How to Run Faster - 3 Great Tips

Want to know how to run faster? Well it’s quite a simple process. You need to change the way you train. Whilst you should be trying to increase the speeds you run at to a certain degree, there are many more efficient ways of increasing speed.

In order to learn how to run faster it is important to develop both strength and endurance in to the legs, so to do this you must change your training so that you start to do some shorter but faster runs and cutting down a little on the distances that you run each week.

Studies done on a group of regular runners in a Danish university proved that a reduction in mileage and the addition of a number of shorter sprints gave the subjects an overall improvement in the speeds they ran at. The test runners were monitored against another group of experienced runners that continued to run longer distances at a slightly faster pace.

Sprinting is a great way to build power in to the legs as it predominantly calls upon fast twitch muscle fibres to contract quickly instead of the slow twitch muscle fibres which are mainly used during normal running sessions.

To do sprints it’s important to allow plenty of time to warm up and stretch the muscles thoroughly. You would ideally perform a number of warm up sprints, building up speed gently with each attempt before going for an all out sprint. Try to do around 5 all out sprints leaving plenty of time for recovery after each one.

After a sprinting workout you again need to allow time to cool down properly and stretch out the muscles thoroughly.

Following sprinting, you should allow at least 48 hours before challenging the legs in a similar way as you can expect quite a lot of muscular soreness until the fibres have repaired fully.

Another option you have is to use resistance training in order to develop the power of the legs. Not only will resistance training build strength in the legs but by following a well rounded program, you can expect to see improvements in posture, weight loss, toning and confidence.

Using weight training improves the muscles ability to contract faster enabling the muscles of the legs to work harder before tiring which is perfect for anyone that wants to know how to run faster.

Running hills is another great way to increase the speed that you run at because running up an incline increases the overload placed on the muscles. This is due to increased demand for oxygenated blood in the working muscles. Once the heart is unable to pump the oxygen to the muscles and remove lactic acid build up quickly enough you will need to stop or slow down.

If you don’t have any hills then try using an inclineable treadmill instead.

If you want to learn more great running tips and follow a step by step running program for beginners, so you're easily capable of running 3 miles without stopping, you need How To Start Running (Insert your hoplink as a hyperlink here)