1. Work on Your Conditioning
Sprinters may not want to hear this, but increasing the miles you run will increase foot speed. First of all, the endurance training will help reduce your overall fatigue, which will increase your foot speed. Now, if your event is 50 or 100 m, this does not mean you need to become a marathon runner in the off-season, but a 1 to 2 mile slow jogs could be beneficial. Even if you are not physically winded after a short sprint, the muscle fatigue is still present and longer runs will help improve this.
2. Increase the Intensity
Doing workouts with high intensity will do wonders for increasing your foot speed. Try some interval training while you are running. Start with a 5-minute run where you jog for 1 minute, sprint for 30 seconds and repeat it until the run is over. Line sprints are also good ways to increase foot speed. These are affectionately called "killers."
3. Fancy Your Footwork
If your need for speed consists of lots of lateral running and jumping, like in soccer or football, some fancy footwork practice is in order. Good tools for this type of training include rope ladders, tire runs and obstacle courses with small hurdles and circling around cones. Don't forget to practice in realistic settings like wide receiver route running, dribbling down the basketball court or skating with the puck down the ice.
4. Incorporate Plyometric Training
Plyometric training is a mouthful to say, but it's not that hard to do. It essentially comes down to jumping. Try using a step bench with one riser. Face the bench, jump up and then step down. Repeat this 20 times. Then turn to the side and jump laterally onto the bench before stepping down. Repeat this 20 times, too. Turn the opposite direction, and while still laterally facing the step jump up so that you are facing the bench (essentially a twist) when you complete the maneuver. Do 20 of these. This is one set.
For your second set go to the opposite side of the bench and repeat all three jump types. This will equally work out your legs in all three planes of motion. Start at 10 jumps each if it is too hard at first and build up from there. If this is too easy, add more risers to your bench or try out the big boxes at the gym. Plyometric training is a surefire way to increase your foot speed.
5. Build Strong Legs
Strengthening the lower leg, especially your gastrocnemius muscle in the calf and your ankles, can make a world of difference when it comes to increasing your foot speed. The stronger and more developed the muscles are, the better. Just be careful not to sacrifice flexibility by training in only one plane of motion or adding too much bulk. A great exercise is elevated calf raises with no weights. Stand on a step with only your tip toes on the step. Do 3 sets of 30 calf raises with 10 second breaks between sets, and complete these sets as fast as you possibly can.
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