Sprint
Top-end speed — the most athletic quality there is
How to do it well
The set-up and the rep in full, then the cues the app shows on the exercise card — the short version, for the moment you are standing in front of the bar.
Set-up
Mark out 20 metres on a flat surface with good grip: grass, a track, or a quiet car park. Warm up fully first, finishing with a few build-up runs at increasing speed.
The rep
Start from a standing split stance, leaning slightly forward. Drive hard for the first few steps, pushing the ground back behind you, then rise gradually to upright running. Drive the arms from the shoulders, hand to cheek and hand past the hip, and run through the line at full effort. Walk back slowly. The walk is the rest, and it is meant to be a full one.
On the exercise card
- Drive the arms
- Full effort
What goes wrong, and the fix
| What goes wrong | The fix |
|---|---|
| Cutting the rest short | Speed is trained, not conditioned. Walk back slowly and start the next rep only when you are fresh. |
| Popping upright too early | Stay low and push for the first few steps, then rise gradually. |
| Running tense | Full effort does not mean clenched. Keep the jaw and hands loose. |
| Going flat out on the first run | Build up over a few runs first. Never make the first fast run of the day a maximal one. |
Make it easier, or harder
- Easier
- Shorter sprints, or runs at a strong but controlled effort while the technique settles.
- Harder
- Longer sprints, out to 30–40 metres, or starts from a different position, such as side-on or lying down.
How Train Smart prescribes it
The sets and reps below are the authored starting point. The actual weight you see is calculated from your own last top set and the week you are in within your four-week block.
Top speed is the most athletic quality there is, and it needs nothing but space, which is why it is in the bodyweight program's athletic power session. It is kept short and maximal with full recovery, because speed is trained fresh. The evidence linking regular near-maximal running to lower injury risk is on the sources page.
| Program | Session | Sets × reps | Load |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bodyweight Athlete | Athletic Power + Core | 6 × 20m max / walk back | Max |
What it trains, and who trains it
- Muscles worked
- Hamstrings · Glutes · Quads · Calves
- Region
- Lower body
- Classified as
- Power
- Prescribed in
- bodyweight training
If you cannot do this one
Rack taken, kit missing, or it does not suit you. These are the swaps the app offers, matched by movement pattern and body region — each with the reason it is a fair substitute.
| Alternative | Why it works as a swap |
|---|---|
| Wall Drive (single-leg) | Acceleration position teach — sprint mechanics |
| A-March | Cyclical leg action at slow speed — clean sprint form |
| A-Skip | Cyclical leg action at moderate speed — sprint coordination |
| B-Skip | Active hamstring extension — sprinter-specific |
| Sled Push (heavy) | Pure acceleration drive — football, rugby, sprinter |
| Sled Drag (moderate) | Resisted top-speed running — speed-endurance |
This exercise, in a program that knows why it is there
Train Smart puts this movement in the right session, at the right point in your block, at a weight calculated for you — and swaps it automatically if you do not have the kit.
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