The sling is very similar to the front raise, but is geared to stimulate athletic response in terms of muscle interconnectedness with athletic activities.

1. Stand with a split stance like you are walking/running with a dumbbell in each hand.

2. Raise the arm with the following leg straight up and stiff, but with dumbbell vertical as shown below.

3. Lower the dumbbell and raise again.

4. Repeat all repetitions on one side, switch your stance then, repeat repetitions on other side. You have completed the set.

Beginning position

Ending position

This is a great warmup exercise prior to speed sprinting.

1. Mark out a 20-yard distance. Begin at one end of the distance in an upright position.

2. Step forward onto your right leg for the first bound. Take as large a step as you can, actually, you’re trying to go as fast as you can in a controlled rhythm. As the leg touches the ground, you should be a little stiff legged. Use the momentum of the leg striking the ground to propel you to the next step, i.e., the opposite foot hitting the ground. Use your hands and arms to help with your balance.

3. The set is complete when you have reached your 20-yard marker.

Notes: Alternately you can do the bound on a track in a zig-zag fashion. Do it between a runners lane with each foot hitting the line on either side of the lane. This will force you into a zig-zag type bound because of lane width.

This is a great warmup or warmdown exercise. They are particularly good for warming up before speed sprinting. And, they are much like the skips or skipping you did as a child, only greatly exaggerated. When skipping, envision you are running a sprint because that is the position of the arms and knees/legs.

1. Mark out a 20-yard distance. Begin at one end of the distance in an upright position.

2. Step forward onto your right leg for the first skip. As the leg touches the ground it will hit first and then with your knee flexed it will skip for the second hit. At this point, your right hand is in front of you, hand in air and upper part of arm from elbow to shoulder approximately level with the ground. The left hand is cocked at the hip and the left knee should be striking your chest lightly. This is how high you want to get the knees on each skip.

3. Continue forward onto your left leg. As it hits and skips the left arm is up near the face in front of you, biceps horizontal to the ground and the right hand is cocked at the hip while the right knee is as high as you can get it toward the chest.

4. The set is complete when you have reached your 20-yard marker.

Hops can be done on one or two legs and are generally done for warmups prior to beginning exercise programs; they are also used by athletes as warmdowns to prevent detraining of speed after a workout. The goal of a hop is to warm the joints. Also, you can jump low or high, but your want to keep you knees fairly straight in a not-quite locked position.

1. Begin to making of a distance of about 10 yards. Start at the first marker.

2. Hop on your left leg, raising your right leg so it doesn’t touch the ground. Use your arms to help balance yourself as you hop sideways, clearing the ground with your hopping foot 3-4 inches on each hop. Hop to the 10-yard marker.

3. Once at the 10-yard marker, change legs and hop sideways back to the beginning marker on the right foot.

4. Repeat for a total of 3 sets.

Notes: An alternate movement is to hop on both feet, facing forward, much like a mini-broad jump. Extend your distance to 20 yards as you begin at one marker and go to the 20-yard marker. Jump forward about 3-4 feet each jump, landing on the balls of your feet. One pass of distance, i.e., 20 yards in this case, is 1 repetition.

1. Begin by standing straight, knees slightly flexed, feet approximately shoulder width apart – width varies dependent on your height; the taller you are, the wider the stance.

2. Squat down maintaining erect shoulders facing forward. Keep your weight in your heels with your feet pointed slightly outward. As you squat, your knees will track with your feet, i.e., knees will point in same direction as feet.

3. At the bottom of the squat your eyes will be straight forward, weight in heels (do not let heels come off floor), and your hip crease will be just below the top of the knee. You can either put your hands to your shoulders, cross your arms, or extend your arms during the squat. If you extend your arms, the arms will track the same direction as the thighs so that at full squat your arms are level with the floor/thighs.

4. Stand and get ready for next repetition.