"How do I skate faster?" is the question every inline speed skater asks, and most of the answers online are a list of tips with no structure behind them. Bend lower. Push sideways. Learn the double push. All true, and all useless if you do not know how to organise a week of training around them. Speed on skates comes from two things working together: better technique, so more of each push turns into forward motion, and a bigger engine, so you can hold that technique at race pace for the whole distance. This guide gives you a repeatable weekly plan that builds both, with the specific drills that make each session count, the intervals that build the engine, and the recovery and equipment habits that let you train hard again the next day.
It is written for club level skaters and serious beginners who already skate comfortably and want a plan rather than a pile of tips. If you are brand new to speed skates, start with our beginner gear glossary and basic position guide, then come back here once you can hold a low stance for a few laps without your thighs screaming.
Where speed actually comes from
Every lap you skate is a sum of pushes, and every push has three parts: the push itself, where you drive the skate sideways against the wheels' grip, the glide, where you ride the other skate and recover the pushing leg, and the set down, where the recovered skate lands under your body ready to push again. Faster skaters do not necessarily push harder. They push in a better direction, for longer, from a lower position, and they lose less speed during the glide. That is technique. Then they can repeat that quality push hundreds of times without fading. That is fitness.
A training week has to feed both. Technique work belongs early in a session, when you are fresh and can concentrate. Hard intervals belong after that, when the goal is to hold form under fatigue. Easy volume sits on its own days and is where most of the aerobic engine is built. Skaters who only ever go hard get fast for a month and then plateau. Skaters who only ever cruise get fit but never quick. The plan below mixes them deliberately.
Every stride is a loop of three phases. A good week trains all three rather than just pushing harder.
The five drills that build technique
Do these at the start of every skating session, after a warm up, for ten to fifteen minutes. They are boring. That is the point. Technique is built by repeating the right movement when you are fresh enough to feel it.
Drill 1: the low stance hold
Skate slow laps in your full race position, knees bent to roughly ninety degrees, back flat, chest over the knees, hands behind the back. Hold it for a full lap, stand up for half a lap, and repeat five times. The aim is not speed. It is to make the low position feel normal, because every other drill depends on it. If you cannot hold it for a lap, you have found your first weakness, and it is fixed with time in the position and with off skate leg strength.
Drill 2: one leg glides
Push once, then glide on a single skate for as long as you can with the other foot lifted and tucked behind. Alternate legs. Count the seconds. A glide that wobbles or drifts to the outside tells you your weight is not centred over the wheels, and until it is, every push you make will be partly wasted correcting balance. Aim to add a second or two each week.
Drill 3: push direction with the wide track
Skate down a straight in your low stance and deliberately push each skate straight out to the side, so your wheels leave two wide tracks rather than a narrow line. Watch the marks on a dusty floor if you can. Most skaters push backwards, which feels powerful and goes nowhere. A push directed sideways against the wheels' grip is what moves you forward on skates. Exaggerate it in the drill so it survives, in a smaller form, at race pace.
Drill 4: cadence changes
Over a lap, alternate ten strides at a quick, short cadence with ten long, slow strides. The quick strides train the set down, landing the skate under the body and pushing immediately. The long strides train a full push and a patient glide. Racing is a mixture of both, and skaters who only know one rhythm get stuck when the pace changes. Our guide to the double push builds on this once your basic stride is clean.
Drill 5: corner crossovers at low speed
Skate the corners of your track or a marked circle slowly, focusing on the crossover: the outside skate crossing over the inside one, the inside skate pushing under and out, the body leaned into the corner from the ankles. Slow and correct beats fast and sloppy. Speed through corners comes from lean and from carrying the push through the crossover, and both are learned at walking pace first. Our cornering guide goes deeper on the lines.
The intervals that build the engine
Once the drills are done, the session moves to intervals. There are three types, and a week should include one of each. The numbers below are starting points. Adjust them up as they get easy, never so far that your form collapses in the last repeat.
Short sprints for speed
Eight to ten repeats of a fifteen to twenty second flat out effort from a standing or rolling start, with a full three minutes of easy rolling between each. The rest is long on purpose. Sprint training only works when every repeat is at full quality, and that means fully recovered. Focus on the first six strides, quick and low, then a transition into full strides. Our start technique guide covers the first strides in detail.
Tempo repeats for race pace
Four to six repeats of two to three minutes at a pace you could hold for about ten minutes if you had to, with two minutes of easy rolling between. This is the session that teaches you to hold a low position and a clean stride while breathing hard, which is exactly what a race feels like. If your form falls apart in the last minute, shorten the repeats rather than the rest.
Long easy volume for the base
One session a week of forty five to ninety minutes at a conversational pace, low stance for as much of it as you can, on the smoothest surface you can find. This is the least glamorous session and the one that decides how fast you can go in the last third of a race. Skaters skip it because it feels slow. Do not skip it.
The three interval types look nothing alike on paper, and that is why a week needs all three. Each builds a different part of the engine.
A weekly plan you can actually follow
Here is a five day structure that fits around work or school and leaves two full rest days. Every skating day starts with a warm up of easy laps and the technique drills above, and ends with ten minutes of easy rolling.
- Monday: drills, then sprints. Eight to ten short flat out efforts with full recovery. Finish with easy laps.
- Tuesday: off skate strength. Squats, lunges, single leg work, core, and a few minutes holding the skating position against a wall. Thirty to forty minutes.
- Wednesday: drills, then tempo repeats. Four to six efforts of two to three minutes at hard but controlled pace.
- Thursday: rest, or a very easy thirty minute roll if you feel fresh. Clean and oil bearings, check wheels.
- Friday: drills, then a technique focused session. Corners, crossovers, cadence changes, and a few relaxed race simulations with training partners if you have them.
- Saturday: the long easy session. Forty five to ninety minutes at conversational pace, low stance as much as you can hold.
- Sunday: full rest.
Run this for three weeks, then take an easier fourth week where you halve the interval volume and keep the drills. That easy week is where the body absorbs the training and gets faster. Then repeat, with slightly harder targets. Skaters who never take an easy week get tired, stop improving and start blaming their equipment.
Two hard days, one technique day, one long easy day, one strength day and two rests. That balance is what makes the plan sustainable for months.
Equipment habits that make training faster
You cannot buy speed, but poorly kept equipment quietly steals it, and a training plan is only as good as the skates you run it on.
Keep the roll honest
Dirty or dry bearings make every glide shorter, and because the glide is where you recover, a slow set of bearings means you work harder for the same lap time and learn nothing about your technique. Use the Thursday rest day for skate care. Clean the bearings when they sound gritty and add a single drop of a purpose made skate oil such as Speedslick Pro Bearing Oil to each one. One drop is enough. More oil attracts dust and adds drag rather than removing it. Our bearing cleaning guide walks through the full routine.
Train on a wheel that behaves like your race wheel
If your race wheel is a grippy race compound and your training wheel is something completely different, your technique on race day will feel foreign. A wheel like the JUNK Voodoo XFirm, an 84 to 86A compound built for precise control through tight corners and strong speed on the straights, is a sensible choice to train and race on for club skaters, because it balances grip with roll on hard, smooth, dry surfaces. Rotate your wheels regularly so they wear evenly, and browse the JUNK wheels collection if you want to compare compounds for your surface.
Train in what you race in, at least sometimes
A skin suit changes how the low position feels, because there is nothing flapping and nothing bunching at the hip. Do your Friday technique session and your race simulations in your race suit so it is familiar on the start line. The LiveLica Pro Skin Suit is cut for a low aerodynamic position and comes in a full size run from junior 4 through 16 and senior S, M and L, so it fits growing skaters as well as adults. Our skin suit sizing guide explains how it should fit.
Wear the protection every session
Sprint sessions and corner drills are exactly where falls happen. A light, certified helmet like the LiveLica Ventilated Skate Helmet at 250 grams and a pair of gloves are the minimum for every session, not just races. A skater sitting out six weeks with a broken wrist gets slower, however good the plan was.
How to know it is working
Keep a simple log. For each session, note the drills, the intervals, how the low stance felt and one thing you want to fix next time. Every four weeks, time a fixed test: a flying 200 metres, a 500 metre effort, or a set number of laps at a steady heart rate. If the numbers improve, the plan is working. If they stall for two blocks in a row, the usual causes are too little easy volume, too little sleep, or intervals that have become moderate rather than hard. Fix one at a time.
Most skaters improve fastest in the first three months of structured training simply because they have never trained with structure before. Enjoy that, and then be patient. The gains after that are smaller but they are the ones that win races.
Frequently asked questions
How many days a week should I skate to get faster?
Three to four skating days with one off skate strength day and two rest days is enough for most club skaters to improve steadily. More is not better if it means every session is tired and sloppy.
Should I do drills before or after intervals?
Before. Technique is learned when you are fresh. Intervals then test whether the technique survives fatigue, which is what racing demands.
Do I need a heart rate monitor?
No. Breathing is a good enough guide. Sprints leave you unable to speak. Tempo lets you say a few words. Long easy sessions let you hold a conversation.
Will new wheels or bearings make me faster than training?
No. Clean, well kept equipment stops you losing speed, and the right wheel for your surface helps, but the biggest gains by far come from the low stance, push direction and a fitter engine. Our guide to what to upgrade first is honest about where money helps.
How long before I see results?
Most skaters feel the low stance getting easier within two to three weeks and see measurable time improvements after the first four week block. Give the plan three full blocks before judging it.
Speed on inline skates is not a secret and it is not a product. It is a low stance, a sideways push, a clean glide and an engine that can repeat them for the whole race, built one structured week at a time. Start the plan this Monday, keep the log, look after your skates, and let us know how the four week test goes. If you are unsure which wheels or suit fit your training, message us on WhatsApp and we will help.
