"Speed Strength Training Basics" Summary

By Derek Hansen, CSCS SPS Athletic Group

Key points:

1.  Truth about getting faster

• Genetics are the most important determinant of sprinting potential.  It can take a world class sprinter five to ten years or even longer to reach his/her potential.
• Speed is an acquired skill- in order for an athlete to reach their full sprinting potential, they have to work hard to develop a number of key athletic qualities, including: Technique and Posture, Neuromuscular Recruitment, Maximal Strength, and Flexibility for Increased-Range-of-Motion

2.  Training for the Right kind of Speed

• Speed training should be sport specific since not all sports need their athlete to sprint "all out" in a 100 meter sprint. Athletes rarely sprint no more than 10-20m maximum on the field.  Only for specific situations such as a breakaway in soccer or a long pass in football will an athlete sprint come into play (no more than 30-40 meters).

3.  Technique and Posture

• The optimal body position for sprinting is a lean body position which is 45 degreews from the ground.  The athletes body will become more upright as the athlete accelerates throughout the sprint (happens beyond 15-20 meters) and the running stride begins to lengthen.\

4.  Drills for Acceleration and Speed

• Push up Start- can be performed slowly or in one quick motion.  Start off by having the athlete lay on the ground in a push up position and have them step forward with one foot under or behind the hip
• Med-Ball Push Start-  Used to develop starting strength and overall power.   Athlete hold a medicine ball under his/her chin in a crouch posture.  The athlete then falls forward and launches the ball forward. 
• Falling Start-  Allows the athlete to accelerate in a relaxed form.  This drill focuses on good technical execution.  In a semi-crouched position, both hands are in front of the athlete to ensure more weight is distributed forward.  The athlete then begins to fall forward and fires the hand on the same side of the front foot to help the body move forward. 

5.  Neuromuscular Recruitment-

• To become faster, you must train 95-100 percent effort to make advances in your sprinting speed.  You need to recruit your fast twitch muscle fibers to move your body quickly and by doing this you must train your brain to do so.
• Don't rush through a speed workout.  You must give yourself adequate rest time to recover from a sprint (90 seconds). Don't do two sprint workouts on consecutive days.  It takes 48 hours for your nervous central system to recover from a high intensity sprinting training. 
• Running against a teammate or chasing someone will is a good motivator to make yourself run faster.
• The total volume for individual sprint workouts should not exceed 300m because the neuromuscular system becomes very fatigued for the average team sport athlete.  The body can't consistently put out 100% effort and the technique becomes sloppy.

 6. Maximal Strength Development-

• In order to accelerate, you must be able to exert your own body weight Squatting, lunging, jumping develops leg strength while push-ups, pull-ups, and dips prepare the upper body for the rigours of sprinting.  Various abdominal exercises can be done to help the hip flexors develop the required hip  strength for driving the knees up for accelerating.
• squats, pulls, and press free weight exercises are also a good way to develop the strength and coordination required for sprinting.

Explosive and Elastic Power

• Jump exercises and medicine ball throws are effective means of trainingstarting strength and explosiveness.  If using jumps (plyometrics), a gradual progression of workto ensure the athletes don't overuse or stress injuries particularly in the feet, ankles and knees.
• There are 3 phases of jumping workouts. Phase 1 (3-6 weeks) These jumping workouts are performed onto some form of box, platform or step. Have the athlete jump onto a box and step down onto a step. This works on their explosiveness.
• Phase 2 (3 to 5 weeks) Jumps in this phase are done for distance across the gym floor, rubberized surfaces or grass/turf field. They can consist of jumps over hurdles, cones oe other safe obstacles.
• Phase 3 (3 to 6 weeks) These jumps focus on elastic strength and rebounding off the ground after jumping down from a height. The athlete should be starting at very low heights (10-12 inches). The athlete should rebound off the ground quickly after jumping off from the box. 
• Medicine ball throws can be used as preparatory work for jump training.  medicine ball throws can be an effective way for developing starting and acceleration abilities. Overhead throws and push throws are two common explosive throws.

7.  Flexibility

• Maintaining a stretching and flexibility program is one of the less strenous ways of making yourself a faster sprinter.  There are two ways to run faster: increasing stride frequency, and increasing stride length.
• As your flexibility increases, you will be more accustomed to apply force over the increased range of motion and, generate more force over each sprinting stride.   

James Smith DVD

        James Smith is the Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach at the University of   

Pittsburgh who claims himself to be a product of the things he was exposed to during his 

experience in the work field as well with his prior education.   It seems to be typical that 

strength and conditioning coaches tend to practice the strength and conditioning style of 

their mentors and seems to be that the best way to learn is to be around those who have 

been successful. This lecture is focused on the stages of the annual cycle of football 

strength and conditioning.

          James Smith addresses the energy systems and in football, the Phosphagen system is the main system used.  The athletes are mainly working in this system because football is a fast paced sport and plays only last for seconds.  This being a fact, Smith points out that an overall greater level of aerobic conditioning is crucial for recovery between plays.  This allows the athletes to maintain their level of intensity for the duration of the game.  Smith refers to bioenergetic sequencing, and describes how he has different focuses depending on the current stage in the annual cycle; he also describes strength training as a small fraction of sport training which I agree on because there is many other factors that goes into 

training athletes, while strength training is just a small part of it.  

            Smith addresses General Physical Preparation as being the foundation for all other training 

which i agree with because if an athlete doesn’t have that general base of strength, they will 

not be able to have optimal gains from specific training.  General physical preparation 

should always be incorporated in an athletes year long cycle of training.

            

            Overall I felt like there was plenty of information I retrieved from this lecture.  The hour and a 

half lecture was a bit arduous at times but I found many of his sayings to be informative and interesting, 

especially when he mentioned his incorporation of gymnastics into training athletes.  Being a previous 

gymnast, I became a strong individual from doing many gymnastic workouts such as planches and ring 

work.  I'm a believer of body weight exercises for improvement of overall strength and which is why I 

support Smith's view of incorporating gymnastics into his exercise regimes. 

Progressive Hang Clean

March 7-13 Exercise Log

Monday: Rested

Tuesday:  Rested

Wednesday:  Ran 2 miles/ abs

Thursday:  Rested

Friday:  Rested

Saturday:  Rested

Sunday:  Rested

Tapering/Recovery Adaptations

 Tapering is a technique where the training program is gradually reduced in a systematic non-linear fashion to promote peak in performance for a major competition.  "Tapering: The Critical Interaction of the Art and Science of Coaching" and the article by Greg Wells talks about the many routes of tapering in ones workout program.  Tapering has been shown to improve lab performance as well with competition results 2% - 4%  based on Well's findings.  Tapering allows recovery for the athlete and for their fitness level to be well maintained. Periodized training's main goal is for the athlete to be able to perform/compete at their best in a competition.   When periodization and tapering are mended in a balanced formula, the athlete will perform well in competition

            Tapering should last from 4 to 21 days and be around a 50-85% in training intensity. The recovery time is increased while the intensity training is amplified.  Incorporating tapering into athletes workout program will help ensure optimal performance.    

The article entitled “Recovery – Adaptation: Strength / Power Sports “, by Michael Stone, is about the importance of inputting recovery periods into an athlete periodized program which relates to the de-loading article I previously posted about.   Rest is the most crucial aspect of a workout program .  Stone defines recovery as “regaining what was lost”. He points out that athletes are interested in adaptation rather than recovery.  Cleverly planning and executing a recovery and adaptation regime requires a planned rest period and a period of de-load.  

            At each level of an athletes periodization, rest periods and de-loads are incorporated in their workout regime.  In an entire Macrocycle, rest and transition periods are incorporated as the athlete ends his/her season. A recovery regime is then incorporated at the meso and microcycle level.  There are periods of rest within each month as well within each week;  also, rest can be planned and manipulated within a single workout session within a single workout session to optimize an exercise.

            It takes creativity and a well thought out program to create a beneficial exercise regime.  Workload and recovery go hand in hand.  The greater the stimulus, the greater it is for the athlete to have to recover. “Stimulus-Fatigue-recovery-adaptation” explains how a stimulus results in fatigue which is then followed by recovery and adaptation. This results in supercompensation and improved performance. Both Rest and periods of de-load are essential in order for ones training program to fully maximize.