Runners are always asking how to run faster — and sprinters ask how to be the fastest.
The tricky part is that, when you’re already pushing yourself at near-maximal speeds, you can’t simply run harder to improve your sprints. (At least, not without risk of injury.)
Safely improving your sprint speed takes a LOT of diligent training. You need a mix of ample recovery time in combination with running-specific drills to build the necessary strength and form for your sprints.
Of course, that covers a broad range of workouts and drills. But, fear not: we’re here to break down the key components of sprint training to boost your speeds.
The Basics of Sprint Training
Before we dive into how to improve your sprint speeds, let’s start with the basics first.
Sprinting undoubtedly requires loads of training. Beyond having to run fast, your body needs ample strength, endurance, and stability, all of which require significant work to maintain. Let’s break down each of these components and highlight some of the most important areas of focus.
Essential Training Components
With muscular strength, you of course want to target all the major muscle groups in your lower extremity, as they all play a role in your sprints.
However, there are two essential areas that need the most attention: your feet and your glutes. Both muscle groups need consistent strength work to manage the amount of force generated while sprinting — the intrinsic muscles of your feet have to manage the sheer force production when you kick off into your run, and the glutes have to stay strong to absorb impact and repurpose it into forward propulsion. This all contributes to your reactive strength, which is what allows you to move quickly off the ground as you sprint forward.
But, strength work alone isn’t enough to generate the propulsion you need: you also have to have direct practice with horizontal force production. Practice drills that help you develop shear force as you linearly push off the ground, just as you would during the initial push-off of your sprint. Focus on moving out and moving long to really channel those forces into horizontal movement.
Don’t forget to also include typical running-specific workouts, like those that target core stability and hip extension. While these training components are important for any runner, sprinters need to be diligent with these exercises to retain necessary vertical posture while extending their legs for long enough strides.
And, last but not least, don’t skimp out on your speed work! That might sound obvious, but it’s a whole different ball game compared to other athletes. Most other runners who want to run faster need to focus on building a base of endurance, but for sprinting, your training schedule should comprise a 90/10 ratio of speed to endurance workouts.
Together, these components will build resilience into your body to generate as much power and speed as possible. But, they aren’t the only piece of the puzzle — sprinting can take a large toll on your body, so there are a few important considerations to keep in mind as you’re laying out your training plans.
Best Practices for Safe, Effective Training
The keys with sprint training is balance and variety. Because your body has to go through a lot to keep up with the intensity and frequency of speedwork, it takes a good variety of workouts to increase performance without overworking the muscles.
In most cases, sprinters can practice 1 short-speed session and 1 long-speed session per week.
Your short-speed workouts are best at the start of your training week, as it’s your freshest day. The total yardage should be around or under 250 meters, consisting of multiple, high-intensity bouts of about 30-60 meters each. (Time-wise, each bout should last about 4-8 seconds.) With short-speed sessions, prioritize a 1-to-10 ratio of running and resting periods to ensure full recovery. (You’re going hard and fast, so your body needs ample recovery between each burst of speed to avoid straining your muscles!)
With long-speed days, you’re more focused on speed endurance — that is, how long you can hold high speeds. These workouts shouldn’t be over 800-1,000 meters at most, with each bout of sprinting hitting somewhere between 200-500 meters each. (This will be anywhere from 30-75 seconds each, depending on your intensity and distance.) Because you won’t be flooring it quite as hard as your short-speed sessions, you can implement a 1-to-2 ratio of running and resting.
Work with a sprinting-specific coach to help nail in what specific metrics you should be hitting. But, be sure that you’re prioritizing those run-to-rest ratios: full recovery between every set is absolutely necessary, not just for preventing injury, but also to ensure that you reap as much benefit as possible. If you do not recover properly, you won’t be able to consistently achieve the speed you need, and your training will serve more as aerobic workouts rather than high-intensity anaerobic exercise.
The Best 7 Drills to Improve Sprint Speed
Obviously, there are LOADS of options to choose from when it comes to sprint training — what you choose for your training plan will vary depending on your athletic caliber and goals.
If increased speed is your main focus, you’ll need plenty of drills that target shock absorption and power generation, as well as form-specific drills that will allow you to master your push-off and transition from horizontal to vertical propulsion.
Here are a handful of common drills that are beneficial for improving sprint speed.
Drill #1: Fall-Over
(No, we don’t mean literally falling over…)
This is one of the simpler drills that can make a big impact on your ability to adapt to sprint form. Starting in a standing position, lift one leg up and lean forward. Use that leg to stop from falling, then push back off the ground as quickly as you can.
And that’s all there is to the drill! Though it may not seem like a lot at first, this is a great way of practicing the initial push-off of your sprints. The falling motion helps replicate the near-horizontal angle of your body, and the rapid push off the ground helps you train for immediate force production and propulsion.
Drill #2: Steep Hills
Steep hills are a standard go-to for sprint training. When you’re pushing yourself up a steep incline, your body is positioned in a way similar to that of sprinting — namely, you get a lot of practice with running with the ideal shin angle. Focus on running as fast as you can up the hill for about 5-10 seconds, and that’s your next drill done!
Drill #3: Light Plyometric Sequence
There are plenty of variations for running plyometric workouts, but the key here is to keep it relatively light when starting out.
Start with quick, single- and double-leg hops in short, intensive volume. On average, aim to perform around 30-50 touches in 3 sets of 10. Then, transition into lower volume but higher intensity plyos like box jumps, where you can perform about 10 total touches. These brief drills are a great way to target your calves for explosive power.
Drill #4: Depth Jumps
Also referred to as an altitude jump, depth jumps are an excellent drill for training force production (particularly within the tendons and ligaments) and shock absorption in the muscular tissue.
Most sprinters will work through a progression of depth jumps, starting somewhere around knee height in the beginning stages. These jumps will gradually increase with every few weeks of training, eventually progressing into vertical jumps that are about the height of your rib cage.
Drill #5: Squatting Jumps
In tandem with your depth jumps, squatting jumps really help you dial into the rapid but powerful physiology needed for sprints.
Starting with your feet about shoulder-width apart, drop into about 3/4ths of a squat for your beginning position. From here, perform quick, “stunted” jumps where you pick your feet up and down as quickly as possible. (A common cue for this drill is to act like there’s a ceiling just above your head in that starting position.) Though this isn’t like your standard jump form or mechanics, it will focus on the specific power and speed of your lower body while managing plyometric energy.
You can also adapt this concept with your actual runs, too. Traditional running cues tell you to run tall, but with sprint practice, try running a bit lower than how you would normally run. Focus on running faster and running shorter: when you drop down and run fast, you get a better idea of where your body wants to be at those high speeds. (This concept is referred to as “constraint theory” or “constraint practice,” which we’ll cover in the next section.)
Drill #6: One-Arm Running
This one might sound a bit unnatural for runners, but here’s the idea…
In a standard practice run, take one arm and lock it against your chest and run fast. Try doing this for a couple of reps, then repeat the same with the other arm — this will give you a sense of how much rotational movement you run with. When you take away one extremity, you’ll get a better understanding of rotational constraints and how important the upper body is.
That’s what constraint theory is: it’s a method of training where you focus less on cueing and emphasize what form feels like without certain components. When you take away one aspect of your form for a quick drill, then add it back to your usual training, you gain a better sense of what your standard form feels like and what feels natural. It’s a great way to implement less coach-dominant drills and keep the practice more centered to each individual athlete.
Drill #7: Stride Drills
Just as with endurance runners, sprinters benefit from shortening their strides for faster foot turnover and a higher cadence. To practice these quickened steps, be sure to implement progressive stride drills.
Start by running about 15-20 yards at 80% max effort. Once you hit that distance, run at 100% for another 10 yards and slow yourself out of that speed. Count how many steps you took in that first round, then go through it again while trying to increase the amount of steps you take to shorten your stride.
You can further prompt these stride adaptations by practicing with shortened wickets. Start out with a comfortable placement that suits your initial stride, then gradually decrease the spacing of the wickets to encourage shorter, more accelerated strides and prompt them to put the foot down faster.
Get Back on Track
And there you have it — some handy dandy tips for (safe) effective sprint training! Not only will these training components build a solid anaerobic foundation for your sprints, but it will also improve your capacity for speed and endurance.Just remember: to truly benefit from your training, make sure you’re running fast when you run, and that you’re offsetting that high intensity with sufficient recovery. You can push yourself as hard as you like, but without the proper balance between hard work and ample rest, you won’t be as safe or as progressive in your training as is ideal.
