How to Improve Your Speed - Part I
Note: This program assumes the athlete has good lifting mechanics, can maintain the mechanics even with added weight and increased speed of movement, and at least two years of training history. If you are new to lifting, this program is more advanced and is designed to power development in the well conditioned athlete.
Many coaches train their athletes as if strength and speed are two completely separate areas of conditioning. In fact, some coaches think that they actually oppose each other.
As a coach who spends a lot of time working with athletes on speed development, I disagree with this approach to training. Since joining the SportSpecific.com team (doing the interviews and editing articles), I have had the opportunity to speak with some of the most successful coaches in the world. Here is some of their opinions:
Martin Rooney of ParisiSchool.com states that the single greatest predictor of speed potential is relative strength
Joe DeFranco of DeFrancosTraining.com states the same as Martin. The relative strength of the athlete is the greatest indicator of speed development potential
Larry Jusdanis of SSTCanada.com reports that his athletes get faster without even doing sprint training only appropriate strength training
These are just a few of the many opinions of top experts. However, you can not just go into a gym, follow a cookie cutter program for strength development and expect to gain speed.
The purpose of part 1 of this program is to explain HOW to lift in order to get strong, powerful and fast (along with a couple of exercises that can be paired to help speed development).
The first idea is to understand what type of strength benefits speed. In this case, it is relative strength, or strength relative to body weight. For example, a football offensive lineman may be the strongest on the team as far as absolute strength (strength without concern for body weight), but is rarely (if ever) the fastest on the team. Usually their strength to body weight ratio is too low to be very fast.
Perhaps the most frequently used repetition parameter for weight training is 3 to 5 sets of 8 to 12 reps — especially if the athletes are trying to gain muscle mass. While there are times when this rep range is appropriate, but it is frequently an over-used set/rep scheme when training power athletes.
The 8 to 12 rep range will help the athletes gain muscle mass, the mass they gain will often be in the type 1 or type 2a muscle fibers. These are not the best fibers to develop in the power athlete. In fact, much of the hypertrophy in these fibers are not in the contractile portions (actin and myosin fibers) of the muscle it is in the muscle cell cytoplasm and other non-contractile parts of the muscle cell.
So why gain non-useful weight even if it is lean muscle mass?
Don’t get me wrong, it is appropriate for some athletes to hypertrophy these cells, but not everyone, and certainly not to excess.
For the athlete who needs speed to be successful in his or her sport, it is important to strength train the right way. That means lower reps per set, more sets per exercise, longer rest breaks between sets, and fewer exercises. In addition, exercise selection should be based on movements that train many areas at one time and limit the number of isolation movements. For example, squats and lunges are generally better choices than knee extensions and leg curls.
Also, weights should be heavier or be moved faster.
We are trying to get more bang for your training buck.
I know I knocked hypertrophy a minute ago, but it is OK to develop mass (even in the speed athlete) if it is in the right fibers ¡V specifically the type 2b fibers. Hypertrophy in these fibers are usually more in the contractile portions of the fibers and less in the non-contractile parts. Also, these fibers are easily converted to power and speed as well as strength.
As a general rule, you want to lift weights as fast as possible even though heavy weights can not be moved very fast. Again as fast as possible.
The heavy weights can be complimented with lighter, but faster movements of a similar motion. An example of this is a heavy deadlift, followed by a jump squat.
Once again, the example complex pair is for an athlete with 2+ years of training experience.
You should use the speed rule when performing these exercises. If you are slowing down, stop your set. You should try to lift as fast as possible and jump as high as possible during your sets. The combination of speed and weight makes every rep a max, so expect to feel drained afterwards.
Take a 2 minute rest break between exercises in the set and 3 to 4 minutes rest between sets for maximal power.
Part 2 will give more complex training examples and more theories on strength training for speed development.
Incorporate some of these pointers to your coaching, and you’ll have some happy athletes in the weight room next time you squat. If you’re anything like me, you’ll love it as much as they do!
June 19th, 2009 at 11:28 pm
Love it, well explained clear as you like, looking forward to part II