Interval training helps improve running speed by gradually increasing your body's efficiency at clearing lactic acid from the muscles – which means that, over time, you'll be able to run faster for longer.
Leg Strength Exercises to Improve Speed
To run and move faster, you need your legs. Building strength in the quads, hamstrings, and other big muscle groups will improve speed over time. Aim for at least two leg strength training sessions per week that include: squats, deadlifts, and lunges.
Lifting weights, running high mileage, drills, and even sprint workouts will all help increase your overall speed.
To see results, you need to burn fat as well as tone your muscles, which is why Brown likes high-intensity interval training (HIIT), performing strength moves with short rest periods between sets. Perform the moves on non-consecutive days to give your muscles time to recover and rebuild.
A long-time plastic surgeon has a surprising warning about what exercise ages a person faster — running.
In summary, Women are the strongest between 26 and 37 years of age. Men are the strongest between 26 and 35 years of age. But of course there are individual differences between athletes and some people peak before or after that age window.
HIIT (High-intensity interval training) is ideal for beginners or seasoned athletes alike. The idea is to perform an exercise to your maximum ability for 45 seconds, take a rest and then repeat the process again. HIIT is designed to build more lean muscle mass than traditional workouts and boosts metabolic rate.
But from a performance point of view, there is no benefit, it is not going to make you run faster or better. “A lot of professional coaches think that getting all loosey-goosey – when your limbs are all over the place – may make it more likely that you will injure yourself.
In this drill, you jump continuously on one foot before alternating after a specific length of time or number of hops. This drill is a great way to find better balance and more explosiveness in your legs. Side-to-side jumps are another drill that runners love because it improves lateral quickness and agility.
Stronger Lower Body
These muscle groups play a significant role in propelling you forward and absorbing force during a run. By incorporating squats into your training routine, you can specifically target and strengthen these muscles, leading to improved power and efficiency in each stride.
Flexibility in your hips has a direct impact on your speed. Your stride will be shorter if you lack flexibility since you won't utilize your body's maximum range of motion. Similarly, if you're looking to increase your strength, flexibility opens up the opportunity to get the most out of your training.
“Along with optimizing your athletic performance, daily stretching increases your comfort during [daily] activities by promoting flexibility and mobility, which can ultimately decrease your risk of injury and chronic pain,” says Marissa Miller, an ACE-certified personal trainer.
The short answer is: yes! Research has found that 10‑minute workouts can help improve your health and fitness, particularly if you aren't used to exercising. Scheduling gym time or a long workout can feel overwhelming, especially on busy days.
Full-body workouts work best for most people
Compound movements like deadlifts give you the most bang for your buck (buck = time). There are a few reasons for this, but the main reason most people should do full-body workouts over split workouts is time.
In terms of agility, strength, balance and overall fitness, a healthy human body's potential peaks between mid-20s to early 30s. After that, there's a gradual decline, and you can no longer just leave your body alone and expect it to be just as fit as it was yesterday.
In general, “it means being able to have the muscle strength, endurance, power, joint mobility, and overall flexibility to perform tasks or physical activities without undue fatigue or extreme effort,” Cheatham says.
This is one of the ways that youth performances can be better appreciated and evaluated by reducing the impact of relative age effect. The age of peak athletic performance varies widely across different sports and between sexes/genders, typically ranging from 20 to 30 years old.