Sprinting Training: How To Run Faster
Sprinting Training
Today, let’s look at something near and dear to me: sprinting training. As you probably know, I run in the 30-35 year old division of Master’s Track and Field. So today is basically a high-level of the principles of training for actual Track and Field competition.
You can, of course, adapt the principles to your sport of choice, be that football, basketball, baseball, etc, but I’m not going to go into that. This is going to be pretty high-level, just covering the basics of sprinting to get you thinking about “speed” and how to create it.
The Basics Of Speed
If you read my article in The Performance Menu, this will be a rehashing. If not, here is a brief synopsis of what makes someone fast. How quickly you cover ground comes down to:
Stride Length x Stride Frequency
And stride length comes down to your mass-specific force (force relative to your bodyweight) and how quickly you can generate maximum force. As a comparison, think about a dump truck vs. a small sports car, like perhaps a Lotus Elise. The average dump truck generates more than double the power of the little Lotus. But due to the vast difference in the weight of the two vehicles (along with transmission gearing, etc), the Lotus leaves the dump truck sitting at the line. Basically, you need a powerful motor (that is as small as possible) and good gearing in your transmission to go fast.
Improve Your Stride Length
Stride frequency, while important, isn’t the variable to focus on here. The legs will get in the proper positions at the right time if you’re sprinting properly, so you want to focus on having a longer stride. To do that, you need to be stronger and more powerful.
Key Point: Do not (!!!!!!!) try to increase your stride length by reaching your foot further out. That is defeating the purpose. By placing your foot further in front of your center of mass, you are generating more braking forces than when your foot lands nearly under your center of mass. Obviously you don’t want to be putting the brakes on with every step when you’re trying to go faster. Besides that, you risk pulling a hamstring, which is an injury that will make you far slower than you are currently.
The Importance Of Strength
The primary movers in a sprint are the glutes and hamstrings – the posterior chain. The more force you can generate, the more potential you have to go fast. I say “potential” because you still have to convert that force quickly…remember, “force x rate of force production = stride length.” Do you need to squat 3 times your bodyweight for reps like Ben Johnson? It wouldn’t hurt, but no.
As with most any other sport though, you do need a good base level of strength before you really start thinking about adding much complexity. So get stronger. I recommend a starting point of 1.5x bodyweight deadlift and squat. If you can’t do that, get to lifting until you can.
I’m partial to the deadlift as the primary strength developer, especially when I have much in the way of actual sprinting or plyometric work in the cycle. I’ll touch more on this later when I talk about periodization, but suffice to say that I find max squats leave me too sore and tired to get an effective sprinting workout, while deadlifts don’t.
Which Strength Program?
Which program should you do? There are any number of them that work. Rippetoe and Kilgore’s Starting Strength. Bill Starr’s old school 5×5 program. And recently, I’ve become a HUGE fan of Jim Wendler’s 5/3/1 program. In 3 months on 5/3/1, I added 55lbs to my deadlift (leapfrogging from 425, past my PR of 455 to 480), 30lbs to my squat (345 to 375), and got my overhead press back up to an almost respectable level (155). Pick one, do it right, get stronger. I can already tell a difference in how fast I feel, even this early in the season when I’ve done very little actual sprinting (cause it’s hard to sprint when it’s 20 degrees outside).
The Three Phases Of A Sprint
There are three primary phases of the sprint races: the Drive (or Acceleration), Maximum Velocity, and Maintenance. Each phase should be distinct and blend smoothly into the next.
Some people divide the race into 5 or even 7 phases, but these 3 are enough to illustrate what we’re looking for. Let’s look at each in a little more detail.
The Drive Phase
The drive phase is the beginning of the sprint when you go from a dead-stop to top speed. I’m not going to go into all of the mechanics of block work because it’s too much for a small post. Maybe one day we’ll get into that.
If you look at the photo to the right of Tom Green (the sprinter, not the goofball from Road Trip), you’ll notice that he is driving out at about a 45-degree angle to the ground. That’s not simply a result of coming out of blocks. Whether starting from blocks, a 3-point stance, or a 2-point stance, a good drive is at about a 45-degree angle to allow for maximal power production.
During the drive, stride rate is slower and stride length is shorter and choppier than in the maximum velocity phase. You’re basically trying to peel the ground back like a sardine can. The length of your drive will depend on your top speed and most people don’t have to think about when to raise to the nearly upright running position. As you reach top speed, your body will naturally raise for maximum velocity.
Maximum Velocity
This is the upright portion of the race that occurs right after the drive. Every race has a maximum velocity phase, even the 400m, where you’re not actually reaching your physical maximum speed. You are getting to a proper maximum velocity for the race and maintaining it as long as possible.
This is basically the mental image you get in your head when someone says “sprinting”. It’s like Tyson up there in the top picture, running tall, nearly upright, foot strike almost under the center of mass. It can be anywhere from 10-30m, as in the 100m race, to a couple hundred meters in the 400m.
Maintenance
Otherwise known as “speed-endurance,” this is the phase of the race when you’re inevitably slowing down. Pretty much any race beyond the indoor 55m/60m races has an endurance component. Even in the last 20-30m of the 100m race, sprinters are decelerating. The goal is to decelerate at a slower rate than the guy in the next lane.
Click on the table there and you’ll see what I mean. That shows the 6 official world records prior to Bolt’s most recent 9.58, along with Ben Johnson’s time from Seoul 1988. Notice that all of them have their best splits in the 50-80m range and all splits after that are slower than the previous ones. Obviously Bolt’s last 10m of that 9.69 is tainted by his celebration, but even there, you can see he had hit top speed and was starting to slow.
You might also notice a trend towards later development of maximum velocity. That’s partly a result of a higher top speed taking longer to reach and partly a result of intentional lengthening of the drive phase to reduce the length of the maintenance phase at the end.
Building A Sprinting Program
That’s enough for today, just a brief high-level on the phases of the race which have lots of importance in actually training for a race. Even if you aren’t a Track athlete, I highly recommend getting out to a meet and racing once or twice. It’s a great experience and you might find that you really enjoy it, like I rediscovered a couple years ago.
You might notice that I didn’t really touch on “rate of force production.” There are quite a few ways to work on that, but I’ll devote a significant portion of a future post to that rather than stringing this one out to a full-on novel.
I am also going to devote a post to planning and periodization. Contrary to what some fitness programs want you to believe, you cannot peak every single day. You can’t set a new personal record every time you step in the gym or on the track. To try to do so is to make sure you hit burnout.
What questions do you have about sprinting? What topics are most important to you for me to cover in upcoming posts on this topic?
15 Reader Comments
Feel free to leave a comment below... and as always please keep it in good taste. Comment spamming ONLY to promote your website is NOT allowed. So please use your real name in the field below otherwise it may be edited or removed. Constructive discussion is always welcome, personal attacks or useless bickering is not. Not all comments may be answered directly by editors/writers.
Scott,
Thanks for the great post. My question is simple, and others may have same. I have time constraints. I work long hours and also entertain some nights. I am doing the heavy lifts 3x a week, one day gymnastic and met-con type crossfit stuff…that’s 4 days right there. To be realistic, that leaves one day for running/sprinting. I one could only dedicate one day a week to any form of running or sprinting, how would you tackle that? What kind of program would that entail? There’s a limit to the program and building I am sure. Any generic advice would be helpful, thanks!
[Reply]
skustes Reply:
Jimmy,
I suppose that depends on what your goals are. If getting faster is really the goal, I’d ditch the gymnastics/CF stuff, doing 2 days of heavy lifting, 1 day of plyometrics (to be covered later), and 1-2 days of short distance speed work. That’s a basic early season layout. Just as you focus on the lifting to get stronger, you have to devote yourself to speed to get faster.
Really all depends on what your objective is. I do no CF-style work, getting all of my conditioning from speed-endurance runs (which I’ll describe later).
Cheers
Scott
[Reply]
Excellent stuff as you practice what you preach. Nice work Scott.
[Reply]
skustes Reply:
Thanks man! Meet #2 this weekend, 60m, 200m, and 400m. I’m ready for outdoor!
[Reply]
Great post indeed. This is the kind of stuff I’m looking for.
My questions are much like jimmyr72′s ones. In many places I see workouts given, or just a motion or two, but I don’t ever know how they fit in the big picture.
-if you can sprint once or twice a week, what then?
-what if you have 5 days to work with, each for 1 hour?
-should you incorporate any (shorter) long distance into this? what about if you already do some 1-2 mile runs, should you do them on days before or after sprints and how many days rest in between?
-exactly how much of a sprint workout would you do after those deadlifts? how about without?
-any advice on stretching? static vs dynamic?
[Reply]
skustes Reply:
Dick,
I’ll touch on all this later in a planning and periodization post, but here are some quick high-level thoughts.
1) Two times a week sprinting isn’t too shabby, if your program is setup properly. What you do in those sessions will depend on where you are in the season or what your particular goals are at the time. I rarely do more than 3 days of sprinting in a week.
2) 5 days, 1 hour each: Basic template – 2 days heavy lifting, 1 day plyometrics, 2 days sprinting (workout focus to be decided by goals at that point). Depending on if it’s early or late in the season, I might shuffle a running day to lifting or vice versa.
3) Some coaches do with success. I didn’t do anything longer than 600m in a single run last year. I opt for more anaerobic work and get my aerobic endurance via that and tempo style runs. If you already do 1-2 mile runs, I’d say to do them after sprints/plyometrics. Power comes before strength and strength comes before endurance when ordering things in a workout session.
4) Sprints would come before deadlifts to make sure my legs and CNS weren’t fried. I prefer lifting and sprinting on different days, largely due to time. I can’t devote 2 hours per day to working out.
5) I do static post workout. Dynamic pre-workout. With the exception of my hip flexors. I do static lunges for about 30 seconds each leg pre-sprinting to make sure they aren’t excessively tight.
Cheers
Scott
[Reply]
[...] Sprint Training – How to run faster [...]
that picture of the headless guy is hilarious!
[Reply]
skustes Reply:
The Headless Sprintman
[Reply]
[...] Want to improve your sprinting speed? Time to work on your strength and stride [...]
Great post regarding Sprinting training, i like the quote ‘Stride Length x Stride Frequency’. We will get all type of training easily but getting sprinting training is very difficult to find out. In this post Scott Kustes provide such a valuable information regarding sprinting training. I will definitely recommend this URL if some ask me about about sprinting training.
[Reply]
Any suggestions for injury prevention? I started doing a few sprints a couple of years ago and quickly developed pain where a hamstring tendon attaches on my lateral tibia just below my knee. I am still trying to get rid of that, but any hamstring use at all (lifting, sprints, etc.) re-aggravates it. I used to run distances with no problem so it was obviously the intensity, and too much too soon. Where to from here, and how can I prevent similar issues?
I would love to be able to do 100-400m sprints and intervals in training, and do organized 5k or less runs periodically just for fun.
[Reply]
skustes Reply:
You still can’t use the hamstring without pain a couple years later? That’s not a good thing. I’d recommend you not do any sprints until you get that injury figured out.
In the future, once you have fixed your leg, obviously start slower. Fewer runs at lower speed. How were you doing your sprints? I find that it’s easier on the legs to use a 15m run-in to full speed rather than trying to get up to speed like you’re coming out of the blocks in a race. I’ll go more into flying runs when I discuss speed workouts.
Good luck with the hamstring!
Scott
[Reply]
Rodney Reply:
I guess it is a tendon problem. If I get myofascial massage he can loosen it up so it doesn’t hurt at all, but that is temporary. It doesn’t bother me a bit unless I am really stressing it, and I could easily train with the minor discomfort, I just know it isn’t 100% healthy.
I think I was decelerating too quickly more than anything, but I ramped up the volume too quickly and probably did start out accelerating to quickly. I do take the first several steps more slowly, try not to throw my lower leg out too forcefully, keep my stride length moderate so I don’t over stride, and run farther into the turn to slow down more gradually. I also wondered about running the whole track in the same direction all of the time since that seems to be the convention here.
I might try some 400′s where my speed would be enough slower that it might not be a problem, then gradually add shorter distances as I adapt, 200′s, then 100′s. I don’t want to race the sprints, just do them for health benefits, so top speed isn’t so important to me. 400m to 5km would be fun to be able to race some day.
[Reply]
Good post.
I like the clear description of the three phases of a sprint. It was also interesting to note the table showing the deceleration.
Makes me want to get out there on the track and get moving fast!
[Reply]
hey man,
good post! i’ve been following your content since rusty moore recommended it on his site a few months ago. anyway, i’m a soccer player but am having problems with speed and acceleration. i just can’t wait for your next post on sprinting!
I have a question: is it possible to do intermittent fasting and still get maximum gains from a sprint-training programme? also, do you think that grains and starchy carbs should be eaten as part of my diet if i want to drop weight but at the same time improve my speed?
[Reply]
skustes Reply:
Clement,
I IF once or twice a week, for 24 hours, with no ill effects. Key is to make sure you’re still getting plenty of good, clean calories when you do eat. I don’t eat any grains (on a regular basis), but I do eat lots of starchy carbs and fruit. Lots of sweet potatoes and squashes. You need some carbs (I’m around 25-30% of total calories during the season) to fuel your sprinting…it’s too high intensity to be driven by fat metabolism.
Sprinting alone will likely help you drop some weight, along with keeping your diet clean.
Hope this helps
Scott
[Reply]
Scott,
Excellent information. I read your Performance Menu Article and have been checking the forum as well. I am very pleased that you are going to post a planning and periodization article. You mentioned in the PMenu article that you believe you can drop the metcons and achieve good fitness levels through track work. I have been waiting for a post to show what you have in mind.
Thank you
Matthew
[Reply]
you say i should be lifting 1.5x my bodywieght as a base level of strength before i should sprint train, but what if i cannot lift wieghts, should i start sprint training some other way?
[Reply]
skustes Reply:
Nicky,
You don’t necessarily have to be able to lift 1.5x bodyweight to start sprinting. I use that more to illustrate the point that speed, especially amongst us amateurs, largely comes down to strength. You can of course start sprinting without being able to lift, but without the additional strength work, progress may be limited.
There are lots of fast guys in high school that don’t lift at all, though when they reach the next level, they do.
Hope this helps
Scott
[Reply]
Scott,
I am training for the Navy SEAL PST which has a mile and half run as part of the test. I want to crush the test so I do get my shot. I have researched many of training protocols. Power running, other SEAL candidates ideas, college training protocols, etc. So I am interested on your thoughts about preparation for this test, regarding speed endurance, pure speed work, interval work, tempo runs and LSD implementation. I have been doing speed workouts through this winter with interval work on a separate day.
Thank You
Matthew
[Reply]
skustes Reply:
Matthew,
With the very large caveat that I neither train nor have trained anyone for a race that long, here are a few thoughts:
- True speed work isn’t paramount for a race that long. Important, but not of the most importance. Probably don’t need a weekly speed workout.
- You can adapt 400m training to longer formats. For instance, I run <400m sprints at my desired 400m pace. Since I can’t hit a 50-second 400, I will train 250-300m at a 50-second pace…you can adapt that kind of training to the 1.5 mile, obviously with runs longer than 250-300m…more like 800s, 1200s, miles, and full race distance runs.
- Look at some college track and field training for 1500 and 3000m races. Those will mimic what you’re trying to do far more than anything I currently do.
- LSD is probably good for an active recovery day, run at a fairly easy pace.
Hope this helps. Sorry I can’t be more concrete. Again, not my bailiwick.
Cheers
Scott
[Reply]
Matthew Crispell Reply:
Scott,
I appreciate the reply. It was helpful. Keep up the good work on the website.
Thank You
Matthew
[Reply]
[...] few weeks ago in my overview post on sprint training, I promised an overview of some training periodization theory. There seemed to be a good deal of [...]
Hey,
I’ve been running longer distances for about a year now. I was doing training that involved 5x50m 5x75m 5x100m sprinting intervals which I loved and after a while was able to run 5kms without thinking about it but since moved and haven’t kept up the sprint training.
Would that system from before be effective enough to create more speed? I only have 1 100m length to do my sprint training on. Should I just go all out and try to do as many 100m sprints as possible? shuttle run it? I would run on a school oval (soccer/rugby/cricket field) but because I cant measure the distances effectively I don’t know if I should sprint train on there.
Thanks!
[Reply]
skustes Reply:
Lani,
Shorter work is what you want for speed. Once you get beyond about 60m, you’re into the speed-endurance realm. I prefer more like 8 x 50m with a 15m run-in for actual speed work, usually no more than 6-10 sprints with full recovery.
I have a simple way of measuring…pace off the 100m distance at the track, then divide by 10. That’s how many steps it takes you to go ~10m. For me, it’s 12 steps. So if I need to go 150m, I count out 180 paces from the finish line (or 60 paces towards the finish from the 200m starting line) and it’s close enough. Knowing this little piece of info, I can train at any parking lot, road, or track.
Cheers
Scott
[Reply]