Lifting for Speed Development
How can lifting weights possibly make athletes faster? Athletes training for speed development can derive their work from the weight room, advancing their explosive power and muscle elasticity that will translate into speed in their respective sports. These exercises focusing on speed development mainly target the quadriceps, hamstring, calves, and glute muscles. By emphasizing speed development in the weight room, athletes are able to generate more power in their strides in addition to turning the leg over in a faster motion– transforming them into a faster athlete.
Benefits of Lifting for Speed:
Increased muscle strength: Weight-lifting can help athletes increase muscle strength, allowing them to generate more power during their sprints. This increased power can lead to faster running speeds and improved sprint times.
Improved muscle endurance: Weight-lifting can also help athletes improve muscle endurance. This can help them maintain their speed for longer periods, which can be particularly beneficial in situations where they may need to run for a longer time, such as soccer or 400m races on the track.
Improved energy output: Weight-lifting can also help athletes improve the amount of energy used to run at a certain speed. This can help them run faster and more efficiently.
Reduced risk of injury: By strengthening the muscles, tendons, and ligaments around the joints, weight-lifting can help to protect athletes from common running injuries.
Boosts metabolism: Strength training helps increase muscle mass, which requires more energy to maintain than fat tissue. In order to fulfill the energy requirements needed from muscle mass, the body’s metabolism increases. This boost in metabolism not only maintains muscle mass, but also helps burn more calories– even when at rest. It can even help prevent muscle loss during weight loss, which can lead to a decrease in metabolic rate.
Weight-lifting to increase speed for an athlete’s sport can be categorized into three different types— maximum strength training, explosive power training, and reactive strength training. Each category focuses on various aspects of developing speed for athletes.
Maximum Strength Training:
This type of training focuses on hypertrophy, or, the building of muscle mass. It is similar to the training that a bodybuilder would do, as it is meant to be fundamental for athletes to develop before more reactive and explosive work. This strength training consists mainly of compound movements that incorporate multiple muscle groups. These movements are performed at a slower rate during the eccentric phase and then at a quicker rate during the concentric phase. For example, when going down (eccentric) during a squat, it should be done slowly. When going up, it should be performed quickly and powerfully. When done correctly, these exercises simulate the force produced during quick movements such as running and jumping– allowing athletes to strengthen their muscles and develop speed. Examples of these exercises include:
Back Squat
Front Squat
Deadlift
Nordic Curls
Lunges
Hamstring Curls
Explosive Strength Training:
This type of training is quicker and focuses on producing a powerful amount of force at a faster rate. It can be simplified into the phrase “moving heavy weight fast”, as athletes produce power during quick movements with a heavy load. Explosive training simulates the acceleration that athletes would perform in their sport. Compared to maximum strength exercises, explosive training is performed at a quicker and more powerful rate.
Power Clean
Snatch
Squat Jump
Med Ball Toss
Box Jump
Standing Long Jump
Reactive Strength Training:
Mainly consisting of plyometric exercises, reactive strength training is meant to simulate the movements done during running or sprinting. It simulates the force production and leg movements that would be done during a sprint, minimizing the amount of ground contact time while simultaneously producing the maximum amount of force. Examples of these reactive strength training exercises include weighted vests, sleds, and box jumps. It can also include plyometrics such as:
Low hurdle jumps with bounce
Hops
Sprint bounding
Vest sprints
Sled sprints
When performing these types of exercises to develop speed, proper form must be maintained to get the most optimal development and reduce the energy risk. Weight is best to be increased by a progressive overload, which should match the intensity of the exercise for each athlete. With proper technique and training intensity, athletes can perform these exercises to develop their force production, power, and speed.
Sources:
Parisi, Bill. “The Fundamentals of Increasing Strength to Improve Speed.” TrainHeroic, TrainHeroic, 21 July 2019, www.trainheroic.com/blog/the-fundamentals-of-increasing-strength-to-improve-speed/.
Putsov, Sergii, et al. “Strength Training for Sprinters (Detailed Program).” Torokhtiy Weightlifting, 12 June 2024, torokhtiy.com/blogs/guides/lifting-for-sprinters#:~:text=The%20best%20lifts%20for%20sprinters,%2C%20planks%2C%20and%20Russian%20twists.
Read, Tyler. “Explosive Workouts: Benefits, Exercises, and Workout Plans.” Healthline, Healthline Media, 18 Apr. 2022, www.healthline.com/health/fitness/explosive-workouts#how-to-train.
“Strength Training for Increased Speed and Power.” The Speed Project, The Speed Project, 22 Sept. 2020, www.thespeedproject.com/sprinting/strength-training-for-speed/.