How to Get Faster (Without Just Running More)

Most people try to get faster by running the same three-mile loop with a little more chutzpah each week, but after a while, that's not going to cut it if you want to improve. Speed is a physical quality that is built best with short, all-out effort. Stronger legs also don't hurt, and you definitely need to build your aerobic capacity. Here's how to get it done.

What Is Speed Training?

Speed training is anything that teaches your body to produce a lot of force in very little time, like flat-out sprints, sled sprints, jumps, and heavy lower-body lifting. The reps are short (usually under 10 seconds), with longer rests, and you shouldn't feel completely gassed when you're done, there should be a bit left in the tank. If you're doubled over and gasping between reps, you're more on the side of conditioning (which has its own place).

Who Should Do Speed Training

If you want to be a better runner, you should do speed training, but it's also key if you play a stop-and-go sport like soccer, basketball, or tennis, or have a fitness test coming up (the kind you'd prep for with a military workout).

If you just lift and are reading this for whatever reason, you can also stand to do some speed training in order to build your aerobic capacity and lift more without gasping for air. It'll just make you feel more athletic all around, which is great for life in general.

Just FYI, simply playing your sport isn't really enough. If all you do is practice and play, you won't get meaningfully faster over short distances until you add dedicated sprint, strength, and jump work.

If you're a beginner or it's been years since you ran at full speed, start with hill sprints or sled pushes, which keep your top speed (and the strain on your hamstrings) lower. Spend three or four weeks at 80 to 90% effort before going all-out on flat ground.

How to Get Faster

Here are four things you should do if you want to get faster:

Sprint at Full Effort

Your body adapts to the speeds you actually hit, so at least once a week you need four to eight reps at 95 to 100% effort, each around 10 to 40 yards. Top speed only improves when each rep is fast and high quality, and that's the core of how to improve sprinting speed. If you start to get slower, then end your session.

Rest Longer Than Feels Reasonable

Take about one minute of rest for every 10 yards you sprint, so for instance, if you do a 30-yard rep, follow it with 3 minutes of slow walking. It'll feel lazy (especially if you come from a HIIT background), but shorter sprints with longer rests prevent your speed from getting slower across the session. Resist the urge to superset with burpees or some other nonsense.

Get Strong, Then Get Springy

To run faster, you have to put more force into the ground in less time, which, of course, starts in the weight room. Some tidbits from the research: a stronger squat leads to faster sprint times, and jump training can also shave off time from 10, 20, and 30 meter sprints. Just make sure you stop your set when you start to get slow because it'll build more speed that way than forcing yourself to grind to failure.

Keep Your Easy Days Easy

If all of your cardio sessions are the same hard-ish pace, you'll be too fatigued to go fast on hard training days. Instead, keep 70% of your weekly training at a low intensity, which is proven to lead to the most improvements. Most of your cardio training should be in zone 2, where you can still talk in full sentences.

Best Exercises for Speed

These are the best exercises for speed. Pick two or three and stick with them for a couple of months.

• Flat and hill sprints. Sprinting is the goat for building speed and hills are ideal for a (trained) beginner because the slope limits your top speed. Indoors, the self-powered REP® Strive™ Curved Treadmill lets you accelerate and slow down with no buttons to mash, which is nice.
• Sled pushes and pulls. Sprinting with a sled improves your first few explosive steps and acceleration (aka getting faster). The 4-Post Push-Pull Sled works for pushes and strap pulls, and you'll find more options in the weight sleds lineup and our guide to the best sleds. If you don't have turf or a driveway, the Strive™ Treadmill doubles as a sled (here's how to do a sled push on a treadmill).
• Heavy squats and trap bar deadlifts. Do three to five sets of three to six reps and drive every rep up fast.
• Jumps and bounds. Do box jumps, broad jumps, or bounds early in the workout, keeping it to three or four sets of three to five.
• Nordic hamstring curls. Hamstring strains are the classic sprinting injury, and Nordic curls cut the rate of hamstring injuries roughly in half. Two or three sets of four to six slow reps a week will do.

Read More: How to Choose a Home Manual Treadmill

Best Exercises for Endurance

The best exercises for endurance are things like easy zone 2 runs, rides, or rows of 30 to 60 minutes, and anything that you can do repeatedly week in and week out without burning out.

On top of that base, add one harder session like a tempo or interval run. A tempo run (20 to 30 minutes at a pace you could hold for about an hour) helps you learn to sustain a faster pace for longer. Interval running targets your VO2 max (the most oxygen your body can use), which hard intervals build a bit more than steady cardio does.

Lifting is also going to help build endurance. Heavy strength training improves your running economy so you'll use less energy per stride, and it boosts cycling performance as well. If you run on a curved treadmill, go by heart rate and ignore the pace readout, since the same speed costs noticeably more effort than it does on the road.

A Sample Week of Speed Training

A beginner can drop Thursday and cut the sprint reps in half.

• Monday: 6 x 20- to 30-yard sprints with full rest, then squats, split squats, and Nordic curls
• Tuesday: Easy zone 2 cardio, 30 to 45 minutes
• Wednesday: Upper-body lifting
• Thursday: Broad jumps, 6 x 15-yard heavy sled pushes, trap bar deadlifts, and hip thrusts
• Friday: Tempo run or intervals
• Saturday: Long easy run, ride, or hike
• Sunday: Rest

Takeaway

Getting faster is a noble pursuit. You can accomplish it by sprinting at full effort once or twice a week with long rests, and working on your leg strength. Just be sure to keep most of your cardio easy enough to chat through so you don't burn out and blunt your recovery. It'll likely take six to eight weeks to notice a difference because speed builds pretty slowly over time, but you'll get there if you stay consistent.

FAQs

What are some tips for increasing speed in running or cycling?

Do short, all-out efforts of 5 to 10 seconds with full recovery once or twice a week, and lift heavy for your legs. Keep most of your other cardio easy so you're fresh on hard days.

How can I train to run faster and improve my endurance?

Keep 70 to 80% of your weekly running at an easy zone 2 pace, then add one tempo run or interval session and one short sprint session. Two lower-body strength workouts a week round it out.

What are common mistakes to avoid when trying to run fast?

The big ones are running every session at the same medium-hard pace, cutting rest short between sprints, and skipping strength work. Going all-out with no warm-up or build-up weeks is a reliable way to pull a hamstring.