Routines to build speed

Alatariel75 · February 2015

I have been doing Taekwondo for a year now, I'll be grading for my red belt in June. My technique is good, my fitness is something I'm working on and improving, but I'm... slow.

I don't have a gym membership and can't really justify one with my TKD fees and my aquatic membership.

Any suggestions for home based or outdoor based routines/videos/guides to gaining speed and muscle reflexivity? I'm not against reasonably inexpensive home based equipment, I do already have a decent bag.

AllanMisner · February 2015

I once had a coach tell me that to get speed you have to practice speed. When you’re doing the movements, you have to begin pushing yourself to go through them faster. I was an offensive lineman, so we pushed sleds and ran through shoots, which simulated what we did on the field. He just pushed us to do it faster.

Making the muscles you use in certain movements stronger will also help. Since I don’t know the specifics of Taekwondo, I can’t offer much advice there. Although medicine balls, kettle bells, club bells and plyometrics seem like good things to consider.

WhatMeRunning · February 2015

How about Intervals? Some HIIT routines with your moves? That helps build strength, and for running increases speed. I have no idea if it would carry over the same to Taekwondo, but I imagine it could.

AllanMisner · February 2015

HIIT tends to train the body to recover from heavy work (if done right). It isn’t really about strength in a direct sense.

cheshirecatastrophe · February 2015

I think what you're talking about isn't so much "speed" as quickness and reaction time, yes? Most of that is genetic. I found a few pieces of advice online (besides "drink caffeine") that seemed decent:

As for improving voluntary quickness in the absence of reaction time, one good way to do it is to practice being quick. Pick a few movement patterns in your sport and attempt to execute them as quickly as possible as smoothly as possible. A boxer might execute a 5 or 10 punch combo as quickly as possible. A martial artist might execute a kicking combo. A football player might perform a footwork pattern. A basketball player might execute a jab step and crossover move as quickly as possible.

General quickness drills applicable to all athletes include things like low line hops and hurdle hops. Draw a line on the ground and hop back and forth over it as quickly as possible for 10 seconds. You oughta eventually be able to get 50 or 60 hops with both legs and 30-40 on one. Various agility related drills also have some value here.

The biggest detriment to quickness related drills is excessive muscle tension. Try to be relaxed as possible. Maximum speed at minimum effort is a cue that works well.

dbmata · February 2015

sprints, reaction drills.
Speed lifts.

TBargar101 · February 2015

Are you asking about sprinting speed?

mreichard · February 2015

I know that in terms of muscle fiber type, speed is largely genetic. And I think you see that in sprinting. But --- in my experience you can develop your hand speed a lot. Probably because striking is kind of an odd movement and most people don't do it to anywhere near their potential.

When I started doing karate in my early 20s, I had pretty slow hands, but several years of working to learn to do strikes _relaxed_ made me much faster. Also --- focus on learning each strike thoroughly helped. In class, we would do 500 of a single strike with each hand, then do the next kind of strike (jab, cross, backfist, etc.). Just to finish those sessions, I had to learn to relax, not hyperextend and move quickly. Then I'd try to carry the same lessons to striking the bag and makiwara. We'd also do speed drills like trying to put out a candle with a punch, which was fun but maybe not a big help.

Learning to relax also made me strike MUCH harder. Many people try to punch fast and/or hard by pushing hard and flexing slightly, but that really slows you down and weakens your punch.

I always thought of myself as the slow guy, but once when I visited a new dojo when travelling, an instructor asked me if I had developed my speed or if I was just born fast, which was kind of a shock.

Sam_I_Am77 · February 2015

What kind of speed? Like reactive speed and striking power? Also, what does your strength training currently look like?

dbmata · February 2015

Sam_I_Am77 wrote: »

What kind of speed? Like reactive speed and striking power? Also, what does your strength training currently look like?

what would you suggest for increasing hand and foot speed for striking?

Sam_I_Am77 · February 2015

dbmata wrote: »

Sam_I_Am77 wrote: »

What kind of speed? Like reactive speed and striking power? Also, what does your strength training currently look like?

what would you suggest for increasing hand and foot speed for striking?

See, this is where programming can get fun; training somebody for athletics. Assuming the OP is balanced and we don't need to work on any major deficiency this is ONE way to look at.

**This is something I would do up until maybe mid-May, increase upper body weight 5lbs / lower body weight 10lbs every 4 weeks.
3-Day Split
Day 1 - Maximal Power
- A1. Back Squat 5 x 5 or 5 x 3 @ 80% - 85%
- A2. Hang Clean 5 x 5-8 @ 50% OR some kind of Jump (Box, Tuck, Broad, Depth)
**A1 & A2 are a super-set

- B1. Shoulder Press 5x5 or 5 x 3 @ 80% - 85%
- B2. DB Push Press 5 x 5-8 OR Medicine Ball Soccer Throw
**B1 & B2 are a super-set
**Do some Dips, Chins (or lat work), Back Raises, light Core work

Day 2 - Maximal Strength
- Pre Lifting should include 3 sets of 5-8 reps of Jumps or Medicine Ball Throws OR these can be done with warm-up sets
- A1. Deadlift (Trap Bar if you have one to minimize lower back stress) 5 x 3 @ 80%
- B1. Bench Press @ 5x5 or 5x3 @ 80% - 85%
**Some kind of Rowing movement for upper back, light Core work

Day 3 - Strength Endurance
- Pre Lifting should include 3 sets of 5-8 reps of Jumps or Medicine Ball Throws OR these can be done with warm-up sets
- A1. Back Squat or Front Squat 2-4 sets @ 70% - 75% 6-8 reps
- A2. Step-up with Frontal Plane Balance (DB or BB) 6-10 reps per leg (4/2/1 tempo)
**A1 & A2 are a super-set

- B1. Shoulder Press: 2-4 sets @ 70% - 75% 6-8 reps
- B2. Cable Shoulder Press 12 reps (4/2/1 tempo)
**Do some Dips, Chins (or lat work), Back Raises, light Core work

End of May / June **Stop week prior to contest**

2-day split

Day 1 - Maximal Power
- A1. Back Squat 5 x 5 or 5 x 3 @ 80% - 85%
- A2. Hang Clean 5 x 5-8 @ 50% OR some kind of Jump (Box, Tuck, Broad, Depth)
**A1 & A2 are a super-set

- B1. Shoulder Press 5x5 or 5 x 3 @ 80% - 85%
- B2. DB Push Press 5 x 5-8 OR Medicine Ball Soccer Throw
**B1 & B2 are a super-set
**Do some Dips, Chins (or lat work), Back Raises, light Core work

Day 2 - Strength Endurance
- Pre Lifting should include 3 sets of 5-8 reps of Jumps or Medicine Ball Throws OR these can be done with warm-up sets
- A1. Back Squat or Front Squat 2-4 sets @ 70% - 75% 6-8 reps
- A2. Step-up with Frontal Plane Balance (DB or BB) 6-10 reps per leg (4/2/1 tempo)
**A1 & A2 are a super-set

- B1. Bench Press: 2-4 sets @ 70% - 75% 6-8 reps
- B2. Standing Cable Chest Press 12 reps (4/2/1 tempo)
**B1 & B2 are a super-set
**Do some Dips, Chins (or lat work), Back Raises, light Core work

There are many ways to train for strength and power, this is just one thought of mine and is largely based on NASM OPT.

dbmata · February 2015

interesting, what are your thoughts on the medicine ball slams/throws as well?

When you describe a 4/2/1 tempo for step ups, how would you do that? 4 seconds for the stepping upward phase is something I can't wrap my head around.

Sam_I_Am77 · February 2015

dbmata wrote: »

interesting, what are your thoughts on the medicine ball slams/throws as well?

When you describe a 4/2/1 tempo for step ups, how would you do that? 4 seconds for the stepping upward phase is something I can't wrap my head around.

For the Step-Up, the 4/2/1 tempo would be Step up (1), Frontal Plan Hold (2-sec), Descent (4-sec). For a Press it would be Press (1), Hold (2), Eccentric (4). In using that tempo the point is not TUT, I could care less, it's more about maintaining stabilization and control over your body rather than just cranking out reps.

I personally like Med Ball Throws over Slams because you're trying to throw for distance and you can't cheat power in that regard. Whereas with the Slam you have little means to judge the ball's velocity. Not there's anything wrong with Slams, just my personal pref. Same thing with a Box Jump versus a Squat Jump. If you don't put max effort into the Box Jump there are consequences. LOL

marcolbmp · February 2015

We do an hour of kettle bell training before class to hit all the auxiliary muscles, core and balance.
For speed and explosive strength, we do quite a bit of high impact training such as plyometric box jumps, jump squats, explosive squat thrusts, use weighted gloves & vests, ball slams, etc.

As stated above, to gain speed, train with speed.

dbmata · February 2015

Sam_I_Am77 wrote: »

dbmata wrote: »

interesting, what are your thoughts on the medicine ball slams/throws as well?

When you describe a 4/2/1 tempo for step ups, how would you do that? 4 seconds for the stepping upward phase is something I can't wrap my head around.

For the Step-Up, the 4/2/1 tempo would be Step up (1), Frontal Plan Hold (2-sec), Descent (4-sec). For a Press it would be Press (1), Hold (2), Eccentric (4). In using that tempo the point is not TUT, I could care less, it's more about maintaining stabilization and control over your body rather than just cranking out reps.

I personally like Med Ball Throws over Slams because you're trying to throw for distance and you can't cheat power in that regard. Whereas with the Slam you have little means to judge the ball's velocity. Not there's anything wrong with Slams, just my personal pref. Same thing with a Box Jump versus a Squat Jump. If you don't put max effort into the Box Jump there are consequences. LOL

Yeah, now that I started oly lifting, I really need to get serious about how I do box jumps, I just don't get the full extension I'm supposed to.

What do you think of the side med ball slam, where you stand a few feet from, and perpendicular to a wall, slam the ball to the wall, catch on the rebound, and throw again.

Seems like you could work on solid torso twist, speed/power, and endurance, all in one go.

Sam_I_Am77 · February 2015

Yeah, now that I started oly lifting, I really need to get serious about how I do box jumps, I just don't get the full extension I'm supposed to.

What do you think of the side med ball slam, where you stand a few feet from, and perpendicular to a wall, slam the ball to the wall, catch on the rebound, and throw again.

Seems like you could work on solid torso twist, speed/power, and endurance, all in one go.[/quote]

There are a lot of ways to work ballistics / plyo. If you want to work on balance and power you could just try a single leg throw or single leg jumps. Or single leg throw & catch if you have a training partner, though that's more about absorbing the force and maintaining balance.

I use to play a lot of baseball and had really good single-leg balance. About to months ago I noticed my unilateral balance went to *kitten*. I started doing one unilateral leg exercise with frontal plane balance and single-leg jumps and it's improved a lot in just a month. It's transferred over to my squat too, I notice improved bilateral balance as well.

Yeah, now that I started oly lifting, I really need to get serious about how I do box jumps, I just don't get the full extension I'm supposed to.

I've chatted with a couple strength & conditioning coaches and listened to many more interviews form NCAA I & II S&C's and a common thing that I hear is that they don't always have their athletes use Oly lifts for power development, often they just use throws and jumps. There is a technical aspect to the Oly lifts, not rocket science, but still some learning to be had. When you don't have a ton of time to train, you're wasting time learning something that could be more easily taught with jumps and throws. Food for thought...

edited.

dbmata · February 2015

I don't do a lot of single leg work. Throws and jumps would be a good add. I'm actually contemplating adding a "mobility" day where I focus on joint flexibility and things like throws and jumps.

You've got a point with the oly, I have a good coach, so I'm doing a long term plan, where I use them for power generation, but also because I'd like to get good at them, I think. They'll even out some issues I have, I think. Part of the attraction is the technical nature. We'll see what I think in 4 more months, eh?

Still, for short term work, power generation via jumps and throws makes sense, and very low level of learning needed for that.

Thanks Sam.

Sam_I_Am77 · February 2015

dbmata wrote: »

I don't do a lot of single leg work. Throws and jumps would be a good add. I'm actually contemplating adding a "mobility" day where I focus on joint flexibility and things like throws and jumps.

You've got a point with the oly, I have a good coach, so I'm doing a long term plan, where I use them for power generation, but also because I'd like to get good at them, I think. They'll even out some issues I have, I think. Part of the attraction is the technical nature. We'll see what I think in 4 more months, eh?

Still, for short term work, power generation via jumps and throws makes sense, and very low level of learning needed for that.

Thanks Sam.

For a long-time I did no unilateral work and I imagine that's how I developed this balance deficiency, it was rather embarrassing to be honest. I do one unilateral strength exercise once per week and one unilateral balance-power exercise once per week and everything else is-as-is. This is were some of your individuality comes in-terms of what people actually need and don't need.

If you like the Oly lifts, then have at it. I like them but my body is a little banged up and they tend to irritate certain things. That's why I really just do jumps and throws. At some point I might look for a local coach that specializes in weight-lifting and get some classes in on the Clean and Snatch.

Alatariel75 · February 2015

This is great, guys thanks so much! Lots to consider and implement.

Routines to build speed

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