Fitness Planning Consultants, Inc.

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1 Fitness Planning Consultants, Inc. Presents RUN FASTER METHOD S Quick Speed Improvement Workout By Adam E. Kessler, CSCS, USAW Sport Performance Coach Fitness Planning Consultants, Inc. P.O. Box Columbus, OH (614) Copyright Fitness Planning Consultants, Inc.

2 Limits of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: This guide is designed to provide information in regard to the subject matter covered. The author, business & publisher shall have neither liability nor responsibility to any person or entity with respect to any loss or damaged caused or alleged to be caused, directly or indirectly by the information in this guide. Copyright Notices: The material in this book is protected under International & Federal Copyright Laws & Treaties. All Rights Reserved. Copyright 2011 by Fitness Planning Consultants, Inc. Published under Copyright Laws of the Library of Congress, and the U.S.A., by: Fitness Planning Consultants, Inc. P.O. Box Columbus, OH (614)

Speed is an essential component to an athlete s success in competition. If you can go faster than your opponent and train your body to go faster when he or she can t, you gain the advantage.

3 Speed is an essential component to an athlete s success in competition. If you can go faster than your opponent and train your body to go faster when he or she can t, you gain the advantage. Many facets lie in the realm of speed training alone, and with the latest research, findings, and training methods, today s athlete has to train for each of them. They include strength training, sprint training, form & technique work, plyometrics, and system endurance training. All of these help contribute to creating today s faster athlete. Let s discuss how each component is crucial to the overall development of speed. Strength Training has often been the #1 foundation builder for speed. There are many aspects just for strength training alone that would take pages to cover. Overall, when it comes to speed, there needs to be a good balance of strength throughout the whole body, from your lower legs, to your core or midsection, and even your upper body. Leg strength, especially with hamstring & quadriceps strength, has been found to be a factor in how an athlete develops their speed. Research has suggested that the hamstrings be at a strength level of 75-80% or more to the quadriceps. For example, if your quads can lift 100 pounds, your hamstrings should be able to lift pounds. This is an optimum ratio for speed development. A strong midsection also helps you apply force and keep a stable body, assisting you with your form & technique. Arms are an often overlooked component for specific strength for speed, as they help

balance out the movements of the lower body, and need the strength and high intensity work as well. Sprint Training has been a staple of speed training since the dawn of competition.

4 balance out the movements of the lower body, and need the strength and high intensity work as well. Sprint Training has been a staple of speed training since the dawn of competition. If you want to go faster, you simply have to move fast to get to that level. Sprints, typically in the m distances, work on training energy systems that are needed for high burst, high power activities. They also train the fast-twitch muscle fibers, which need this high intensity work to function properly. Sprinting can be a total waste though, unless you work on proper form. Running Form & Technique can fix quite a few of an athlete s speed problems. Things such as the arms not swinging properly at the shoulder can waste precious energy, the energy you need to run faster with. Other factors such as proper foot plant can make the difference between keeping your speed high, or creating a constant stop & go braking effect on your body. Hip flexibility and proper range of motion also help out with increasing stride length in your form. Plyometrics, or jump training, assists you in many ways. It once again works on the fast twitch fibers, for faster reactions and increases in stride rates. Power & speed endurance is also enhanced with this type of training. Common methods used for Plyometric training include things such as jump ropes, hurdles, boxes, and floor patterns.

Since plyometrics can assist you in developing speed endurance, it s a contributing factor to your body s system endurance, or the primary energy systems your body uses.

5 Since plyometrics can assist you in developing speed endurance, it s a contributing factor to your body s system endurance, or the primary energy systems your body uses. The body uses 3 energy systems: the ATP-PC system, the Lactic Acid system, and the Aerobic system. The ATP-PC system lasts for about 1-10 seconds for most athletes, depending on how much force and energy is applied to the task. The Lactic Acid system works from the 10 second mark to the 2 or 3 minute mark in athletes. Anything past 3 continuous minutes of activity is the primary job of the Aerobic system. Most sports use the first 2 to perform high intensity athletic demands, and use the 3rd one to assist in recovery. All 3 can be used at once, which is why it s essential to know what your sport s demands are. Your basic sports of baseball, football, basketball, hockey, tennis, and volleyball use a combination of the ATP-PC, and Lactic Acid systems primarily. Long distance events like cross-country and cycling put more of a demand on the Aerobic system. With all these components in place, though, they won t help if you do not do them consistently. Just like strength training, speed training must be done consistently so that your body can adapt to it. The genetics still have to be in place to have world class speed, but anybody can improve there speed by tenths of a second if the system is implemented consistently. If you don t train for speed consistently, or not often enough, your body can t

6 adapt and make the neural changes and strength changes possible to move faster. So what we would like to provide you here is a Quick Fix Speed Workout that will get your legs stronger and more explosive. Ideally, you would need to do everything we just mentioned above to get true speed. This is covered in our Run Faster Method (RFM). You can purchase this program today at But, this workout I m about to show you will definitely help you out. I originally saw this program in a Men s Health magazine and really liked it. So I tweaked it and encorporated it in my program with my athletes. Initially, it will get you sore for a few days. Once you start doing it consistently, you will definitely feel stronger and faster. This workout does not need any exercises. It is all bodyweight. You just need space. Also, it is designed for a 6 week cycle. But, if necessary you can expand it to 12 weeks by just doubling each week i.e. do week 1 twice, then start with week 2. This workout is good enough and the frequency isn t that bad, that you could do it off-season, pre-season, or in-season. The exercises you will be doing are the following with the reps per set in ( ): Speed Squats (24) The speed will prepare your legs for more explosive footwork.

7 Alternating Lunge (24 12 per leg) This will strengthen the legs mimicing a proper running position. Split Squat Jump (24 12 per leg) This type of explosion is similar to the explosion you do when you run. So it easily transfers to improved speed. Squat Jump (12) A finisher movement to train those fast twitch fibers to explode. You can watch a video demonstration of this workout at You will perform the workout 2 times a week for Week s 1 and 2. Then from weeks 3 to 6, you will do it once a week. Perform the workout in the order of exercises shown, going from top to bottom. That is one circuit. Do the number of circuits specified with the according rest interval between each exercise and each circuit. Week Number of Circuits Rest Between Exercises Rest Between Circuits seconds 3 minutes seconds 2 minutes seconds 90 seconds seconds 60 seconds seconds No rest 6 6 No rest No rest I will caution that if you haven t done anything exercise-wise in awhile or you are under the age of 14, you might just want to start off cutting the circuits in half for the first week or two because you will be extremely sore.

8 But stick with it. You do this program, you will be more explosive and faster plus your vertical jump will probably increase as well. At the Fitness Planning Consultants, we feel that the best way to improve speed, and have it transferred to competition, is to do land based training. Land based training is simply put training where all your running drills and exercises are performed to mimic your playing conditions as best as possible. No one runs on a treadmill when they are playing sports, thus we don t use such techniques. Consequently, if this program helps you out, then I strongly urge you to take a look at our Run Faster Method. This talks about everything form, acceleration, plyometrics, nutrition, strength training it really is the whole enchilada. Take a look at it at and get it while you can. Then see how you can make a difference on your sports team by the speed you will develop. Move Fast to Be Fast! Adam Kessler, CSCS, USAW Sports Performance Coach

12-Week Vertical Jump Program Trial Version (first 5 weeks of program)

12-Week Vertical Jump Program Trial Version (first 5 weeks of program) Follow this program as consistently as possible for optimal results. Please read this entire journal to understand how important certain