Believe You Can Be a Faster Athlete With Speed and Agility Training

Published Date: 08 Nov 2009

Do you believe you can become a faster athlete? Do you believe you can become a much faster athlete? Well you should. There are proven results that with the right speed and agility training program, athletes can become much faster than they ever dreamed possible. There are many ways to gain speed as an athlete, but the best results will come by putting all these different ways to get faster and making one complete speed and agility program.

Speed and agility training has many components that will make an athlete faster. One is weight lifting to develop quick twitch fibers. Weight lifting is tricky because it can actually make you slower if done incorrectly. If you perform your weightlifting exercise at a slow methodical pace, you are actually developing slow twitch fibers which will make you a slower athlete. All Weight lifting exercises should be done with quick motion and solid technique. Another way to become faster is by nutrition and diet. As an athlete that would like to be fast and quick, you should be lean and strong. I did not say small, I said lean. Lean equals a low body fat percentage. Size does not slow you down, but body fat does. Body fat is like adding weight that your body has to carry when running. If you have 15 pounds of body fat, that is like putting a 15 pound weight in a backpack and running with it. Will you be faster with or without that extra 15 pounds? You know the answer. Muscles are needed to propel the body and fast twitch muscle actually speeds up you motion. So eat right, all 4 muscle groups. Cut out the fast food or fatty foods. Lose the body fat; even add some proven supplements like creatine and omega oils. Have a strong and lean body and you will be faster. The more fast twitch muscles you have, no matter your size body, the faster and quicker you will be.

Resistance training is also a great way to develop more speed and quickness. Resistance running has a basic concept, perform a resistance running training drills and your muscles will get used the extra resistance, so when you take away the resistance your muscles will run faster because they are no longer being held back. Resistance running requires knowledge and a specific program to see great results. Forms of resistance running are weighted clothes (vest and shorts), running attached to a bungee cord holding them back, running uphill or up bleachers. Acceleration training is also a great training method to become faster and quicker. Acceleration training actually makes you run faster than you normally can. Which in turn creates fast twitch muscles and makes the brain think you can run faster than you thought you could. Examples of acceleration training are a bungee cord pulling you forward as you sprint. You are sprinting faster than you could. Sprint as fast as possible on a treadmill. Your legs are actually moving faster than they could on the ground.

Specific drills designed to help you develop fast twitch muscles. There are many types of drills that will help your body develop speed and quickness by making your body perform drills that develop fast twitch fibers. A speed ladder has many types of drills that develop fast twitch muscles. Speed Ladder training can be a training program in itself. Plyometric training drills also will make you faster and quicker. There are specific types of motions required in plyometrics that develop fast twitch muscle fibers.

A core and hip training program will also develop speed and quickness for any athlete. These two muscle groups are neglected in many speed and agility training programs, but they should always be included when trying to increase your speed and agility. Every movement that has to do with running and agility involves your core and hips. So developing these muscle groups the proper way will help you increase your speed and agility.

To summarize any athlete can perform any one of these types of programs and become faster. The athlete that incorporates all of these into one complete speed and agility training program is the athlete that will see the greatest results. Possibly 4 tenths on a 40 yard dash, yes athletes have gone from a 4.8 40 yard dash to a 4.4 40 yard dash when they incorporate all of these types of programs.

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