Most sports come down to one component: speed. If you cannot perform in your sport quickly, then it will be extremely challenging to excel. To train for speed, it needs to be done with 100% effort. Here are two quick tips on how to improve your speed.
#1 – Speed= stride frequency x stride length
This is the most basic equation for speed. These two metrics are usually the biggest difference between fast athletes and slower athletes. To increase stride frequency, doing exercises like high knees or wall switches allows you to increase the rate at which you can move your legs. Stride length is determined by a lot of factors, but one of the easiest to change is your hamstring flexibility and strength. For the leg to reach full length in a stride, the hamstring has to lengthen and shorten at a high rate. If your hamstrings are tight and weak, then you are either increasing your chances of getting hurt, or you are gonna have a much shorter stride length.
#2 – Train Fast
A lot of athletes will train for hours a day but never reach over 70% of their maximum speed. That’s like asking track coaches to only allow their elite sprint athletes to run “kinda fast” and then expect them to run PRs in a race. To increase speed, you need to be able to commit 100% of your physical and mental effort to performing that task at a faster rate. This allows the body to not only perform at that level more consistently, but also for it to adapt to the stimulus it is being asked to perform.
The body adapts to the problems it overcomes. If you train your body using these two simple tips, it will help you not only be a faster athlete, but a better athlete overall in all aspects because speed is the king of performance.