about keeping our (oof)
our chest all on one plane?
- [David] Yeah so you want,
sort of the movement really to come from
the glute.
- Really focus on moving the leg out, rather than letting
the body follow it?
- Yeah
- I really feel it in the opposite glute.
(Slow electronic music)
- Okay David, so we've gone through those three so far
but what is our fourth run drill, please?
- Fourth one, we're going to mix it up a little bit
and we're going to go for some activation now. (clicking)
So we're going to start with the hamstrings.
So, very simple, you want to keep the legs straight
but to go and to really feel the hamstrings just (clicking)
(Slow electronic music)
- Right Dave, so that looks a little bit tricky,
talk to me about what I need to think about
when I'm doing it.
- So this is all about feeling the hamstrings activate
and, sort of, to work on,
well when your hamstrings need to activate
when you're running.
So the key is to keep your leg straight
and you really want the drive to come from the hamstrings.
- [Presenter] And quite low contact, quick contact?
- [David] You want it to be quick,
it will take a while to sort of progress
but you want it to be quick
but you also want to be going with loose shoulders.
- [Presenter] So quite good arm carriage to go with it?
- A lot of people tense up and they'll go like this
but you want to stay loose and very much
(Slow electronic music)
- Right Dave, that was quite demanding four drills
but what is going to be the fifth one you've got for me?
- So the fifth one is probably the most demanding
but it's the one that will set you up into running
so usually I end this drill by going into a 20 meter stride.
- Okay
- So it's going to be high knees, which most people know.
So, it's very much just high knees but fast for 10
and then we go into butt kicks.
- [Presenter] So 10 sets of high knees
into 10 sets of butt kicks?
- Yeah, butt kicks is very much just the opposite
and you just want
- And is that still carrying our arms,
not putting our arms down?
- Always like running, so it's very much 10 high knees,
10 butt kicks and then our stride.
- [Presenter] Great, let's have a look at it.
(Slow electronic music)
- Right Dave, thanks for taking me through those five drills
but when might we want to do them
and are they stand alone sessions
or do you put them into your own training?
Or, you know, talk to me about your idea of when to do them.
- Very much I incorporate
into the run sessions as it is 'cause
- So nice and easy runs or long runs or both?
- A mixture so for me during race season,
once a week I do a very high intensity run session
and for that I want to make sure everything is activated
and good to go.
- [Presenter] So you'd spend a little bit of time
after you've warmed up
to do all these drills before the main set.
- So generally I'd do a 15 minute run warm up,
do some run drills, just like we've just done,
do some strides and then I hit the hard session
and it's very much making sure everything's switched on,
everything's activated for you to perform.
- So, would you just do them for
that one hard run session a week
or maybe even a couple of times?
- For me, I like to do them twice a week
and the second time I generally do it
during one of my longer runs.
- Okay
- And say, for example, I doing a 25 kilometer steady run
- Yep
- Maybe after 15 kilometers, I'll stop.
- Oh and spend five, 10 minutes to do some drills?
- Five, 10 minutes just making sure
that everything's activated 'cause I think a lot of the time
when we get tired, especially in training,
maybe we've got a lot going on,
our technique just falls apart.
- So it's just like a little switch to remind yourself
to get back into good run form for the rest of the run.
- And it's amazing how just spending five minutes will,
the last 10 kilometers of that run you'll be
a lot more efficient.
- Well you guys heard it from the man himself
so maybe you should think about giving those tips a try
and definitely look at doing those drills too.
Please let us know in the comments below
what you think of them.
Hopefully you've enjoyed this video
so hit that thumb up like button,
find the globe somewhere on screen
to get all the other videos that we've done on GTN
and if you want to see another video about run drills,
well you can find that one down here.
- And if you want to see the day I had
at the velodrome doing some aerodynamic testing, click here.