Acceleration drills: 10 drills for a faster first 30m
By the Sprint University coaching team
The best acceleration drill is a 10–40m sprint at full effort with full rest. Resisted sprints on a sled, a hill or a band force a longer push, and odd starts (falling, push-up, kneeling) teach the first steps. A few explosive jumps or throws prime the session.
Athletes who keep more of their force horizontal as they speed up run faster sprints, so every drill here trains a hard push pointed forward.
What you are training
Every race starts with acceleration, and field sports lean on it more than any other part of sprinting. Mechanically, you need to produce large horizontal force and keep it horizontal as your speed climbs. Research on athletes up to world-class sprinters shows that the share of force pointed forward falls as speed rises, and the athletes who keep it higher accelerate better.
On the track that looks like a long body lean, a full push-off, quick low steps and a gradual rise. Each drill below trains part of it.
The 10 drills
1.10–40m sprints
Sprint from a crouch or three-point start at 98–100%. These are the main work, and every other drill on this page supports them.
2.Sled push
Push a light sled with a long body lean, extending fully on every step.
3.Heavy sled pull
Use a harness and a sled heavy enough to force a deep acceleration angle, but light enough that your mechanics hold up.
4.Hill accelerations
Sprint up a shallow hill. The slope forces a forward lean and a hard push.
5.Resistance-band sprints
A partner holds a band around your waist and resists as you accelerate.
6.Falling starts
Stand tall and lean forward until you have to catch yourself, then explode out of the fall.
7.Push-up start accelerations
Start lying face down. On the signal, push up and sprint.
8.Kneeling-start accelerations
Start from a tall kneel and sprint out. The low start makes your first steps push the ground back.
9.Wall drives
Lean into a wall at about 45°, drive one knee up and hold, then progress to fast switches. A banded version adds resistance.
10.Med ball throws and broad jumps (primers)
A few explosive throws or jumps before the sprints wake up the push.
What the research says about sleds
Resisted sled sprinting is popular, and the evidence is promising but unsettled. A systematic review found that moderate to very heavy sled loads produced acceleration gains ranging from trivial to extremely large in team-sport and strength-trained athletes, while light loads in sprint-trained athletes gave small changes. It remains unclear whether sled work beats plain sprinting. A separate study found the loads that maximize power output while sprinting were around 69–96% of bodyweight, far heavier than common guidelines.
The Sprint University program uses sleds as a supplement to free sprints. A light to moderate sled push follows the day's sprints, and a heavy sled pull can go in the warm-up to force a deep acceleration angle.
The Sprint University app
Acceleration sessions that build to a mid-point test
Sprint University sets how many sprints you run, how far and how long you rest, and builds the volume toward your mid-point test. If you don't have a sled, it gives you the hill or partner version.
Get Sprint UniversityA full acceleration session
This is the biggest acceleration day of the base program, from week 3:
| Block | Prescription |
|---|---|
| Track warm-up | 15 min: easy jog, dynamic drills, build-ups |
| 10m sprints | 4 × 10m @ 100%, rest 2 min |
| 30m sprints | 4 × 30m @ 100%, rest 3 min |
| 40m sprints | 2 × 40m @ 100%, rest 4 min |
| Sled push | 4 × 20m, light sled (~10–15% bodyweight) No sled? 4 × 20m hill sprints or resisted sprints |
| Backward run | 2 × 60m, walk-back rest |
| Barefoot cooldown walk | One easy lap of the track barefoot, unhurried |
Film the 30m sprints.
The Sprint University system never trains acceleration cold. After the sprint warm-up, open the day with a primer of a few med ball throws, a sled pull or some standing broad jumps. If you race from blocks, add starts from the block start guide, and for the 40-yard dash, see how to get faster for football.
Common mistakes
- Standing up too early
- Rise gradually over 20–30m. Popping up within two steps tips your force upward.
- Overloaded sleds that wreck your form
- If you're bent at the waist and shuffling, the load is too heavy for acceleration work. Your posture should still look like sprinting.
- Short rest
- Acceleration reps are maximal. Take 2 minutes after 10–20m and 3–4 after 30–40m.
- Reaching with the foot
- Your early steps should land under or behind your hips as you push the ground back.
- All resisted, no free sprints
- Free sprints at full speed are the main work, and resisted drills support them.
The Sprint University app
Six weeks of acceleration sessions
Sprint University opens each week with an acceleration session and progresses the sprints and sled work over six weeks. Each morning it adjusts the volume to how you recovered.
Get Sprint UniversityFAQ
More guides
- Sprint Warm-UpA 15–20 minute sprint warm-up, with versions for acceleration days and top-speed days.
- How to Get Faster for FootballSprint training for football players: your stance, the first 10 yards and a faster 40-yard dash.
- Speed Training for SoccerMatch sprint demands, curved sprints, repeated sprint ability, and speed weeks for in season and off-season.
- Speed Training for BasketballFirst step quickness, court sprint demands, plyos and in-season speed work for basketball players.
- Speed Training for Baseball and SoftballGood 60-yard dash and home-to-first times, faster starts from the box and a lead, and a sample week.
- Tempo Runs for SprintersExtensive vs intensive tempo: paces, distances, rest, where tempo goes in the week and sample sessions.
Sources
- Morin JB, Edouard P, Samozino P. Technical ability of force application as a determinant factor of sprint performance. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 2011.
- Rabita G et al. Sprint mechanics in world-class athletes: a new insight into the limits of human locomotion. Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports, 2015.
- Rumpf MC et al. Effect of Different Sprint Training Methods on Sprint Performance Over Various Distances: A Brief Review. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 2016.
- Petrakos G, Morin JB, Egan B. Resisted Sled Sprint Training to Improve Sprint Performance: A Systematic Review. Sports Medicine, 2016.
- Cross MR et al. Optimal Loading for Maximizing Power During Sled-Resisted Sprinting. International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance, 2017.
- Haugen T, Seiler S, Sandbakk Ø, Tønnessen E. The Training and Development of Elite Sprint Performance: an Integration of Scientific and Best Practice Literature. Sports Medicine – Open, 2019.