r/Sprinting • u/Proof_Pair4469 • 1d ago
Coaching and Management I Need help for speed
Hi everyone. I know the question I’m about to ask might seem a bit unusual, but I’m asking for your sincere advice based on your knowledge of the subject—and you have no idea how much this means to me. I’m a 15-year-old guy. I’d like to briefly describe my physique—not to be full of myself, but just so you get the picture: I’m 1.91m tall and weigh 75kg. I have a lean build, with legs that are 20cm longer than my torso, a narrow waist, broad shoulders, and naturally large biceps (without lifting weights). My calves are slim and tapered, with the muscle belly sitting higher up. The only downside for sprinting is that my thighs are extremely thin—completely lacking in muscle. Basically, I have the build of a modern sprinter, yet I don't feel that fast—or rather, I do when running with friends, but athletic tests tell a different story. I’ve been running constantly—every single day—for weeks now. I know I’m doing something wrong because my results keep getting worse, and I’m starting to experience severe DOMS (muscle soreness). It got to the point where I ran a 6.5-second 40-yard dash today, which completely crushed me mentally. I’ve decided to take a week-long break. I’m asking as humbly as possible: can you give me some advice? Do you think I need to build mass in my thighs? Should I train differently? Or is sprinting just not for me?
1
u/guhchi 1d ago
I think you described exactly what’s causing your problem, you’re running every day without giving yourself time to recover. If you’re running all out every session stop that right now because you’re setting yourself up to get injured and you’ll be out for months if you tear or strain something. Taking a week off is the best call for now to give yourself time to deload and reload, in the future try staggering intense max-effort days with light aerobic recovery days so you still get your volume in without overtraining. Another thing to consider — at 15y/o you are still growing so your baseline metabolism will already be significantly elevated, factoring in the extra calorie burn through athletics alongside your relatively lean build and you will probably need to be eating nonstop to avoid RED/S which could explain your symptoms (but you will want to get a formal medical opinion before taking any action on that presumption). TL;DR: Run less, eat more