Improving Sprint Performance in the Gym

Can athletes improve sprint performance in the gym? This topic has been widely debated, but the answer is clear. It’s not an either-or situation. While sprinting is important, gym training can significantly complement sprinting by improving specific physiological qualities that help athletes become faster. Learn everything you need to know about improving sprint performance in the weight room in this guide.

By Travis Mash

Content menu:

• Can weight training improve your sprint?
• The best gym exercises for sprinters
  – Specificity aspects to consider when programming
  – Biarticular Muscles: the unsung heroes of Max Velocity Sprinting
  – Reactive Properties and Stiffness
  – Weightlifting exercises for sprinters
  – Plyometric drills for sprinters
• Strength workouts for sprinters
  – Speed Strength exercises for sprinters
  – Sprint and weight training on the same day
  – Why These Exercises Work for Sprinters
• How I create faster athletes with Strength Workouts and Measurement
• Hip Flexion workout for sprinters
• Strengthen the Ankles for Sprinters
• Track your sprint strength progress
• Conclusion
  

Watch video here:

Can Weight Training improve your sprint?

To maximize the sprint speed of an athlete, a solid mixture of sprinting along with specific methods and exercises in the weight room are required. So yes, athletes can improve their sprint performance in the gym/weight room, but a solid understanding of the actual biomechanics of the different phases of a sprint is required along with the physiology taking place. Athletes need to produce force at high velocities, and the amount of force and the rate of velocity changes throughout a sprint. Let’s take a look at how to adapt to those specific changes.

With the use of velocity-based training (VBT), it’s easy to target specific physiological qualities. Starting strength is an athlete’s ability to overcome inertia. This can easily be understood by looking at the start of a sprint. Whether you are talking about the start of a 100m sprint or a wide receiver exploding off of the line of scrimmage, it’s the athlete’s ability to rapidly produce a concentric muscular contraction.

After that initial burst, it’s all about acceleration and rate of force development. Both of these parameters can be improved with VBT which looks at peak force and the athlete’s time to peak force all both of which are easily monitored with the GymAware Cloud. We’re talking about neuromuscular adaptations from intermuscular coordination and intramuscular coordination.

Recruiting high threshold motor units is something we learned about looking at the Size Principle. Using the GymAware RS or FLEX units makes it easy to look at improvements in the synchronization of recruiting high threshold motor units and in turn the improvements in rate coding.

The best gym exercises for sprinters

Without a doubt, there are specific movements that can be attributed to faster sprint times. Coach Tony Villani, Head Coach at XPE Sports, has created over 20 number one 40-yard dash times at the NFL Combine. I started working with him earlier this year. He taught me his method of contrast training using squats, cleans, and jumps along with sprints to maximize output for athletes.

What’s the key? 100% for us it has been VBT because athletes are encouraged to display maximum compensatory acceleration of each repetition of each set. We’ve found movements like trap bar jumps or cleans at various heights in contrast with a max effort jump of various forms has led to week to week improvements in sprint times. 

For a list of my favorite gym exercises, here’s what I have come up with:

Here’s the thing, we’ve found that certain exercises grouped together seem to maximize power expression and speed. Other exercises seem to maximize strength and reactive strength. Finally, there are exercises that simply strengthen specific joints in ways that make athletes faster as long as the principle of specificity is taken into account. Let’s look at the specificity as it relates to sprinting.

Specificity aspects to consider when programming

First, let’s discuss the acceleration phase. A lot of performance coaches make a major mistake only referring to the kinematics and kinetics of max velocity when referring to sprinting. First, even though athletes are moving in a horizontal direction, the application of force is still vertical because it’s in relation to the athlete’s posture. However, because an athlete has a forward lean the ground reaction force that is created has a substantial horizontal component as it relates to the world.

What does that mean to the athlete? If they want to maintain a 45 degree angle, they have to create a vertical ground reaction force high enough to counter gravity’s pull on the upper torso. The athlete is still simply focusing on extending their leg as forcefully as possible into the ground relative to their body. Here’s where it gets tricky.

That ground reaction force has to be enough to create a flight time so that the athlete can reposition their next leg. Remember every force has a vertical and horizontal component. The vertical force has to be enough to overcome gravity’s pull on the lean of the body with the remainder going to distribute the body horizontally down the track or field. 

The athlete doesn’t need to consider any of this. They simply need to work on extending their legs with as much force as possible. The foot strike should be right under the hip at the center of mass(CM). If the athlete can’t create enough force against the ground, you will find them striking in front of the CM creating a breaking effect. You will also notice a flex in the hip to create a more upright lower leg. You can tell the athlete anything you want, but until they have the needed ability to produce force, that will be their stance.

When it comes to sprinting, acceleration is where races are won. If you’re not maximizing your force production in the first few steps, you’re leaving serious speed on the table. One key factor? The knee angle during the stance phase. At ground contact, elite sprinters maintain a knee bend between 90 and 120 degrees, and that’s no accident. This angle allows for optimal horizontal force application, driving the body forward with maximal efficiency. If the knee is too extended—say 130 degrees or more—you’re pushing too vertically, wasting energy that should be propelling you down the track. A deeper knee angle keeps the center of mass low, allowing for better ground reaction force and a more explosive push-off. That means shorter ground contact time, greater stride efficiency, and ultimately, faster acceleration. 

Overcoming inertia with the hip and knee extensors will be the initial application of force. In sprint mechanics terms, when the foot strikes the ground until the big toe leaves the ground at complete extension(toe-off), this is called the drive phase. This will be concentric in nature relying on the hamstrings, adductor magnus, and glutes for hip extension, and the quads for knee extension. The calves will be the final muscles to create propulsion with the gastrocnemius benefitting from its role as a biarticular muscle. That means it crosses the knee and the ankle. When the knee extends violently, the gastrocnemius is lengthened transferring force down into the ankle via the achilles tendon to create plantar flexion.

One of the most overlooked aspects of sprint acceleration is how the body’s built-in reflexes and the stretch-shortening cycle (SSC) work together to make each stride more explosive and efficient. When an athlete pushes off the ground during the toe-off phase, the body isn’t just relying on conscious effort to flex the knee and hip—it’s tapping into stored elastic energy and neuromuscular reflexes that make this movement automatic.

The SSC is the foundation of this process. As the foot pushes off, the calf muscles, quadriceps, and hip flexors all undergo a rapid stretch. This eccentric loading stores elastic energy, much like a stretched rubber band. In the blink of an eye, that stored energy is released as these muscles transition into a powerful concentric contraction, whipping the leg forward for the next stride. This is why elite sprinters don’t have to think about flexing their knee after toe-off—it happens automatically thanks to this rapid energy transfer.

But it’s not just about elastic energy. The body’s neuromuscular system plays a huge role in accelerating movement. The stretch reflex, triggered by muscle spindles, senses the rapid lengthening of the hip flexors and hamstrings, firing them into action to recover the leg. Meanwhile, the Golgi tendon organs (GTOs), which normally prevent excessive force, adapt with sprint training to allow for greater power output. Add in the crossed extensor reflex—where one leg naturally prepares to flex as the other extends—and you’ve got a seamless system that drives faster knee recovery and smoother acceleration.

This is why training the SSC and reflex pathways is critical for sprint performance. The more an athlete hones these mechanisms through explosive movements, resisted sprints, and technical drills, the more automatic and efficient their stride becomes. Sprinting is not just about effort—it’s about tapping into the body’s built-in power systems. If you train the right way, your body will take care of the rest.

What I am referring to is called the swing phase. The leg is off the ground as it recovers to the frontside of the athlete. The lower leg is parallel to the body, which both should be at a 45 degree angle. Keeping the toe as close to the ground as possible will allow for the fastest possible hip flexion allowing the foot to strike in the most optimal position while keeping the torso at the correct angle in relation to the ground.

During max velocity, the application of force is quite different. Mainly things are happening at a faster pace. Whereas the ground contact time starts out at .22 seconds during the first few steps of acceleration, max velocity is happening at .08 seconds. You’re dealing with more eccentric forces, so the stretch shortening cycle and the body’s different reflexes become more important than concentric strength.

The torso is now at only a 5-10 degree forward lean. At the terminal swing phase the hip is at 70-80 degrees of hip flexion. The drive phase begins with the ball of the foot striking down right under the body’s center of mass.

When you’re sprinting at max velocity, the toe-down phase is where the magic happens—it’s the key to maintaining your top-end speed. Right before your foot hits the ground, you want that ankle dorsiflexed and your foot stiff like a spring, ready to release energy efficiently. This is when your Achilles tendon, calf muscles, and entire kinetic chain come into play, transferring energy from the ground through the hips and glutes. You’re focusing on vertical force to propel yourself upward and forward—not just horizontally like in acceleration. The more minimal your ground contact, the better, because the quicker you get your foot off the ground, the faster you go.

If you’re landing too far forward or overstriding, you’re wasting time with braking forces. To optimize this phase, you need to train ankle stiffness through exercises like calf raises and plyos, while sprinting drills should focus on keeping your foot strike under your hips for better drive and efficiency. Master the toe-down phase, and you’re well on your way to crushing those sprint times.

During the toe-off phase of sprinting, everything comes together to set you up for the next explosive stride. First, when you push off the ground, your ankle goes into plantarflexion, and your gastrocnemius and soleus drive you forward. That push-off gives you the momentum to carry the body through, but what happens next is just as important. As you leave the ground, your hamstrings kick in and start pulling the knee into flexion, bringing the heel up toward your glutes to clear the ground. At the same time, the hip flexors (the iliopsoas, rectus femoris, and sartorius) are working hard to lift the thigh forward for the next stride.

This whole chain of events sets you up for quick recovery, keeping your stride short, powerful, and fast. The key is not letting the foot drag or overstride, which would cause braking forces and slow you down. Everything needs to be sharp and fast—your core needs to be tight to keep the pelvis and trunk stable so that you can make the most of each stride. Mastering the toe-off gives you the ability to explode forward with quick turnover and maintain top speed in every race.

When an athlete hits max velocity, the body’s reflexes and the stretch-shortening cycle (SSC) kick into overdrive, making the movement of the knees and hips automatic. During the toe-off phase, the muscles in the lower body—especially the calves, quadriceps, and hip flexors—are stretched as the foot leaves the ground. This stretch stores elastic energy in the tendons and muscles, much like a spring. As the leg is pulled back into the air, that stored energy is released, and the muscles rapidly contract to propel the leg forward. The stretch reflex, triggered by muscle spindles, detects the rapid stretching of the muscles and automatically fires them to recover the leg faster.

Meanwhile, the Golgi tendon organs (GTOs) are in play, adapting from all the sprint training to allow the muscles to generate greater force without risking injury. The crossed extensor reflex also helps here, as it coordinates the opposite leg’s movements to ensure smooth, reciprocal action. Essentially, the SSC and these reflexes make knee and hip flexion a reflexive action, so the athlete doesn’t have to think about it. Their body is already prepared to move efficiently through the next stride, ensuring a fluid transition and maximum speed.

Biarticular Muscles: the unsung heroes of Max Velocity Sprinting

When an athlete hits max velocity in a sprint, it’s not just about sheer power—it’s about efficiency. One of the keys to that efficiency is the role of biarticular muscles, those muscles that cross two joints, like the rectus femoris, hamstrings, and gastrocnemius. These muscles are absolutely crucial for coordinating knee and hip flexion during the toe-off phase and beyond.

Take the rectus femoris, for example. It crosses both the hip and knee joints, allowing it to help flex the hip while extending the knee at the same time. This dual-action is essential when the leg swings forward after toe-off. Without this coordination, you’d lose precious time and energy in the recovery phase. The hamstrings, particularly the biceps femoris, also play a massive role here. These muscles flex the knee and extend the hip—both actions are required to pull the leg forward as fast as possible. The beauty of biarticular muscles is that they efficiently work across both joints, ensuring maximum power and speed without wasting effort.

Let’s not forget the gastrocnemius, which crosses both the knee and ankle. While it’s primarily responsible for plantarflexion at the ankle during the push-off, it also assists in knee flexion, helping to recover the leg quickly and smoothly. These biarticular muscles don’t just work independently—they work in perfect harmony, creating a fluid, powerful stride that gets the athlete to max velocity faster and with less fatigue.

In short, biarticular muscles are your sprinting secret weapon. They allow for more efficient movement, saving energy and increasing speed. Every time an athlete reaches max velocity, these muscles are the ones making sure every stride is as fast and powerful as possible.

During the terminal swing phase of a sprint, it’s all about controlling the lower leg to prevent overstriding and setting up for the perfect foot strike. You don’t want the lower leg swinging too far in front of the body, because that leads to inefficient running mechanics and wasted energy. Here’s where some key muscles come in to decelerate that leg extension and keep everything in check.

The hamstrings are the heavy hitters here. As the lower leg swings forward, the hamstrings act eccentrically to control knee extension and prevent the leg from overextending. They slow everything down just enough so the leg doesn’t reach too far in front of the body, setting up for an optimal foot strike. Without the hamstrings pulling back, the lower leg would just shoot forward, leading to poor mechanics and slower times.

The gluteus maximus also plays a key role. As the hip moves into flexion, the glutes help decelerate this motion, ensuring the leg doesn’t get carried away too far forward. They’re essentially the brakes on the hip, keeping everything under control and in the right position for the next stride.

Let’s not forget the hip flexors. While they’re usually the muscles powering the forward motion, they also help in the terminal swing by preventing the hip from extending too much. This keeps the leg from shooting forward and helps maintain a balanced stride.

And don’t underestimate the tibialis anterior, either. This muscle is critical in controlling dorsiflexion, ensuring the foot doesn’t land with the toes pointed downward. By keeping the foot in a neutral position, it ensures the right mechanics for landing and minimizes the risk of overstriding.

All of these muscles work together in perfect harmony to decelerate the leg’s swing and prepare it for the next stride. If you want to sprint faster, you need to train these muscles to be strong and responsive, ensuring that every part of your stride is efficient. This is why eccentric strengthening is so important. Hamstring injuries come into play when overstriding happens causing the hamstrings to withstand massive forces for too long of a time in scientific terms adding to the impulse experienced by the hamstrings.

Reactive Properties and Stiffness

Sprinting isn’t just about raw strength—it’s about reactivity and how efficiently your body stores and releases energy with each stride. The best sprinters in the world aren’t just strong; they’re elastic, using the reactive properties of their tendons and muscles to create explosive force with minimal ground contact. When your foot hits the track, your Achilles tendon and plantar fascia stretch like a loaded spring, storing energy that gets released instantly as you push off. The stiffer and more reactive your lower leg, the faster and more efficiently you transition from one step to the next.

This is why ankle stiffness, tendon elasticity, and neuromuscular efficiency are key for elite speed. If you’re slow off the ground or you sink too much with each step, you’re wasting time and bleeding energy. Training plyometrics, bounding, and reactive drills teaches your body to absorb and reapply force instantly, keeping you light on your feet and powerful with every stride. Sprinting is a game of milliseconds—if you’re not maximizing reactivity, you’re getting left behind.

The knee joint’s reactive properties are absolutely crucial for sprinting because they determine how efficiently you absorb and reapply force with every step. When your foot strikes the ground, your quadriceps, hamstrings, and patellar tendon act like a loaded spring, quickly storing energy and then releasing it explosively to drive you forward. A strong, reactive knee minimizes energy loss, keeping ground contact time as short as possible while maximizing force output. If your knee collapses or absorbs too much force passively, you’re bleeding speed—wasting milliseconds that separate elite sprinters from the rest.

That’s why stiffness and reactivity at the knee are just as important as ankle stiffness. Exercises like depth jumps, bounding, and overspeed drills train your knee to handle high-impact forces and return energy instantly. The goal is simple—hit the ground, explode off it, and get that knee driving forward for the next stride. The more reactive your knee, the faster you sprint—period.

The eccentric strength of the hamstrings at the knee is one of the biggest factors in sprinting efficiency, speed, and injury prevention. When your foot strikes the ground, your hamstrings are firing eccentrically to control knee extension and absorb massive forces. This phase is where elite sprinters separate themselves—if your hamstrings aren’t strong enough eccentrically, your knee will extend too aggressively, increasing braking forces and slowing you down. Worse yet, weak eccentric control is a recipe for hamstring strains, which are one of the most common sprinting injuries.

The best sprinters have hamstrings that can absorb force instantly and then transition into explosive concentric action to drive the leg forward. That’s why I emphasize Nordic hamstring curls, razor curls, and high-speed sprint work—they train the hamstrings to be bulletproof under eccentric load, letting you sprint faster while staying healthy. If you can’t control the knee at high speeds, you’re not sprinting at your full potential.

Weightlifting exercises for sprinters

If you want to get faster off the line during the acceleration phase, you’ve got to train the right way. The acceleration phase of a sprint is all about explosive power and rapid force production, and the best way to develop that is through weightlifting movements that target the hip and knee extensors. Here are the movements that will make you faster off the blocks:

1. Deadlifts (Conventional and Trap Bar): Deadlifts are a must for developing total posterior chain strength—the hamstrings, glutes, and lower back are all key players in the initial push-off during acceleration. Conventional deadlifts and trap bar deadlifts will build the foundation of power you need to get that quick, explosive start. The trap bar version is especially great because it mimics the sprint stance, so it’s even more specific to the way you push off the ground. Using velocity based training is imperative to monitor improvements in acceleration and peak velocities at specific loads.
   
2. Power Cleans or Trap Bar Jumps: The power clean is one of the best movements for developing explosive hip extension—exactly what you need to launch yourself forward as fast as possible. It teaches you to generate power quickly from the hips, and the triple extension (hip, knee, ankle) involved is practically the same action you use when accelerating in a sprint. Once again, velocity based training is imperative to monitor improvements in the rate of force development, acceleration and peak velocities at specific loads. We’ve been using loads of 75%, 100%, and 110% of bodyweight on a weekly basis concurrently with jumps and sprints. We’ve recorded improvements showing a solid correlation.
   
3. Squats (Back and Front): Squats are the king of strength. Back squats build overall strength in the hamstrings, quads, and glutes, which are essential for producing power during acceleration. Front squats, on the other hand, focus more on the quads and can help improve the knee drive you need to get that leg up and in front of you faster. Squats are imperative for building sufficient strength levels to produce enough force into the ground to keep athletes at a 45 degree angle.  A full range of motion is the go to range of motion to strengthen the joint throughout the entire ROM while strengthening tendons. However, there is a time and a place for parallel squats or even higher squats to mimic the joint angles at the various phases of a sprint. Once again, I recommend using the GymAware RS or FLEX units to measure velocity, acceleration, and power improvements. VBT will also ensure compensatory acceleration on every repetition.

Plyometric drills for sprinters

If you want to sprint faster, you need plyometric drills that develop explosive force, reactivity, and stiffness—not just random jumps. The goal is simple: train your body to apply max force into the ground and get off it faster. Here are my go-to plyo drills for making sprinters more powerful and efficient:

1. Depth Jumps – Step off a box, hit the ground, and explode straight up or forward. This teaches your body to absorb force instantly and redirect it into explosive movement—just like sprinting.
   
2. Bounding – Think of sprinting in slow motion, exaggerating each stride with massive power. Bounding forces you to apply horizontal force efficiently, improving stride length and knee drive.
   
3. Hurdle Hops – Rapid-fire jumps over hurdles keep you reactive and elastic, building ankle stiffness and reducing ground contact time—exactly what you need for top-end speed.
   
4. Single-Leg Pogo Jumps – Bouncing off one foot over short distances builds lower-leg stiffness, which is crucial for max velocity sprinting. If your ankles and knees aren’t reactive, you’re leaking power.
   
5. Broad Jumps into Sprints – Exploding into a sprint right after a max-effort broad jump trains your body to apply force horizontally, which is key for acceleration out of the blocks.
   
6. Plyometric Lunges (Jumping Lunges) – Jumping lunges are great for developing unilateral explosive strength and leg drive. They train your glutes, quads, and hamstrings to generate powerful, rapid movements, which directly translate to the quick leg turnover required during sprinting. The switching of legs will help coordinate the cross flexor reflex.
   
7. Tuck Jumps – develop explosive strength in the quads and calves and also improve your vertical jump height and reaction time. This mimics the rapid push-off and leg recovery you need for fast sprints. I love this one because it uses the energy transfer of the biarticular muscles much like will be experienced during sprinting.
   
8. Hurdle Jumps – are awesome for developing lower body explosiveness and improving coordination between the legs. They focus on the fast-twitch muscles in the quads, glutes, and calves, which are crucial for driving the legs through the acceleration and max velocity phases of a sprint. These can be used bilaterally or unilaterally as well as side to side or front to back. This is a great way to strengthen the ankle in all directions.

These aren’t just random jumps—they’re sprint-specific tools to make sure you’re getting off the ground faster, applying more force, and eliminating wasted energy. Sprinting is a game of milliseconds—so train like it. Be explosive, be reactive, and get faster.

You could consider pairing any of these exercises with an absolute/accelerative strength movement or even a strength speed movement. Using either for post-activation potentiation (PAP) is a great way to train the joints to call on high threshold motor units in a more efficient way. 

Pairing them helps you not only generate more power but also apply it more efficiently when sprinting. Plyometrics teach your body to react faster and produce force in a short amount of time, while strength training increases the overall force you can generate. Together, they give you the explosive power, balance, and speed you need to cut your sprint times.

My go to strength movements to pair with plyometrics are:

1. Front or Back Squat – I recommend using VBT for two main reasons. First, you will want to ensure maximum intent to excite the high threshold motor units. Second, to ensure that potentiation is maximized while fatigue is minimal. PAP creates maximum potentiation immediately after completing the movement, but fatigue is also maximal at completion. The key is finding out the sweet spot where fatigue and potentiation meet. I recommend using 1-3 repetitions at a velocity between 0.5-0.8m/s (between accelerative and strength speed).
   
2. Trap Bar Deadlifts or Conventional Deadlifts – the biggest difference between these movements and the squat are these are more of a hinge pattern recruiting the posterior chain, and these are by nature a shorter range of motion. Otherwise, the VBT recommendations above go for these as well.
   
3. Power Clean, Power Snatch, or Trap Bar Jump – I pair these movements with the faster plyometrics and the reactive plyometrics such as drop jumps. I will go over the exact way we have been using these movements in a later section. I use specific percentages along with VBT to ensure maximum acceleration. Either of these can be used from the hang to mimic a dynamic movement (eccentric to concentric contraction) to create a more efficient stretch shortening cycle.

Strength Workouts for sprinters

Speed strength exercises for sprinters

If you’re serious about becoming a faster sprinter, you need to build speed-strength—the ability to produce as much force as possible in the shortest amount of time. These exercises are designed to improve explosive power and rate of force development (RFD), both of which are key to getting faster, whether you’re blasting out of the blocks or maintaining top speed. Let’s break down the best speed-strength exercises every sprinter should incorporate into their training routine.

Power Cleans and Power Snatches (Trap Bar Jumps)

The power clean is one of the best exercises for sprinters. It’s a full-body movement that develops hip explosiveness, improves triple extension (hip, knee, and ankle), and trains fast-twitch muscle fibers. Power cleans help sprinters generate force quickly, which is exactly what you need when you’re trying to accelerate and maintain speed. When you apply that kind of explosive power to your sprint, your speed will skyrocket. It was exciting to read that Noah Lyles uses both cleans and snatches. Specifically, using the GymAware RS or FLEX unit to measure power cleans/snatches or trap bar jumps from the floor are going to help athletes improve their rate of force development in those first three steps, which are crucial for field sport athletes.

Short Sled Sprints

Sled pushes and drags are perfect for building horizontal force production, which is essential for the acceleration phase of a sprint. They develop your glutes, quads, and hamstrings, which are the muscles you use to drive your body forward when sprinting. Sled pushes help you practice applying force efficiently to the ground, and they improve your overall speed and power.

Jump Squats

Jump squats are all about explosive power. This exercise helps you develop quick, powerful hip extension and strong quad and calf muscles, which are key for pushing off the ground during a sprint. Jump squats train your body to generate maximum force in a very short time, which translates directly to faster sprint times. Using a jump mat or GymAware RS to measure the velocity and height is best to ensure max intent.

Sprint and weight training on the same day

As a rule, if you have to sprint and weight train on the same day, you would start with sprinting. Basically, you go with whatever is faster and work your way down. As previously mentioned, we normally sprint everyday to get some sprint times for our athletes and monitor trends. Then with the help of our ShredMill, we perform concurrent sprinting along with strength speed and speed strength movements like for example:

• Trap Bar Jump or an Olympic movement
• A DB Jump or Plyometric
• Speed Technique Drill
• ShredMill or a 10m/10yd sprint

If I had to choose between strength or sprints, it would depend on the athlete’s deficiencies and their specific sport. However, as you can see, there shouldn’t be a reason to choose with proper planning. 

Why these exercises work for Sprinters

These speed-strength exercises are designed to help you generate maximum force quickly and efficiently, a key component for sprinting. Whether it’s through hip extension, knee drive, or horizontal force production, each of these exercises trains your body to apply power as quickly as possible—just like you do when you sprint. Combine explosive power with raw strength, and you’ll see your sprint times drop.

How I create faster athletes with Strength Workouts and Measurement

Since the end of last year, I have been working on a program to maximize the speed capabilities of my own athletes. We’ve used many different pairing schemes, and with the help of our technology, we have measured the results of each. 

We’ve used GymAware RS and FLEX units to monitor improvements in acceleration at specific percentages of bodyweight and power output. GymAware also ensures that we maximize potentiation and minimize fatigue. We’ve used Swift Performance’s Eze Jump Mat to monitor jump heights, ground contact times, and Reactive Strength Index (RSI) changes. We’ve also used the Swift timing gates (like GymAware the best in the industry) to measure improvements in sprint times. Finally, we’ve used Tony Villani’s ShredMill to measure and improve our athletes’ acceleration, transition, and max velocity capabilities. 

Here’s what we have come up with:

For Acceleration:

1. Power Clean or Trap Bar Jump- (we only use the power clean for the athletes that are completely efficient in the movement) at 50%, 75%, 100%, and 110% of body weight. This will show us improvements in overall power production.
2. DB Jumps at 18-22% of body weight for 1-3 reps at max intent using either the Eze Jump Mat or GymAware to measure. We’re looking to improve speed strength at this load.
3. Technique Station- this allows us to lower the fatigue of our athletes before they perform the target output of the day as well as placing a subconscious cue for our athletes to express. An example of this might be a wall drill to emphasize the proper acceleration posture (45 degree angle in relation to the ground).
4. ShredMill Gear 2- this is a run with high resistance and zero incline. Once again, we measure and our athletes are given immediate feedback.

For Transition:

1. From Blocks Power Clean or Trap Bar Jump- we use the block to mimic the greater knee and hip joint angle. Now we are looking at changes in power production as the joint angles become more specific to the transition phase and max velocity phase of sprinting. We keep with the theme at 50%, 75%, 100%, and 110% of body weight. The only percentage that we might vary is the last one, and we might add one more for athletes expressing higher velocities. 
2. Countermovement Jump or Countermovement Tuck Jump- we use between 1-3 reps and we measure each set. Once again, the key is to measure to monitor improvements in your athletes’ speed strength.
3. Technique Station- we have been sticking with wall drills and teaching our athletes to posture and mechanics expressed during the transition phase. In reality, for sprints like the 40-yard dash or 30-meter sprint, the athlete is either accelerating or in the transition phase the majority of the sprint.
4. ShredMill Gear 3- this is a run with a little less resistance and a small incline. Once again, we measure and our athletes are given immediate feedback. This allows the athlete to sprint naturally in the proper angle with just enough resistance to create an adaptation without slowing down neural processes. 

Max Velocity:

1. Concentric Pin Squats– after writing my last article for GymAware all about the pin squat, I decided to use it to help my athletes express maximum sprint velocity. The beauty is that our athletes can perform a rep from the pins and rack the bar upon completion. This minimizes fatigue as much as possible. We start with a pin squat that has the athlete starting at a 90 degree angle. Each week, we raise the pins until the final testing week where the pins are holding the bar at a quarter squat height. This is much more specific for force expressing joint angles during max velocity sprinting. The reps will be 1-3, and the intensities on week 1 will be 75% of body weight set 1, 100% of body weight set 2, 110% of body weight set 3, and the final intensity will be based on the individual athlete. On max week, we will go with heavier intensities to maximize potentiation, since the joint angle is so high with a concentric only contraction.
2. Drop Jumps from various heights- we are using drop jumps to mimic the ground contact times and the joint angles of max velocity sprinting. We will also be able to track the trends of RSI scores. 
3. Max Velocity Wall Drill, A-Skips, or B-Skips
4. ShredMill Gear 4 – this is to be completed at an incline of 17% and a resistance of only 1-3, so basically nothing during the max velocity run. Your aim is to hit 90% of your desired max velocity.

Of course, this isn’t all we do. We sprint 2-3 times per week. We perform contrast training like I described above twice per week targeting slightly different aspects of sprinting in each. On both speed days, we follow the contrast series up with clean technique, squats, and more jumps. We also perform accessory work designed to target the muscle groups that allow us to sprint as fast as possible. We target them in the specific way that aid top end sprinting.

When it comes to building the strength necessary for max velocity sprinting, the hip thrusts, which directly target the glutes at shorter muscle lengths and help with that explosive hip drive we need in sprinting come to mind. I recommend performing at a max velocity with lighter loads to mimic the hip extension taking place during max velocity. Nordic leg curls are also critical for building eccentric hamstring strength, which helps prevent injuries while enabling the hamstrings to absorb force during the swing phase. Lastly, lunges—especially bulgarian split squats—are great for developing unilateral strength and stability, helping balance both sides of the body for a more efficient stride. By focusing on these exercises, you’re building the strength and power necessary to increase your stride frequency and efficiency at max velocity. Just remember, it’s all about training your body to be strong, fast, and coordinated—that’s the key to running faster. I will go into more detail later on accessory work.

Hip Flexion workout for sprinters

If you want to sprint faster, you can’t ignore the hip flexors. These muscles are responsible for driving the knee forward with power and speed, creating that rapid turnover essential for top-end sprinting. Weak or underdeveloped hip flexors slow you down, reduce stride frequency, and make it harder to maintain proper sprint mechanics. To fix that, you need targeted hip flexion work to strengthen these muscles and improve their ability to fire explosively.

One of the best exercises for sprint-specific hip flexion is high-knee resisted marches using a band or cable machine. This movement strengthens the hip flexors through a full range of motion while reinforcing the knee drive mechanics needed for sprinting. Hanging leg raises are another excellent option, forcing the hip flexors to engage dynamically while also strengthening the core—critical for maintaining sprint posture. Romanian deadlifts to explosive knee drive with the off leg adds a strength component, training both the posterior chain and hip flexors in a sprint-like motion. For power, explosive knee drives with resistance bands mimic the rapid hip flexion needed at top speed..

By adding these exercises into your training, you’ll develop stronger, more explosive hip flexors that contribute directly to faster sprint times. The stronger and more reactive your hip flexors are, the quicker your knee drive, and the faster you’ll be out on the track.

Hamstring workout for sprinters

If you want to sprint faster and stay injury-free, you better be hammering your hamstrings. These muscles are the powerhouse behind stride length, acceleration, and top-end speed, and they play a critical role in force production and injury prevention. Weak hamstrings not only limit your ability to generate power but also put you at risk for strains—something no sprinter can afford. That’s why training them for both strength and speed is non-negotiable.

One of the best hamstring exercises for sprinting is the Nordic hamstring curl—a brutal but effective movement that eccentrically strengthens the hamstrings, improving their ability to absorb force and resist injury. Due to their eccentric overload, they will aid in stiffness at the knee joint by strengthening tendons and the muscle properties that resist stretch and store energy like the Titin Protein Filaments. Romanian deadlifts (RDLs) are another must-have, loading the hamstrings through the hip hinge pattern and reinforcing the mechanics needed for powerful sprint strides. Glute-ham raises (GHRs) take things a step further, combining both concentric and eccentric hamstring strength to develop that posterior chain power sprinters need. To build explosiveness, sled pulls and hill sprints force the hamstrings to fire rapidly, improving their ability to generate force during acceleration. Lastly, single-leg Romanian deadlifts develop unilateral strength and balance, helping prevent imbalances that can lead to injuries, and you can add the hip flexion component with the off leg.

Strong hamstrings mean faster sprint times, longer strides, and fewer injuries. If you’re serious about getting faster, you need to treat your hamstrings like the gold they are—because they’re the difference between a good sprinter and a great one.

Strengthen the Ankles for Sprinters

If you want to sprint fast and stay healthy, you better start paying attention to your ankles. A weak, unstable ankle is like trying to launch a rocket from a wobbly platform—you’re losing power before you even get going. The best sprinters have stiff, strong ankles that transfer force efficiently, keeping them explosive and resilient against injuries. So how do you get ankles built for speed? Simple: strength, power, and stability—all trained consistently.

First, you will want to strengthen your ankles. If your calves, tibialis anterior, and foot stabilizers aren’t strong, you’re setting yourself up for disaster. Hit single-leg calf raises, both regular and eccentric, loading them up when you can. Don’t forget seated calf raises to strengthen the soleus, a muscle that plays a bigger role in endurance during repeated sprinting efforts. Balance that out with tibialis raises and dorsiflexion work using resistance bands—your shins need to be just as strong as your calves if you want real ankle control.

Then, we move into power work. If you want that reactive, spring-like quality in your ankles, you have to train them like a rubber band. Enter pogo jumps, ankle hops, and depth jumps. We’ve already mentioned several plyometric drills that will help with making the ankle more reactive. These drills force you to absorb and redirect force quickly, just like you do with every ground contact in a sprint. Stay bouncy, stay elastic, and learn to hit the ground like a coiled spring ready to explode forward. 

But strength and power mean nothing if you can’t stabilize. That’s where single-leg balance drills, barefoot sprints, and proprioception training come in. If your body can’t feel and control what’s happening at the ankle, you’re one bad step away from rolling it and sitting on the sidelines. Train on unstable surfaces, react to external forces like partner pushes, and even practice sudden weight shifts to build real-world stability.

Finally, don’t neglect mobility and recovery. Sprinting demands a full range of motion at the ankle, so if you’re stiff and locked up, you’re leaking speed. Foam roll your calves and shins, do ankle circles, and stretch your Achilles regularly. And for the love of speed, take care of your feet! Strong ankles start with strong feet, so do toe spreading, grip exercises, and barefoot work to connect the entire chain.

At the end of the day, if you want to sprint faster, you have to own every inch of ground contact. Weak ankles slow you down, period. Train them like you train everything else—consistently, aggressively, and with intent—and watch your speed, power, and durability go through the roof.

Track your sprint strength progress

We track every angle of our sprint strength progress. Of course, we use GymAware products to measure our increased velocity and rate of force development in our trap bar jumps and power cleans. Also, we measure improvements in all strength qualities whether we’re looking at absolute strength in the back squat or accelerative strength in the deadlift.

Drop jumps are used to track improvements in reactive properties both with GymAware RS and our Swift Performance Jump Mats looking at heights and ground contact times. Additionally, we measure improvements in CMJs and dumbbell jumps looking at various forms of speed strength. GymAware RS along with concentric trap bar jumps helps measure our starting strength improvements, which shows us improvements in rate coding and high threshold motor unit recruitment.

Finally, we use the ShredMill and our Swift Performance timing gates to measure improvements in various sprint times. We can watch our trends. We can also pinpoint why things are going great, and just as importantly why things aren’t. By monitoring all of the various qualities that go into sprint speed, we have taken the guessing out of it. 

Conclusion

In writing this article, I have looked at just about every ounce of information in regards to getting athletes faster in the weight room. There is no doubt in my mind that you need to sprint to get faster along with a strength and conditioning plan to complement your track work. 

The thing is that sprint speed is the most biomechanically complicated movement an athlete can perform. I wish I could make it easy for coaches, but the truth is that it is complicated. This article puts things into perspective for you and gives you a solid summary to go from. I will say this. For high school athletes, if you get them stronger and sprint them 2-3 times per week, as long as you manage fatigue, you will get them faster and more explosive. However, if you learn all of the aspects explained in the article, you will make magic happen.

Thanks everyone! Email me at Travis@GymAware.com with any questions.

References:

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Travis Mash

Being a World Champion in powerlifting, Travis competed at a world-class level in Olympic weightlifting and has coached professional Olympic weightlifters alongside Don McCauley and Glenn Pendlay at Team MDUSA. Now Travis coaches the most successful weightlifting team in the USA.