In honor of the Super Bowl last night, I’ve decided to give you a speed workout that can only be described as the “Super Bowl of All Speed Workouts.”  Because of the intensity of this workout, it is only recommended for high school athletes or older.  You should be able to improve your speed in any sport that involves fast “get-up-and-go” using this workout.

Remember, the cornerstone for any speed workout is to improve running form and strength/power.  When it comes to developing your strength, I always recommend doing a lifting routine that hits all the muscle groups.  I am going to let you develop that total body routine on your own, but you must include these three exercises if you want to get faster:

  • Cleans – For most sports, you could probably get away with just hang cleans, but I do love working both the hang cleans with the power cleans.  This exercise is such an explosive movement that it really develops the fast twitch muscle fibers for speed.  Because it is a total body exercise, it recruits a lot of muscles in the lift.  Hitting all those muscles at once in such a coordinated effort, really helps train the body for sprinting effectively (another powerful movement that takes a coordinated effort).  Do 3 sets of 5 for 3 weeks, then every three weeks drop a rep and increase the weight a little bit.
  • Walking Lunges – I like doing these because it strengthens the legs in a movement similar to running fast.  It strengthens the core and your legs, while moving in a running motion.  You can use either dumbbells or a bar on your back.  Start with 3 sets of 12, then drop 2 sets every 3 weeks until you get to 3 sets of 4 reps.
  • Glute Ham Machine – Did you really expect me to talk about a Super Bowl speed workout and not mention the Glute Ham Machine.  If you have no clue what I’m talking about, then read some of my past posts.  This will strengthen the whole posterior of your legs that will be very beneficial in developing speed.  You get your hamstrings as strong as the rest of your legs, you will really develop explosive speed.  Do the same set and rep progression as the walking lunges and either clutch a weighted plate to your chest or add a thick resistance band for tension.

Now that you are stronger, we need to start applying that strength improvement to speed.  The first would be with some running mechanic drills then some plyometrics.  For running mechanics, do these two drills:

  • Seated Arm Swings – Sit on the ground with your legs out in front of you and you seated nice and tall.  Keep your arms in a ninety degree angle.  When your arms pump, the hand should go all the way up to cheek level and all the way back to your back pocket.  Your arms shouldn’t cross the midline of your body.  Pump your arms as fast as you can for 10 seconds.  If your hands are smacking the ground, then they aren’t in proper position.  Do three sets with a 30-40 second rest inbetween.
  • “A” Skips – “A” Skips get your arms and legs firing in a coordinated manner similar for running.  Basically, you will be doing quick skips, pumping your arms in the same position you were doing with the seated arm swings.  As you skip, the legs will come up so the top of the thigh is parallel.  Go opposite arm, opposite leg and go for about 10-20 yards.  You can do 3-4 sets of them.

Plyometrics will be the key to really transforming your strength to explosive power.  In order to really make gains with these drills, you can add a medicine ball for resistance.

  • Horizontal Jumps – Basically, these are standing broad jumps.  Jump out as far as you can and try to stick your landing.  Do 4 consecutive jumps focusing on exploding out with each jump.  Set a mark at your fourth jump and try to beat it on the next series of jumps.  Rest at least 60 seconds inbetween jumps and do 3-4 sets.
  • Rapid Fire Jumps – You are doing horizontal jumps, but now you are not sticking the landing.  As soon as you land, you are jumping out again.  Basically, you will look like a kangaroo hopping fast.  Do the same sets and reps with rest as your horizontal jumps.

If you do all three of what I mentioned, your form will improve and your strength and power will be out of this world.  Follow this workout and I can’t guarantee you will ever be in the Super Bowl, but you should be a much improved, faster athlete.