There are variety of methodologies used when it comes to effectives speed development training. However, any successful methodology will demonstrate an adherence to the following key areas.

High Intensity

Achieving high intensities is essential to develop any type of speed in trainings. Speed training requires high levels of muscle contraction and tissue loading, which are simply not present in submaximal-intensity training. Even though drills and exercises of submaximal intensity can contribute to the development of speed-related qualities, they will not drive improvements alone. High-intensity sprint sessions are the most crucial element of speed training. These training sessions must achieve maximal intensities, maximal power output and sometimes maximal velocities. 

Sufficient Recovery

In high-intensity speed training, resting times between repetitions are also crucial. A short rest interval will lead to fatigue throughout the training, resulting in decreased intensity, velocity, and power output. In this case, speed improvements will not be achieved while work is being done. These recovery times are often shortened by coaches due to haste and a mistaken application of work ethic that leads to failure in achieving speed development goals.

Manageable Volumes

Session volumes should be chosen carefully for the maintenance of speed training. Intensity, velocity, and power output should remain at high levels throughout the entire session. A session’s volume or repetitions may be excessively high, leading to decreased quality as the session progresses. The best speed development models emphasize quality over quantity, and at times, it is remarkable how little volume is required to achieve significant results.

Speed Training and Sport Specificity

Various sports require many different types of acceleration and sprint skills. In spite of this fact, it is important to note that the achievement of the highest velocities and power outputs are critical to success in speed programming. In most cases sport-specific variations of starts and acceleration skills do not allow for the achievement of these high intensity levels.

For example, a baseball athlete, typically accelerates from a bilateral stance, often in a lateral direction in a game. This means the baseball athlete should rehearse these movements at some point. However, if these starts would be employed in the speed development program, it would be difficult to achieve the highest levels of intensity, power output, and velocity. For this reason, despite the nature of the sport of baseball, the starting, acceleration, and speed skills the baseball athlete uses in training speed should resemble those a track sprinter may use. 

It is better to stick with traditional sprint training skills and methods instead of trying to use high levels of sport specificity in speed development programs. Sport specific variations should be trained, but elsewhere in the program and typically later in the training calendar.

Speed and Strength

Speed and strength share a unique relationship. It is common to think of speed training as a way to improve running speed or movement speed. This is obviously true, but this type of training results in other benefits as well:

Speed-based training improves the nervous system’s ability to activate muscle tissue. These neural adaptations develop speed but also result in increased power and strength levels.

Speed training produces very high levels of tension in muscles, tendons, and other tissues. The level of load applied to these tissues is high, often exceeding those that are achieved in a resistance training program. Many coaches and athletes engaged in regular resistance training have experienced the soreness that results from a sprint session. This is because the levels of tension and tissue load experienced in the sprint are sometimes greater than those experienced in a resistance training program. Speed training, in this way, drives strength improvements and may even result in levels of tissue load unreachable in a traditional resistance training program.

As a result, speed training should be considered not only as an exercise to improve speed, but also as a critical exercise that enhances other aspects of a training program. Coaching cultures have commonly viewed strength improvements as a route to speed acquisition, but the reverse is also true. These reasons also explain why speed development training could be very helpful to athletes in many sports.

Header photo by Jonathan Borba