Acceleration Training Tip #4: Forward Lean

Acceleration Training Tip #4: Forward Lean

You've got your foot contact, your ankle position, and your quad drive working together — but none of it matters if you're pushing your force in the wrong direction. This tip is about one of the most fundamental concepts in acceleration mechanics: where your force goes determines where you go.

During the acceleration phase, you want to maintain a deliberate forward lean from your ankles — not a bend at the waist, but a full body inclination angled into your direction of movement. This lean isn't just for show. It directly dictates the angle at which you apply force into the ground.

Here's the simplest way to think about it: push straight down and you pop straight up. Your energy goes vertical, you bounce, and you go nowhere fast. But when you're leaning forward and driving the ground back and down, your force is redirected horizontally — propelling you forward with every single stride.

Think of it like a rocket. The direction of the thrust determines the direction of travel. Tilt that thrust backward and you launch forward. Many athletes make the mistake of standing too upright too early in their acceleration, essentially fighting against their own mechanics and killing the momentum they worked so hard to build.

The forward lean also works in harmony with everything we've covered so far — it keeps your foot striking in the right spot, reinforces aggressive quad drive, and ensures every ounce of effort you put in is translated into forward progress.

The result? Optimized force direction that gets you moving faster and further with each stride, turning raw power into real acceleration.

Nail this alongside foot contact, dorsiflexion, and quad drive, and your acceleration phase becomes a well-oiled machine.

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