In the next 30 days, I'm going to show you how to develop game-changing speed that will separate you from your competition.

For two decades, I've trained NHL draft picks and elite athletes across multiple sports, and I've discovered one thing: True speed is the ultimate differentiator in sports. It's what scouts notice first, what coaches can't teach overnight, and what opponents fear most.

Unfortunately, most athletes are training for speed all wrong.

They confuse conditioning with speed development.

• They waste time on endless runs that build endurance, not explosiveness
• They focus on straight-line speed instead of multi-directional quickness
• They ignore the crucial deceleration component (the "brakes")
• They never properly train their nervous system, which is where true speed comes from

The system I'm about to share is what I would do if I only had 30 days to make someone faster - it's the exact blueprint that creates elite-level speed that translates directly to game-day performance.

Step 1: Train The “Brakes” (Days 1-10)

In the first 10 days, you need to build your brakes before your accelerator.

Most athletes jump straight into explosive training without building the foundation.

This not only limits your speed potential but sets you up for injury. The ability to decelerate and absorb force is what allows you to change direction explosively and prevent injuries.

Here’s some examples of what you can do:

• Goblet Squats with Slow Eccentric: 3 sets of 5 reps with a 4-5 second lowering phase (60-65% of max)
• DB Split Squats with Tempo: 3 sets of 5 reps per leg with 4-second lowering phase
• Single-Leg RDL with 5-Second Eccentric: 3 sets of 5 reps per leg, leaning forward to keep hamstring tension

One of my pro hockey players couldn't understand why he wasn't getting faster despite training hard for months.

After just 2 weeks of focusing on force absorption, his first-step quickness improved dramatically because his body finally learned how to handle the forces it was producing.

Step 2: Build Strength and Stability (Days 11-20)

Now that your body can absorb force properly, it's time to create strength in the positions that matter for athletic movement.

This is where most training programs go wrong.

They focus on general strength without considering the specific positions and stability requirements of sport movements.

Athletes don't get injured during straightforward movements—they get injured during transitions, stops, and unexpected direction changes.

What to do:

• Rear-Foot Elevated Split Squats with Pause: 4 sets of 5 reps per leg with a 3-second hold at the bottom position
• Lateral Lunges with Isometric Hold: 4 sets of 5 reps per leg with a 3-second hold at the bottom position
• Single-Leg RDLs with Pause: 4 sets of 5 per leg with a 3-second hold at the bottom position, focusing on hip stability

One of my pro hockey players credits this phase for his ability to maintain positioning during physical battles. By building stability in sport-specific positions, he developed the foundation to generate and maintain speed even when opponents tried to knock him off the puck.

Step 3: Unlock Explosive Speed (Days 21-30)

You've built the foundation. Now it's time to unleash your true speed potential.

This final phase is where everything comes together.

Your body can now safely produce and absorb force, and you've built strength in sport-specific positions.

The focus now shifts to explosive power and neural programming—teaching your brain to fire your muscles as fast and efficiently as possible.

French Contrast Training: Your Secret Weapon for Explosive Speed

This four-step sequence is what separates elite athletes from average ones.

By strategically combining different movement types, you create an environment perfect for developing explosive speed:

Here’s what to do:

1. Heavy Strength Movement: Trap Bar Deadlift - 5 reps at 85% of max Activates your nervous system and recruits maximum muscle fibers
2. Plyometric Exercise: Box Jumps - 5 reps at maximum height Takes advantage of the neural activation to produce explosive power
3. Loaded Explosive Movement: Weighted Split Jumps - 5 reps with light dumbbells Reinforces speed-strength in a sport-specific movement pattern
4. Assisted Speed Movement: Band-Assisted Jumps - 5 reps with maximum height Teaches your body to move faster than it could unassisted

Perform all four movements in sequence with minimal rest between exercises.

Rest 2-3 minutes between complete sequences and perform 3-4 total sequences per workout.

This is the phase where athletes are often shocked at how much faster they feel.

It's not because they've built significantly more muscle in 10 days—it's because their nervous system has learned to use what they already have more efficiently.

If you missed the newsletter on French Contrast Training, you can read the full breakdown here.​

The Speed Edge: What Sets Elite Athletes Apart

Most athletes will never unlock their true speed potential because they're too focused on conditioning rather than speed development.

True athletic speed comes from training all three components:

1. Force absorption (the ability to stop and control momentum)
2. Positional strength (power in sport-specific positions)
3. Neural efficiency (how quickly your brain can fire your muscles)

This 30-day system develops all three components in the right order, creating speed that directly translates to game-day performance.

When you’re ready to take the next steps, you can check out our digital programs here, including our Pro Workout Library with complete training systems used by our NHL pros.

That’s it for today, see you next Saturday.

Tony

P.S. Remember: the best athletes separate themselves by training smarter, not just harder. Focus on quality over quantity, and you'll see your speed improve rapidly.