Improving Sprint Speed: A Science-Based Approach

Sprinting is a complex motor skill built on strength, power, flexibility and coordination. But recent research points to more than the obvious physical attributes: reflexes and running efficiency matter too.

It helps to split sprinting into three components — acceleration, top speed and speed endurance. Which one matters most depends on the sport. In team sports with short, rapid sprints, acceleration dominates; an 800m runner is all about speed endurance.

The stages of sprinting

Acceleration

Acceleration is where the runner builds speed from a stationary or moving start. It's characterised by a forward lean and powerful strides driving the centre of mass forward. Research is clear that lower-body strength and power are vital here — the ability to generate force and convert it into forward motion through a stiff upper body.

Drills to develop it:

• Slight incline sprinting
• Band-resisted sprint starts
• Partner-resisted sprint starts

Exercises that may carry over: single-leg squats, hops and squat jumps. Traditional strength and power work can also help the amateur runner.

Top speed

Once past maximum acceleration, the runner transitions to top speed — upright running with rapid leg turnover. Stride frequency and length are the key determinants, and top speed depends heavily on the nervous system's ability to allow that frequency. To improve it, overspeed training appears to be the best tool a coach has.

Drills to develop it:

• Band-assisted sprinting
• High-speed treadmill running (be safe)
• Slight incline running

Speed endurance

Speed endurance is holding top speed for as long as possible — a mix of aerobic and anaerobic fitness with efficient mechanics. High-intensity interval training is an effective method, using intervals to target the energy systems and raise the aerobic and anaerobic thresholds. Efficient running style matters too, so you'd programme intervals off form and RPE or heart rate to call rest. As always, it depends on the athlete's goal.

Reflexes, stiffness and efficiency

Beyond mechanics, reflexes play a real role. The slip reflex helps maintain balance when a slip is detected, rapidly contracting muscles to stabilise you — and it may partly initiate the return of the rear leg. The cross-extensor reflex extends the opposite limb when one is withdrawn, helping balance during the rapid alternating leg action of sprinting. Franz Bosch argues this is the power behind the back-leg push he calls "positive running".

Running efficiency — the least energy for the greatest speed — leans on muscle and joint stiffness. A degree of stiffness is good: it transfers force to the ground efficiently, and runners with greater leg stiffness tend to be faster. When athletes return from injury or a layoff they often slow "down" rather than "up" — more time on the floor, more wasted energy. A better response is to travel slower by bounding. Drills that involve bounding, combined with positions that challenge stiffness in the torso, tend to build efficiency, and they're the type FASTER reaches for.

Dynamic systems and motor learning

Dynamic systems theory says complex skills like sprinting aren't run by a central "motor program" — they emerge from the interaction of the muscular, nervous and skeletal systems. Schema theory (skill as motor programme) is the more common language in sports performance, but its reasoning can lead a coach to miss the subtle tweak a client needs. FASTER has moved to a dynamic-systems model for teaching programme and exercise design.

In short, a dynamic-systems approach:

• Treats learning as a non-linear process shaped by the individual, the task and the environment.
• Values variability in practice for more adaptable, robust skills.
• Exposes athletes to a wide range of conditions to prepare for the unpredictable.
• Promotes self-organisation — athletes adapting from the feedback their performance gives them.
• Avoids prescriptive, one-size-fits-all coaching, building environments where athletes find their own solutions.
• Prizes intrinsic motivation and autonomy.
• Sees learning as long-term, with progress and regression, so patience matters.
• Seeks a balance of stability (consistency) and flexibility (adaptability).

Applied to sprinting, that might mean varying the incline, the stride length or the speed and watching how the runner's mechanics respond.

A sprint training template

This is a skeleton — the coach adds the variables and tools each client needs.

Acceleration, weeks 1–2: 10 × 20m sprints, explosive starts, 2 min rest; then 5 × 40m maintaining speed after the initial acceleration, 3 min rest.

Acceleration, weeks 3–4: 8 × 30m, explosive starts held longer, 2 min rest; then 4 × 50m maintaining speed, 3 min rest.

Top speed, weeks 1–2: 5 × 60m reaching top speed, 3 min rest; then 3 × 80m holding it, 4 min rest.

Top speed, weeks 3–4: 4 × 70m reaching and holding top speed, 3 min rest; then 2 × 100m holding it, 5 min rest.

Improving sprint speed isn't just running faster. It's understanding reflex-driven movement, running efficiency and dynamic-systems learning, then building a programme around the individual in front of you.

References and further reading

• Weyand et al. (2000). Faster top running speeds are achieved with greater ground forces not more rapid leg movements. J Appl Physiol, 89(5), 1991–1999.
• Morin et al. (2012). Mechanical determinants of 100-m sprint running performance. Eur J Appl Physiol, 112(11), 3921–3930.
• Laursen & Jenkins (2002). The scientific basis for high-intensity interval training. Sports Med, 32(1), 53–73.
• Zehr & Duysens (2004). Regulation of arm and leg movement during human locomotion. Neuroscientist, 10(4), 347–361.
• Seifert, Button & Davids (2013). Key properties of expert movement systems in sport. Sports Med, 43(3), 167–178.
• Bosch, F. (2015). Strength Training and Coordination: An Integrative Approach.