5 tricks to improve running speed

Our collaborator Personal Running tells us in this article some tips to improve our speed in running

 

When we start training, we usually do it only through continuous running. In the early stages, the speed of the race tends to improve only with the continuous race, but there will come a time when we will suffer a stagnation in our speed that will need other forms of training to continue with our progression.
 

 

We leave 5 key aspects to take into account when making our sessions, which will help us improve our speed in the race on foot:

 

1.- INTERVALIC TRAINING OR SERIES

 

Series training or interval training is the main type of training we must do if we want to increase our speed. This type of training is a very intense training, and through its realization we will increase our effort capacity and our threshold of suffering.

 

These workouts will produce a large amount of lactic acid, to which the body will respond by improving its elimination capacity, increasing our performance.

 

It consists of splitting our training, making different series of a certain distance with a break between the different series, in order to make these shorter distances at a higher speed than we could carry in longer distances.

 

These series are performed at rates similar to and higher than the competition rhythms, and are performed at an intensity above the anaerobic threshold. Thanks to this we habituate the organism to satisfy very high energy demands, which will be even higher than those that will be used later in the competition.

 

It is not advisable to always perform the same series of the same duration, but we must vary both the distances and the number of series depending on the time of the season in which we are, as well as the rest time. The short series (between 100 and 400 m) they will give us more power and specific speed, which will be very useful for us, for example on the slopes or in the final part of the races. The long series (between 500 and 3000 m) will provide us with a specific improvement of career rhythms and a greater anaerobic resistance.

 

A similar training is variable continuous training, Fartleck or changes of rhythm. The difference is that this type of training there is no rest, only variations in speed with fast parts and slow parts. Before starting series training it is advisable to start with training of this type, and once dominated and especially when approaching the main competition, go to trainings series with greater intensity.

 

2.- EXERCISES OF CAREER TECHNIQUE

 

The work of the career technique is essential to be able to improve our way of running. It may seem like a type of secondary training, but it is a fundamental part to improve efficiency in the race and with that to be able to maintain a greater pace for a longer time.

 

These exercises will gradually change our career towards a more correct, effective and economical way of running. It will strengthen our muscles, strengthen our ligaments and tendons near the ankle preventing us from possible injuries, will decrease energy expenditure and will get to do our wider stride.

 

In addition, in each stride your foot hits the ground, this impact against the ground implies a loss of speed, which will make you have to use the energy of your muscles to keep pushing forward and maintain a constant speed.

 

If we manage to make a cyclical career gesture by investing a smaller amount of energy, we will be able to increase our performance. And if in turn, we get our stride slightly wider, this will make us have to use less strides to make the same distance, with which we will spend less energy and therefore we will be more efficient and we will get a higher performance.

 

We take this opportunity to leave you a link with a large battery of career technique exercises of all levels:

 

http://personalrunning.com/blog/tecnica-de-carrera/

 

3.- SERIES IN CUESTA

 

To get more muscle power to help us in the race we will use the slopes to perform specific training in them.

 

With this type of training specific strength we will get our muscles to work harder than running on level ground, resulting in a more efficient stride and increase in speed.

 

As we have said in series training on flat terrain, do not always train on the same slope and do the same number of repetitions. Varies your workouts with slopes of different types, with different slopes and different distances. The short slopes and with greater slope (slopes of less than 100 m with more than 10% drop) our they will bring an explosive force and therefore a higher specific speed. With the longer slopes and with lower slope (Slopes from 100 m and with differences of 5% -8%) we do a greater job of resistance force, which will provide us with improvement of our rhythms in career, since this work in slope accustoms to the muscle to recruit greater number of muscular fibers when this one begins to feel the fatigue.

 

4.- COORDINATION AND FREQUENCY WORK

 

Good coordination will allow your feet to move faster and your momentum on the ground to be faster, stronger and more effective. Make a coordination work of feet and stride frequency, it will allow us to develop some "fast feet". Through this concept of "fast feet" we try to make the support of the foot on the ground as short as possible by making the foot take off immediately after having hit.

 

How much the contact time is shorter of the foot on the floor the greater our speed, due to a greater use of inertia and a less loss of energy.

 

This work can be done through certain specific technique exercises for the stride frequency work, such as: skipping low, fast jumps with feet together, alternate impulses of feet with extended knees, etc.

 

Another good way to work it is with exercises in stairs and even in banks, performing different exercises of coordination, frequency and muscular power with the intention of improving our frequency in the race. The most specific work for this type of training can be done in a coordination staircase, through a large number of exercises that will improve our coordination capacity and our speed in support.

 

Here you have a link with several coordination exercises on stairs:

 

http://personalrunning.com/blog/escaleras/

 

5.- PLIOMETRY

 

This last point is advisable to do it only when you have a certain level of training and we have done a good job of strengthening the lower body muscle, otherwise it could be too much training aggressive for our muscles and our joints

 

It is a type of training that is based on realization of jumps of different types: to a foot, to two feet, horizontal, vertical jumps, with different heights, etc., and often it is also called as multi-jumps.

 

The jumps they are exercises in which a combination of strength and speed, trying to move as quickly as possible and as far as possible, where very explosive and powerful movements are made.

 

In the realization of this type of training there will be start doing exercises of a low intensity, and customized that you get a Greater experience and a greater power can be incorporated exercises with greater intensity. Being a very intense training at muscular level No. It is convenient to make more than one weekly training of this type, and it would be leave a day of rest or perform a soft-moderate intensity workout on the following day to have a good recovery.

 

Here you have a link with several plyometrics exercises:

 

http://personalrunning.com/blog/pliometria-potencia/