Imagine this: You’re out for your usual run, but today, something feels different. You’re flying down the path, legs moving like clockwork, breathing in sync with your steps.
You glance at your watch—wow, your pace is faster than ever! Speed like this doesn’t just happen overnight; it’s earned through dedication and the right training.
Whether you’re chasing a new personal best or simply want to feel stronger during your runs, speed training workouts are your secret weapon.
But here’s the thing—speed isn’t just about running faster; it’s about understanding how to unlock your full athletic potential. Ready to tap into your inner speed work demon? Let’s dive into the essentials that will take your pace to the next level.
Unleashing Your Inner Speed Demon: The Power of Speed Workouts
Many believe speed workouts are for marathoners and Olympic sprinting hopefuls only. In fact, they benefit runners of all levels, even beginners.
“Agility and speed training is one of the most important components of athletic performance. It helps athletes increase their explosiveness, power, and endurance.”
Dr. Michael Yessis
To shave seconds off your best time, use speed training workouts. They will build strength and add variety to your running. They can help.
What Exactly Is a Speed Workout Anyway?
A running speed workout goes beyond your average jog. It’s a planned, structured workout. It will challenge your body in new ways. This will greatly improve your running performance.
Pushing Your Limits
It’s about pushing your limits in short, intense bursts. These are followed by recovery periods. This type of training is often called interval training. You alternate between high-intensity exercise and active recovery.
Improved Performance
It’s about training your body to perform at a higher intensity than your usual easy pace, leading to:
- Improved cardiovascular fitness: Your heart pumps blood more efficiently. You can run at a higher intensity for longer.
- Increased muscle strength: High-intensity exercise makes your muscles stronger and more resilient.
- Improved running efficiency: Your body learns to use less energy. It can then run the same speed and distance.
Adding speed workouts to your training will greatly improve your running performance. This includes races from 5Ks to marathons and beyond.
The Science Behind the Speed: Why It Works
Our bodies primarily use two types of muscle fibers: slow-twitch and fast-twitch. Slow-twitch fibers are for endurance. They let us sustain long, steady activities.
Fast-twitch fibers are built for power and speed. They enable us to burst into high-intensity efforts.
Regular, steady-paced runs primarily engage slow-twitch fibers, which are great for building endurance. To unlock the power of fast-twitch fibers, we must do speed training workouts. They will make us more efficient.
Research shows that speed workouts improve our oxygen use.
We increase our mitochondrial density. This lets our muscles extract oxygen better and produce energy faster.
Have you heard the term “lactate threshold“? It refers to the point in exercise where lactate, a byproduct of intense activity, builds up in our blood faster than our bodies can remove it. This leads to fatigue.
Adding speed workouts to your running can help raise this threshold. You’ll be able to easy run for longer.
By incorporating speed workouts into your training, you can:
- Increase your lactate threshold
- Improve your running technique and efficiency
- Enhance your overall performance
- Boost your confidence and mental toughness
Research shows that these workouts improve our body’s use of oxygen.
Have you heard the term “lactate threshold“? This refers to the point in exercise where lactate – a byproduct of intense activity – builds up in our blood. It happens faster than our bodies can remove it, causing fatigue.
Adding faster speed training workouts to your running can help raise this threshold. You’ll then be able to run faster for longer.
Types of Speed Workouts: A Buffet of Options for Every Runner
Here’s the best part: speed workouts aren’t a one-size-fits-all endeavor. There’s a variety of approaches tailored to different needs and goals:
1. Intervals: The Bread and Butter
Think of interval training as high-intensity bursts followed by short recovery jogs. They’re great for boosting both speed and endurance. The beauty lies in customization.
You control the distance of your intervals – think 400-meter repeats or even mile repeats – adjusting them based on your goal race pace distance.
400-meter interval workouts1, for example, might look like this: warm up with a relaxed 10-minute run, do dynamic stretches, run 400 meters at your target 5K pace, then recover by jogging for another 400 meters.
Repeat that sequence five times. Remember your cooldown; a 10-minute relaxed-pace run followed by stretching.
2. Tempo Runs: Embrace the Burn
Tempo runs are a favorite for half-marathon and marathon training, though runners aiming for any race distance can benefit from them.
They involve running at a comfortably hard pace – one you could hold for about an hour – for a continuous period.
This “comfortably hard” is about 70% effort level, about the pace of your goal 10k. New to tempos?
Aim for a 25-minute tempo run and gradually increase the duration as your fitness progresses. Like any speed workout, remember to warm up and cool down appropriately.
For more tips on incorporating effective workouts into your routine, check out our guide on bodyweight HIIT workouts to help boost your overall fitness!
3. Fartleks: Speed Play at Its Finest
Don’t let the unusual name throw you off. Fartlek2 is Swedish for “speed play”, which accurately reflects the flexible nature of this speed workout.
Imagine alternating between short bursts of fast running and periods of slower, recovery-paced running. The key difference from intervals is that fartleks are less structured, allowing for more spontaneous shifts in pace.
4. Hill Sprints: Conquering the Incline
Hill sprints do exactly what their name suggests: sprinting uphill. It’s simple: Find a hill with about an 8–12% incline, sprint uphill for 8–12 seconds, and then jog or walk down to recover3.
Start with six repetitions and gradually increase the number as you get stronger. Hill sprints build explosive power and strength, proving incredibly useful for those hilly races or just getting faster on flat terrain.
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How to Incorporate Speed Workouts: A Recipe for Success
Start slow, incorporating just one speed workout into your weekly running schedule. This allows your body to adapt to the new demands of speed training, reducing the risk of injury or burnout.
Warm-up and Cool-down: Essential Routines for Speed Success
Before diving into any high-intensity speed workout, it’s crucial to prime your body with a proper warm-up. Warming up helps increase blood flow to your muscles, enhances flexibility, and reduces the risk of injury.
Try starting with 5–10 minutes of light jogging or dynamic stretches like leg swings and high knees to activate your muscles and loosen your joints. This preps your body for the explosive movements needed for speed training.
Equally important is the cool-down phase. After an intense session, your muscles need to gradually return to their resting state.
A 5–10 minute cool-down with light jogging followed by static stretches helps reduce muscle stiffness, promotes recovery, and prepares you for your next workout.
Gradually Increase Frequency
As your fitness grows, you can add another speed workout, ultimately aiming for two to three sessions weekly. Be sure to intersperse these high-intensity sessions with rest days and easy runs to allow for recovery and adaptation.
Optimize Frequency Based on Training Type
A 2017 study on speed workouts in the Journal of Physical Fitness, Medicine & Treatment in Sports discovered that the ideal frequency for various kinds of speed workouts varied depending on the specific type of training.
Resisted Speed Training
- 2-3 weekly sessions recommended for resisted speed training, such as uphill running or resisted band running.
Assisted Agility and Speed Training
- 3-6 weekly sessions for downhill running and assisted towed running, depending on individual goals and fitness levels4.
- Up to 6 times per week for elastic cord running, which provides a high-intensity, low-impact workout.
Remember, the key to successful speed workouts is to start slow, listen to your body, and gradually increase frequency and intensity as you adapt.
Start slow, incorporating just one speed workout into your weekly running schedule. As your fitness grows, you can add another, ultimately aiming for two to three sessions weekly, interspersed with rest days and easy runs.
A 2017 study on speed workouts5 in the Journal of Physical Fitness, Medicine & Treatment in Sports discovered that the ideal frequency for various kinds of speed workouts varied depending on the specific type of training.
While two to three weekly sessions of resisted speed training plan were recommended, the frequency of assisted speed training could range from three times weekly for downhill running and assisted towed running, to as frequent as six times per week for elastic cord running.
| Speed Workout | Recommended Frequency (per week) |
|---|---|
| Resisted Speed Training | 2-3 |
| Downhill Running (Assisted) | 3 |
| Assisted Towed Running | 3 |
| Elastic Cord Running (Assisted) | Up to 6 |
Beyond the Workout: Additional Ingredients for Speed
Think of speed workouts as one vital part of your running transformation journey. Alongside these intense bursts, consider these strategies:
- Focus on proper running form.
- Incorporate regular strength training, at least twice a week.
- Make rest and recovery a priority, listening to your body.
- Stay hydrated, eat a balanced diet, and prioritize sleep.
Here’s how you could incorporate these missing aspects into the article:
Warm-up and Cool-down: Essential Routines for Speed Success
Before diving into any high-intensity speed workout, it’s crucial to prime your body with a proper warm-up. Warming up helps increase blood flow to your muscles, enhances flexibility, and reduces the risk of injury.
Try starting with 5–10 minutes of light jogging or dynamic stretches like leg swings and high knees to activate your muscles and loosen your joints. This preps your body for the explosive movements needed for speed training.
Equally important is the cool-down phase. After an intense session, your muscles need to gradually return to their resting state. A 5–10 minute cool-down with light jogging followed by static stretches helps reduce muscle stiffness, promotes recovery, and prepares you for your next workout.
Mastering the Mental Game of Speed Workouts
Speed workouts aren’t just a physical challenge—they’re a mental one too. Pushing your limits requires mental toughness, and many runners struggle to break through the discomfort barrier.
One strategy is visualization—imagine yourself reaching the finish line at your desired pace or picture how strong and accomplished you’ll feel after completing a tough session.
Staying motivated can also be tough, especially when fatigue sets in. Break the workout into smaller, manageable chunks. Instead of focusing on the entire session, take it interval by interval.
Celebrate each mini-goal to build momentum. Finally, embrace the discomfort as a sign of progress. Speed workouts are meant to be challenging, but each step you push through builds not only your speed but your mental resilience too.
Conclusion
While the term “speed workout” may initially seem daunting, remember this; it’s not about becoming the fastest runner in the world. It’s not about competing with others or trying to keep up with elite athletes. It’s about something much more personal and achievable.
Instead, it’s about unleashing your personal best, pushing your own boundaries, and experiencing the empowering joy of running with greater strength and efficiency.
This means focusing on your own progress, celebrating small victories, and recognizing the improvements you make along the way.
By incorporating speed workouts into your training plan routine, you can break through plateaus, challenge yourself in new ways, and discover a sense of accomplishment that will keep you motivated and inspired to continue pushing your limits.
Small Step, Big Impact
Start incorporating interval training into your weekly routine by alternating between high-intensity sprints and recovery periods to enhance your speed and endurance.
- https://www.nycustompt.com/3-speed-workouts-to-improve-your-race-times[↩]
- https://barbend.com/fartlek-training/[↩]
- https://www.asics.com/gb/en-gb/running-advice/hill-training-guide/[↩]
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9765377/[↩]
- https://juniperpublishers.com/jpfmts/pdf/JPFMTS.MS.ID.555554.pdf[↩]
