1.)    Work on Hip Mobility. This is a HUGE factor when it comes to stride length.

2.)    Work on Hamstring flexibility. Tight Hamstrings will also shorten your stride. STRETCH, STRETCH, STRETCH SOME MORE!

3.)    Increase your lower body max strength. This will determine how much force you can repel into the ground during each stride.

4.)    Improve your rate of force development. This will improve your ability to produce that force QUICKLY, resulting in an increase in speed.

At our facility we follow the Charlie Francis guidelines for speed volume (Under 500 Yards/Week), and sprint right before our lower body workouts. It doesn’t take a lot of sprinting to get faster, as long as you are performing QUALITY sprints.

Here is what we did yesterday at PTS for speed development, after a through 15 minute warmup which included build-up sprints and stride outs, we performed:

        -10 Yard Sprints X 5

        -20 Yard Sprints X 5

That’s it! And I made sure to have my guys walk back after each rep, because if they are not fully recovered, the we are not performing speed training, we are conditioning; Lord knows we get enough of that with the Prowler!

Check out www.charliefrancis.com for more information on how to increase your speed. I think you will be amazed at the simplistic approach that even the most elite level sprinters take.

Running on a treadmill does not get you faster, and neither do all of the gizmos, gadgets, and rocket blasters out there. Get more mobile, get stronger, and improve your lower body power. I don’t promise much, but IF you do those things prepare to watch your speed blow up!

In Speed,

 

Matt