© National Strength and Conditioning Association
Volume 27, Number 1, pages 18–25
Keywords: assisted sprints; resisted sprints; speed barrier; varied
pace sprints
Means and Methods of Speed
Training: Part II
John M. Cissik, MS, CSCS, *D; NSCA-CPT, *D
Texas Woman’s University, Denton,Texas
summary
This article covers means used in
speed training, including stride-
length and stride-frequency drills,
sprints of varying distances and in-
tensity, varied-speed training, resist-
ed sprinting, and assisted sprinting.
Program design guidelines and a
sample program are also presented.
he first part of this article covers
T factors affecting speed, maximum
velocity running technique, and
drills for developing sprinting form and
demonstrates that technique drills alone
are not a substitute for sprinting. This
article focuses on the exercises used for
improving speed and how those exercis-
es may be used, and it also reviews vari-
ous means used for training speed and
presents a sample program.
Means for Training Speed
Several types of exercises are used to help
improve speed. First, because technique
18
limits speed, drills are performed to help
perfect sprinting technique (these drills
were covered in “Means and Methods of
Speed Training: Part I,” Strength Cond. J.
26(4):24–29). Second, stride length can
be trained directly because it influences
speed. Third, stride frequency may be
improved with the appropriate training.
Fourth, sprints covering varying dis-
tances and intensities are used. Fifth, ex-
ercises may involve sprints with several
changes in speed (varied-pace sprints).
Sixth, sprints may be performed with re-
sistance (i.e., the sprinting motion is
made more difficult). Finally, sprints
performed with assistance to allow the
athlete to run faster than he or she is nor-
mally capable of are also used.
Stride-Length Drills
In theory, stride-length drills are de-
signed to help improve speed or the
rhythm of a sprinter’s stride. To conduct
stride-length drills, one needs to deter-
mine the optimal stride length for his or
her athletes. This is done for female
track athletes by measuring the leg
length from the greater trochanter of the
femur to the floor. This measurement is
then multiplied by 2.3 to 2.5 to obtain
the optimal stride length. Male track
athletes would have an optimal stride
length of between 2.5 to 2.7 times the
February 2005 • Strength and Conditioning Journal
length of the leg (2). This approach
works well with track and field athletes,
but many coaches may work with too
many athletes at one time to conduct
these measurements, and degree of pre-
cision may not be necessary. In this situ-
ation it is appropriate to assign athletes
into groups based upon their height.
Stride-length drills are typically con-
ducted at a percentage of optimal stride
length, generally 60–105% of optimal
stride length (2). Making the drills at
more than 105% of optimal stride
length can lead to overstriding, which
results in the athlete spending too much
time on the ground and braking (i.e.,
slowing down).
With the stride-length drill, the athlete
will place each foot a certain distance
apart while running. Hurdles, sticks,
tape, tennis balls, pencils, or anything
else may be used that will visually mark
the course to tell the athlete where to
place his or her feet while running. For
example:
• An athlete has a leg length of 36 in.
• 2.5
36 in. = 90 in. (optimal stride
length).
• 60% of 90 in. = 54 in.
• 105% of 90 in. = 94.5 in.
• Stride-length drills should be con-
ducted between 54 and 94.5 in.
Stride-length drills may be conducted at
1 distance (for example, 72 in. apart for
the athlete described above) or at several
distances (for example, the drill ranges
from 54 to 94.5 in.). With an elite
sprinter, these drills are performed at
precise distances to help train the sprint-
er to conform his or her stride to the
rhythm of the markers (2). McFarlane
recommends that stride-length drills
should not be taken much farther than
20 markers and that a 5-m acceleration
zone should be provided before the first
marker so that athletes have a chance to
increase stride length before reaching
the first marker (15).
Stride-Frequency Drills
As mentioned earlier, speed is often con-
sidered to be the product of stride length
and stride frequency. Therefore, in theo-
ry, improving one or both will lead to an
improvement in running speed.
Fast leg drills, resisted sprinting, and as-
sisted sprinting tend to be 3 of the most
popular means for developing stride fre-
quency. Resisted and assisted sprinting
will be discussed later in this article. Fast
leg drills allow the athlete to move a limb
at a greater speed than would normally
be possible during the running motion.
The continual practice of this could lead
to a carryover to sprinting, which would
result in an increase in stride frequency,
and therefore speed, over time.
Fast leg drills are first performed with
ankling. Have the athlete perform the
ankling motion, at a walk, beginning
with the right foot. After the third step,
the athlete will perform a fast “A” drill
(i.e., heel to hip, step over opposite leg,
knee up, drive foot down from hip) with
the left foot. The athlete will continue
performing the drill with the left foot
after every third step for the desired dis-
tance. He or she should change sides
after the desired distance has been cov-
ered.
February 2005 • Strength and Conditioning Journal
Once the fast leg drill has been mas- ing, one will need to practice the skill.
tered, the athlete will perform the drill However, technique drills alone are not
after every second step (this will force a substitute for actual sprinting. For
the athlete to alternate between the right much the same reason, stride-length and
side and the left side). Speed up the exer- stride-frequency drills are also not sub-
cise by combining the fast leg drills with stitutes for sprinting (i.e., the motion is
straight leg bounding. The following is a different, performed at different speeds
progression for stride-frequency drills: and under artificial conditions).
Ankling for 3 steps, then fast leg (left or Sprinting has several general guidelines.
right). First, sprinting must take place at close
• Ankling for 2 steps, then fast leg (al- to maximum speed because sprinting at
ternate left and right). submaximal speeds will alter running
• Straight leg bound for 3 steps, then mechanics, stride frequency, and stride
fast leg (left or right). length (9). In other words, failing to
• Straight leg bound for 2 steps, then train at high speeds will train athletes to
fast leg (alternate left and right). run slowly, which is not desirable. Sec-
• Straight leg bound, fast leg every left ond, sprinting at high speeds is extreme-
(or right) leg. ly taxing and requires between 24 and
• Continuous fast leg for distance. 48 hours rest between sessions (1, 6,
• Fast leg on command (15). 13–15). Third, the distances that are
used on a sprint will depend upon why
Note that not all authorities hold that the sprint is performed. If the desire is to
stride frequency should be trained (17). train maximum speed, then the dis-
Those who do not believe that it should tances will have to be long enough (gen-
be trained believe that athletes would be erally 50–80 m) for the athlete to reach
better served focusing on increasing maximum speed and be able to maintain
stride length. it for a second or two (6). If the desire is
to train the athlete’s ability to accelerate,
Sprints of Varying Distances and then shorter distance sprints (5–50 m)
Intensities would be appropriate. Fourth, fatigue
The principle of specificity dictates that interferes with speed. Because sprinting
if one wants to become better at sprint- is a taxing effort that depends heavily
Table 1
Sample 5-Day-a-Week Speed Training Program
Quality to be Rest between reps /
Day trained Sets
reps
distance sets (min)
Monday Speed 4
60 m from a 2-point 3
stance
Tuesday Aerobic 10
200 m 2
capacity
Wednesday Speed 3
4
20 m from a 3/6
(acceleration) 3-point stance
Thursday Anaerobic 10
40 m 1
capacity
Friday Varied-pace 5
40-m “flying” sprints 5
runs (30-m acceleration zone)
Reps = repetitions.
19

Table 2
General Guidelines for Sprint Training
Quality to be Length of each % of best
trained sprint (m) speed
Aerobic >200 <70
capacity
Anaerobic >80 80–89
capacity
Speed 20–80 >90
Note: Adapted from Coaching Education Committee (2). Reps = repetitions.
upon speed of movement and tech-
nique, excessive fatigue will interfere
with skill acquisition. This means that
complete recovery should be empha-
sized and excessive training volumes
should be avoided to minimize the detri-
mental effects of fatigue (1).
These guidelines would seem to indicate
that speed training would best be per-
formed every other day during brief,
highly intense workouts. Yet track and
field coaches train their athletes on con-
secutive days. How can this be?
More frequent training can be per-
formed, but this requires that one is not
training the same qualities on successive
days (e.g., acceleration, maximum
speed, speed endurance) (1, 5). This is
where integrating other types of training
methods (e.g., varied-pace runs, resisted
sprints, and assisted sprints) is appropri-
ate and where submaximal “recovery”
sprinting would be appropriate, that is,
for a track athlete. Aerobic- and anaero-
bic-capacity sprints are used for recovery
from intense speed workouts and to help
develop a sprinter’s event-specific en-
durance. Table 1 shows a sample work-
out program for an athlete training 5
days a week and illustrates how these can
be integrated.
Table 2 provides general guidelines for
sprint training. The table breaks down
the quality to be trained, how long each
sprint should be in a given workout, at
20 February 2005 • Strength and Conditioning Journal
Rest between Maximum
reps / sets volume
<45 s / 2 min 3,000
30 s–5 min / 1,800
3–10 min
3–5 min / 900
6–8 min
what percentage of best speed each
sprint should be run, the amount of rest
between repetitions and sets, and the
maximum volume for the workout.
Note that the maximum volume recom-
mendations are for collegiate sprinters;
other athletes should adjust the maxi-
mum volume down.
If one is not working with track athletes,
then it is probably not necessary for an
athlete to train the components of speed
(i.e., technique, acceleration, maximum
velocity) more than 3 times per week. In
fact, there probably is not time to train
speed more than 3 times per week in ad-
dition to agility, plyometrics, and core
and strength training. If one is not going
to train speed and its components more
than 2 to 3 times per week, then why
bother with other training methods?
Why not just run sprints over varying
distances 2 to 3 times per week?
In addition to the desire to provide vari-
ety to the training, the reason this ap-
proach has not been advocated in the lit-
erature whereas other training methods
Figure. Sample layout for “ins and outs” drill.
have been is to prevent development of a
speed barrier. According to Ozolin (16),
the speed barrier is a nervous-system
pattern that develops as a result of long-
term use of similar training methods and
training loads. The pattern results in a
premature leveling off of speed improve-
ments. In other words, athletes “learn”
to run at a specific velocity and are un-
able to improve. Several types of exercis-
es are recommended for overcoming the
speed barrier, such as using assisted
sprinting methods, varied-pace sprint-
ing, and resisted sprinting (4, 8, 16).
It should be noted that it is unclear
whether the speed-barrier concept actu-
ally exists and, if it does, whether it ap-
plies to nontrack athletes. Sprinters will
perform thousands of meters of sprints
weekly, every week of their training, for
the duration of their training lifetime.
Nontrack athletes, on the other hand,
will not. The speed barrier and the tools
used to overcome it may not be relevant
or applicable for different sports and
different levels of ability, which calls
into question whether the training
methods to prevent its development are
relevant for nontrack athletes.
Varied-Pace Sprints
Varied-pace sprints are sprints that have
several changes in velocity during the
sprint. They serve a number of purposes.
First, by having the athlete run at differ-
ent speeds, the sprints give the athlete a
chance to recharge the nervous system
between maximal efforts (15). Second,
the sprints teach the athlete how to run
relaxed at high velocities, which is im-
portant because tension can cause the
athlete to slow down (8). Finally, the
sprints may be more sport specific than
Table 3
sprints of varying distances and intensi- Early Off-Season Speed Training
ties because they resemble actions that
may take place in a sport where one may Monday Wednesday Friday
have to move from a jog or walk to a
Primary focus Acceleration Speed Conditioning
high-speed sprint with little notice.
Exercises (sets
Warm-up Warm-up Warm-up
Some of the most popular versions of reps
distance) • Dynamic flexi- • Dynamic flexi- • Dynamic flexi-
varied pace sprints are “flying” sprints, bility exercises bility exercises bility exercises
“ins and outs,” and delayed starts. (10–15 min) (10–15 min) (10–15 min)
• Seated arm • Standing arm • Jogging arm
Flying Sprints. Flying sprints are maxi- swing (1
20 s) swing (1
20 s) swing (3
20 m)
mal-effort sprints performed after a sub- • Standing arm • Walking arm • Ankling, alter-
swing (1
20 s) swing (1
20 m) nate (2
20 m)
maximum acceleration zone. For exam-
• Walking arm • Jogging arm • Heel kicks, 1 leg
ple, an athlete might accelerate for 15 to
swing (3
20 m) swing (3
20 m) (1
20 m each
30 m followed by a 10- to 60-m sprint • Ankling, 1 leg (3 • Ankling, 1 leg (1 side)
performed at maximum velocity (3).
20 m each
20 m each • Heel kicks, alter-
side) side) nate (2
20 m)
Ins and Outs. Ins and outs are sprints • Ankling, alter- • High knee walk,
where maximum-intensity runs are in- Workout nate (2
20 m) 1 leg (1
20 m
terspersed with recharging phases. Ins • Falling starts (5 • Heel kicks, 1 leg each side)
are all-out intensity, maximum-velocity
30 m) (2
20 m each • High knee
runs. Outs are maintenance phases • Standing starts side) walk, alternate
where speed and stride frequency are (3
30 m) • High knee walk, (3
20 m)
1 leg (2
20 m
maintained (15).
Cool-down each side) Workout
• Foot-/ankle- • Standing starts
Ins and outs begin with a 15- to 20-m strengthening Workout (10
100 m)
acceleration zone followed by the first in drills (10–15 • Falling starts
that will last 10–20 m and an out that min) (5
60 m) Cool-down
will last 5 to 20 m, and so on. The drill • Foot-/ankle-
should always end with an in. The Fig- Cool-down strengthening
ure shows an example of the layout for • Foot-/ankle- drills (10–15
ins and outs. strengthening min)
drills (10–15
Delayed Starts. With delayed starts, 2 min)
athletes line up and assume the starting Rest between 3 3 1
position. On the command “go,” the reps / sets (min)
first athlete begins sprinting. On the Reps = repetitions.
second command “go,” the second ath-
lete begins sprinting. The second athlete
attempts to overtake the first athlete, sprints, leading to an increase in speed loaded sleds, sleds loaded with 12.6% of
whereas the first athlete attempts to (4). Resistance may take the form of a body weight, and sleds loaded with
maintain his or her lead (12). sled, tire, parachute, weighted vest, run- 32.2% of body weight. The 32.2% load
ning uphill, running in sand or in water, resulted in a lowering of running veloci-
Resisted Sprints and so on. ty by almost 23%, a decrease in stride
Resisted sprints make the sprinting mo- length by almost 24%, an increase in
tion more difficult (e.g., sprinting while One must be careful with resisted trunk lean by 15%, and an increase in
pulling a weight). In doing so, it is be- sprints because too much resistance ground contact time by almost 20%.
lieved that the resisted-sprint exercises may alter running kinematics in ways The combination of these increases
will recruit more muscle fibers and re- that are not desirable. Lockie et al. (11) meant that the athletes were spending
quire more neural activation. Over time examined primarily rugby and field more time on the ground, were decreas-
this increased recruitment and activa- hockey athletes and compared 15-m ing their stride lengths, and were unable
tion will be transferred to nonresisted sprints where the athletes dragged un- to completely extend their hips because

February 2005 • Strength and Conditioning Journal 21

 to 60 sprint times. Faccioni (4) reports
Table 4
Late Off-Season Speed Training
that assisted sprints can improve stride
rate and elastic energy production.
Monday Wednesday Friday However, Faccioni also notes that some
athletes have a tendency to allow them-
Primary focus Acceleration Speed Conditioning
selves to be pulled (i.e., the athletes are
Exercises (sets
Warm-up Warm-up Warm-up running with submaximal effort,
reps
distance) • Dynamic flexi- • Dynamic flexi- • Dynamic flexi- which defeats the purpose of the exer-
bility exercises bility exercises bility exercises cise).
(10–15 min) (10–15 min) (10–15 min)
• Ankling, alter- • Straight leg • Straight leg Downhill sprinting will increase hori-
nate (1
20 m) bounds, alter- bounds, alter- zontal velocity and stride length. How-
• Heel kicks, alter- nate (3
20 m) nate (3
20 m) ever, declines greater than 3% may lead
nate (3
20 m) • Heel kicks, skip • Heel kicks, skip
to excessive stride lengths that will result
• High knee (3
20 m) (3
20 m)
in increased braking during the sprint
walk, alternate • High knee skip • High knee skip
(3
20 m) (3
20 m) (3
20 m) (4).
• “A” walk, 1 side
Workout Workout (2
20 m each As with every type of exercise, athletes
• Standing starts • Crouching starts side) should build up to assisted sprints and
(3
20 m) (3
3
20 m) incorporate them into a periodized pro-
• Crouching starts Workout gram. Some guidelines for assisted
(3
3
20 m) Cool-down • Standing starts sprints include the following: (a) for
• Foot-/ankle- (10
125 m) towing, distances should not cover more
Cool-down strengthening than 30 to 40 m (2); (b) downhill sprints
• Foot-/ankle- drills (10–15 Cool-down
should not exceed an angle of 2 to 3° to
strengthening min) • Foot-/ankle-
prevent changes in mechanics (4); (c)
drills (10–15 strengthening
min) drills (10–15 athletes should not achieve speeds
min) greater than 106–110% of their maxi-
mum speed to prevent changes in run-
Rest between 3/5 3/6 1, jog between ning mechanics (1, 7); and (d) sound
reps / sets (min) sprints
technique must be emphasized during
Reps = repetitions. assisted sprinting.

of the trunk lean. Letzelter et al. (10)
also found similar findings with female
sprinters.
These 2 studies demonstrate that one
must be careful when using resisted
sprints, for overdoing these exercises can
have detrimental effects on sprinting
mechanics. These exercises should be
used sparingly, with little resistance, and
during specific times in the year.
Several guidelines in the literature are
used for resisted sprints. First, the resis-
tance should not slow down the athlete
by more than 10%; any more than that
will alter the mechanics of the running
and potentially create bad habits (7, 11).
Second, resisted sprints should cover 15
to 20 m and provide for a gradual release
to free running for 20 to 25 m (2). Final-
ly, proper sprinting mechanics must be
emphasized throughout the perfor-
mance of the exercise or the athlete may
inadvertently be taught to run slowly
and with bad technique (1).
Assisted Sprints
With assisted sprints, the athlete runs at
greater velocities than he or she is nor-
mally capable of. In theory, this allows
the athlete’s body to learn how to run at
greater stride frequencies, which will
then transfer to nonassisted sprints (4).
Several assisted-sprint methods may be
used: being towed, sprinting downhill,
and sprinting on a high-speed treadmill.
Jakalski (7) reports that assisted
sprints, immediately followed by “free”
sprints, lead to an improvement in 30
A large number of tools exist for training
speed; in fact, the variety of tools can
make designing programs confusing and
overwhelming. The remainder of this ar-
ticle discusses guidelines for program-
ming speed training and presents a sam-
ple training program.
Programming Speed Training
Before worrying about which tools to
use in a speed training program, one
should first establish the basic guide-
lines for speed training. The following
guidelines will help the coach or practi-
tioner develop speed training programs:
• Speed training should be incorporat-
ed according to the needs of the
sport, position, and the athlete (1).
Not all sports will require speed

22 February 2005 • Strength and Conditioning Journal

 Table 5
Preseason Speed Training

Monday Tuesday Thursday Friday

Primary focus Acceleration Conditioning Acceleration Resisted sprinting

Exercises (sets
Warm-up Warm-up Warm-up Warm-up

reps
distance) • Dynamic flexibility
exercises (10–15 min)
• Straight leg bounds,
alternate (3
20 m)
• Heel kicks, skip
(1
20 m)
• High knee skip
(3
20 m)
• “A” drill, walk, alter-
nate (2
20 m)
Workout
• Crouching starts
(3
20 m)
• Sport-specific starts
(2
5
20 m)
Cool-down
• Foot-/ankle-
strengthening drills
(10–15 min)
• Dynamic flexibility • Dynamic flexibility • Dynamic flexibility
exercises (10–15 min) exercises (10–15 min) exercises (10–15 min)
• Straight leg bounds, • Straight leg bounds, • Straight leg bounds,
alternate (1
20 m) alternate (3
20 m) alternate (1
20 m)
• Heel kicks, skip • Heel kicks, skip • Heel kicks, skip
(1
20 m) (1
20 m) (1
20 m)
• High knee skip • High knee skip • High knee skip
(2
20 m) (1
20 m) (2
20 m)
• “A” skip, (2
20 m) • “A” drill, walk, alter- • “A” skip, (2
20 m)
nate (2
20 m)
Workout Workout
• Standing starts Workout • Sprints with sled
(10
150 m) • Sport-specific starts (15-m tow, 20-m
(3
5
20 m) “free” running), 5

Cool-down
• Foot-/ankle- Cool-down Cool-down
strengthening drills • Foot-/ankle- • Foot-/ankle-
(10–15 min) strengthening drills strengthening drills
(10–15 min) (10–15 min)

Rest between 3/6 1, jog between sprints 3/6 3

reps / sets (min)
Reps = repetitions.

training, and not all positions within
a sport will require the same degree of
speed training. This should be taken
into account during program design.
• Speed training should be part of a
periodized training program (6).
• Speed training should focus on de-
veloping sound technique, keeping
in mind the needs of the athlete and
the sport (see “Means and Methods
of Speed Training: Part I” for a dis-
cussion on how much technique
should be emphasized by nontrack
athletes).
• Speed training must be progressive
to prevent injuries and maximize de-
velopment.
• Speed training workouts should be
1-directional (i.e., they should focus
primarily on 1 component and 1 dis-
tance) (5). Although multiple dis-
tances could be included in a work-
out, one would not want to train
more than 1 component in a work-
out. For example, on the basis of the
descriptions above, individual work-
outs could focus on short distances
(i.e., acceleration), maximum veloci-
ty, varied-pace running, resisted
sprinting, assisted sprinting, sub-
maximum recovery or endurance
runs, or conditioning.
• Speed training should allow enough
recovery between sessions. Avoid
conducting consecutive workouts
aimed at the same component and
allow 24 to 48 hours of recovery be-
tween sessions (1, 5, 13–15).
With the training methods and guide-
lines described, the remainder of this
article presents a sample workout pro-
gram for a high-school athlete playing
a generic team sport. This generic team
sport involves long periods of stand-
ing, walking, or slow jogging with in-
termittent high-intensity sprints gen-
erally less than 15 m. However, these
short-distance sprints will occur re-
peatedly throughout the game. Occa-
sionally during the course of the game,
the athlete may be called upon to run
longer sprints (up to 100 m). Any pro-
gram designed to benefit this athlete
will need to be able to develop the abil-
ity to accelerate, provide some work on
maximal velocity running, and im-
prove the ability to repeat high-inten-
sity sprints.
Our hypothetical athlete does not have a
strong background in sprinting or in
technique. The program will need to de-

February 2005 • Strength and Conditioning Journal 23

 many of which are performed at a faster
Table 6
In-Season Speed Training
pace (e.g., skips instead of walks, “A”
drills are also integrated into the pro-
Monday Friday gram) than in the early off-season train-
ing. Volume is increasing on the work-
Primary focus Acceleration Conditioning
outs, although they are still focused on
Exercises (sets
reps Warm-up Warm-up speed training, acceleration, and condi-

distance) • Dynamic flexibility • Dynamic flexibility tioning. Crouching starts are introduced
exercises (10–15 min) exercises (10–15 min) to help reinforce and apply the concept
• Straight leg bounds, al- • Straight leg bounds, of taking the first few steps explosively
ternate ( 3
20 m) alternate (1
20 m) during the sprinting motion. Condi-
• Heel kicks, skip • Heel kicks, skip tioning drills are now performed with an
(1
20 m) (1
20 m) active recovery, and the athlete will per-
• High knee skip • High knee skip
form a slow jog between high-intensity
(3
20 m) (2
20 m)
sprints.
• “A” drill, walk, alternate • “A” skip (2
20 m)
(2
20 m)
Workout Preseason
Workout • Standing starts As can be seen in Table 5, training dur-
• Crouching starts (10
150 m) ing the preseason is increased to 4 times
(3
20 m) per week. Because acceleration is the
• Sport-specific starts Cool-down most important quality in this sport, it
(5
20 m) • Foot-/ankle-strength- is performed twice a week. Condition-
ening drills (10–15 min) ing is still performed once with active re-
Cool-down covery between sprints, and resisted
• Foot-/ankle-strength-
sprints are included to help with explo-
ening drills (10–15 min)
siveness and to continue developing
Rest between 3 1, jog between sprints maximum velocity running. Sport-spe-
reps / sets (min) cific starts are introduced to help apply
Reps = repetitions. the skills that have been developed di-
rectly to the sport. Technique drills are
performed at faster speeds, and more
velop the qualities mentioned above and simple to more complex as the week complex technique drills (e.g., alternat-
develop the athlete’s technique, intro- unfolds. Sprints in the early off-season ing “A” walks and “A” skips) are intro-
duce advanced drills slowly, and gradu- are done from a falling start or a stand- duced. Volume is still progressively in-
ally improve the athlete’s fitness levels. ing start. This is to help teach the ath- creasing.
lete how to take the first few steps ex-
The program is divided into 4 phases: plosively, which will be extremely In-Season
early off-season, late off-season, presea- important because the majority of the Recognizing a reduction in available
son, and in-season. sprints performed during a game will training time during the in-season,
be of a shorter distance (i.e., the ath- training is reduced to 2 times per week.
Early Off-Season lete will not have much time during Table 6 shows a sample of workouts
Because the athlete does not have a the game to generate speed). Condi- from the in-season. One session focuses
background in speed training, the first tioning work begins in this phase to on acceleration (primarily performed
few months of training are meant to begin developing the athlete’s ability to from sport-specific starts) and the other
begin developing the athlete’s running repeat high-intensity sprints. focuses on maintaining conditioning.
technique, teaching the athlete how to Technique drills are the most complex of
start explosively, and develop basic Late Off-Season the training year; skips and bounds are
conditioning. Table 3 presents a sam- Table 4 shows a sample of late off-season performed along with “A” drills (walk
ple week of workouts from this phase workouts for this hypothetical athlete. and skip).
of training. Each day uses dynamic The athlete has had a chance to develop
flexibility exercises and technique a technique and fitness base in the early Conclusion
drills as part of the warm-up. Tech- off-season. Now the workouts focus on Speed is important for success in many
nique drills gradually progress from more advanced technique exercises, sports. It can be a component of athletic

24 February 2005 • Strength and Conditioning Journal

fitness that is very difficult for strength velopment. In: Sprints and Relays (4th Altos, CA: TAFNEWS Press, 1978.
and conditioning professionals to train. ed.). J. Jarver, ed. Mountain View, pp. 55–56.
An overwhelming number of training CA: TAFNEWS Press, 1995. pp. 17. Sandstrom, R. Improvement in accel-
means often are available, with conflict- 82–86. eration. In: Sprints and Relays (2nd
ing information about their applica- 11. Lockie, R.G., A.J. Murphy, and C.D. ed.). Los Altos, CA: TAFNEWS Press,
tion, effectiveness, and usefulness to Spinks. Effects of resisted sled towing 1983. pp. 52–55.
nontrack athletes. Although a compre- on sprint kinematics in field-sport ath-
hensive article on speed development is letes. J. Strength Cond. Res. 17(4):760– Ackno w l e d g m e n t s : The author would
not possible, it is hoped that this article 767. 2003. like to thank Michael Cunningham and
has shed some light on the more popu- 12. Lohman, W. Correcting sprinting Ken Jakalski for their help in the prepa-
lar tools and concepts concerning speed faults. In: Sprints and Relays. J. Jarver, ration of this article.
training. ♦ ed. Los Altos, CA: TAFNEWS Press,
1978. pp. 29–34.
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