Nothing found. Try a different search or browse all episodes.

Guest Episode Episode 36

How to Get Faster (Acceleration, Deceleration, Agility & Strength) | Les Spellman

  1. Dr. Andy Galpin

    Can you actually make people faster?

  2. Les Spellman

    People always ask me this, and to me it's like, wow, people still think that. But it's very similar to saying, can I actually make you stronger? Speed is very similar. I think we were talking about this off-camera, but the first thing that people don't do is people don't run fast. If you ask your average person, what's the last time you ran full speed? And it's like, dude, you haven't intentionally run full speed. So the first layer is if you run fast and you do it often enough, you get faster. That's the first layer. Then if you stack on top of it, okay, and we'll get into this, but what are the things that also are drivers to speed? Can you produce force? Can you produce force fast? Are you symmetrical? Do you have coordination? Over time, if you do those things, you'll be fast.

  3. Dr. Andy Galpin

    The science and practice of enhancing human performance for sport, play, and life. Welcome to Perform. I'm Andy Galpin. I'm a professor and a scientist of human performance, and today I'm speaking with Les Spellman. Les is an expert in all things speed. He is a coach, practitioner, and true technician. One thing you'll learn from this episode is not only how to get faster, but what that even means. So whether you're interested yourself in sports, you maybe compete, train, or coach athletes, or you just really want to hear somebody who's at the highest level in their field, this is a conversation you're going to truly enjoy. Les has coached the world's best athletes in football, baseball, basketball, and everything else, and even in the last couple of years has personally trained over 100 professional athletes. And so really what you're going to see is somebody who understands and appreciates the science, but is extremely talented at getting those things to work in the world's best and most talented athletes.

  4. Dr. Andy Galpin

    So with that said, I hope you enjoy today's conversation with Les Spellman. The speed guru himself. Les, you're finally on the table, man.

  5. Les Spellman

    Thanks for having me.

  6. Dr. Andy Galpin

    We've been trying to work this out literally for years.

  7. Les Spellman

    Yep.

  8. Dr. Andy Galpin

    I don't remember what the date was, but I asked you several years ago, I'm like, "We got to get together. We got to get you in my class."

Read the full transcript

Download

In this episode, I speak with Les Spellman, one of the most in-demand speed coaches in the world, who has trained more than 100 NFL athletes and worked with elite performers across football, basketball, baseball, soccer, and track.

We discuss whether you can actually make people faster, what speed really means beyond a 40-yard dash time, and why the fastest athletes are not always the most successful on the field. Les explains his car analogy for speed (engine, brakes, and steering), how the density of a sport shapes its speed demands, and the key differences among linear speed, change of direction, and agility. We break down why deceleration is one of the most overlooked and high-force qualities in sport, how cutting angles change the braking demand, and why agility ladders miss the mark. Les also dismantles the “stay low” cue for acceleration, explains the four sprint archetypes (bounders, drivers, spinners, and bouncers), and shares how he uses the weight room to train high, fast, and slow force. We also cover session design and rest intervals, how often to hit near-maximal speeds, his post-game blood flow restriction (BFR) recovery protocol, when kids should start speed training, how speed development differs between girls and boys, and practical ways adult and endurance athletes can get faster. This episode is for any athlete, coach, or parent who wants to understand how speed is built and how to train it safely and effectively.

Show notes

Perform Episodes Mentioned

Articles

People Mentioned

  • Les Spellman: speed coach and founder of Spellman Performance
  • Stuart McMillan: sprint coach and CEO of ALTIS
  • Dan Pfaff: track and field coach and co-founder of ALTIS
  • Dr. Damian Harper: researcher studying horizontal deceleration at the University of Central Lancashire
  • Dr. Thomas Dos’Santos: researcher studying change-of-direction biomechanics at Manchester Metropolitan University
  • Dr. Sophia Nimphius: researcher studying change of direction and agility at Edith Cowan University
  • Dr. James Wild: sprint and speed researcher whose work classifies sprinters into technical archetypes
  • Dr. Kelly Starrett: physical therapist and author of Becoming a Supple Leopard
  • Charlie Francis: sprint coach known for the high-low training model

Other Resources

Topics

More Episodes

View all episodes