Aside from sprint training and running drills, there are many in-the-gym exercises that will assist your speed. When you exercise to run faster, be certain that you’re building your program with your sport-specific needs in mind. The list below is broken down into three categories: strength, agility and plyometrics. All of them should be incorporated in your program and you’ll find that each type of exercise will help you to become more adept in the others.

Strength:
When training for strength, your goal is not hypertrophy. Adding bulk to muscle only makes for useless mass when speed is the order of the day. Weight training should be a supplement to the speed training process. In terms of exercises to run faster, you should be lifting for power, with between one and five repetitions and intensity loads between 80% and 100%.

The following exercise are the best for speed attainment.

Squats
Deadlifts
Olympic lifting, especially including clean and jerks for powerful arm movement

Agility:
The importance of agility training cannot be overemphasized. Agility training improves foot speed, quickness, acceleration, changing speeds, cutting, starting/stopping, change of direction and reaction. In addition agility training aids in preventing injuries by mproving body control through proper movement mechanics.

The following exercises are a small sampling of beneficial agility exercises.

Front agility circuits with ladder
Lateral agility circuits with ladder
Rope skipping
Multi-direction circuits with agility rings

Plyometrics:
Plyometric training, involving a power movement with higher than normal forces placed on the body, very little preparatory time and a soft, careful landing and essential to building explosive power and training for quickness. These exercises can significantly improve power levels and increase physiological because they involve manipulating the athlete’s own bodyweight. Remember, of course, to begin with the easiest drills and very carefully progress to the next level since plyometric exercises have a higher risk for athletic injury.

The following exercises are a small sampling of plyometric drills.

Plyo lunge jumps
Plyo squat jumps
Plyo jump ups onto box

• Plyo squat tuck jumps
• Plyo lateral jumps

Flexibility:
Be sure to follow each training session with both dynamic and static stretch exercises. Strength, agility and plyometric exercises are just as effective as how much flexibility training is incorporated to complement them. As strength, agility, and plyometrics strengthen and tighten your muscles, you must incorporate flexibility to relax and lengthen these same muscles for increased range of motion and decreased potential for injury. T

he following exercises are a small sampling of lower body flexibility exercises, though full body flexibility work should be incorporated into your program.

Forward and back, then side to side leg swings
Hamstring stretch with one foot lifted and other foot and hips square to that direction
Quadricep stretch with one foot lifted behind you, knees close together and hips tucked
Adductor butterfly stretch
Standing abductor stretch with one foot crossed over other bent leg