Speed Workout For Athletes Here is a sample workout I do with my...

59 views Mar 23, 2025 ~3 min read

Speed Workout For Athletes

Here is a sample workout I do with my football athletes to improve their speed & help develop their acceleration abilities.

Let’s dive in ⬇️

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Philosophy

Speed kills in all sports

Skill being equal, the faster athlete will be at a distinct advantage over their competition

Also, by training the qualities of speed, you will also help develop other athletic abilities

We will train acceleration 2x/week to maximize the development of:

1) Force
2) Power
3) Velocity

1x/week will get good results, but 2x/week is ideal

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1) Bounce Fire Series

I got this from @KulaPerformance years ago & it has been a staple of our speed workouts

I have added my own variations here & there, but the movements we use here will prepare our bodies for better speed

Some movements we touch:

▫️Ankle Dorsi ➡️ Plantar Flexion
▫️Shuffles w/ Speed
▫️March
▫️Skip
▫️Unilateral Skips

                        0:02

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2) Med Ball Throws

Not only are these great training tools, but also great tools to assess athletes power

These won’t do much by themselves to improve speed

But I use these with athletes to increase motor unit recruitment prior to higher intensity exercises

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3) Horizontal Plyometrics

One of your best tools to supplement your sprints for speed

I use primarily horizontal plyometrics on acceleration days because I believe they pair really well in force & power development

I will include some variation of the following broad jumps in our workouts:

▫️Single reps
▫️Multiple response
▫️Single Leg
▫️Resisted

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4) Heavily & Moderately Resisted Sprints

I don’t care what any study says

If you want to improve force & power in acceleration you must load your sprints up with a decent load

I use loads >50% VDEC to work on initial acceleration (force)

I use loads between 30-50% VDEC to work on maximal power in acceleration

Distances between 10-30m

                        0:04

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5) Lightly Resisted Sprints

I like to couple these with heavier resisted sprints to build late acceleration

These will be loads that create <10% VDEC of the athletes top speed 

I prescribe these at distances >30m

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6) Timed Sprints

I will time athletes every single speed session we have

Not only to give players feedback on how their body feels for the day

But also to dictate future programming

I will utilize 10-20m variations in season

And utilize 30-40m variations in the offseason

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TL;DR

Speed Workout For Athletes

Acceleration Emphasis

1) Bounce/Fire Series
2) Med Ball Throws
3) Horizontal Plyometrics
4) Bounds
5) Heavily Resisted Sprints
6) Lightly Resisted Sprints
7) Timed Sprints

Perform 1-2x/week

Time to track progress & give feedback

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And that’s it!

If you enjoyed this thread can you please:

1) RT the tweet below to share with other athletes to improve speed

2) Follow me @keithjferrara to learn more about how to train to become a better athlete

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REMOTE TRAINING FOR ATHLETES

If you are an athlete looking to improve your speed for your sport

I offer a remote training program that covers all aspects of speed development:

▫️Sprints
▫️Jumps
▫️Throws

1 or 3 month programs available

If this is you, DM me “SPEED” to get started ASAP

Speed Workout For Athletes Here is a sample workout I do with my...

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