Ep51 - Les Spellman Strategy - "Speed is an expression of physical resilience."
About this episode
Les Spellman discusses a systematic approach to speed training and physical preparation for football athletes.
In this speed episode of Performance Strategies and Stumbles, I'm joined by Les Spellman — a speed coach who has built a systematic approach to speed training and physical preparation for football athletes, with a particular focus on preparing players for the realities of training camp and the season ahead. At the heart of this conversation is a simple but powerful reframe: training tolerance matters more than raw speed gains. Rather than chasing numbers on a timing gate, Les builds structured microcycles designed to prepare athletes for the actual demands they'll face — and this episode is a detailed look at what that planning process really involves. We get into microcycle design for football athletes — how Les balances volume, intensity, and recovery across the week, the specific drills and session structures he uses, and how constraints and coaching cues shape movement without over-coaching it. From there, Les walks through his approach to periodization for NFL players, what progressive overload looks like in a speed context, how sport-specific conditioning and contact prep fit into the plan, and the metabolic and endurance considerations that often get overlooked in…
More episodes of Performance Strategies & Stumbles
- Ep 53 - Peter Hughes Strategy - "Working back from the game is fundamental."
- Ep 52 - Les Spellman Stumbles - "I was too obsessed with targets."
- Ep50 - Tim Kettenring Stumbles - "I grossly overestimated my impact!"
- Ep49 - Tim Kettenring Strategy - Back to Basics in Multidirectional Speed
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