Best ways to improve your speed!

[zizou89]

What exactly are the best training methods to improve your speed on the football pitch? Some say ankle weights..

 

[farmboy]

track workouts. Not the best for acceleration, but they'll increase your top speed and your lactic acid threshold, which means in-game you'll be able to do the same sprints in the 80th min that you could in the 10th.
so, with out further adu, some workouts to try (probably build up to these):

• 8x400m with 90 seconds rest between and double rest after the 4th. if your legs don't start to burn after 200m, you're going too slow.
• 12x400m: sprint 200, jog 200, repeat. 60 seconds rest after every 4 laps.
• 4x800m with 2:30 rest between. This will be hellish.
• 800m, 3:00 rest, 600m, 2:00 rest, 400m, 90 seconds rest, 2x300m, 90 seconds after each, 4x200m sprint, 45 seconds rest between each.

keep track of times, and try and descend the workout (in other words, you should be running progressively faster repeats). start each workout with a warm up run before hopping on the track and a cool down after you finish.
Also, keep in mind that these workouts should push you almost to your limit, so I would advise NOT doing other athletic activities the same day (including football practices/games), unless you want to run yourself into the ground and hurt yourself. Believe me, I've done it. It isn't pretty.
Finally make sure you have proper running shoes that you're doing these in (unless you have track spikes ). They do make a difference for leg injuries.

 

[zizou89]

Sounds hard, certainly pushing it to the limit! I guess ways to improve your acceleration would just be to do sprints..

 

[Mus]

http://athletesacceleration.blogspot.com/2006_01_01_archive.html
Page on acceleration

works for me and i started doing it like semptember last year

 

[zizou89]

I'll Definetly give that a go!