Repeated Speed Test

Another test from the AFL Pre Draft Camp is the repeated speed test.

This involves you doing 6 x 30m sprints every 30secs.

For example if you take 6secs to do one 30m sprint then you have the next sprint starting in 24secs.

Each sprint is timed and an average of your sprints is then determined.

This is very specific to Aussie Rules Football, which can require multiple and continuous 100% efforts where the ability to sustain your speed and power is vital to staying in contest after contest.

In the past, sprint training has been a miss-trained where the distances being sprinted have been too long (50 - 100m) which isn't really a sprint test after the first 2 or 3 sets as fatigue sets in, and the pace gets a lot slower.

To train this quality is easy and can be done anywhere at any time. All you need is a stop watch.

1 option is to basically "train the test" where you would do what the test actually is, 6 x 30m sprints every 20secs.

You other, and my preferred option, is to "over reach" where you might sprint over a longer distance in the same time frame, or the sprint over the same distance on a quicker cycle (every 15secs).

This training, providing you're keeping it over short distances, won't induce a lot of soreness post workout (lactate build up will almost kill you during it though) so you could train each option 1/week with at least 3 days of rest in between each session.

Your sprint speed session lay out might look like this:

Week 1 Monday - Train the Test

6 x 30m sprints on a 30sec cycle

Week 1 Thursday - Longer Distances, Same Rest

6 x 35m sprints on a 30sec cycle

Week 2 Monday - Train the Test

6 x 30m sprints on a 30sec cycle

Week 2 Thursday - Test Distance, Shorter Rest

6 x 30m sprints on a 15sec cycle

Retest and adjust accordingly.

If you can, then have a partner time each sprint to get your average as data collection is the only way to know you're getting better.

Please leave a comment.