[nerve junky]

I have actually noticed that since i have started running daily i have actually gotten slower

[Xal]

Originally Posted by Mr.Familiar

I'm curious if one of these would help? I've always wanted to train with one.

Running with parachutes/chains+tires does increase your speed. You learn to start using more force to push off which increases your stride so with each time you push off the ground to run you eventually go farther.

Originally Posted by FHS JewFro

yes obviously speed parachutes would work to build up your speed

i heard sprinting down hills is pretty effective too, seems a little dangerous tho

Originally Posted by FHS JewFro

am i really the only one that has heard sprinting down hills increases your speed??

i swear i remember it saying something about you are using the momentum from running down the hill to actually go faster than you could on flat land

and i am sure losing weight would help as well, but you are probably already small af so you dont need that

You are write about the downhill running, but it is a little dangerous. When I ran track we did something that basically had the same effect where we would put basically a giant corkscrew into the ground at both ends of the field with a bungee attached to it and then attach the bungee to the runner and have him go as far back as possible and start running so it would almost work like a sling shot where it would pull you forward making you run faster in order to keep up with the momentum.

Originally Posted by GivenRandy

Running distance actual helps build running speed. You know when you see sprinters run 100m and it looks like someone is leaving the others behind? It's usually not that that person is pulling ahead -- the others are falling behind. Lots of times it because they don't have the stamina that the leader does.

Running distance helps build up stamina, not speed. I used to be a 100m runner and when someone is leaving the group behind it isn't because everyone else is tired, it is because that person is faster than them. If you actually run that event as a main event you will not get tired and start to slow down. You basically run at your top speed for 100m and then the race is over. Also a lot of other things factor into that race such as if people were slow off the line or not.

Anyways since your goal is to build running speed you want to be running as fast as you can and do some resistance running with parachutes or tires. Running long distances won't make you run faster. If you know anyone that runs track (specifically 100m) you can ask them what they do for practice since I know most schools have different ways to practice. Easy thing would be to get parachutes and run with them. Try finding other people too since one thing that kept me going was my determination to win even when it was just practice. My coach would give me the biggest tire with the biggest chain and make me run against other people with just a parachute or a small tire and a rope and I would go all out in order to beat them. So yeah having someone to race against you too would help. Would really help if they happen to be faster than you because then you could eventually beat him in race at the beach and make a homoerotic scene where you splash in the water together and then hug like this
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...SbQGW-Y#t=153s
didn't embed because it won't let me do that at the exact time I linked.

[Blue_Cobra]

Swimming is good for endurance. That is a good place to train there. For speed, running sprints and/or running with weights.

[spags3443]

Have a good leg workout twice a week and you will be amazed at how much your running improved all together.

[paintballcole]

Only read first page.

Running down hill does help to a certain degree, it helps increase leg turnover.

Sebastian Coe, who ran 1:41.7 for 800m back in the early 80's routinely did some downhill running.

Hill sprints (uphill) help increase speed by lengthing your stride and strengthening toe-off and leg drive.

it all depends on what you define as "speed" or "fast". Sebastian Coe could run a 45 second 400m, but based on his workouts could likely have also been a world class 5000m runner. Right now, the worlds best 5000m runner can close a 5000m race in just above 50 seconds off a fast pace.

Sprinters, alot of it is about strength. However, it should be noted that alot of sprinters, especially in the 'off season' do some longer runs. Several of the best 400m runners would often run 5-6 miles a day (for a sprinter, thats good endurance volume).

The poster who mentioned that the person who pulls ahead in a 100m or 200m was correct when he said the person that is "pulling" away has better endurance. When you look at 10m progression in those races, the first part is slow due to the start, the middle has the highest speed and acceleration, and the last part is slowing down. However, speed-endurance is not the same as endurance (as a long distance runner would use the term).

If you want really good short distance speed, obviously weight lifting, but also do things like 10x150m, 10x100m, 200-300m hill sprints, etc.

[paintballcole]

also, running long distance does increase speed, but only to a certain degree.

for example, when I increase my mileage from 50mpw to 80mpw, I saw an improvement from about 52sec for 400m down to just under 50.

You CAN recruit fast twitch muscle fibers on slower runs, but only after you have exhausted slow twitch muscle fiber. This is one reason why the best marathoners in the world can drop a 4:20 mile in the middle of a marathon, why even in the US, just about every guy on the marathon team has run under 4:00 for the mile or the equivalent (3:41 1500m).

It depends on what you are training for, what specific level of "speed'' you need. "speed" is a subjective that means different things to different people. for a football player, a good 40y dash is indicative of speed. For a distance runner, a 48second 400m or a 3:59 mile are indicative of speed.

[black_angus]

Originally Posted by paintballcole

You CAN recruit fast twitch muscle fibers on slower runs, but only after you have exhausted slow twitch muscle fiber.

Please, stop posting until you aren't completely oblivious to muscle physiology.

[Blue_Cobra]

Well, if you have a buddy who is fast or just running track. When you just run by yourself it is difficult to keep track of how much faster you are getting unless someone is timing you. And when you have someone who is faster than you that your running against, you push harder to get faster.
I was thinking like in racing games when you race your "ghost" when you get a really good time, you wonder how you can beat it, but you keep trying and you can. Same kinda thing with running.

[fuccimiles1228]

running downhill builds speed, its over training, it gets your body used to running at that speed, preparing the tendons and creating muscle memory and such. we used to have a running coach for football whod make us jog up a huge hill then sprint down, your body gets used to moving that fast along with the movements associated with . its the same as when you attach yourself to a faster runner, the runner pulls you along so you pick up more speed.

my favorite though is up hill sprinting, always makes me feel more accomplished. hill sprints and bleachers. Also work on cone drills and such to build up your agility and do powercleans/hangcleans/snatchcleans to build explosion and of course squats. Legs feed the wolf

[straightshocker4]

downhill running makes the central nervous system ready to run faster than it is capable of normally, its called overspeed training. Easiest ways to get faster: a good weight training program, both lower and upper, box jumps, plyos, I've been successful with running stairs as it increases leg turnover, and finally......run fast more often. The more sprints you run, the body will adapt to moving faster and you will be able to SLOWLY increase speed over time.

[fuccimiles1228]

i said what he said cept he said it smarterer ^^

[Lurker27]

man i wish there was a ton of publicly available research on this topic at pubmed.

Short answer: weights build acceleration, resistance like a chute or sled builds speed. BUT loads need to be less than 5% of bodyweight, or there is no effect because you are changing the gait and not entraining the muscle.

Increasing your maximum squat per bodyweight also has a very strong correlation to running speed.