Running Tip-How to Develop Leg Strength & Speed

How to Develop Leg Strength & Speed


Overview


Leg strength and speed factor into competing in any type of sport or athletic event. To develop strength and speed, you need a program designed for these goals, not just a generic bodybuilding leg routine. When planning your workouts, follow certain guidelines to give you optimal results.



Step 1


Perform an explosive workout at the start of every week. This should include exercises that emphasize maximum power generation from your hips. Options include kettlebell swings, medicine ball slams and jump lunges, plus jump variations, such as box jumps, broad jumps and depth jumps. According to Chad Wesley Smith, strength coach and elite level powerlifter and shot putter, jump training targets a lot of muscle groups and recruits your central nervous system, which makes you stronger and faster. Pick four exercises and, for each, do five to eight sets of three to six repetitions, focusing on maximum speed and power.



Step 2


Base your second session of the week around compound free-weight exercises such as squats and deadlifts. According to Eric Cressey, owner of Cressey Performance, box squats and deadlifts are the two best exercises for hitting your posterior chain -- the group of muscles comprising your hamstrings, glutes, lower back and abs. These are extremely important for increasing your leg strength and speed. Perform five sets of five reps on both of these exercises, then add in another two dumbbell or body-weight exercises, such as split squats, lunges or glute ham raises, for three sets of eight reps, if you have the energy. Do this session two or three days after your first one.

Step 3


Learn the Olympic lifts and their variations. The Olympic lifts are the snatch and the clean and jerk, which have lots of variations, such as power cleans, high pulls, power snatches and hang cleans. Olympic lifts commonly are used in training for sports such as football, athletics and rugby due to their effectiveness at building strength and power. However, they can be difficult to learn, so it's important that you get a qualified coach to teach you the correct technique. Once you can perform them correctly, do one dedicated Olympic lift session every week or add in one or two exercises to each of your other lower-body sessions.



Step 4


Add in one sprint training session per week. If you want to get faster, you need to sprint. Try to vary the lengths of your sprints, depending on what you have to do in a game situation. If you never have to cover more than 20 yards at a time in a game, don't make any of your sprints longer than 25 to 30 yards. If you are training for the 400 meters, put in some longer runs. As with your explosive weights session, emphasis should be on maintaining your speed and power. Set aside half an hour for your sprint session and aim to complete as many sprints as possible in the time but allow yourself as much rest as you need. If your speed drastically decreases, stop the session early.