To become quicker and improve your speed, focus on training your muscles rather than building them. This means using short, high-intensity bursts of exercise that use your fast-twitch muscle fibers. Using a variety of footwork and speed drills, you can boost your speed on the course or court.
Reactive Power
Lifting heavy weights requires limit strength. Performing one quick, powerful movement requires explosive strength. Quick bursts of speed require reactive power, which you can train with plyometric exercises. Reactive power occurs when you create movements using two or more muscles. Jumping and sprinting are two common examples of your body creating reactive power.
Fast-Twitch Muscle Fibers
When you lift heavy weights and perform slower movements, such as walking or bodybuilding, your muscles rely on slow-twitch muscle fibers that use oxygen to perform the work. When you make quick movements, you use fast-twitch muscle fibers that don’t need oxygen to function.
Plyometric Drills
Athletes use plyometric drills to improve their speed. These include movements such as taking giant steps across the length of a gym, jumping off a box and jumping back up, running for two steps, then jumping on the third step, and other running, using a rope ladder, skipping and jumping movements.
Overspeed Drills
Overspeed training includes assistance that allows you to move your muscles faster than you can by yourself. A common exercise requires a partner to hold you as you start running, using a resistance band attached to you or a towel around your waist, then letting you go. When your partner lets you go, you reach a sudden, short burst of speed, moving your legs faster than if you had just run by yourself. You can have a partner stand in front of you, holding a resistance cord attached to you, pulling you as you run toward him. Running down a steep hill brings gravity into play, helping you run faster than you can on an even terrain.
Interval Training
Interval training, also referred to as sprint training, trains your speed and ability to recover afterward so you can repeat quick movements. This type of anaerobic conditioning helps you recover after intense tennis points or football plays. To train this way, you perform an exercise at close to your maximum intensity for 30 seconds to two minutes, depending on your fitness level. After your sprint, you recover by walking for 60 seconds to four minutes, depending on how long your interval was. You’ll not only improve your ability to recover, but will increase your anaerobic capacity to perform sprints.
Stretching
Stretching improves your flexibility, which will allow you to create more reactive power. After you hold a stretch, you stress your muscles in a way that temporarily decreases your power and ability to jump. Top athletes do not static stretch within 20 minutes of their activities, including workouts and drills, saving this type of stretching for afterward.
References
Writer Bio
Sam Ashe-Edmunds has been writing and lecturing for decades. He has worked in the corporate and nonprofit arenas as a C-Suite executive, serving on several nonprofit boards. He is an internationally traveled sport science writer and lecturer. He has been published in print publications such as Entrepreneur, Tennis, SI for Kids, Chicago Tribune, Sacramento Bee, and on websites such Smart-Healthy-Living.net, SmartyCents and Youthletic. Edmunds has a bachelor's degree in journalism.