Flying 20s: top speed
Transcript
Flying 20s train your top speed. Here's how. Warm up first, with build-up runs. You need a tape measure and three cones. On flat grass or a track, never a road, put them at zero, twenty and forty metres, with fifteen metres to slow down. Watch. Build up for twenty metres, hit top speed through the fly zone, then ease off. First, run tall, with relaxed shoulders. Then, quick feet, landing under your hips. Not reaching out in front. Our target is four runs, resting three to four minutes between them. Stop at the first sign of a tight hamstring. Then take the free test at footballreach.com.
What it trains
Practise running at your top speed: a smooth 20 m build-up, then 20 m flat out through a fly zone, then a gradual slow-down. Only a few runs, with long rests, so every one is fast.
Set up
- Warm up first
- 3 cones, tape measure
- Fly zone: 20 to 40 m
- 15 m to slow down
How it works
- Warm up first: the full FIFA 11+ or your club warm-up, then 2-3 build-up runs, each a little faster.
- On a track or flat, dry grass, tape-measure cones at 0, 20 and 40 m, with at least 15 m of clear space after the last cone.
- From a standing start behind the first cone, build up smoothly, so you reach top speed as you pass the 20 m cone.
- Hold top speed through the fly zone (20 to 40 m), then ease off gradually over the next 15 m. Never stop suddenly.
- Walk back and rest 3-4 minutes (an NSCA coaching article suggests 3-5 minutes for top-speed sprints). Do 4 runs; stop early if you are clearly slowing.
Coaching points
- Run tall, shoulders relaxed. Through the fly zone, run tall with your hips high and pointing forward. Keep your shoulders, hands and face relaxed, and swing your arms from the shoulder.
- Quick feet under your hips. Keep your feet quick and light, on the balls of your feet, each one landing under your hips. After each push, bring the knee straight through in front.
Not this
Reaching out in front with your foot, so it lands well ahead of your hips, heel first. Each step then brakes you instead of driving you on.
Dose
- 4 runs a session
- Walk back, rest 3-4 min
Our target: 4 runs with 3-4 minutes' rest, once or twice a week, in place of one of the plan's sprint sessions, not extra (our target).
Harder / Easier
Harder
Film the fly zone side-on from level with its middle, the same way each time, and compare your runs over the weeks.
Easier
3 runs at about 90% effort, with the same full rest.
Safety
- Never sprint from cold: the full FIFA 11+ (or your club warm-up) and 2-3 build-up runs first.
- A track or flat, dry grass, never a road, pavement or driveway. Keep the 15 m after the fly zone clear of walls, fences, goals and people.
- Stop at the first sign of a tight hamstring or any pain, see a GP or physio, and never train through it.
- Chest pain, faint or dizzy: stop at once; GP or NHS 111 the same day, 999 if someone collapses.
Sources
Not sure which skill to work on first? The free Football Reach test gives you a Player Development Score and shows which of the four corners of your game to work on next, in about two minutes.
Take the free test
