How to get the most out of your Sprint Work
/The key to sprinting faster is keeping what you do as simple as possible. But, sprinting faster is a multi-lock door, with a 2 keypad codes that only 23 people in the world know. Not to worry, I am here to give you at least 2 of the digits for one of those keypads… but not in the right order ;)
All jokes aside, the vast majority of athletes, and general population folks (parents) still think they are going to get faster by essentially running some conditioning drills, coasting through an agility ladder, or even worse…. sprinting at the end of a workout to make sure they “know how to be fast when tired.”
If I could insert a “gasping” emoji or maybe a “face-palm” emoji, I would. Sprint work only requires that you stick to a few foundational/ non-negotiable principles, and those are:
Sprint with maximum intent with every rep
Know the goal behind your speed session (short and long term)
Be as fresh as possible for every rep
If you stick to these principles, you’ll get faster. Let’s talk about why.
Sprint with maximum intent for every rep
This can honestly apply to any exercise/movement/drill that any athlete is doing to improve their ability. Intent is defined as the effort applied with each rep. Now that doesn’t just mean how hard you push, it means having awareness with what you are doing.
Where people often come up short in sprint development is that their rep-to-rep intent takes a dive due to fatigue, or lack of focus. When this happens, we give our athletes an extended rest period, and coach up any potential errors they may have with technique. We also love to put our athletes in competitive situations. This means racing, tag, or a game. Be careful when adding equipment or rules to sprint drills, as they will take away from your top speed.
Anecdotally, head to head races always… and I mean always produces a faster sprint time compared to running solo. This is derived from intent! The intent on winning! Faster times means a better stimulus from sprinting, better stimulus means increased adaptation to sprinting, increased adaption means…. well you know.. a better athlete.
Know the goal behind your sprint session (short and long term)
Training an experienced 100m sprinter requires a totally different training goal when compared to the 13 year old baseball player. The drills that may be a brief warm up modality for the vet will be a whole teaching block for the youth athlete.
The youth baseball athlete needs to develop the ability for short/ quick bursts of acceleration, and will hardly ever reach terminal velocity. The 100m sprinter needs to “take their time” getting up to speed, and only runs in 1 direction!
Having your youth athlete on day 1 of sprint training bust out some 60m dashes because they need it for their showcase days will result in injury, and/or subpar adaptation.
If your goal of the session is to teach mechanics, and start to build a foundation of sprint ability, then spend more time on drills, plyos, etc. Do not expect the athlete to be as fresh as a daisy, and run their fastest 40 on that particular day.
If your goal is to test your 10/40/60/ or 100m dash time, then you shouldn’t be spending a ton of time on mechanical drills, plyos, resisted sprints etc. because these will over stress the athlete and cause excessive fatigue. Which means they will not be their fastest that day.
You also must consider what your training day looks like the day before your sprint session, immediately after the session, and the following day. Remember, we want adaptation to the stimulus provided. If you complete a 60 minute terminal velocity session, followed by hypertrophic lower body left, you are not going to get the best ROI from that sprint session.
Be as fresh as possible for every rep
This principle goes back to the previous 2. Speed is not about being tired, and running until your legs fall off. This principle also applies to your plyos, mechanical drills, and resisted sprinting. If you are unable to complete a rep with max intent you essentially wasted that rep. The more fatigued you are, the less ROI you are going to get from the sprints you complete.
Know your goal, and plan your session around that goal. Yes, the athlete may need to spend time jumping, cycling, and/or towing a sled. But, too much drilling takes away from the actual sprint.
Checkout this link to one of sprint sessions with some of our high school athletes. They all have a training age greater than 1 year, and they all were working on acceleration: Accel Playlist
If you made this far, you might as well check out our instagram page (we post this stuff all the time)
If you’re still here you must really be bored, but to claim your reward, contact coach Nate at nate@tpstrength.com.