I wrote a book on speed training for Ultimate (frisbee) players: Fast Kids Don’t Train Slow.
I didn’t spend much time promoting it, but it made its rounds in the flying disc community. My favorite review of the book says this: “No fluff, just gets right to the point about how to get faster.”
That’s what I aim to do in everything I write. A quick overview of why the topic matters, a touch of background on my philosophy, then what to do to make progress.
All that said, speed is still the killer quality. (Speed Kills, Strength Saves, Movement Heals, and Conditioning Is Overrated are principles of my training.) And the killer quality isn’t complicated. You can have more of it. You just have to be uncommonly diligent and uncommonly patient.
One of my favorite coaches, referenced extensively in the book, Tony Holler of Illinois, co-founder of the Track-Football Consortium, sums it up simply: “Speed grows like a tree.” (Follow Tony at @pntrack or @tfconsortium.)
A tree is the most beautiful metaphor both for patience and for speed development that I can imagine.
A tree requires not just years to reach its potential but decades. Ultimately, no combination of environment, soil, or nurture is going to change what type of tree it is, but within the parameters of its species, optimizing those things helps it become the strongest, healthiest tree it can be.
So, too, with speed.
Power builds on coordination, coordination on mechanics, mechanics on posture, and posture on intent.
Power, expressed in the sprinting movement, is speed.
Every aspect of speed is trainable.
And if every aspect can be trained, every aspect can be improved. If every aspect can be improved, speed can be improved. And if speed can be improved, you can become faster.
A Program For Getting Faster
Athletes tend to expect way too much from speed training and commit far too little. There’s nothing complicated about speed development. You just need patience and diligence. If you actually spend 12 weeks doing the below twice per week (with a rest day before each session), you’ll be faster.
Try me!
Hand time a 60 or 100 from a standing start. Take 2 reps after whatever warmup you like.
Take Mondays off, train speed on Tuesday; then take Fridays off, train speed again on Saturday. Do whatever else you want during your week. If you want to do other stuff Tuesday and Saturday, train speed first.
Here’s the entire program:
3 drills
1) 1-leg lateral & forward hops
2) lunge >> split squat >> step-up >> 1-leg squat
3) skip >> bound2 workouts
1) timed 20-30yd hill sprints
2) timed 40-60yd sprints1 concept: QUALITY = effort & rest
FKDTS
You probably want slightly more guidance.
Do each drill for 2 sets of 6 reps (each drill, each leg, whatever). Add a rep to the hops and skips every other session until you get to 12 reps. Add a rep to the lunge series every session until you get to 12 reps. Then go back to 2 sets of 6 reps for the next progression.
Tuesday, sprint up the hill. Time yourself. Rest 3 minutes between. Do reps until you slow down for 2 reps in a row.
Saturday, sprint on the flat. Time yourself. Rest 5 minutes between. Do reps until you slow down for 2 reps in a row.
I’m telling you to rest the day before your speed sessions so that you don’t carry fatigue into the speed day; fatigue means you won’t run as fast as possible and you probably won’t try as hard as you can anyway. Fatigue is the enemy of speed.
After The 12 Weeks
There is little as exciting as being fast.
Yet there is little more boring than becoming fast.
What should you do after our little 12 week experiment? Rest a little, play a little, race a little…then do it again.
Again and again and again.
If all you need is speed, this is all the program you need. Sure, there are variations – hops become jumps, jumps become plyos; 1-leg squats become strength training, strength training becomes power training; bounds become faster, better, and more — and there are alternatives — starting positions, mechanics drills, arousal management…but they all fit the template.
Stance (posture), bounce (elasticity), and electricity (coordination) make up speed. You have to run fast to train your brain and body to be better at running fast.
You have to rest enough to give full effort and you have to rest enough to adapt.
You have to accept that adaptations are tiny and gradual — yet progressive.
Most athletes won’t finish the 12 weeks. Most athletes get distracted by other activities or don’t take the rest days seriously. Some athletes see gains and move on from the program.
That’s all fine.
Speed takes time, but it doesn’t have to be all-consuming. Within the bounds of your structure and temperament, you can have all the speed you want if you keep working at it.
Just don’t pretend it’s complicated.
I didn’t exactly get to the point without fluff today, but sometimes it takes a long explanation for a simple concept.
3 drills, 2 workouts, 1 concept. Stance, bounce, electricity. Simplest speed training program in the world.
But remember: “speed grows like a tree.”
The sooner you sow seeds, the sooner you reap rewards.
Buy the book to read more!