Let’s talk speed training workouts and how to get super fast at any sport you’re playing.
Want to turn those legs into lightning bolts?
Speed training is all about improving how quickly you can move, and it’s not just for pro athletes.
Whether you’re a weekend warrior or a serious competitor, speed training can take your performance to the next level.
So, let’s lace up and get started!
What is Speed Training?
Speed training is the art and science of making your body move faster and more efficiently.
But it’s not just about running at top speed.
It’s a comprehensive approach that involves quick bursts of energy, activation of fast-twitch muscle fibers, and fine-tuning your neuromuscular coordination.
Let’s break it down:
Speed training revolves around high-intensity efforts over short periods.
These quick bursts of energy help condition your body to handle high-speed demands, whether it’s for sprinting down a track, evading an opponent on the field, or powering through a challenging workout.
Your muscles contain different types of fibers, primarily slow-twitch (endurance) and fast-twitch (speed and power).
Speed training focuses on activating and strengthening those fast-twitch fibers, which are crucial for explosive movements.
The more you train these fibers, the more powerful and quick your movements become.
Speed isn’t just about muscle strength. It’s about how well your brain and muscles communicate.
Speed training enhances this communication, improving your reaction times and the efficiency of your movements.
This coordination ensures that your body can perform rapid, precise movements, which are essential in many sports and activities.
Types of Speed Training
- Sprints: These involve running short distances at maximum speed.
Sprints train your body to generate power quickly and maintain it over a short distance.
They are the cornerstone of many speed training programs.
- Agility Drills: These exercises improve your ability to change direction quickly and efficiently.
Cone drills, ladder drills, and shuttle runs fall into this category.
Agility drills not only boost speed but also enhance balance and coordination.
- Plyometrics: These explosive movements, like jump squats, box jumps, and bounding, develop power and speed.
Plyometrics work by rapidly stretching and contracting muscles, which builds explosive strength and enhances your ability to perform quick, powerful movements.
The Science Behind Speed Training
Speed training is rooted in several physiological principles:
Speed training primarily taps into your anaerobic energy systems, which provide quick bursts of energy without relying on oxygen.
This is different from aerobic energy systems, which fuel longer, steady-state activities.
By focusing on fast-twitch muscle fibers, speed training helps in muscle hypertrophy (growth) and recruitment (activation).
The more you train these fibers, the more they grow and the better they function.
Training at high speeds enhances your brain’s ability to control your muscles more efficiently.
This neuroplasticity means your brain gets better at sending quick, precise signals to your muscles, reducing reaction times and improving movement accuracy.
In essence, speed training is a multifaceted approach that combines physical conditioning, neuromuscular training, and specific exercises to make you faster and more agile.
It’s a powerful tool for athletes looking to enhance their performance and for anyone wanting to boost their fitness levels.
By incorporating different types of speed training into your routine, you can develop a well-rounded, explosive, and fast athletic profile.
How Can Speed Training Help?
Speed training isn’t just for elite athletes!
It offers a wide range of benefits that can enhance overall fitness and performance for anyone. Here’s how speed training can make a difference:
Physical Benefits
- Improved Cardiovascular Health
Speed training, especially high-intensity interval training (HIIT), challenges your cardiovascular system by rapidly increasing your heart rate.
This kind of exercise improves heart function, increases lung capacity, and enhances overall cardiovascular endurance.
Over time, regular speed training can lower resting heart rate and improve the efficiency of the cardiovascular system.
- Enhanced Muscle Strength and Endurance
Speed workouts target fast-twitch muscle fibers, which are responsible for short, explosive movements.
By strengthening these fibers, you not only improve your ability to sprint and perform quick movements but also increase overall muscle strength and endurance.
This is beneficial for a variety of sports and everyday activities that require bursts of power.
- Better Coordination and Agility
Speed training drills, such as agility ladder exercises and cone drills, improve neuromuscular coordination and agility.
These exercises require precise and rapid changes in direction, helping to enhance your body’s ability to respond quickly and accurately to stimuli.
This improved coordination and agility are crucial for sports that demand quick reflexes and sharp movements.
- Increased Metabolism and Fat Loss
High-intensity speed training boosts your metabolism, both during and after workouts.
This increased metabolic rate helps you burn more calories, even when you’re at rest.
Additionally, speed training promotes the reduction of body fat while preserving lean muscle mass, making it an effective tool for weight management and fat loss.
Psychological Benefits
- Increased Confidence
Successfully completing speed training workouts and seeing improvements in performance can significantly boost your confidence.
This increased self-assurance can transfer to other areas of your life, providing a sense of accomplishment and empowerment.
- Improved Mental Toughness
Speed training is mentally demanding, as it requires pushing through fatigue and maintaining focus during high-intensity efforts.
This mental challenge helps build resilience and mental toughness, which can be beneficial in both athletic and non-athletic pursuits.
Learning to push past perceived limits enhances your ability to handle stress and overcome obstacles.
- Enhanced Focus and Concentration
The rapid, precise movements involved in speed training require intense focus and concentration.
Regular practice of these drills can improve your overall ability to concentrate and maintain mental clarity during complex tasks.
Social and Lifestyle Benefits
- Better Performance in Sports
Speed training directly translates to improved performance in various sports.
For example, in football, quick sprints and agility drills can help you evade opponents and make swift plays.
In basketball, enhanced speed and agility contribute to faster breaks and better defensive maneuvers.
Speed training provides a competitive edge in any sport that requires rapid movements and quick decision-making.
- More Efficient Workouts
Speed training is time-efficient, providing significant fitness benefits in shorter workout sessions.
This efficiency makes it easier to fit high-quality workouts into a busy schedule, ensuring that you can achieve your fitness goals without spending hours at the gym.
- Enhanced Overall Fitness
Incorporating speed training into your routine can lead to comprehensive fitness improvements, including better endurance, strength, agility, and metabolic health.
This holistic enhancement makes daily activities easier and more enjoyable, from climbing stairs to playing with your kids.
Speed training offers a wealth of benefits that extend beyond the track or field.
By incorporating speed workouts into your fitness routine, you can achieve significant improvements in physical health, mental resilience, and overall quality of life.
Whether you’re an athlete aiming to enhance your performance or someone looking to boost your fitness levels, speed training is a powerful tool that delivers results.
What Sports is Speed Training Good For?
Speed training is a crucial component in many sports, providing athletes with the quickness and agility needed to excel.
Here’s a closer look at how speed training benefits some of the most popular sports:
- Football
In football, speed training is essential for both offensive and defensive players.
Dodge Opponents: Swift changes in direction and rapid acceleration help evade tackles and navigate through defensive lines.
Make Quick Plays: Speed training allows players to reach top speed quickly, essential for executing fast plays and catching passes.
Improve Defensive Coverage: Defensive players need speed to close gaps, cover receivers, and make timely tackles.
- Soccer
Speed and stamina are critical in soccer due to the continuous nature of the game.
Speed training helps players:
Maintain High Intensity: Speed endurance is crucial for sustaining high-intensity efforts throughout the match.
Outpace Opponents: Quick bursts of speed are needed to beat defenders, make runs, and create scoring opportunities.
Enhance Agility: Agility drills improve players’ ability to change direction swiftly, essential for dribbling and defending.
- Basketball
In basketball, speed and agility are paramount for both offensive and defensive maneuvers.
Speed training benefits players by:
Executing Fast Breaks: Quick sprints up the court create scoring opportunities before the defense sets up.
Enhancing Defensive Plays: Agility and speed are critical for staying with opponents, blocking shots, and stealing the ball.
Improving Reaction Times: Speed training enhances players’ ability to react quickly to the dynamic flow of the game.
- Track and Field
For sprinters and middle-distance runners, speed training is the cornerstone of their training regimen.
It helps athletes:
Boost Explosive Speed: Short, high-intensity sprints develop the power and speed necessary for fast starts and finishes.
Enhance Speed Endurance: Interval training improves the ability to sustain high speeds over longer distances.
Refine Technique: Speed training includes drills that optimize running form, stride length, and frequency.
- Rugby
Rugby players rely on speed for both offensive and defensive purposes.
Speed training provides benefits such as:
Quick Offensive Runs: Speed allows players to break through defensive lines and cover large distances quickly.
Effective Defensive Positioning: Speed and agility are crucial for tackling opponents and preventing tries.
Improved Stamina: Speed endurance helps players maintain performance levels throughout the physically demanding matches.
By integrating speed training into their routines, athletes across these sports can achieve significant improvements in performance, giving them the competitive edge needed to excel in their respective fields.
Full Week Speed Training Workout Plan
*This is just an example, not a prescription. Before beginning any exercise program or changing your physical activity patterns, you should consult with your doctor or physician, particularly if you have been inactive, are very overweight, or have or suspect any sort of medical condition that might be worsened by exercise.*
Moving on, here’s a comprehensive speed training workout plan designed to enhance your speed, agility, and overall fitness.
The sessions are structured to provide a balanced mix of sprints, plyometrics, interval training, agility drills, and recovery.
Day 1: Sprints and Plyometrics
Duration: 60 minutes
Session:
Warm-up (10 minutes): Dynamic stretches (leg swings, high knees, butt kicks)
Sprints (30 minutes): 6 x 100m sprints with 2-minute rest between each
4 x 50m sprints with 1-minute rest between each
Plyometrics (15 minutes):
3 sets of 10 box jumps
then 3 sets of 10 squat jumps
3 sets of 10 bounding exercises
Cool-down (5 minutes): Light jogging followed by static stretching
Day 2: Interval Training and Agility Drills
Duration: 45 minutes
Session:
Warm-up (10 minutes): Dynamic stretches and light jogging
Interval Training (20 minutes): 5 x 400m sprints with 1:30 minutes walking rest between each
5 x 200m sprints with 1-minute walking rest between each
Agility Drills (10 minutes):
3 sets of ladder drills (forward, lateral, in-and-out)
3 sets of cone drills (5-10-5 drill, T-drill)
Cool-down (5 minutes): Light jogging followed by static stretching
Day 3: Hill Sprints
Duration: 40 minutes
Session:
Warm-up (10 minutes): Dynamic stretches and light jogging
Hill Sprints (25 minutes): 10 x 15-second hill sprints with walk back down to rest
5 x 30-second hill sprints with walk back down to rest
Cool-down (5 minutes): Light jogging followed by static stretching
Day 4: Recovery and Mobility
Duration: 30 minutes
Session:
Recovery Jog (10 minutes): Easy pace jog
Mobility Exercises (20 minutes): Foam rolling for 10 minutes (focus on legs and back)
Static stretching for 10 minutes (hamstrings, quadriceps, calves, hip flexors)
Day 5: Plyometrics and Agility Drills
Duration: 45 minutes
Session:
Warm-up (10 minutes): Dynamic stretches and light jogging
Plyometrics (20 minutes): 3 sets of 10 depth jumps
3 sets of 10 split squat jumps
3 sets of 10 lateral jumps
Agility Drills (10 minutes):
3 sets of figure 8 drills around cones
3 sets of lateral shuttle runs
Cool-down (5 minutes): Light jogging followed by static stretching
Day 6: Long Interval Training and Sprints
Duration: 60 minutes
Session:
Warm-up (10 minutes): Dynamic stretches and light jogging
Long Interval Training (30 minutes): 4 x 800m sprints with 3-minute walking rest between each
4 x 400m sprints with 2-minute walking rest between each
Short Sprints (15 minutes): 6 x 50m sprints with 1-minute rest between each
Cool-down (5 minutes): Light jogging followed by static stretching
Day 7: Active Recovery and Light Jogging
Duration: 30 minutes
Session:
Active Recovery Jog (15 minutes): Light, comfortable pace
Mobility and Stretching (15 minutes): Dynamic stretching for 5 minutes
Foam rolling and static stretching for 10 minutes
Or you can DOWNLOAD the below schedule to make it easier for you:
This workout plan provides a balanced approach to this type of training, ensuring you work on various aspects like sprinting, agility, and power while also allowing for adequate recovery.
Adjust the intensity and volume according to your fitness level, and always listen to your body to avoid overtraining or injury.
Conclusion
Speed training is a fantastic way to boost your athletic performance, improve your fitness, and build mental toughness.
By incorporating these workouts into your routine, you’ll be well on your way to getting super fast.
Remember, the journey to lightning speed starts with that first sprint.
So, let’s hit the ground running!
And hey, if you’re looking for more guidance and support, check out the Success Stories Membership.
It’s a platform where you get access to top-notch training on achieving high performance and a community of like-minded folks to keep you motivated.
Before we wrap up, you might want to also check out a few more tips on how to run faster.
Join us, and let’s make those speed goals a reality together!
