I believe every athlete–and I do mean EVERY athlete–should train speed.
This includes athletes who don’t have to sprint (or even run at all) in their sport. Golfers, wrestlers, swimmers, volleyball players…they should sprint too!
I know this is a bold claim (I literally bolded it, after all). Let me explain my position.
Here are the top three reasons why every athlete should sprint.
1. Sprinting improves general explosiveness and fast-twitch fibers
Every athlete benefits from being explosive. Every one.
There is no better exercise for developing lower body explosiveness than sprinting.
Yes: sprinting is the best exercise to develop lower body explosiveness. The. Best. Ever. Period!
Need to swing a club harder? Sprint.
Need to jump higher? Sprint.
Need to shoot faster for a takedown? Sprint.
Need to run faster? Obviously….sprint!
Bottom line: sprinting makes athletes more explosive.
2. Sprinting reduces the risk of injury
Sprinting is violent and very demanding on your body’s muscles, tendons, and ligaments. They stress these structures, which prompts them to grow stronger–just like weight training stresses the muscles and prompts them to grow.
What’s often overlooked is tendon and ligament health, however.
Sprinting, when do with good technique, is a great way to demand the feet, knees, and hips to grow stronger and less likely to get hurt.
Undoubtedly, sprinting can also contribute to injuries, but that only happens when the athlete has poor form and / or is using an improper training plan.
Again–just like weight lifting. It’s safe and good for you–unless you do it with bad form or follow a bad plan.
Bottom line: sprinting can reduce the risk for injury.
3. Sprinting improves total body coordination
Sprinting is a beautiful symphony of hundreds of muscles and joints all moving and firing in rhythm at just the right times.
Your arms move opposite your legs (left arm and right leg up at the same time, for instance). Your body rotates slightly with each stride. Neck muscles (and, interestingly, your bicep muscles in your arm!) fire at the right intensities at the exact right times to keep your head stable. Your eyes lock on and track an object while the rest of the body is moving through space.
It’s really kind of a crazy thing, if you think about it. A TON has to happen in the exact right way for it to work. There’s a reason why we haven’t developed a robot that can run like we can (as soon as we do, I’m convinced ChatGPT will inhabit it and then Terminator will play out in real life).
This coordination is a good thing, and improving it helps improve fluid, athletic movements in general. Having control of your body is a good thing, afterall!
Bottom line: body coordination makes athletes more athletic and explosive, and sprinting improves coordination.