One of the big mantras for speed training is you have to train fast to be fast. You can’t do a speed drill slow and expect to develop speed appropriately. You can do that exercise slow, it just might be affecting a different physiological component for your body.

For example, doing heavy sled runs might develop some power in your legs and some strength, but not top end speed. Especially, if mechanics are not done properly.

There are 3 speed drills that we do in our program that I have not been strict with my athletes. And that will change.

I might have taught them correctly, but we haven’t emphasized certain areas of these drills that will really help with the speed development.

Now, I will certainly accept the blame for not watching you diligently like a hawk to make sure you are continuing to do these drills correctly.  

BUT, you also need to take some blame for getting lazy sometimes with these drills and just going through the motions. At some point, you need to take some responsibility and do these drills perfectly on your own without me constantly saying the same reminders.

Here are the speed drills and here’s how to do them correctly:

  • A-SKIPS – A good staple for running mechanics and to your credit, your form with this drill is usually pretty good.  The problem is you aren’t doing it fast enough. You should be doing 3 steps for every yard of the drill. The point of the drill is to re-program your neuromuscular system to help reduce the ground contact time.

  • B-SKIPS – I take full blame for this drill. I taught this to you wrong. It is too long and slow the way I teach you. The way I was teaching it, you do an A-Skip and then throw the lower limb out to slap the ground with the ball of your feet.  Way too long and not fast enough.

    How you do it correctly is still do the A-Skip and once the leg is up you envision slapping the hamstrings down to the ground then step over the opposite knee. What we are teaching in this drill is proper and faster leg recovery. The faster the leg recovers for a sprinter, the faster the sprinter is running down the track.

  • HIGH KNEES – This drill I know I’ve taught properly. You just get lazy. Keep the arms in 90 degree angles with the hands going no higher than the chin and about 6 inches in front of the shoulder. Drive the elbow back hard, ripping the hands through the hips, opening up slightly because of how hard you are driving back.

    Then you want to do the high knees fast. Even faster! Faster still!! Do them stationary until you get to the speed you want the athlete going, then they can start moving down the runway. It’s about speed and number of high knees you can get in, not about how fast you can get from point A to point B.

Sometimes you make mistakes coaching. Hey, you got to learn, correct, and move on. Now that I’ve told you these mistakes though, you need to do them properly. Don’t half-a$$ it. I can only lead you to the water. I can’t make you drink.

TRAIN FAST TO BE FAST!!

Photo courtesy of Adifansnet on Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/adifans/