Running may look pretty straightforward on the surface: All you have to do is put one foot in front of the other. But when you break down each step and consider the amount of coordination running really requires, it’s not as simple as it seems… and that’s where form drills come in to ease the process.
“Drills improve running technique by breaking down the running gait cycle. It helps runners work on their form, coordination, and efficiency with each step,” says Anh Bui, Continue alternating for 15-20 seconds. As you start to get the form down, pick up the pace.  and sprinters perform form drills most often.
Whether you’re brand new to the sport or you’ve been pounding pavement for years, form drills can fit well in any and every warmup routine. In this complete guide to form drills, we spoke with expert run coaches to lay out the 15 best form drills to add to your training routine. Better form is just a hop, skip, and a jump away.
The Benefits of Form Drills for Runners
When you do form drills, you train your body to develop good running form, which allows you to develop more strength, prevent injury, Make no mistake: Even though you might see Eric Orton, run coach and author of Super Shoe Trends.
One of the ways this happens is through improving leg stiffness, or the elastic effect that allows you to act as a sort of spring with your legs compressing and rebounding more efficiently. Poor leg stiffness can slow you down, as it leads to more ground contact time, explains Orton, and less of that springiness.
Pamela Geisel, C.S.C.S., exercise physiologist at New York’s Hospital for Special Surgery and developer of RunFIT, a strength training and injury-prevention program for runners, adds that form drills improve leg turnover, cadence, knee drive, and promote stability and mobility. “Running is a plyometric-based activity, so getting comfortable with plyometrics is helpful, and running drills can also be good for that,” she says.
Geisel adds that you build single-leg strength with form drills, along with neuromuscular coordination and a better push-off phase of the gait cycle.
While improvement comes with experience, it’s also important to keep your personal form weaknesses in mind, Geisel says. For example, if you really struggle with the knee drive, start with high knees and butt kicks, then progress to A-skips and B-skips when you’re ready for more of a challenge. You’ll know it’s time to progress How to Dial in Your Running Form.
15 Drills to Enhance Running Form
Form drills should be done barefoot when possible, explains Orton. “Most of the strength runners need first and foremost is neuromuscular strength and stability, where the brain is firing and activating muscles, and this starts at the feet,” he explains.
Each expert agrees that runners should aim for two to three sets of each drill during their warmup routines. Feel free to choose a few of your favorite drills to start out.
1. High Knees
High knees promote knee drive, explains Geisel, which contributes to a quicker stride, improved speed, and better running economy.
Stand with feet shoulder-width apart.
Drive right knee up toward chest, as high as you can, while driving left arm forward. Lean forward slightly.
Immediately drive right foot back down.
Then, drive left knee up, as high as you can, while driving right arm forward.
Continue alternating as you move forward for 15-20 seconds.
2. A-Skip
Like high knees, A-skips promote knee drive and leg turnover, but they’re more exaggerated, says Geisel. There’s more foot contact with the ground, more power in each step, and a different rhythm.
Stand with feet shoulder-width apart.
Drive right knee up to hip height while driving left arm forward and right arm back, skipping forward.
Drive right knee back down and immediately drive left knee up, this time while driving right arm forward and left arm back. Keep body upright; don’t lean back.
Continue alternating for 15-20 seconds. As you start to get the form down, pick up the pace.
3. B-Skip
B-skips help with knee drive and maintaining a quicker ground contact time, explains Geisel. One of the biggest mistakes people make is overstriding—or reaching their foot too far in front of them upon landing, rather than providing force directly into the ground. This drill helps to fix that.
Stand with feet shoulder-width apart.
Drive right knee up to hip height while driving left arm forward and right arm back, skipping forward. When the knee reaches hip height, kick the foot forward and straighten the knee.
Re-bend the knee and drive foot back down.
Immediately repeat on the other side, driving left knee up and kicking out while right arm drives forward. Stay upright; don’t lean back.
Continue alternating for 15-20 seconds. As you start to get the form down, pick up the pace.
4. Butt Kicks
Butt kicks help promote leg turnover, Geisel notes, which leads to faster leg movements and a quicker stride rate and ultimately, a faster pace. They also activate the hamstrings.
Stand with feet shoulder-width apart.
Drive right heel up behind you toward right glute.
Step back down.
Repeat on the other side, driving the left heel up toward the left glute. Let arms swing naturally by sides, with elbows bent 90 degrees. Focus on landing lightly.
Continue alternating for 15-20 seconds. If you feel a pulling sensation in quads, or that muscle group otherwise feels really tight, don’t drive heels up as high.
5. C-Skip
This skip variation enhances knee drive, hip flexor strength, and overall running form, explains Geisel. It also opens up the hips for improved mobility.
Stand with feet shoulder-width apart.
Raise right knee up as you would in the A-skip.
Drive the foot back down.
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Drive the foot back down.
Repeat on the opposite leg.
Continue on alternating for 15-20 seconds.
6. Lateral Lunge
Lateral lunges improve running efficiency and stability by strengthening and stabilizing the hip abductor and adductors (inner and outer thighs), Geisel says. This also helps with better knee alignment.
Stand with feet shoulder-width apart.
Step left foot out about 3-4 feet, bending knee as you sink weight into right hip and push hips back like you’re sitting in a chair. Keep right leg straight and chest up. Clasp hands in front of chest.
When you’ve reached the limit of your mobility, push through left foot to stand up, bringing right foot in front of you and turning around to step right foot about 3-4 feet out to the side.
Repeat lunge on right side.
Continue alternating, moving laterally, for 15-20 seconds.
7. Carioca
Both Geisel and Orton agree that the carioca drill—a.k.a. grapevine—improves overall agility, speed, and coordination. It helps you practice being quick on your feet.
Stand with feet shoulder-width apart.
At a skipping pace, move laterally to the left, crossing the right foot first in front and then behind the left leg, driving right knee up when it reaches the front. Keep hips loose. Pick up speed when you feel comfortable.
Repeat for 15-20 seconds.
Then repeat in the opposite direction with the left foot leading.
8. Forward Lunge With Rotation
Repeat on left leg balance, Land softly on midfoot core muscles How to Pass People After Mile 20 of Your Marathon.
Stand with feet hip-width apart.
Step forward with left leg, bending both knees 90 degrees.
Bring arms up to shoulder height, crossing one on top of the other and as you hold the lunge, rotate torso to the left. Keep shoulders over hips, left knee over toes, and right knee hovering just above the floor.
Return to center.
Then step right foot forward into a lunge.
Repeat rotation on right side.
Continue alternating as you walk forward for 15-20 seconds.
9. Step-Up
Step-ups are key for improving knee drive and the push-off phase of your gait cycle, Geisel explains. In this drill, you’re targeting the glutes, hamstrings, and quads, which are crucial for generating force off the ground.
With left foot on top of a box (or bench) and right foot on the ground, step up onto the box by driving weight through the left foot, keeping the knee over shoelaces, and body traveling directly upward.
Drive right knee up at the top of the movement, then lower back to the ground with control, keeping the left foot on the box.
Repeat for 15-20 seconds.
Then switch sides.
10. Banded Knee Drive
An easy way to start honing your knee drive is to add some resistance with a mini band. This move also improves hip and core strength, How to Dial in Your Running Form.
Loop a resistance band around arches of both feet and stand with feet hip-width apart and arms at sides.
Without leaning to the side or bending at waist, drive left knee up to hip level while swinging right arm forward, elbow bent 90 degrees.
Drive left knee back down and right arm back.
Repeat on opposite side.
Continue alternating for 15-20 seconds.
11. Running in Place
run coach and author of cadence, and helps you gain an understanding of how and when to strike the ground with your midfoot, Orton explains.
Stand with feet shoulder-width apart.
Begin running in place, focusing on knee drive and swinging arms from lips to hips.
Pause every 5-7 steps, hold running stance on one leg, with an exaggerated knee drive and arm swing. Stay as balanced as possible.
Repeat for 30 seconds.
12. Running Logs
This exercise promotes a quick cadence by controlling the distance you step per stride and helps you avoid overstriding, Orton says. He adds the goal is to maintain a consistent cadence with every step.
Find a staircase or set up flags, bands, or an agility ladder with markers 2 feet apart.
Drive left knee back down and right arm back. .
Repeat for 15-20 seconds.
13. Skipping for Height
Learning to skip powerfully improves range of motion, promotes force production, and helps coordinate movement of the arms and legs together, says Orton, which many runners struggle to do. He explains that by skipping for height, you’re practicing force production into the ground that distance runners often neglect in the rest of their training.
Stand with feet shoulder-width apart.
Skip forward by exploding off left foot and driving right knee up. As right knee drives up, drive left arm forward, elbow bent 90 degrees, hand raising to chin height.
Leg Turnover is Key to Faster Running.
Move directly into a skip on the opposite leg, driving left knee up toward the sky, with right arm bent, hand raising to chin-height.
Continue alternating for 15-20 seconds.
14. Sticky Hops
This drill improves single-leg power, which helps drive your push-off. Also, “when we land as a runner and take off, the landing phase requires leg stiffness, and this is training your ability to land and get off your leg as quickly as possible,” says Orton.
It helps runners work on their form, coordination, and efficiency with each step,” says.
Hop forward, staying on the right leg, keeping the left leg slightly bent and resting. Use arms to drive forward.
Briefly pause when you land for about 1 second.
Then continue hopping forward for 15-20 seconds.
Repeat on left leg.
15. Heel Raise + Leg Lift
“Not a lot of runners train their feet, which is their lifeline,” says Orton. By focusing on big toe stabilization and balancing on your forefoot, you’re activating the arches of your foot, as well as the calf muscles, and working on stabilization throughout your knee and up through your hip, he explains.
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Lift left heel an inch or two off the floor and put all weight into the midfoot. Place hands on hips. This is the starting position.
Raise right leg out to the side, keeping just a soft bend in both knees. Stay as steady as possible, moving with control.
Lower right leg back down to meet left to return to starting position.
Repeat for 10-15 reps.
Then switch sides.
When and How Runners Should Do Form Drills
Make no mistake: Even though you might see track athletes and sprinters perform form drills most often, distance runners also need to do them to fulfill the speed and agility their high mileage weeks often miss.
That being said, form drills are meant to meet you where you’re at, so how and when you incorporate them into your routine will look different for every runner.
While beginners need form drills, they should first start building a solid aerobic base, strength training, and using hill workouts and strides to unlock good form. Once you’ve checked off those basics, start incorporating simpler drills like high knees, butt kicks, and lunges into your warmups two to three times a week, especially before speed workouts.
For more experienced runners, adding more form drills to your warmups like the A-, B-, and C-skips, and lunge variations, or simply going barefoot during form drills, boosts performance at any point in your running journey. “New drills can really help as we age to maintain or even improve elastic energy and build strong, resilient tendons and ligaments,” says Orton. “Most veteran runners get stuck doing the same things, so anytime we can add a challenge for the brain and body, it will respond.”
Kristine Kearns, a writer and avid runner, joined Runner’s World and Bicycling in July 2024. She previously coached high school girls cross country and currently competes in seasonal races, with more than six years of distance training and an affinity for weightlifting. You can find her wearing purple, baking cupcakes, and visiting her local farmers market.
