The major key to sprinting faster on the track is being consistent.
But one of the most lethal destroyers of sprinting faster is inconsistency. Being inconsistent is like being on a treadmill. You are moving, but you are going nowhere fast.
Movement and progress are not the same thing. Movement is movement, whereas progress is specific movement toward a goal.
On the track, consistency is key. Consistency separates contenders from pretenders. Being consistent applies to your training, diet, recovery, and mindset.
Two Rabbits
When I first got back into master’s track and field in 2015, I still had one foot in the natural bodybuilding door.
I used sub-maximal sprinting (75-80 percent speed) for conditioning. I was in tremendous shape. But I was not training to develop speed.
During that first comeback race in June 2015, I ran an 11.91 in the 100-meter dash. This placed me 5th out of the 6 sprinters in my heat. I almost pulled both hamstrings at the 90-meter mark! I was not in the condition I needed to be in to be competitive. Inconsistency bit me hard right in the glutes.
In June 2016, still with one foot in the natural bodybuilding doorway, I competed again. At that meet, I ran even slower in the 100m dash. I ran a horrendous time of 12.64 in the 100m. A few short hours later, I ran a lousy 25.03 in the 200m.
The brief thought of a permanent retirement from this “return to the track” idea crossed my mind that day. I was consistent with my natural bodybuilding training. But my speed training was inconsistent.
At that moment, I committed 100% to sprinting faster. It was time for natural bodybuilding to take a back seat.
You can’t chase two rabbits at the same time because you won’t catch either.
Consistency Is A Major Key
After 1 year of consistent effort, I was able to post my master’s track personal records in the 100m and 200m.
These PRs occurred during the 2017 summer track season. I posted an 11.57 in the 100m and a 23.78 in the 200m at the age of 33.
The moral of the story is that you must be consistent. You must commit to reaching your goals on the track.
During that year, I followed a routine of speed training, 2 or 3 days each week, excluding deload weeks. Those sessions added up over the year. When it came time for the first meet, I was completely confident due to my preparation.
Can you imagine where you would be one year from now if you actually got 100 percent committed to your goal? You would be closer to winning states. You would be closer to earning a college scholarship. And you would be closer to making a run at the Olympics.
The time is going to pass anyway, so why waste it? Do you want to be in the same or worse position one year from now? Or do you want to be sprinting faster?
Conclusion
You must sacrifice who you are today to become who you want to be tomorrow. To do that, it starts with being consistent.
I’ll holla at you next time.
The People’s Trainer,
Fitman
