Every day, I receive questions from coaches and athletes asking what I think are some key ingredients to becoming a faster, more successful athlete. I always start my answers with one word: consistency.
Consistency must be a principle underlying your speed work if you are ever to reach your athletic potential. Without consistency in your training, there will be periods of time during the year where you are actually getting slower. Even though you may be lifting weights and think that is enough, you can't neglect running and speed work.
The most successful athletes that I have encountered at the Parisi Speed School adopted the principle of consistency when it concerns speed training. Even if they are performing only one or two speed workouts per week throughout the year, they are still going to improve performance. Each workout that you perform throughout the year is another small step toward your goals. Think about it, every little thing you do or do not do is either getting you closer, or further away, from the prize.
When an athlete stops speed work for portions of the year, that athlete's nervous and muscular systems lose the ability to produce fast, powerful contractions and the coordination that is required for perfect technique. Science has shown that as little as one week without speed work can start to slow performance and make the road back to peak performance a more difficult one. In addition to this, athletes that are not training at all, or are solely working on strength training without speed, are at greater risk for injury. Their muscles are simply not prepared for the velocity of the contractions during eventual practices and games.
As with anything you want to achieve in life, nothing can replace consistent work toward that goal. We all know that speed is a skill, and to master any skill, there must be continuous practice. Now get to work!
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-Bill Parisi, Parisi Speed School