Speed training for handball: faster on the fast break
15 m sprints, braking and feints, jumping and upper-body strength in the gym, placed around your club sessions and your match. It fits on half a court, is measured with a friend and a phone, and your marks are compared against tables by sex.
Updated
What is speed training for handball?
Speed training for handball is the variant of EntrenAI's Speed and power plan for players who compete on a 40 m court rather than a 100 m pitch. A fast break is decided in the first 15 metres; a feint is a brake and a change of direction; the jump shot is vertical power; and the physical contact asks for upper-body strength that barely matters in football (soccer). The plan knows this because every sport has its own parameters: in handball the typical sprint is 15 metres, change of direction weighs 0.9 out of 1, repeated sprints 0.7 and upper body 0.6. Those four numbers change the distances, the exercises and how the sessions are shared out.
You train the same four things as the rest of the sport: acceleration, max velocity, change of direction and gym strength, with plyometrics counted in contacts and hamstring and adductor prevention. What changes is the emphasis. Acceleration sprints are run over 15 metres rather than 20; the change-of-direction session carries the 3-step deceleration, the 505, the 45-degree cut, the cone zigzag and the lateral bound; the strength session includes a press and a row when there is time for them; and if your priority is jumping, the plyometrics lean towards vertical jumps and the dose rises by 25%.
Space changes too. Almost nobody gets a whole court to themselves: if you train on half a court or in a park with 20-40 metres, the app does not ask for flying sprints that do not fit, turns the max-velocity session into long acceleration and tells you so in the session focus. With 40 straight metres you get real max velocity and the 30 m test.
And you are measured like everyone else: 10 metres, 30 if there is room, broad jump and, from intermediate level, the 505 as your change-of-direction test, which is included in handball because the weight of change of direction calls for it. The reference tables are split by sex, so a female player is compared with women's values and not men's. The median 505, for example, sits at 2.42 s for men and 2.68 s for women; the median broad jump, at 228 and 180 centimetres.
Handball
Typical sprint: 15 m- Change of direction90
- Repeated sprints70
- Upper body60
15 m fast breaks, feints and a strong shoulder for throwing.
A sprint is three qualities, not one
90% of the sprints in a match last under 5 seconds and cover 10-30 metres. That is why the plan does not train "running fast" in general: it trains each phase with its own session, and measures it with its own test.
Acceleration
0-10 mVaried starts, hills, sled. Leg strength in the gym.
Test: 10 m
Transition
10-30 m20-30 m sprints from a standing start, running technique, plyometrics.
Test: 30 m
Max velocity
30-50 m10-20 m flying sprints, wickets, ins and outs. 3-6 min rests.
Test: 20 m fly
Your AI-generated plan
When you choose Speed and power you say your sport is handball, where you are right now, which days you train with the club and when you play, what you want to improve most, how much space you have and what equipment. From there, this is what makes the handball plan different.
Sprints at fast-break distance. The acceleration session splits its volume into 45% short starts over 10 metres (falling, prone, 3-point or reactive on cue, rotating each week) and 55% sprints over 15 metres, with one minute of rest per 10 metres and never less than 90 seconds. In season an intermediate runs 100 all-out metres per session; in pre-season, 160.
The change-of-direction session is your priority session. It opens with the 3-step deceleration (2×4), moves on to the 505 alternating the turning leg with two minutes of rest, the 45-degree lateral cut and the cone zigzag, and closes with the lateral bound (3×6) plus the rest of the jump dose. In season it carries one set fewer (three instead of four) and takes the MD-3 slot. In the sport-specific phase, advanced players move to reactive change of direction, with a partner calling the side, and to the 5-10-5. And from intermediate level, with four days or more and from the second cycle, the week's second sprint slot goes to change of direction even if your priority is something else: that is what handball asks for.
The week around the match does not change. Gym two days after the previous match (MD+2), sprinting at MD-3, nothing hard the day before and rest or prevention the day after. When the club takes Tuesday, the app hangs a microdose of four near-maximal 20 m sprints on it, twenty minutes in total, so the weekly exposure to max velocity is not lost. If you played 60 minutes or more, two days without high load; between 20 and 59, one.
Upper body inside the strength session. With a weight of 0.6, the strength session adds a push (bench press or push-ups) and a pull (barbell or dumbbell row, or pull-ups) at 3×5-6 with 90 seconds of rest and the phase's RPE, after the squat, hip thrust, Bulgarian split squat, Romanian deadlift and your Nordic rung. If the session is short on minutes, upper body is the first thing trimmed: legs, hips and hamstrings always stay.
The jump shot is trained through the jumping priority. Plyometrics switch to vertical jumps (tuck jump, box jump, drop jump once the intensive phase arrives) and the contact dose rises by 25%. In the 0-100 index, broad jump and CMJ weigh 30% each.
Repeated sprints do not come in on their own. With a weight of 0.7, they are programmed if you ask for them as a priority or in the sport-specific phase with four days: 15+15 m shuttle repeats every 25 seconds, four minutes between blocks, and never three days before the match.
The week is built around your match
You tell the app which days you train with your team and when you play; it places its sessions by distance to the match. Example week: club on Tuesday and Thursday, match on Saturday, three sessions of your own.
- MonMD+2Base strength54’
- TueMD-4Club + speed microdose28’
- WedMD-3Acceleration39’
- ThuMD-2Team training
- FriMD-1Rest or activation15’
- SatMDMatch90’
- SunMD+1Rest or prevention
- The speed session goes on MD-3 or MD-4: far from the match, when you perform best and risk least. If max velocity does not fit, a microdose of flying runs after club training.
- Nothing hard the day before. The day after, only prevention or rest.
- 48 hours between two intense sessions, counting the match as one of them.
- The minutes you played set the recovery: 60 or more means two days without high load.
- If your coach already includes all-out sprints, the app does not duplicate them.
Who is this plan for?
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Club players in season: you train with the team two or three days and play at the weekend. That leaves you one sprint session of your own per week (two if advanced) and one gym session, and the plan places them at MD-3 and MD+2 without getting in the way of the match.
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Players who live on the fast break: you ask for first steps or change of direction, and the plan puts 10 m starts, 15 m sprints and the braking-and-cutting session where they pay off. The 505 in the test battery tells you whether you are improving.
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Players who want to shoot from higher up: the jumping priority points the plyometrics at vertical work, raises the contact dose and brings in jump squats at 30-40% of 1RM from the second cycle.
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Defenders who hold their ground in contact: the strength session carries a press and a row at 3×5-6 after the legs, when time allows.
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Female players: your tests are compared with the women's tables, not the men's.
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Pre-season or no team right now: four or five sessions a week, two of them sprinting and never back to back, gym the day after running and volume rising 10% a week.
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Only half a court: with 20-40 metres the plan works long acceleration instead of flying sprints, says so in the session focus, and that day does not count as max-velocity exposure.
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Coming back from a hamstring strain (less than three months ago): the first cycle enters through short acceleration, the Nordic ladder and tempo, with no flying sprints or 30 m test.
With two cones, half a court and a friend to time you, you can do almost all of it.
The courses this plan uses most
In speed work the measurement is the instruction: where the cones go, how long each segment is and which part is timed. The app shows you this sketch before every course-based drill, with the distance adjusted to your sport and level.
- Change of direction
5-10-5 (pro agility)
Start at the middle cone: 5 m one way, 10 m the other and 5 m back. Touch the line with your hand at every turn.
- Change of direction
505 test
Only the 5 m in and the 5 m back around the turn are timed. Alternate the turning leg.
- Change of direction
3-step deceleration
Sprint 10 m and stop in three steps, hips back and chest up. Braking well is what protects the knee.
- Change of direction
Reactive change of direction
You do not know which side until you reach the cone: your partner points. That is what happens in a match.
- Repeated sprints
Shuttle repeated sprints
15 m out, touch the line, 15 m back. The next one starts every 25 s. For when you do not have 40 m of straight ground.
- Repeated sprints
100 m tempo
At 65-70%, relaxed and on grass if you can. Active recovery that adds metres without punishing you.
Measured with what you have: a friend, a tape measure and a phone
Every five weeks, in the deload week, the app walks you through a short test battery. No €300 GPS pods, no lab: three attempts, the best one counts, and the result is compared against yourself.
10 m
Acceleration: the start.
A friend with the phone stopwatch, or normal-speed video.
30 m
Acceleration plus transition; top speed is estimated from here.
Same. With a 10 m split if you have two watches or video.
20 m fly
Pure max velocity. Optional, for advanced players.
30 m build-up and 20 m timed: you need 50 m of clear ground.
Broad jump
Horizontal power, the one that drives acceleration.
A tape measure. Best of three.
Vertical jump (CMJ)
Vertical power and neuromuscular fatigue. Optional.
With My Jump or height estimated from video.
505
Change of direction and left-right asymmetry. Optional.
Two cones and a stopwatch, two attempts per leg.
The two numbers you see
- Top speed (km/h)
The number people quote in the changing room. From the 20 m fly, or estimated from the 10→30 m split.
- Speed-power index (0-100)
Percentile against players of your sex and level, weighted by what you said you wanted to improve. It places you; improvement is measured against yourself.
So that noise does not count as progress
- Hand-held stopwatch: the app adds 0.24 s (Mann 2015) and notes it on the record.
- With two or more tests, your own typical error sets the smallest change that matters: about 0.06 s over 30 m, about 6 cm on the jump. Below that, no improvement or loss is announced.
- If you change timing method, the app warns that it is not comparable and starts a new series.
- What already comes in from Strava or Garmin (top speed of each activity) counts as a trend, never as a test.
Your first weeks, in detail
Week 3
In season, cycle 1: court, club Tuesday and Thursday, match on Saturday| Day | Session type | Detail | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | Base strength (MD+2) | Back squat 4×6-8, Barbell hip thrust 4×6-8, Bulgarian split squat 3×6-8 per leg, Romanian deadlift 3×6-8, Isometric hamstring bridge hold 3×25 s, Standing calf raise 3×8-10, Pallof press 2×10 per side | 63 min |
| Tuesday | Club + speed microdose (MD-4) | Build-ups 40-60 m 2×40 m, 10-20 m sprint 4×20 m | 20 min |
| Wednesday | Change of direction (MD-3) | High knees 2×20 m, 3-step deceleration 2×4, 505 change of direction 3×1 (alternate legs), 45° cut 3×4, Cone zigzag 3×4, Lateral bound (skater jump) 3×6, Pogo hops 3×10, Alternating split jump 2×10 | 52 min |
| Thursday | Team training (MD-2) | Your coach runs today. Eat well and sleep: it is load the plan accounts for. | — |
| Friday | Rest (MD-1) | Recovery | — |
| Saturday | Match (MD) | Play. Afterwards log the minutes you played: the plan adjusts the next two days. | 90 min |
| Sunday | Rest (MD+1) | Recovery after the match | — |
Week 8
Pre-season, cycle 2 (strength and power): jumping priority| Day | Session type | Detail | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | Max velocity | Wickets 3×20 m, Build-ups 40-60 m 2×50 m, Flying 20 m (30 m build-up) 6×20 m, Jump step-up 5×10, Pogo hops 5×10 | 68 min |
| Tuesday | Max strength | Barbell jump squat 3×5, Back squat 3×4-5, Barbell hip thrust 4×4-5, Bulgarian split squat 3×6-8 per leg, Romanian deadlift 3×6-8, Isometric hamstring bridge hold 3×25 s, Pallof press 2×10 per side | 62 min |
| Wednesday | Rest | Recovery | — |
| Thursday | Change of direction | High knees 2×20 m, 3-step deceleration 2×4, 505 change of direction 4×1 (alternate legs), 45° cut 4×4, Cone zigzag 4×4, Lateral bound (skater jump) 3×6, Jump step-up 5×10, Pogo hops 3×10 | 62 min |
| Friday | Rest | Recovery | — |
| Saturday | Extensive tempo | High knees 2×20 m, Extensive tempo 100 m at 65-70% 8×100 m | 29 min |
| Sunday | Rest | Recovery | — |
These examples are real extracts from the EntrenAI planning engine. Your personal plan adjusts to your level, equipment and availability.
Equipment needed
EntrenAI automatically substitutes any exercise if you don’t have the gear.
- Half a court or a park with 20-40 metres: enough for acceleration, change of direction and shuttle repeats
- The full court (40 straight metres) if you want flying sprints and the 30 m test
- Three cones: two for the 505 and three for the 5-10-5 and the zigzag
- A friend with the phone stopwatch, or the app's video timer if you train alone
- A tape measure for the broad jump
- A gym with a barbell and bench for press and row, or dumbbells and bands: the plan substitutes for what you have
- Optional: mini hurdles for wickets, a box and a medicine ball
What most people get wrong (and how to avoid it)
- 1
Training speed with 30-40 m sprints
In handball the typical sprint is 15 metres and the plan respects that: 10 m starts and 15 m sprints in the acceleration session, with one minute of rest per 10 metres. Near-maximal 20 m sprints are still there, as the max-velocity microdose that protects your hamstrings, not as the bulk of the week.
- 2
Cutting at full speed before learning to brake
The change-of-direction session always opens with the 3-step deceleration: hips back, chest up, short steps. If your knee caves inward, the instruction is to slow down until it stops. The 505 and the 45-degree cut come after.
- 3
Doing shuttle repeats three days before the match
Repeated sprints with 25 seconds of rest on MD-3 increase match-day soreness. The app reserves MD-3 for acceleration, max velocity or change of direction, and sends repeated sprints to MD+2 or to pre-season.
- 4
Jumping more to shoot higher without counting the jumps
Plyometrics are dosed in contacts per session: an intermediate's extensive dose runs from 60 to 90 depending on the week of the cycle (less in season), and nobody moves to intensive work (box, drop jump, bounds) before accumulating 15 sessions. With the jumping priority the dose rises by 25%, not double.
- 5
Doing upper body on speed day
Press and row go inside the strength session, after the legs, the day after sprinting and never the day before max velocity. If the session does not have room for everything, upper body is the first thing trimmed so squat, hip thrust and hamstrings are never missing.
- 6
Comparing yourself with the wrong tables
The app's reference tables are split by sex. The median 10 m sits at 1.78 s for men and 1.97 s for women; the median CMJ, at 36 and 27 centimetres. A female player comparing herself with the men's values would see a percentile that is not hers; the 0-100 index already uses the right table.
Other Speed and power plan variants
Back to the general Speed and power plan
- Speed training for football players, without leaving your clubAI speed plan for amateur football (soccer) players: 20 m sprints, gym and hamstring prevention placed around your club sessions and Saturday's match.
- Speed and agility training for basketball, built by AIAI speed and agility training for basketball: 15 m sprints, braking, change of direction and vertical jump, placed around your club sessions and your games.
- Speed and power training for rugby, built by AIAI speed and power plan for rugby: sled acceleration loaded to your profile, upper-body work in the gym, repeated sprints and prevention around your match.
- Speed and agility training for tennis and padel, built by AIAI speed and agility training for tennis and padel: 10 m bursts, brake and go with the 505 and T-test, gym strength and adductor work around your matches.
- Gym workouts to get faster: strength and power for sprintingNo room to run 40 metres? Leg strength, loaded jumps and plyometrics in the gym to sprint faster, plus one weekly outdoor sprint outing to keep top speed.
Frequently asked questions
With 20-40 metres you can do acceleration (10 m starts and 15 m sprints), the change-of-direction session, the 15+15 m shuttle repeats and the 10 m and jump tests. What does not fit is flying sprints: in that case the app turns the max-velocity session into long acceleration and says so in the session focus. With 40 straight metres you get flying sprints and the 30 m test.
It opens with the 3-step deceleration (2×4), moves on to the 505 alternating the turning leg with two minutes of rest, the 45-degree lateral cut and the cone zigzag (3×4 in season, 4×4 in pre-season, with 90 seconds), and closes with the lateral bound 3×6 plus the rest of the jump dose. Advanced players, in the sport-specific phase, move to reactive change of direction with a partner and to the 5-10-5. The course diagrams with measurements are further down the page.
It includes upper-body strength inside the strength and power session: a push (bench press or push-ups) and a pull (barbell or dumbbell row, or pull-ups) at 3×5-6 with the phase's RPE, always after the legs. It does not carry a specific shoulder-prevention routine: the plan's prevention session covers hamstrings, adductors, ankle and hip, which are the injuries the engine addresses.
If you set jumping as your priority, plyometrics lean towards vertical jumps (tuck jump, box jump and, once the intensive phase arrives, drop jump) and the contact dose rises by 25%. From the second cycle, jump squats at 30-40% of 1RM come in. In the tests, broad jump and CMJ weigh 30% each in your index, and an improvement only counts once it exceeds 6 centimetres in the broad jump or 2 in the vertical.
Yes, but in handball the plan does not add them on its own: their weight is 0.7 and change of direction is 0.9, so the week's second sprint slot goes to braking and cutting. Repeated sprints come in if you ask for them as a priority or in the sport-specific phase with four days: on a court they are 15+15 m shuttles every 25 seconds, in blocks of six with four minutes between blocks, and always far from the match.
Yes. The app's reference tables have values for men and for women across all six tests (10 m, 30 m, 20 m fly, broad jump, CMJ and 505), and your 0-100 index and percentile come from your sex's table. The median 30 m, for example, sits at 4.32 s for men and 4.85 s for women. Improvement is always measured against yourself: only what exceeds your typical error counts.
Yes. It is a variant of the Speed and power sport, with the same 7-day free trial and the same price: €7.99 a month or €23.99 a year, cancel any time, on iOS and Android. The speed panel, with your top speed in km/h, index, profile and marks with trend, lives in the performance screen.
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