Fred Duncan

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Speed Coach | 716 Gym Owner | Published Author NFL · NHL · NCAA · EPL · Sprint mechanics, strength & programming Speed Kills — full system, link below ⬇️

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Think of the sprint stride like a baseball swing, tennis serve, or basketball shot. There are fundamental principles that govern performance, but every athlete has to find the movement pattern that works best for them. The goal is to apply force in the right direction, in

Researchers tested 16 elite sprinters/ jumpers to see which physical qualities were most closely related to sprint performance at different distances. Hip thrust power was most strongly associated with accel over the first 10m, while vertical jump power was most strongly

In this 8 week study, athletes sprinted uphill 2x per week on a 6% grade. The uphill group improved 30m sprint time by 0.10s and showed more improvement than the flat group. But the reason I like hill sprints isn’t only because they can help athletes get faster… I like

Your arms don’t stay locked at 90° while you sprint. That cue has survived for years because it’s simple and easy to say, not because it reflects how sprinting actually works. If you watch elite sprinters in real time or slow motion, you’ll see the same thing over and over…

One thing coaches look at during sprint video is the space between the knees at touchdown. Not because that image alone determines speed, but because it can tell you something about leg recovery mechanics. A bigger gap often means the switch is happening later. A smaller

Best drills to improve sprint starts

We’ve spent the last decade talking about the posterior chain. For good reason. Strong hamstrings and glutes are essential for performance and resilience But I also think the pendulum has swung so far in that direction that we’ve started overlooking other important

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Two athletes sprinting, two different movement solutions. The goal isn’t to copy a track sprinter frame by frame. It’s to understand the principles behind why the fastest runners hit the ground closer to their hips, get off the ground quicker, and organize the pelvis and leg

You don’t need to toe drag. Most young athletes try to toe drag because they’ve seen it in some elite sprinters and assume it’s the cause of speed. That’s the first mistake. Actively dragging the toe doesn’t help you accelerate. Creating friction against the ground outside

The problem isn’t that we don’t know what works. It’s that too many programs still avoid it. This is Ajax training in the 90s. Drills into sprints, bounds, resisted runs, stair jumps, strength work, agility. No gimmicks, they were training off principles that still hold true

Maurice Greene ran 6.39 in the 60m and 9.79 in the 100m. At the time, he was one of the fastest humans to ever live. His training wasn’t anything crazy. It was structured, repeatable and executed with intent. Here’s what it looked like Upper body (Tuesday / Thursday) – Bench

The problem isn’t that we don’t know what works. It’s that too many programs still avoid it… This is Ajax training in the 90s. Drills into sprints. Bounding. Resisted runs. Stair jumps. Strength work. Agility. No gimmicks, they were training off principles that still hold

This study looked at muscle biopsies from Werner Gunthor, his untrained brother, and another world class shot putter. The other shot putter had about 67% type II fibers, Gunthor’s brother had about 24% and Werner had around 40% type II by fiber count. The more interesting

Mechanics matter.

They used to find the fastest man in the NFL by actually racing. No debates or hypotheticals. And even with no force plates, no resisted devices, etc. they had legit speed. Bring this back!!

Plyometrics aren’t just for jump height or sprint speed… In this study on 5-km runners, all groups completed the same weekly running volume. The difference was what supplemented that running. - Running only → minimal improvement - Running + squat jumps → large improvement

How do you increase explosive strength once basic jumping is no longer enough? That’s where Verkhoshansky placed depth jumps. He didn’t treat them like general / extensive plyometrics. They were shock method exercises, designed to introduce a sharp external force through a

Femke Bol - Valuing Max Speed &amp; Strength Even As A 400m Competitor!

Olympic sprint and jump coaches were surveyed on the plyometrics they use most with their athletes (Loturco et al). These four kept showing up. The main reason? SPEED development. Each one fits a different contact time, a different mechanical demand, and a different part of

You don't need a gym or equipment to perform effective plyometrics for speed training. I write workouts for my athletes to complete at the track or outside all of the time.

Michael Beasley said something every parent and coach should probably hear. There have only been roughly 5,000 players in NBA history, and the modern draft is only 60 picks. Even getting drafted doesn’t guarantee a career. ￼ So yes, train hard, compete, try to win... But

This reel is based on a study comparing quarter, half, and full squat training and their transfer to sprint performance. (Rhea et al., Human Movement, 2016). In that study, quarter squats produced the greatest improvement in 40-yard sprint time, while the full squat group

3 Sprint Myths That Won’t Die 1️⃣ “You run on your toes.” You don’t. Sprinters strike through the ball of the foot with a dorsiflexed, pre activated ankle that’s ready to handle force. The heel drops slightly to load the Achilles for elastic recoil… it’s a reflexive,

Olympic sprint and jump coaches were surveyed by Loturco on the plyometrics they use most with their athletes. Instagram may be the land of a thousand different jumps and exercises, but most good programs are still built on a relatively small number of simple movements that

The study compared loaded step ups and squats in rugby players at 70, 80, and 90% of each exercise’s 1RM. Step ups produced greater peak and average ground reaction force per leg at every intensity and concentric impulse per leg was also greater at 70 and 80%. As I said

In a study of elite US 100m sprinters, step length was the single strongest predictor of maximum velocity, accounting for nearly 45% of the variability in males and 40% in females. Contact time wasn’t significantly correlated with velocity at all. Bolt is a great example.

Femke Bol - Valuing Max Speed & Strength Even As A 400m Competitor!

Michael Beasley said something every parent and coach should probably hear. There have only been roughly 5,000 players in NBA history, and the modern draft is only 60 picks. Even getting drafted doesn’t guarantee a career. So yes, train hard, compete, try to win... But