This month's entry features the supine unilateral hip extension. A great way to strengthen the glutes and hamstrings to help improve sprint performance, this challenging drill also requires a lot of core strength and flexibility. Begin by lying on your back with your knees bent approximately 90 degrees and feet flat on the ground. Brace your core tightly, as you raise one leg up and hold it so your knee is in line with your hip and the foot is flexed. Next, raise the the toes and ball of the working leg off the ground to emphasize pushing with the glutes and hamstrings. Drive your heel into the ground as you lift your hips up until your body forms a diagonal line from your working knee to your shoulders. Pause for a second at the top before lowering back down. Repeat until you've done 8-10 reps and repeat to the other side.

Performance tips:

• Make sure to maintain a neutral spine posture (no excessive arching and no rounding the back) a you lift your hips off the ground. Excessively arching the back can signal weakness in the glutes and hamstrings and/or tight hip flexors. Only go up as high as you can withe a neutral spine and work on gradually improving strength and flexibility.
• Avoid "thrusting" your hips upwards. Keep the movement slow and controlled until you become proficient at it. There'll be plenty of time to add a speed component to the exercise down the road, once you've developed enough strength.
• Hold the non-working leg up high in a "sprint" position. This will help develop carryover to actual running performance as the mechanics of the hips are similar.