If you’re reading this, you are probably stuck at home being quarantined with no place to go because everything is on lock down. I’m writing this article today with the sole purpose of giving you an idea of a type of training that you can do at anytime and any place because I don’t want to hear anyone else complain about not being able to workout.
We live in a world that over complicates the use of plyometrics and speed training. You can go on any social media platform at any point in the day and see a variety of different “speed exercises” being done that look ridiculous and won’t even get you faster.
It doesn’t take an expert to know this, but sprinting is the #1 plyometric and speed exericse you can possibly do. The training modality of sprinting has been around before sports were even created. It has beat the test of time because of one reason, it works.
In my professional opinion, the reasons why sprinting remains #1 are:
1.) Maximal Horizontal Force Production
Sprinting is one of the most powerful activities that anyone can do. The athlete is forced to recruit and produce contractile velocities in the hip and knee extensors at high speeds and eccentric loads that would be nearly impossible to achieve in other exercises.
2.) Specificity
Nearly every sport on this planet includes some form of sprinting, so we need to train it. Sprinting is a skill, just like shooting a jumpshot, you need to practice to improve at it.
3.) Neuromuscular Overload
Sprinting can provide your neuromuscular system with a stimulus that overloads your capacity. This will improve contractile velocities, efficiency of recruitment, power production and more.
4.) Running Economy
To put it simply, running economy is basically how efficient you are when running for sustained periods of time. When you improve your running economy, you can run at the same speeds while consuming less oxygen or faster speeds with the same amount of oxygen.
Go out and get some sprints in while you’re stuck at home with nothing better to do!
Thanks for reading!