How can you run Faster?

If I asked you the two key components that make someone fast you might say stride length and stride frequency. This theoretically means that having shorts strides with fast feet could be the same as someone that has long strides but slow feet. Although I realize this is possible the Weyand study has caused me to rethink this approach. Is stride length x stride frequency really the model we should look at? Let’s take a look.

The Weyand Study

The Weyand group “undertook this study to test the hypothesis that the different top speeds of human runners are determined by the amount of force applied to the ground rather than how rapidly limbs are repositioned in the air and found this to be the case in each of our two experimental tests. “ 1 They concluded that you reach top speeds not by how quickly you move your feet but by the forces that go into the ground. In other words, you will be faster the more force that goes into the ground.

How to apply this

For me there are a few things we can take away from this. First, don’t train your athletes to take smaller tiny steps to accelerate. Second, train specifically using sleds. Third, train to get stronger.

Small tiny steps to accelerate

When riding a bike you accelerate using smaller gears and work your way up to bigger ones as you get faster. Contrary to belief by some, accelerating while running is not like a bike. You don’t want to start your run off with small tiny steps and slowly work your way up to big huge strides. Sprinting acceleration puts massive amounts of force into the ground pushing you forward. With all that force going into the ground you are sure to cover some amount of distance with each stride. I think small tiny steps can limit the amount of force that goes into the ground, thus making you slower.

Train specifically using sleds

A sled is a speed training device that allows you to load it up with weights for added resistance during sprint training. Sled training is great because it allows the athlete to strength train for speed in a specific manner. Watch someone using a sled loaded with weights and you’ll see a similar motion to that in acceleration. In sled training the body leans forward and the legs pushing down and back. In this position, you are really working the glutes, hamstrings and calf muscles. All three of these muscle groups are critical to proper acceleration.

So how do you choose the weight? Traditionally we were taught not to use more than 10% of an athlete’s body weight on the sled. Contrary to traditional belief and I happen to agree with Mike Boyle, he suggests using mechanics to dictate the weight of the sled. He says if an athlete can maintain proper acceleration mechanics during sled work the weight on the sled should be ok. He further says if mechanics are altered in any way during sled work the weight is too high. 2

Here is a video of Sled Training.  The guy in this video is using 540 pounds.

Train to get Stronger

I won’t spend a lot of time on this since part one talked about getting stronger. So to illustrate why strength is important to speed lets use two athletes squatting one repetition, using the same weight as fast as they can.

Let’s say Athlete X can squat 300 pounds max and Athlete B can squat 500 pounds max (everything is equal with these two athletes except how much they squat. They weigh the same, no injuries etc). To test our theory we put 250 pounds on each athlete’s squat bar and ask them to squat it up and down as fast as possible. Who do you think moved the weight faster? You are correct, it is athlete B. Because he is further away from his maximum he should be able to take the lighter weight and move it easier and faster. As athlete A approached his maximum he found it difficult and slow to move the 250 pounds. I think this is similar in sprinting. Two athletes who weigh exactly the same (with all other factors equal except how strong they are) who are required to sprint 15 yards, the stronger athlete will win.

Summary

It “is” my intention for you to throw out teaching stride frequency as it relates to “soccer” speed training. I am not suggesting that there is never a time or place for that. But my reasoning is two-fold. First, there is not enough time to work every little detail of speed work. To be a great soccer player you also have to possess great soccer skill. So a large amount of time needs to be put into developing basic skills like dribbling, passing, ball control and more. Since this website is for youth athletes you also have school activities, family activities, homework, practice and some athletes play a couple sports. Bottom line, time is limited. Second, the study showed that faster running speeds come about from higher ground forces not greater stride frequency. Why spend your time on something that will deliver minimal results. Focus on improving strength and power for greater improvements in speed. In part three we will talk about the controversial plyo step. Should do a plyo step or not? I would love to hear from trainers, coaches or athletes who don’t agree with this article. I will post the rebuttal online.