Speed and Strength Exercises: From Proper Form to Speed
Why Speed and Strength Training?
You know this feeling all too well: You’re running at your usual pace in the park, feeling good about yourself, when suddenly another runner passes you with strides that seem to float over the asphalt. He doesn’t look like he’s exerting himself, but he’s covering the distance at an astonishing speed. In that moment, you ask yourself, “How can I run that fast?”
We've come a long way together. In [Our First Article on Warm-Up Exercises], together we built the “protective shield” that shields your joints from the impact of the asphalt. And in [The Second Article on Running Technique], we’ve reengineered your biomechanics; now you run with a proud posture, striking the ground with the midfoot without wasting a single drop of your energy. You’re now running with the “correct” and safe 100% form. But doing it right alone won’t make you faster; doing it right ensures consistency, but speed… that’s a whole other story.
The difference between a runner who finishes a race in good health and one who breaks their personal best (PB) lies in “speed and power drills.” In the world of running, speed isn’t just about lung capacity or physical fitness; speed is essentially a “neural skill.” These exercises don’t just target your heart; they target your nervous system, teaching it how to send electrical signals faster to your muscles so they can contract with greater explosive force in fractions of a second.
How do we do that? Let's put on our running shoes and go over the six exercises that will transform you from a casual runner into a speedy running machine:
1. C-Skip: Releasing Pelvic Restrictions
What is it?
Do you remember the A-Skips and B-Skips exercises you mastered in the warm-up article? The C-Skip is an advanced and more complex variation of those two. The exercise starts the same way: you lift your knee high, then extend your leg forward, but instead of bringing it down immediately, you open your hips and rotate your knee outward in a full circular motion before your foot touches the ground.
Instructional Video for the C-Skip Exercise
How does it make you faster?
This exercise is the magic key to hip mobility. The more flexible and open your hips are, the smoother your stride will be, and the less internal friction there will be to slow you down. It teaches your nervous system how to coordinate complex movements in fractions of a second, which increases your reaction speed on the pavement.
Common mistake:
Don't rush it, and don't perform the rotation haphazardly, as if your joint were loose! The outward rotation should be a slow, deliberate, and perfectly controlled movement. Imagine you're opening a heavy gate with your foot.
2. Carioca: The Runners' Dance
What is it?
An exercise that relies on quick lateral movement. Take side steps so that your right foot crosses in front of your left foot, and then, on the next step, crosses behind it, with a continuous, fluid twist in the pelvic area.
How does it make you faster?
Running is a sport done in a straight line (only forward), which causes us to completely neglect our lateral muscles. The Carioca activates the lateral pelvic muscles and deep stabilizers. When you run at high speed, your body tries to sway from side to side; it is these strong lateral muscles that will keep you stable and channel all your energy forward.
Common mistake:
Moving very slowly or losing your rhythm, as if you were a robot. Your movements should flow smoothly, like a light dance step, relying entirely on the balls of your feet to change direction in the blink of an eye.
3. Butt Kicks: Reducing the duration of the step
What is it?
Run in place or with a very slight forward motion, focusing on pulling your heels up forcefully and quickly so that they touch your glutes with every step.
How does it make you faster?
Speed comes from increasing your cadence. This exercise trains your hamstrings (the muscles at the back of your thighs) to contract at tremendous speed. When you kick your legs quickly, you shorten what’s known as the “recovery phase” of your stride cycle; a foot that lifts off the ground and comes down quickly means you’re ready to take the next step in less time.
Common mistake:
Lean your torso forward to try to close the gap between your buttocks and your heels. Keep your back straight and your chest out; let your heels rise forcefully toward your body—don’t lower your body to meet them.
4. Strides: The Safe Path to Speed
What is it?
Short, fluid, and controlled sprints covering a distance of only 80 to 100 meters. Run at 90–95% of your maximum speed, followed by a full recovery period (slow walking) before repeating.
How does it make you faster?
Sprints aren’t grueling “sprints” that leave you gasping for breath and collapsing. They simply teach your body “what it feels like to move at high speed.” They lengthen your stride and adapt your muscles to the mechanics of speed without letting lactic acid build up in your blood. They’re the perfect bridge between comfortable, slow running days and grueling race days.
Common mistake:
Run with the 100% technique and complete tension. The start must be “fast, elegant, and under absolute control.” Your face should be relaxed, and your shoulders should be lowered.
5. Hill Sprints: The Natural Weight Room
What is it?
Sprint explosively uphill on a moderate slope for a very short time (8 to 10 seconds at most) with all the raw power you have.
How does it make you faster?
An incline is the best weight training tool for a runner. Running uphill forces you to push off the ground with tremendous force, which builds raw explosive power in your muscle fibers. The genius of this is that the incline reduces the distance your foot travels downward, making this explosive exercise much safer on your joints than if you were doing it on flat ground.
Common mistake:
Don’t look for a steep “mountain” to climb! You’re a runner, not a mountain climber. The ideal slope should have a gentle incline (between 5% and 8%) to allow you to maintain proper running form while sprinting.
6. Long Jumps (Bounding): Gazelle Steps
What is it?
His running strides are extremely exaggerated; each step turns into a long, powerful leap into the air. He pushes off the ground explosively with one foot and raises the knee of his opposite leg very high into the air before landing.
How does it make you faster?
This exercise builds what we call “single-leg power.” It teaches each leg individually how to generate tremendous propulsive force to propel you through the air. The immediate result? A natural and very comfortable increase in your “stride length” when you’re running in races.
Common mistake:
Jump forward only to gain distance. The true explosive power here should propel you “upward and forward” at the same time; focus on vertical height to stay in the air for a few more moments.
Our Arab World: When Will We Unleash All This Power?
Here, we need to speak frankly as runners living in the Arab world. Speed and strength training are radically different from a slow morning jog. These are “high-output” exercises; they raise your heart rate to its maximum, cause profuse sweating, and sharply increase your core body temperature.
In the midst of our harsh Arab summer, this combination requires smarts, not just courage. The golden rule for doing these exercises: Do them within the first 10 to 15 minutes after warming up. You should perform them while your muscles are warm and active, but before the intense heat saps your energy and exhausts your nervous system.
The most important factor is the timing of your run. In our hot capital cities—specifically in the Arab Gulf states during July and August—the only safe time slots for speed training are before sunrise or several hours after sunset. Attempting a grueling workout like “hill running” at midday on the streets of Dubai or Riyadh isn’t a testament to your strength; it’s a serious medical risk that could result in heatstroke. Always listen to your body and respect the harshness of your environment so you can keep running.
Your Next Step: The Art of Rewarding
Today, you put your body under significant mental and physical strain. You awakened your dormant muscle fibers and pushed your heart to pump blood like a raging engine. Speed and strength have been built up, but now your muscles are screaming, cramping, and begging for mercy.
How can we calm this storm? And how can we ensure that you don’t wake up tomorrow with pain so severe that you can’t even walk down the stairs? Now is the time to master the “art of healing.” In the next article in this series, we’ll put speed and strength completely aside and learn how to reward our bodies through “static stretches and post-run recovery” exercises. Take a deep breath now, and get ready for the deep relaxation you so richly deserve!
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