Well developed muscles can support you in any kind of athletic competition. If you want to build speed, you have to work on functional exercises and weight training for speed so your lower body can help you move in top form.
Having core strength is also incredibly important, since it contributes to balance and coordination. The faster you move, the harder your body has to push to keep all your muscles working together.
A diverse set of weight lifting exercises will teach muscle groups to cooperate and give you greater speed endurance. As speed athletes know, endurance is just as important as acceleration.
One of the best kept secrets of the weight training for speed crowd is the weight vest. If you wear a weighted vest with the weight distributed evenly over your body, you’ll condition your core to contribute harder to your run and overtrain your legs.
Weight Training for Speed – "overtraining" is a good thing
In this case, “overtraining” is a good thing: it means that when you get rid of the weights, you’ll be able to overspeed. Your ordinary running, jogging, and sprinting routines will see much better results when you use the weight vest, but that’s not all you can do with it. It can also be a part of a full weight routine.
Let’s say you start the day with your ordinary weight lifting routine. If you’re weight training for speed, this is going to include things like the squat and leg press.
To get your whole leg engaged, you’ll want to throw in some leg curls, calf raises (standing and sitting), and hip adduction.
Now you’re ready to hit the track! Equipped with your trusty weight vest, you can mix it up a little after an initial speed run.
Try bounding, broad jumps, and the explosive step up. All of these exercises are going to push you much further thanks to the additional resistance of your vest.
There are a lot of ways you can use weight training for speed to build the foundation of incredible sprints and endurance. New training methods and drills are developed every day by fitness experts and athletes around the world.
As a member of SpeedTrainingPro.com, you’ll have the inside track as our own crack team of speed fanatics provides you with up to the minute insights on speed training.
That includes video, audio, and our secret weapon: the customized running analysis. By looking at a video of your best time, we can give you tips that can enhance your speed as soon as the next race.