So, according to my buddy
Dan (who runs this site!), the response has been pretty good to the recent content I’ve contributed to the site…which besides making me *smile*, it also means I’m going to continue to churn out some really good articles for you, full of tips and tricks you can use to start running faster and moving quicker TODAY.
Now, it goes without saying that there are a TON of exercises you can choose from when figuring out your workouts…
I bet I could name 500 different exercises and variations if I had to (thankfully, I don’t!).
That being said, how do you choose which exercises to use in your workouts?
You don’t want to waste your time with exercises that aren’t right for you goals or even worse, ones that don’t even do anything!
So how do you choose?
Whenever I design a super-duper speed training program for any of my world-wide athletes, I almost always first go back to my list of all the best weight training exercises to use to run faster.
Sure, I have most of them memorized, but it’s a giant list of awesome speed exercises and I never want to forget any of them!
I was designing a speed and quickness program recently for one of my hardest-working athletes (he’s a college basketball player here in the USA), and as usual, I went to do a quick skim of my giant list of weight lifting exercises that guarantee to make athletes run faster.
And as I was making my way through it, I decided it’d be cool if I could pick out the Top 5 exercises on that list that you will soon be using yourself, to run faster, be quicker and
jump higher.
So, without further ado, here are the Top 5 Exercises To Run Faster:
1. Deadlift
Strengthens your entire body, including the posterior chain, which is often affectionately referred to as “the sprinting engine”.
Increase your deadlift and you’ll soon be watching every movement you make in sports become a little quicker, a little more powerful and a whole lot better.
2. Bulgarian Split-Squat
This little-known exercise will crush your glutes and quadriceps, two GIANT muscles that you absolutely need to run faster.
Be warned though, excessive muscular soreness is a common byproduct of the Bulgarian split-squat.
3. Planks
Just a simple core training exercise, right?
Well, not exactly…
Planks are a great exercise that will teach you how to control and stabilize your mid-section.
This in turn will allow you to better use your core in your sport, making your cuts a heck of a lot more explosive and your changes of direction a whole lot smoother.
4. Dumbbell Step-Ups
These are a great supplementary exercise to throw in to increase your speed.
Find a bench between 12-18 inches, grab a pair of fairly-heavy dumbbells and simply step up onto the bench, while holding the dumbbells on your side.
These are a solid exercise to increase your acceleration and quicken your first-step.
5. Chin-Ups
No, that’s not a typo. Although chin-ups are an upper-body strength training exercise, getting stronger at them will make you run faster.
After talking to lots of well-known speed and strength coaches, and looking at my own experiences, I’ve found that the athletes who can do more chin-ups are almost always the fastest athletes around.
It’s likely because chin-ups are a great test of relative body strength (a major factor in how fast you’re going to be) and by being able to do a lot of them, you are able to display that exceptional relative body strength.
Basically, add 10 chin-ups to your repetition maximum and I can almost guarantee you’ll be running faster (also, upper body strength plays a small role in overall speed, lots of chin-ups will help that too).
So there are my Top 5 Exercises To Run Faster.
And when you combine these special exercises with all of the sport-specific speed training exercises in theTruth About Quickness Insider’s System 2.0, you’re looking at what is likely the ULTIMATE speed and quickness training program that’s ever been devised.
About The Author
Alex Maroko is the Co-Creator of The Truth About Quickness Insider’s System, the Internet’s Best-Selling Quickness Training Product, found at www.TruthAboutQuickness.com.
A Certified Personal Trainer and former college athlete, Alex is renowned worldwide for his ability to transform formerly weak and slow athletes into speed and quickness superstars who routinely dominate their competition.
He has helped athletes from more than 30 countries across the globe learn the real secrets behind attaining blazing speed and lightning quickness, all in less than 10 minutes a day.
You can also read his most recent ramblings and thoughts on his agility, quickness, and speed training at his blog, Game Speed Insider.
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January 5, 2010 at 4:25 pm
I’ll give them a try for the next 6 wks, to see how it changes my virtical; I’ll let you know what changes in the hight of my virtical. I’ll measure my leep now and check it again in 6 weeks.
January 6, 2010 at 11:11 am
Keep us posted on how much quicker you get too. All the best!
April 22, 2012 at 12:54 am
I have a 9 year old girl who is a good soccer player. I would say her only weakness is average speed. How can I get her to run faster. It seems like these exercises would be too much for her. Are ladder drills good? Also I think she needs to get on the balls of her feet. Thanks.
January 5, 2010 at 11:56 pm
so when doing chin upps we do no more than 10. What if we get used to doing 10 chin-ups, so we continue doing 10 or add some weight on your back
January 15, 2010 at 9:32 am
Ekam-
I was saying if you can ADD 10 reps to your chin-up rep maximum…never stop adding to your chin-up totals. Make sense?
Alex
January 19, 2010 at 7:41 pm
oh i see thanks
January 6, 2010 at 3:29 pm
can u please put videos for how to do bulgarian squats and deadlifts please
January 7, 2010 at 12:21 am
Just wondering when doing plyometrics i usually do about 15 reps for box jumps and 30 sec when doing line jumps and jumping back and forth over the bench how many reps should i be doing to increase explosiveness in both my plyo and my weightlifting
January 7, 2010 at 3:02 am
How do you do a Bulgarian Split-Squat? You explained the Dumbbell Step-Up, which I know how to do but not the Bulgarian Split-Squat which I don’t know how to do!
January 19, 2010 at 5:19 pm
there are videos on youtube for every exercise mentioned.
January 7, 2010 at 4:40 pm
How many reps do you suggest forstep ups and bulgarian s.s.
January 15, 2010 at 9:34 am
Good question man.
Stick to reps between 6-10 for Bulgarian Split-Squats and step-ups.
Alex
January 7, 2010 at 6:30 pm
google bulgarian split squat and you\ll find your answer, but try to look at a video where a trainer is doing it
January 12, 2010 at 6:45 pm
Great article thanks for the information
January 13, 2010 at 6:26 pm
Hey Dan,
I just wanted to take the time for creating this awesome blog. You have really taken the time to help people jump higher with all this free information. I have implemented some of your information myself and the results have been remarkable. Thank you so much!
I have a vertical jump blog myself (not nearly as good as yours) if you want to check it out.
http://www.verticaljumpbuzz.com/blog
January 16, 2010 at 5:37 am
Hey Andrew. Just checked out your blog. Good stuff man! Keep it up
January 16, 2010 at 7:22 pm
hey dan next year is my last year for football should i start working out for it so i dont upset my coach
January 28, 2010 at 9:40 pm
Man, this nifo is awesome its the best I’ve found so far thanks!
January 31, 2010 at 7:07 pm
What are planks, deadlifts, bulgarian split-squats, chin-ups, and dumbells?
January 16, 2011 at 12:02 pm
dead lifts are if you stand in place and lift up heavy weights, chin-ups are when you pull up on a bar with your hands facing away from you the rest i dont no
May 15, 2011 at 3:12 pm
hey dan,
if i run like 4 times a week about 4 miles will i be able to sprint faster? because i want to train for football and decrease my football time. any tips will help, thanks a lot!
January 2, 2012 at 11:12 pm
how long do we do the workouts
May 8, 2012 at 2:43 pm
Where can I find out how to do the workouts?