Top Speed & Acceleration: Getting Faster, Simplified

No matter your sport, speed and acceleration are game-changers. Yet, it’s rare to see them trained properly. Why? Two big reasons:

1. Athletes don’t prioritise speed training, often because they’re focused on other aspects of their sport, or they don’t believe they can actually get faster.
2. When they do train for it, they miss the sweet spot, failing to balance tissue capacity, technique, and training volume.

Let’s break it down.

What Are Top Speed & Acceleration?

• Top Speed is your maximum velocity (measured in m/s, km/h, min/km, etc.).
• Acceleration is the rate at which you increase your speed (m/s²).
  Both matter. Top speed is your ceiling, acceleration is how fast you get there.

The Key Lenses of Speed Training

To train speed effectively, we need to look through three lenses:

• Biomechanics: body positions, joint angles, force direction, ground contact. This is usually the lowest hanging fruit.
• Tissue Capacity: muscle strength and power, tendon stiffness, and neural recruitment.
• Coordination: combining biomechanics and tissue capacity so your body flows efficiently.

All three can be developed in the gym and on the field.

Gym Work: Building the Engine

In the gym, we’re building the raw horsepower.

• Strength & Power: low-rep, heavy, and explosive lifts develop muscle force.
• Plyometrics: these turn your tendons into springs. Stiffer, more elastic tendons are a cheat code for speed, acceleration, and almost every functional movement.

Field Work: Sharpening the Skill

The field is where we fine-tune movement.

• Break down each phase into parts.
• Practice getting our body to move in the most efficient way.
• Repetition wires your body to hit the right positions naturally.

On game day, this becomes automatic, but like anything, it takes practice.

Example Session: Acceleration & Speed for a 15-Year-Old AFL Player

The following session is designed to help a young AFL athlete improve their 20 m sprint time by combining acceleration mechanics, sprint exposure, and multi-directional conditioning.

The Training Effect

When combined, gym and field work teach your body the best positions to maximise muscle and tendon force, increase your tissues’ ability to produce and transfer that force, and lead to more efficient movement – and ultimately, more speed and acceleration. Simple. Effective. Game-ready.

Ready to Get Faster?

If you’re looking to unlock your speed and acceleration, join us at Undisputed Performance Rehab. We run a weekly field session every Wednesday, where we break down your technique and give you the tools to run faster, accelerate harder, and perform at your peak.

👉 Book your spot now and take the first step towards your next gear of performance.