3 Keys to Speed Endurance
One of the most overlooked areas in strength and conditioning is the principle of speed endurance. Strength coaches love to live in the weight room. Keeping athletes in the weight room is a great way to develop athletes for physical adaptations. But there can be limitations to only staying in the weight room. There has to be a conversation around endurance.
Speed endurance is any action that can last from 6 to 30 seconds. Speed endurance requires repetitive work and gives you the ability to perform late in a competition. Speed endurance also needs to contain elements of impulse training.
1. Establish Maximum Speed
You need to understand proper mechanics at maximum speed. You all have your style of running fast. That isn’t enough. You need to establish a technical model to emulate to get the most out of your speed endurance capabilities.
Training for max speed, you can use exercises like a single-leg squat or a step-up. Both movements put you in a unilateral position that focuses on dynamic trunk control and isolates the posterior chain. A key factor behind max speed requires good posture. It also helps to have strong glutes, quads, and hamstrings when it comes to being fast.
Anywhere you have access to flat ground and you want to improve your speed endurance, you should sprint 60 to 80 meters, and rest for 3 to 5 minutes, for 8 to 10 reps. As you start to get in better shape you will bring the rest period down. You also want to time yourself to run the sprint. The goal is to hold close to your max speed by the end of the last rep. In that way, you will know your speed endurance is increasing.
Another way to train max speed is to do reflexive work. Reflexive work requires a lot of coordination. A reflexive movement like a hydro weight single-leg RDL twist into the hip lock is a perfect movement to train dynamic trunk control and help with max speed.
2. Fine Line Of Training Force Over A Long Enough Time Frame
Finding a hill where you can sprint hard for 15 to 20 seconds will have a great transfer for power output and the drive phase. It will enhance your overall speed. You will then rest and repeat the sprint. The idea is to shorten the rest and hold the speed with each sprint. In this way, you will increase your speed endurance and be capable of being faster later in the competition.
Slowly decreasing the rest period from 2 minutes to 90 seconds enhances your endurance while training force for speed. You will improve physically with your adaptations and help with the mental aspects.
Running sprints allows you to easily express your speed. Repeated sprints help you handle the mental stress from a large amount of endurance fatigue. Training with mental fatigue helps with technical work. You can even use a sled if access to a hill is not achievable.
3. Minimal Amount Of Ground Contact
Using cyclical endurance is a great tool. Going on a bike helps develop speed endurance.
Sprinters aren’t fans of this method. However, if you are far out from competing, training 2 types of sprint interval-based training on the bike to help improve overall recovery and drastically enhance speed endurance.
You can also use cyclical work for field sports and court sports. One thing that can be done on the assault bike is 3 sets of 10 seconds with 40 to 50 seconds of rest. The idea is to go as hard as possible for 10 seconds. The repetition helps enhance your speed endurance because of the high power output with a recovery period in between. Three sets are plenty to put your speed endurance through the roof.
Another drill you can use on the assault bike is using Tabata intervals for a set that lasts 4 minutes. It will improve your speed endurance so you have greater speed later on in a competition.
Recap
The bottom line is that if your sport lasts longer than a few seconds, you need to train speed endurance. Building your speed endurance also allows you to get faster. Make sure to execute the protocols you just read about to enhance and improve your speed endurance so you don’t falter at the end of the competition.
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Yo, It's Dane
Welcome to the Garage Strength Blog, where it is my goal to provide you with the experience and knowledge I've gained in the strength and conditioning world over many years of learning from both successes and failures. I train elite-level athletes in a multitude of sports from the high school to professional levels, already producing 5 Olympics and 30+ National Champions. If you want to be the next champion I train, check out my strength programs below!
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