7 Practical Elements for Making Your Athletes Lightning Fast

Making your athletes lightning fast through sprinting can be a game changer, with speed being a key difference-maker in reaching a ball first or overcoming an opponent. In professional football (soccer) approximately 42% of goals scored are preceded by a linear sprint.

High speed running is the combination of several elements:

• Stride length
• Cadence (stride frequency)
• Ground contact time
• Neuromuscular efficiency
• Whole body fluid coordination

Speed is as much a skill as a physical factor, and any athlete in a running-based sport can benefit from developing their ability to run fast—not only for performance, but also injury prevention. This can and should be part of a vertically integrated athletic development concept program for an aspiring athlete. Cristiano Ronaldo has enlisted the help of some of the world’s top sprinters (like Francis Obekwelu) in order to gain that extra 2%. England Rugby, meanwhile, has the services of elite coach Jonas Dodoo.

Speed is as much a skill as a physical factor, and any athlete in a running-based sport can benefit from developing their ability to run fast, says @Mike_SNC_Rehab. Share on X

In the USA, some of the top combine performers and players in the NFL were also track athletes during high school and college, with many of these athletes working with the likes of ALTIS, EXOS, MJ Performance (Michael Johnson’s brainchild), and private coaches such as Les Spellman throughout the year.

The argument could be made for genetic predisposition; however, we are talking about differences you can make between your athletes and others at the highest possible level. Anyone can develop speed and athletic capacity as a result.

The ability to accelerate helps an athlete beat an opponent, top speed development helps them beat everyone else, and a tolerance to such intense forms of training not only benefits an athlete’s health but also allows them to repeat such movements at a higher quality and speed even when fatigued—this is the speed reserve.

The following factors are key parts of athletic development and can also help with injury prevention and rehabilitation:

1. Movement pattern training
2. Year-round speed training
3. Bounciness and stiffness development
4. Tissue and overall physical capacity development
5. Heavy lifting with low volume
6. Resistance running and jumping
7. Active recovery

1. Develop the Driver as Well as the Race Car (Movement Patterns to Access Power)

Note here I say as well as the race car—this denotes I have no preference for one over the other. Yes, I want a nice fluid running action, but that is a long-term development goal just like max force production, rate of force development and power, switching speed, and so forth.

From both my own experience and from related research, each needs to be prioritized. There will be differences based on developmental stage, experience, and so on (which are not within the purview of this article).

Every contact I have with an athlete involves some element of “drilling.” Prior to track, my background is in martial arts and for hours on end we would practice moves and positions, eventually moving on to utilize them in semi- and full-contact sparring. The same concept holds true in my coaching: drilling is a great way to look at retention of information and build those neuroplastic and bioplastic pathways for repeatability.

Every contact I have with an athlete involves some element of *drilling*, says @Mike_SNC_Rehab. Share on X

This may come in the form of a short drill session and a few runs, or some simple plyometrics, or it could be a dedicated track or field-based session. Examples include:

• Acceleration—position, projection, timing
• Shorts—typically 5m, 10m, or 20m sprints
• Tempos—these aren’t slow, but they’re not quick—as they get better, we make it quicker
• Longs—over 60m, 80m, 120m with some longer sprints over 200m up to 300m (Note: I never go further than 60m for a non-sprinter, and even this depends on their event)

I give real-time and post-session technical feedback, but I also take a “less is more” approach to my coaching, allowing the athlete to absorb what has been said previously and then execute and self-order their body in an attempt to complete the change.

Some will argue “If an athlete is already quick, is there much point to doing anything technical with them?” To this, my answer always comes back to injury record and performance gains being incremental, the same way asymmetry isn’t an issue if the athlete is strong enough to handle the forces. In those cases I won’t mess with it, but if there’s a history of, say, hamstring injury or inconsistent performances, then this will be one of things I would look at.

2. Run Fast, Run Max—Develop Speed by Running at Speed, All Year Round

Anything else is conditioning.

This is fairly simple (or what Tony Holler calls Feed the Cats)—run fast! Like the SAID principle (Specific Adaptation to Imposed Demand) discusses, in true strength training you need to be hitting that ideal load and rep range. To train running speed, you must get the athletes running fast to know what it’s like to run fast.

To train running speed, you must get the athletes running fast to know what it’s like to run fast, says @Mike_SNC_Rehab. Share on X

This can also be fun with a group: make it competitive, give one of them a staggered head start. I use timing gates where possible if it’s a one-on-one session, which gives the athlete something concrete and something to beat as a time.

This is the most important element parallel to developing technical efficiency—stimulating and challenging the athlete to become more efficient in attempting to execute the technical model you’ve discussed and agreed with them.

Remember, though, quality over quantity—we want cheetahs not plow horses, and as such they require vast amounts of rest and recovery between reps. People struggle with this concept during the session if they aren’t accustomed to it; however, they soon realize the fatigue-based effects associated with sprint training.

3. Develop Bounciness and Stiffness—Hit the Ground Hard and Use the Earth for Propulsion

This is where we look at developing more powerful hip extensors and a stiffer ankle/foot complex. How is this done?

• Plyometrics—pogos, hops, skips, bounds
• Loaded jumps and contrasts—dumbbell jumps, weighted vest jumps for height or distance
• Isometrics—heel raises, hip bridges, hip extension holds, hip flexor bridges, Nordic holds, foot intrinsic exercises
• Eccentrics—Nordic hamstring curls, hex bar single squat lowers, calf lowers off a step
• Rapid action movements—hamstring tantrums, medicine balls throws

Dosing:

Plyometrics—There are some well-established recommendations from governing bodies and research papers you can refer to regarding plyometric doses. However, one of the key caveats I consider when I work with any athlete is to allow the stimulus of plyometrics to take effect and let this dictate how much time is given between sessions. For example, foundation-level plyos, such as pogo bounces, can be done every 24 hours, but I give activities that involve higher forces acting upon the body, such as depth jumps, 48-72 hours between sessions.

Isometrics—I find these effective and easy to dose in most sessions, whether that is a static hold into plantar flexion for Achilles loading or a long lever hamstring bridge. Typically these would be for 10-30 seconds, however there are examples of variations by Alex Natara.

Eccentrics—There’s also a great amount of research that’s been done on eccentric training and its benefits for force production (Harden et al., 2018, Harden et al., 2019, Suchomel et al. 2019) as well as injury prevention for key muscles in sprinting like the hamstrings with exercises such as Nordic hamstring curls and variations.

4. Develop Tissue Capacity and Movement Range Resilience

Grow the glutes, strengthen the hamstrings, stiffen the Achilles, and improve the force transfer capability of the trunk and hip stabilizer muscles.

Ideally, developing this capability and then learning how to use it links to Number 1; sometimes slowing down progression as your athlete learns how to use new physical tools and integrate them into their new movement strategies is the best move.

I really get into sling training whether it be through a hold as described earlier, something ballistic like stick or prop running, or a reductionist drill moving through multiple planes of motion.

The body works in planes of movement, so although Nordics are great for the hamstrings, they don’t target the biceps femoris (hip drive orientated), which is the most injured and re-injured of the hamstrings in sprinting and running sports. So I often integrate the Askling divers and gliders as well as more dynamic actions.

5. Lift Heavy, Build Volume Tolerance Over Time

Published literature establishes that strength and power training are key components for athletic development; however, the difficulties and lack of specificity that can come from using Olympic lifts led me to seek other means.

Published literature establishes that strength and power training are key components for athletic development, says @Mike_SNC_Rehab. Share on X

Seeing poorly executed cleans with elbows down, wrists in full loaded extension, flexed spines, or sumo split positions led me to utilize the insight of Suchomel et al. regarding weightlifting derivatives. With this advice, we were able to progressively load way over 170% of an athlete’s one-repetition max clean.

For example, one of my athletes (who sits comfortably at 210kg for a mid-thigh pull using wrist straps) had a maximum clean of 110kg (with good technique). In order to increase his load, we began implementing derivatives.

Some examples of weightlifting derivatives include:

• Jump shrugs with hex/trap bar
• High pulls (from floor or mid-thigh)
• Push press
• Split jerk
• Rack half-squats

Given research discussing the development of glute max through hip thrusts, the combination and comparison of both thrusting and squatting/front squatting offers an interesting debate. I often use both in my programming. Although a recent paper by Jarvis et al. discusses the lack of carryover from hip thrusting to sprinting, it was only an eight-week program with collegiate athletes. Some athletes prefer hip thrusting and derivatives over attempting to overload on squatting and deadlifting that could lead to spinal injury.

Not to say those major lifts don’t have their place, but all my athletes have noted healthier periods after employing the trap/hex bar and weightlifting derivatives instead of doing single leg training like a Bulgarian split squat.

Options we use other than back squats and straight bar deadlifts:

• Hip thrusts and variations/derivatives—our athletes often hip thrust in excess of 250-300kg at 67-80kg bodyweight
• Back hypers
• Split squats
• Step ups
• Hex/trap bar deadlift—all athletes I work with now use this over the straight bar
• Single leg hex bar eccentrics

6. Use Resisted Runs—Pushing and Pulling

Resisted running allows athletes to train specific angles of acceleration if pushing a heavy sled (while I cue elements within that) and to run under duress at a percentage of their max velocity while under resistance.

I have used the method of determining the weight on the sled based on the athlete’s run time. To ensure the weight isn’t too heavy, I first time a specific distance and then stipulate they need to be able to run the same distance during a resisted run within no more than two seconds slower. So, if they complete a 30-meter sprint in 2.8 seconds, then they need to complete a resisted run of the same distance in no more than 2.8-4.8 seconds depending on the load.

Other methods would include resistance band runs (although there is a tax on the holder, and if the band is too heavy it can affect lumbopelvic position in the run).

The goals for these are projection if working on acceleration, stiffness through the foot and ankle, and syncing under duress (load on the sled). We tend to go heavier on pushing than we do on pulling, but some units allow for varied and controlled effects.

You can go expensive and purchase an Exer-Genie for £300-400 which can resist over 30m and 60m. However, simpler solutions can be sleds, plyo boxes for pushing in a gym, cars on a flat surface, and power bands (which are great in some respects for anchored in situ technical work or partner resisted runs).

Simple resisted running solutions can be sleds, plyo boxes for pushing in a gym, cars on a flat surface, and power bands, says @Mike_SNC_Rehab. Share on X

7. Recover Well, Less Is More, Quality Over Quantity

We need adaptation. That process doesn’t happen through hammering hundreds of reps with no rest. The brain and body need time to recover, to refine what’s useful and what isn’t. Recovery and adaptation are key for pathways to strengthen and boost excitability and for cells to process signals to develop new stronger, stiffer tissues.

In the world of social media, where athletes see each other train, they find it hard to “actively recover.” I call this active recovery or down-regulation rather than rest because it then requires the athletes to take action in optimizing their recovery and response to training rather than passively hoping that they’ll feel better.

Sleep is by far the best recovery tool any athlete can use; nutrition and hydration are tied for second. Another thing I do is speak to athletes—if the athletes look or feel run down and can’t get going, I change the session (obviously, if I think they’re trying to pull a fast one me then I sniff that out before it gets going). Or, I cancel it completely. I often have a plan A, B, C, and sometimes D. Hitting reset the next day is far better than pressing on and risking a poor performance or injury.

Sleep is by far the best recovery tool any athlete can use, says @Mike_SNC_Rehab. Share on X

This is difficult, as sometimes a great training session can be exactly what the doctor ordered for the athlete’s mental health, but again this requires you understanding your athlete’s response to training. Yes, ACWR load monitoring is great, as is using force plates; however, none of these are superior to looking at them and asking them how they’re doing.

Of course there are tools—some of my athletes use vibrating foam rollers and massage guns, sleep tanks, and recovery garments—but none are superior to a good night’s sleep, an afternoon nap, some sunshine, or some quiet. Downtime from other stimuli and stress is also key—I recommend mindfulness or quiet time like reading, drawing, or meditation in such a frantic world. There are apps for this, but it isn’t a new concept and there are many ways to enlist this on any budget.

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References

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