How Usain Bolt ran so fast and how you can - Stride Length vs. Leg Speed (Part 2)

In our last post we looked at whether it was better to focus on stride length or leg speed when it comes to improving sprint speed. And we considered the world’s fastest man - Usain Bolt in doing so. In part 2 we delve deeper and show you how working with your Muscle Runners will give you the edge.

Your Antepes will provide you with the power-base to improve stride length and leg speed. As we identified in part 1, it’s the former which will provide you with the greatest return when it comes to boosting sprint speed. Indeed, we quoted research which indicated that 90% of speed improvement comes from opening up your stride.

Why Antepes will increase stride length and leg speed

Your Muscle Runners are designed to create a stride which will eat up the track. The standout contributory features are:

Heel to toe cushioning gain (31.5mm negative heel drop - size 8.5)

Light weight (9oz/269g for size 8.5)

ForeStike™ technology for improved forefoot striking and impact reduction

ForeSpring™ carbon fibre plate and high energy return TPE foam which accelerate footstrike

Previously we talked about leg stiffness and quoted research which showed how increasing this improves sprinters, and we also provided some relevant exercises, such as drop jumps.

If your soft tissue (muscles, ligaments, tendons and even facia) can create stronger foundations for power return then you are onto a winner. And if that increased human power can be specifically harnessed by your designed for speed shoes then you will be a sprint winner.

Simply put the more power you can put into the ground on footstrike in quicker ground contacts the greater the energy return and sprint speed everything else being equal. 

Are you born fast?

However, the great news is that with the right training you can train your muscle fibres to be faster. In short, we can all be faster!

You’ll have heard of fast and slow twitch muscle fibre. It’s the former that elite sprinters are blessed with. These fibres can "fire" extremely forcibly and quickly. Yes, Mr Bolt will have a higher percentage compared to the less fast - which is every other human on the planet in regard to his 100m world record! However, the great news is that with the right training you can train your muscle fibres to be faster. In short, we can all be faster!

It turns out most of us are born with a pretty even distribution of fast and slow twitch fibres (the later are designed for repeated sub maximal endurance work). The split is around 45% to 55% either way so what counts is how you train.

Muscle fibre will adapt as noted to consistent specific training. We say it regularly but to be fast you need to train fast. You need to stimulate your fast twitch fibres and this means operating at minimum over 70-80% speed most of the time in training.

If you do lots of slower paced interval/tempo training you run the risk of switching off your fast twitch muscle fibres and boosting your slow twitch fibres – this is something you won’t want in your speed quest.

Use your brain!

You also need to be able to mentally switch on these fast twitch fibres. The fastest of your fast twitch fibres (Type 11x) need a lot of mental juice to get them firing. This is why if you don’t “want” to run fast you won’t. You need to be in the “zone”.

The good news is that there are numerous ways to fire up your fast twitch fibres through a process which involves activation and potentiation. Watch this short video from elite track coach John Shepherd to find out more and see 8 relevant drills.

These drills will stimulate your neural system and leg speed and enable you to generate more speed and power – so, they should have a positive effect on stride length as well. Your Antepes will add to the transfer as they move your feet into the right positions when doing the drills and sprinting.

Fly like the wind

One of the best ways to improve your max velocity is to do what are called “fly” sprints. Simply described; you sprint as fast as you can, normally over 10m or 20m with a long enough acceleration so that you are at max speed when you hit the fly zone.

Ideally you need an accurate timing system to record your time. You can then divide distance by time to see how fast you are in metres per second. Usain Bolt on his world record runs would be at 12m/s at his fastest! And his 20m split would be around 1.7sec

Wearing your Antepes during a specific speed training programme will help lower your fly times and increase stride length and leg speed. We recommend doing fly sprints every 10 days or so - providing you are specifically conditioned and training appropriately and in a max speed developing training phase. Make sure you are fully recovered before the workout and between the fly sprints. And limit your efforts to 4-6. Using the drills shown in the video will assist your readiness.

You will enable your fast twitch muscle fibres to develop more power and higher firing rates, your neural system will be better able to fire up super-quick movements and your soft tissue will be specifically strengthened - look out for more on this subject.