how can i get faster?

Question

how can i run faster. ankle weights? increase my fast twitch muscle fibers? i dont know, and i want to be able to increase speed, agilty and quickness. i read websites, but all of them told me to order their program. is there some drills or something i cando? give e a link, or tell me please!!!

Answer 1

Ankle weights throw off your rhythm; ditch them immediately! Speed comes from good form, which you develop by practice.

The way to squeeze out bad form is to do some long runs, hill work and interval training. The distance forces your body to produce the energy you need to keep going; once you do one long run a week for a couple of months, the shorter runs seem easy and you have full power the whole time. The hill work puts more muscle mass in your quads mostly and helps you with acceleration. The intervals help your legs cycle faster and you will notice that the way you move your legs changes slightly and makes you faster all the time. But doing these techniques increases the risk of injury, so you need to be careful.

You can get a book that explains all of this in detail; I bought one by Jeff Galloway and have used it for many years; a great value. Be careful when you do these strengthening techniques; you need to rest a few days in between and only do easier workouts. You should run easy for about six months to let your heart and back get good and strong before engaging in these more advances activities. training for spped is great fun, but it's where you get almost all of your injuries. Injuries are the worst.

Answer 2

What event are you doing? 100/200M 400M or hurdles, will make a difference on how you train, for instance you'll need speed endurance for the 200/400M, explosive power for the 100M and speed and technique for hurdles.

Do not use ankle weight for speed training it will screw up your stride pattern and stride frequency and sprinting is all about technique, acceleration and efficiency.
Use speed drills in practice that are short runs and full recovery.
You should already have or if not you need to have a solid strength and power base.

Drills you can use
Warm up thoroughly
5 sets of 10 repetitions (each sprint being 1 repetition).

1. Basic Sprints
Set 2 cones out 10-20 meters apart. Sprint from one cone to the next and slowly jog back to the start.

2. Rolling Start
Exactly the same as above except you jog for 10 meters before sprinting. This drill is specifically designed to enhance acceleration rather than speed off the mark. Try running backwards or side stepping as well.

3. Up Hill Sprints
In competition the first few strides are crucial. Running up a slight hill (about 30 degrees) helps to develop power and acceleration. Keep the distances short (10-15 meters) and allow extra rest between sets and reps.

4. Down Hill Sprints (Over speed training)
Down hill speed and agility drills help to develop leg speed and co-ordination. This is sometimes referred to as over-speed training. Keep the distance short (10-15 meters) and make sure the hill is only slight.

5. Hollow Sprints
Set 5 cones out in 30 meters intervals. Sprint 30 meters, jog 30 meters, sprint 30 meters and jog 30 meters to the final cone. Walk back to the start and repeat.

6. Cruise And Sprint
Mark out a distance of 100 meters. From the start gradually accelerate to reach full speed at about 60 meters. Sprint all out for the final 40 meters.

7. Follow The Leader
A training partner and large area is required for this drill. Have a training partner jog, run and sprint randomly over a large area. You must try to shadow as closely as possible. This is an excellent drill that helps to develop reaction time, acceleration and speed endurance.

Answer 3

Getting faster is easy. Practice!

Ankle weights would be a good start. However, running hills would also help a lot and benefit you just as much if not More. Hills put more strain on your muscles and help increase speed, balance, and stamina.

Long running will also help increase your speed. Time yourself and try to get better every time you run. (Even a second can mean a lot.) Plus, long runs make the shorter things seem Way easy.

If I were you, I'd do hills and maybe some leg weights. Try working on excelling strongly but evenly through the whole race.

Answer 4

Hello,

There are 3 basic ways to get yourself into quick-speed shape;

1. Intervals: Nothing works better than practice. Go to the track once or twice a week and time yourself in some intervals that are 1/2 the distance of your event (i.e. 200m for the 400m, etc...). Don't do it more than that...your body gets stronger when you rest.

2. Hills: Hills are like lifting weights for runners! It takes your body through the natural running motions with shorter strides and going against gravity. Try this workout once a week, but not close to other hard workouts (like intervals).

3. Long runs: Yes, even sprinters can benefit from the long run. it helps develop stamina in your muscles and will make shorter events feel like a breeze. (Jerry Rice used to run long runs all the time for his training).

Hope that helps. Best of luck.

- Mike

Answer 5

Use Brooks running shoes. They are better than Aesics. First of all, start SMALL and work your way up. One day, do speed work. See how fast you can go within 40 yards. Next day, do dashes. Next day, try doing about a half a mile. Take a break the next day. Every few days you need to take a break. If you don't listen to your body you can pull a muscle or get achilles tendonitis. Another thing is to stretch. Stretch immediately after you run. Don't wait. Don't stress yourself out by joining a 5k race when you haven't even gotten a 3k down yet. For the 1st few WEEKS, I would suggest just walking. Next few weeks, do a half mile, and keep on going. But don't push yourself to something your legs don't want to do or what you can't accomplish yet. Good luck!

Answer 6

Track Intervals
Short (100-200) Hill sprints and repeats
Long runs: Ed Moses used to run up to 4.5 miles on sand.
Plyometrics
Deadlift/ Clean and Jerk

Answer 7

You can get faster by training your little muscles not the major group.

DO strectches regularly, swim and increase your speed on the treadmill twice per week until go reach your fastest.

Answer 8

Eat healthy, train lots, and take up lots of other sports that will compliment your running muscles! I suggest:
Swimming
Cycling
Basketball
Horse riding (expensive, but a great inner leg workout, don't let anyone who hasn't ridden hard tell you otherwise)

Answer 9

Runners World has lots of tips and training advise on running. I would suggest speed workouts.

www.runnersworld.com

Answer 10

Well.... many refer to motorbikes (motorcycles) as Iron horses. I would have a hard time choosing between a fast motorbike and a live, fast horse. Cars are too confining.