# Sprint and track strength program

> phase.fitness plans speed the way the athletics document prescribes: force before frequency, plyometric volume counted in ground contacts, sprints only when fresh, and the two hardest nervous-system sessions of the week kept at least 48 hours apart.

phase.fitness · Sport performance · Updated 9 October 2026 · HTML version: https://www.phase.fitness/training-programs/sprint-and-track-training-program

## Quick facts

- Level: intermediate
- Length: 12–16 weeks
- Days per week: 5
- Modalities: Strength, Cardio
- Equipment: A track or a flat 60 m, a barbell and a rack, boxes for plyometrics
- Sessions go to: Hevy, Garmin, Strava

## The short answer

A sprint program in phase.fitness moves from foundation (tempo running at 65–75% over 100–200 m for 10–16 reps; low-intensity plyometrics at 80–120 contacts three times a week) to build (acceleration over 10–30 m at 95–100%, 6–10 reps with 2–4 minutes of recovery; moderate plyometrics at 60–100 contacts; back squat 3–5 × 2–5 at 85–95%, Olympic lifts 3–5 × 2–3 at 75–85%, hip thrust 3–4 × 5–8) to peak (flying 20–40 m at 100%, 4–6 reps with 4–6 minutes of rest; speed endurance 80–150 m at 90–95%; shock plyometrics at 25–40 contacts once or twice a week). A squat at 1.5× bodyweight is the prerequisite for high-intensity plyometrics.

## Speed is about force, and it is trained fresh or not at all

The athletics document phase.fitness reads makes three claims that shape the whole program. Speed is a force problem — stride length, not stride frequency — so heavy strength and Olympic lifts sit at its base. Speed is a neural quality that degrades under fatigue, so high-quality sprinting never follows a hard day and the two most demanding nervous-system sessions of the week are 48 hours apart. And plyometric volume is counted in ground contacts, not sets: 80–120 per session at low intensity, 60–100 moderate, 25–40 for depth jumps.

The year has a shape, and speed sits at the end of it: tempo and low plyometrics build tissue tolerance, acceleration and heavy strength build force, maximal velocity and shock work express it. Removing sprinting during the strength block and reintroducing it at full intensity is the error the document names first.

## How many sprints should you do in one session?

Few, and far apart. phase.fitness writes acceleration work as 6–10 reps over 10–30 metres with two to four minutes of recovery, and maximal-velocity work as 4–6 flying runs over 20–40 metres with four to six minutes of rest. Speed work stops when the times drop, not when the legs do.

## Does squatting make you faster?

It is the base the fast work sits on. A phase.fitness sprint plan puts back squats at 3–5 sets of 2–5 reps at 85–95% and Olympic lifts at 2–3 reps in the build block, and treats a squat at 1.5 times bodyweight as the prerequisite before high-intensity plyometrics appear at all.

## What phase.fitness builds

| Phase | Weeks | Job | Band |
|---|---|---|---|
| Foundation | 4–6 | Tissue tolerance: tempo and low-intensity plyometrics | Tempo 100–200 m at 65–75%, 10–16 reps, 45–90 s rest; plyometrics 80–120 contacts 3×/week; strength 3×/week moderate |
| Build | 4–6 | Acceleration and maximal force | Acceleration 10–30 m at 95–100%, 6–10 reps, 2–4 min; plyos 60–100 contacts 2–3×/week; squat 3–5 × 2–5 at 85–95%, cleans 3–5 × 2–3 at 75–85%, hip thrust 3–4 × 5–8 |
| Peak | 3–4 | Maximal velocity and speed endurance | Flying 20–40 m at 100%, 4–6 reps, 4–6 min; speed endurance 80–150 m at 90–95%, 3–5 reps, 8–12 min; depth jumps 25–40 contacts 1–2×/week |

## A sample week

| Day | Modality | Session |
|---|---|---|
| Mon | Cardio | Acceleration 8 × 20 m, full recovery; then heavy squat and hip thrust |
| Tue | Cardio | Tempo 12 × 150 m at 70%; mobility |
| Wed | Strength | Cleans 4 × 3 at 80%, deadlift 4 × 3, moderate plyometrics 80 contacts |
| Thu | Rest | Rest or easy tempo |
| Fri | Cardio | Maximal velocity: 5 × flying 30 m; moderate strength after |
| Sat | Strength | Eccentric hamstrings, single-leg work, trunk — low volume |
| Sun | Rest | — |

## How it adapts when a phase ends

phase.fitness reads the strength sessions from Hevy, Liftosaur or the watch — loads on the squat and the pulls, RPE — and the track sessions as activities from Garmin or Intervals.icu. Garmin activities are read only if you allow it. The prerequisite in the document is a squat at 1.5× bodyweight before high-intensity plyometrics; a block that did not get there keeps the plyometrics moderate in the next phase instead of moving to depth jumps on schedule. Sessions skipped because the athlete arrived tired are the signal the next block is built around: the two hard days move further apart.

## Where the sessions go

- **Hevy** — Strength routines are written to Hevy; logged workouts return to phase.fitness. Cardio and calisthenics do not travel here.
- **Garmin** — Write it here, train it on your Garmin: strength and cardio sessions are sent to Garmin Connect and appear on the watch, and the activities you finish come back to mark the plan done.
- **Strava** — Post to Strava: the sessions you finish in phase.fitness go to your Strava feed, only the ones you choose. Nothing is imported from Strava.

## What phase.fitness does not do here

phase.fitness writes the sprint sessions by distance, intensity, reps and recovery, and the lifts by sets and loads; it does not analyse sprint mechanics or time you. Sprints reach a Garmin watch as running; the plyometrics are counted in your log, not on the wrist.

## The evidence

The knowledge-base documents this page is built from (The phase.fitness generator reads them for this case):

- [Mechanics of Speed and Power Development](https://www.phase.fitness/methodology/training-athletics-power-speed) — updated 2026-02-21
- [Strength Training Basics](https://www.phase.fitness/methodology/strength-basics) — updated 2025-01-07

Read more in the knowledge base:

- [Muscle adaptation: hypertrophy versus neural gains](https://www.phase.fitness/learn/posts/muscle-adaptation-hypertrophy-vs-neural)
- [Progressive overload: mechanisms and optimal rates](https://www.phase.fitness/learn/posts/progressive-overload-mechanisms-optimal-rates)
- [Fatigue management in periodized programs](https://www.phase.fitness/learn/posts/fatigue-management-periodized-programs)

## Frequently asked questions

### Why does the plan count ground contacts instead of sets?

Because the athletics document phase.fitness reads treats plyometric volume as a tissue load: 80–120 contacts per session at low intensity, 60–100 moderate, 25–40 for depth jumps. Counting sets hides the difference between line hops and shock work.

### Do I need to be strong before doing plyometrics?

For high-intensity plyometrics the document sets a squat at 1.5× bodyweight as the prerequisite. phase.fitness keeps the plyometric intensity low or moderate until the strength log shows it.

### How far apart are the hard sessions?

At least 48 hours between the two most demanding nervous-system sessions of the week, and high-quality speed work never on the day after a hard one — rules phase.fitness applies when it lays the week on the calendar.

## The only app that plans strength, cardio and calisthenics together

For a sprinter the calisthenics day is trunk stiffness and single-leg control — hollow holds and pistol-squat steps — the bracing that lets force reach the ground.

Right now, phase.fitness is the only training app that writes strength, cardio and calisthenics into one periodized program — same calendar, same phases, same recovery budget.

You choose the mix. A calisthenics-only plan, a cardio-only block, strength plus cardio, or all three: the phases, the end-of-phase analysis and the sync work the same way with one modality or three.

**Why calisthenics is in the plan.** Bodyweight skill work is strength training in a different shape. Straight-arm work, levers and handstands build scapular control, tendon capacity and relative strength that barbell and machine work leave untouched, and they transfer because they are closed-chain, whole-body patterns. Treated as a modality rather than a warm-up, they get sets, holds and progressions like a squat does.

No exercise catalogue on the market contains a tuck front lever, so those sessions run in the phase.fitness built-in player; strength goes to Hevy, Liftosaur or a Garmin watch, cardio to Garmin and Intervals.icu.

## Keep reading

- [Olympic weightlifting program in blocks](https://www.phase.fitness/training-programs/olympic-weightlifting-program)
- [Soccer strength and conditioning program](https://www.phase.fitness/training-programs/soccer-strength-and-conditioning-program)
- [American football strength and power program](https://www.phase.fitness/training-programs/american-football-strength-program)
- [phase.fitness for athletes with a season](https://www.phase.fitness/for/team-sport-athletes)
- [phase.fitness for powerlifters](https://www.phase.fitness/for/powerlifters)

Build this program: https://www.phase.fitness/signup