How to become a better athlete: plug the power leaks.

Force that goes somewhere other than where you want it. When the planted foot turns out, part of the push goes sideways instead of straight back. When the knee caves, some of it twists through the joint. When the pelvis tips, the glutes can't add their share.

Each leak is small. Over thousands of strides a match, it adds up to a step lost on the sprint, a jump that's a few centimetres short, and a body that's sore on Monday. The first leak is in the feet: see duck feet.

Talent covers a lot. Gifted players hide a leak for years, then pay the recovery tax: the knee that needs ice after every game, the hamstring that goes every pre-season. Sprinters show the receipt. At top speed there's nowhere to hide a leak, and the fastest ones are usually the most organised.

If your knees are the part that sends the bill, read knee pain when running.

When the feet point forward and the arch works, every stride winds the body like a spring: from the arch, up through the knee, through the opposite glute and across the trunk to the opposite shoulder. Wind, store, unwind. That's free power.

It needs all three fixes. Feet forward to start it, a stacked pelvis with working glutes to carry it, and open shoulders to finish it. Sleepy glutes break it in the middle: see glutes switched off from sitting.

Six benchmarks, from good to elite:

• Good: the Big Toe Test and a deep squat.
• Great: kneeling on the feet and a pistol squat.
• Elite: the splits and barefoot distance.

The splits take strength at full length. That's the mark of an elite athlete. The daily work that gets you there is in how to move better.