The 40-Yard Dash is a staple of football testing.

From the NFL Combine all the way down to youth football, the event is used to gauge a player’s raw speed. A lightning-fast 40-Yard Dash will help any player stand out from the crowd and increase their recruiting status.

A lot of people say you can’t train speed. Well, I am here to tell you they are flat-out wrong! Although there are a ton of factors that go into clocking an impressive 40-Yard Dash, one simple drill can help many beginners shed significant time off their result in a hurry.

This drill focuses on the first 10 yards of the sprint, which are undoubtedly the most important portion of the entire dash. Those first 10 yards may make up just one quarter of the total distance you’ll cover in your sprint, but they have a massive impact on your overall time. Being able to accelerate efficiently and get up to top speed quickly is essential to a good showing in the 40-Yard Dash.

With that in mind, here’s a simple-yet-effective drill that will help you increase your explosiveness off the line. Although many other factors can also help you improve your 40-Yard Dash, if you’re looking to clock better times in the near future, this drill will do the trick.

Scramble-Ups for a Faster 40 Start

• Lie flat on the ground.
• Push yourself off the ground as you drive your feet into the turf to propel yourself forward. Focus on powerful drive steps that propel you forward as opposed to quick choppy steps
• Sprint through 10 yards

Do 3 sets of 8 reps and use a different starting foot each time. Let’s train both legs to be explosive off the ground. Lying on the ground allows for no movement prior to the start and trains you to go from 0 to 60 within a split second. The focus should be on remaining low as you explode off the ground and into your sprint and having a high knee drive and rigid core to really maximize your ground force.

Photo Credit: SondraP/iStock

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