{"id":416470,"date":"2026-01-18T01:55:11","date_gmt":"2026-01-18T01:55:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/416470\/"},"modified":"2026-01-18T01:55:11","modified_gmt":"2026-01-18T01:55:11","slug":"unlock-your-fitness-potential-the-surprising-benefits-of-speed-training","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/416470\/","title":{"rendered":"Unlock your fitness potential: The surprising benefits of speed training"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you aren\u2019t a professional athlete, it is highly unlikely that you train for speed in your gym, or on the treadmill. On the latter, while there is a number that records how fast you\u2019re walking\/running, what a treadmill is actually measuring is the time you\u2019re spending on it, distance you\u2019re covering, and the calories you\u2019re burning.<\/p>\n

Treadmill numbers are directly co-related to kilometres per hour or miles per hour, depending on what metric the country uses. However, real speed can only be experienced (and measured) outdoors, where you can hit a maximum speed, and then slow down without needing to hop off or slow down the speed on the machine. Outdoor sprinting is a better test for the hamstrings as well, as the body would slow down over a distance rather than abruptly, unlike on a treadmill.<\/p>\n

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A casual runner\u2019s average speed is usually between 9.5-13kmph. This is obviously different from a sprint speed. The average sprint speed of a human being is 19-24kmph. These numbers are derived from short bursts, with the average finishing time for a 100m sprint ranging from 15-17 seconds. For context, Usain Bolt hit a top-speed of 44.72 kmph in his 9.58-second sprint in 2009\u2014the 100m world record.<\/p>\n

The speed levels in professional sport are very different. \u201cAt the top level, if you are anything above 36kmph, then you are rapid. Very fast. Around the 30 kmph mark is where the entry level is,\u201d says Josh Snowden, who is Head of Sports Science at Lincoln City FC, the side which is currently second in England\u2019s Football League One table, which is two divisions below the Premier League. Snowden has worked for Bengaluru FC in the Indian Super League as well.<\/p>\n

But for non-athletes who train for fitness, even 20kmph is considered fast, given that running and speed work are not the only two things they do. Most GPS tracking vests in professional sport log a sprint as anything above 25.2kmph. So that\u2019s a good number to try and reach so that you\u2019re actually logging a sprint. And if you hit that, then anything around 28-29kmph is a great number to chase if you want to be known as fast. If you have a fitness watch, it makes sense to check the heart-rate zones while sprinting as well (usually between 4-5). For long distance runners, running between 7-9kmph is a good number with experienced racers able to hit 10-11kmph as well.<\/p>\n

Also Read | Does cadence in running really matter?<\/a><\/p>\n

While long distance runners can use the treadmill to gauge their pace, for sprinters, their pace can only be measured outdoors. This is because most treadmills top out at 20 (which is usually 20kmph) and some gyms also have them locked in at 15, out of fear of causing injury to a patron.<\/p>\n

The best way to train for speed, in this case, is to do 10-second-on, 20-second-off sprint intervals, and also focus on some explosive power moves. This is because even though speed is not the only marker that says one is fit, it is still a major metric of fitness. \u201cThere\u2019s going to be a crossover effect with speed training because it is the most intense action your body can do. The fast twitch fibers you activate with the Central Nervous System (CNS) at 100 percent means you learn to react quicker to stimuli,\u201d says Snowden.<\/p>\n

This translates to better reaction speeds to having to suddenly duck or evade something, to being better at any sport, and the ability to learn more exercises which could help overall fitness.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s also important to know what you\u2019re training for.<\/p>\n

You can use the same exercises to either improve your speed or your endurance\u2014the trick is to know that these are two separate goals. Speed training is over short bursts using anaerobic energy, while endurance training is for longer distances and time periods, at a lower intensity.<\/p>\n

You never train to exhaustion while speed training. Train till a point from which you come out refreshed and feeling stronger. As running coaches like to say, runs can\u2019t be sloppy.<\/p>\n

Also Read | Why the deadlift is falling out of favour with fitness enthusiasts<\/a><\/p>\n

And when it comes to goals, there is always the fear of how speed will affect people who are chasing size in the gym. \u201cSome muscle fibers can only be activated by high velocity movements. Nothing or no exercise can replace sprinting when it comes to this. So if you\u2019re still chasing size and lifting five times a week, then one sprinting session eventually with two being ideal is the maximum I would recommend,\u201d says Snowden. He adds that these sessions would be fairly short with enough rest in between.<\/p>\n

So knowing your speed and then testing its limits is something every fitness enthusiast should try and do. The payback is huge and it gives a very clear goal to chase. Getting close to these numbers, depending on age and fitness, can become the ultimate motivation.<\/p>\n

Pulasta Dhar is a football commentator and writer.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"If you aren\u2019t a professional athlete, it is highly unlikely that you train for speed in your gym,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":416471,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[49,48,174925,407,174922,174924,84,174926,174927,174923],"class_list":{"0":"post-416470","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-fitness","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-endurance-training","11":"tag-fitness","12":"tag-fitness-and-speed-training","13":"tag-fitness-endurance-training","14":"tag-health","15":"tag-running-speed","16":"tag-running-speed-and-fitness","17":"tag-sprint-speed-and-health"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/416470","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=416470"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/416470\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/416471"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=416470"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=416470"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=416470"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}