Methods for increasing your speed (Part 1)

Institute of Sports Performance

By Taylor Tollison B.S. CSCS

Time after time athletes are increasing their 40 yard dash times by .2-.5 seconds. Wouldn't that be great to drop your speed by that much? Right now you're asking your self, how can I achieve such dramatic improvements in my speed? The answer is not an easy one. That is why this topic will be covered over a few different articles.

Every athlete has different weaknesses and strengths when it comes to sprinting. It is a matter of evaluating the athlete with a battery of tests to figure out what areas need to be improved upon. For our purposes, in this article and the next few articles, I will talking about general principles that must be present in order for your athletes to maximize their speed potential. The topics to be covered are:

1. Foundation of strength
2. speed strength
3. technique
4. power
5. speed building drills ( i.e. Resisted Runs, Assisted runs)

Foundation of strength

One of the main underlying problems of speed is lack of physical strength. As you examine the running pattern and how the muscles work to keep the body moving as quickly as possible you start to see the connection. Let me break down some of the important components of strength and how it relates to speed.

1. Quadriceps- When your foot comes through from the backside of the body and hits the ground under the center of gravity, one of the muscles that keeps your body from collapsing to the ground is the quadriceps. The stronger this muscle the quicker you will be able land and get off the ground again.
2. Hamstrings-This is one of the most important muscles for sprinting speed. Weak hamstrings are a problem area that girls frequently have. One of the main duties of the hamstring is to pull the foot under and behind the body to propel the body forward. A stronger hamstring could mean a stronger speed time.

I only pointed out two main muscles involved in sprinting. Strength and technique are two good places to start your speed program. You will want to start with body weight exercises first. It is vitally important as an athlete to be able to handle your own body wieght. Believe it or not you can get stronger by just doing exercises with your body weight. Here is a sample program you might want to consider before going to weights.

Week 1

Lunges 3 X 10

Push ups (on knees if not strong enough) 3 X 10

Two foot calf raises 3 X 10

Bicycles for core 3 X 15

Cobra (lay on stomach and lift only upper body up with hands behind head.) 3 X10

Crunches 3 X 15

Hamstring lifts on ball - while lying on your back put your feet up on a stability ball then lift your body up to where the body forms a straight line from the feet to the shoulders. 3 X 10

Hamstring curl on ball -same position as above. This time instead of lifting to only straighten your body, you will straighten the body then curls your legs back to the body while the feet are on the ball. Then push the feet back to the starting position. 3X10

Week 2

Lunges 3 X 12

Push ups (on knees if not strong enough) 3 X 12

Two foot calf raises 3 X 12

Bicycles for core 3 X 17

Cobra (lay on stomach and lift only upper body up with hands behind head.) 3 X12

Crunches 3 X 16

Hamstring lifts on ball - while lying on your back put your feet up on a stability ball then lift your body up to where the body forms a straight line from the feet to the shoulders. 3 X 12

Hamstring curl on ball -same position as above. This time instead of lifting to only straighten your body, you will straighten the body then curls your legs back to the body while the feet are on the ball. Then push the feet back to the starting position. 3X12

Week 3

Box step ups 3 X 12

Push ups (on knees if not strong enough) 3 X 14

Two foot calf raises 3 X 15

Bicycles for core 3 X 20

Cobra (lay on stomach and lift only upper body up with hands behind head.) 3 X14

Crunches 3 X 18

Hamstring lifts on ball - while lying on your back put your feet up on a stability ball then lift your body up to where the body forms a straight line from the feet to the shoulders. 3 X 14

Hamstring curl on ball -same position as above. This time instead of lifting to only straighten your body, you will straighten the body then curls your legs back to the body while the feet are on the ball. Then push the feet back to the starting position. 3X14

Week 4

Box step ups 3 X 12

Lunges 2 X 8

Push ups (on knees if not strong enough) 3 X 16

Two foot calf raises 3 X 17

Bicycles for core 3 X 22

Cobra (lay on stomach and lift only upper body up with hands behind head.) 3 X16

Crunches 3 X 20

Hamstring lifts on ball - while lying on your back put your feet up on a stability ball then lift your body up to where the body forms a straight line from the feet to the shoulders. 3 X 16

Hamstring curl on ball - same position as above. This time instead of lifting to only straighten your body, you will straighten the body then curls your legs back to the body while the feet are on the ball. Then push the feet back to the starting position. 3X16.

Week 5

If strong enough now, do one legged squats, don't do steps up if you do these

One legged squats -2 x 6

Box step ups 3 X 14 ( do this if still not strong enough)

Lunges 2 X 10

Push ups (on knees if not strong enough) 3 X 18

One foot calf raises 3 X 10

V- Ups for core 3 X 15

Superman (lay on stomach and lift upper body up and lower body with hands behind head.) 3 X15

Crunches 3 X 22

Hamstring lifts on ball One foot at a time - while lying on your back put one foot up on a stability ball then lift your body up to where the body forms a straight line from the feet to the shoulders. 3 X 10

Hamstring curl on ball One foot at a time - same position as above. This time instead of lifting to only straighten your body, you will straighten the body then curls your legs back to the body while the feet are on the ball. Then push the feet back to the starting position. 3X10.

Week 6

If strong enough now, do one legged squats, don't do step ups if you do these

One legged squats -2 x 10

Box step ups 3 X 15 (do this if still not strong enough)

Lunges 2 X 12

Push ups (on knees if not strong enough) 3 X 18

One foot calf raises 3 X 10

V- ups for core 3 X 15

Superman (lay on stomach and lift upper body up and lower body with hands behind head.) 3 X15

Crunches 3 X 22

Hamstring lifts on ball One foot at a time - while lying on your back put one foot up on a stability ball then lift your body up to where the body forms a straight line from the feet to the shoulders. 3 X 10

Hamstring curl on ball One foot at a time - same position as above. This time instead of lifting to only straighten your body, you will straighten the body then curls your legs back to the body while the feet are on the ball. Then push the feet back to the starting position. 3X10

The above program depends on the strength level of the athlete. As you athletes are doing the above program teach good technique. When technique stops then stop the exercise. Some athletes will struggle with the above program and some will not. Some will be able to do a one legged squat while others will not. If they are strong enough now then have them do a one legged squat right off the bat.

So observe the levels of your athletes and progress them according to how you see them doing the exercises.

Observe how easy an exercise is for your athletes. IF something is way to easy or too hard then change it up. If lunges are two hard then have them start with two legged body weight squats.

If you have any question please email me at training@iosp.net