Now there are certain coaches that focus on
different aspects of what they feel is important to work on during the
season. And most state athletic rules are set up so the coach can not work
with their athletes out side of that sports season. This is why summer
training is so important. The athletes get to work on and focus on improving
all biomotor abilities.
Some consider the summer GPP (general preparatory period) work of there
training plan. I wrote a few months ago about periodation (Periodization -
structure of a continuous training plan) and structure of a work out
plan/program so I am not going to go into this too much. A great resource
that discusses periodization and program design is Alwyn Cosgrove's Training
Design Program: http://www.topfitnessprofessionals.com/fitnesscoach.html
I am going to break this Summer Training Plan Recommendations Article into
sections so I can cover in detail each aspect of speed training. To start
off, let's hit the topic that everyone is mostly concerned about:
Training Speed over the summer.
Speed Work
I hear that speed training should not be
worked on in the off-season. I still have not heard a good reason for this.
Why would you stop speed training when this is the skill that you are trying
to improve?
I have seen athlete's work on their 'conditioning' in the off season and not
perform any speed work. Then when they show up to camp for pre-season they
are expected to sprint and time and time again, injuries occur.
Sprinting is high intensity work that involves recruiting specific groups of
muscle fibers, improving the efficiency of neuromuscular firing patterns and
is extremely taxing to the central nervous system. To not have your athletes
train for this complicated process then all of a sudden you want them to
perform at full speed at practice or a game is crazy.
Now, volume, intensity and density of your speed work will change throughout
your training program. You should not drop speed training from your program
at any part of the year.
Let's begin first, with saying what speed training is not. Speed training is
not running at speeds/intensities less then 90-95%. So, running a 40 yard
dash at 100% is speed work, while jogging a 100 meters at 65%. (65% is a
tempo run and we will get more into tempo running during the Conditioning
for
Summer Training article in days to come).
Now, you maybe thinking, 'well, if I run a 400 meter (800 meter, 1 mile,
etc.) at 100% intensity, then that must be speed training right?'
Wrong. This is where we need to drop a little science and physiology to
clarify.
Athletes' Acceleration's own Speed Expert Latif Thomas wrote a great energy
systems article last year and I will just para-phrase it for you.
'Adenosine Triphosphate, or ATP, is the immediate usable form of chemical
energy for muscular activity. Any forms of chemical energy that the body
gets from food must be converted into ATP before being used by muscle cells.
ATP stores in muscle is limited and will deplete in 1 to 2 seconds
unless restored. Resynthesis of ATP must occur immediately for muscular
activity to continue. There are three systems available within the body
to replace concentrations of ATP.
Anaerobic Phosphagen (ATP - CP) Energy System Creatine Phosphate (CP) is an
energy rich compound found in muscle cells. After high intensity exercise,
creatine phosphate immediately restores ATP in the muscle without forming
waste products (lactic acid). The amount of ATP that can be resynthesized
from CP can last for 4 to 5 seconds. So, add that to the 1 to 2 seconds of
original ATP stores within the muscle and you have about 5 to 7 seconds of
ATP production from the ATP-CP Energy System.
According to the USA Track and Field Level II Sport Science manual, to
really challenge this system, you need workouts of 7 to 10 seconds of high
intensity (sprint) work. This means running at full speed or near full
speed, but with no fatigue present.'
So, basically as Latif stated in his energy systems article, your 'true'
speed work cannot be longer then 10 seconds or 100 meters for those elite
runners.
OK, so now that we know what true speed work is, what should we focus on
during our summer training plan?
The focus of speed training during the summer is going to be primarily on
acceleration development. Acceleration is the key to most sports and needs
to be constantly worked on and improved.
Acceleration work is considered from 0-30 meters in distance for each
repetition. We start out with shorter distances at about 15-20 yards. The
reason we start with such short intervals, is that we want to make sure that
our athletes are accelerating correctly. Your drive phase, which is your
first 6-8 strides, is primarily what we are working on here.
We are looking for during each repetition for acceleration work is:
* Your body is driving out at approximately a 45 degree angle
* Your legs are driving down and back, attaching the ground in a
piston-like action
* If you are driving your legs down forcefully, your heel recovery
will be kept low
* The foot should strike directly below or slightly behind the hips
* As we discussed in many newsletters before, you are stepping over
the opposite knee and driving down (again in an almost a piston-like action)
* Arm action is tight, not crossing the body, at a greater than 90
degree angle (your arm angle will open up a little more since your steps are
greater and your ground contact time in longer then at top speed)
When you mastered intervals at 20 yards, we start to extend the distance
looking for the same form perfection. If you are having form issues, we
break down the training because we have found that many athletes are not
strong enough to hold and maintain that ideal drive phase. What we do is
trick the body to maintain the proper form by having our athletes start
using different positions. For example, we will have then starting their
interval on the ground seated, lying down in the push-up position, on
one knee, etc. So we really bring them to the ground to make their bodies
reach the proper position. Another great way to do this is through short
hill training. So now you can bring the ground to them to put them at the
correct angles and positioning.
Example of an Acceleration Workout:
* 3x 20 meters - push up (down
position) start
* 3x 20 meters - push up (up position) start
* 3x 25 meters - seated facing 'forward' start
* 3x 25 meters - seated facing 'backwards' start
Rest interval in between each repetition is 2-2.5 minutes and 3-5 between
each set.
Acceleration is the 'easiest' form of speed work because they are performed
at such short intervals but don't underestimate it's importance.
Acceleration work must be done before you can even look at starting maximum
velocity (top speed running) work.
Maximum velocity work is when you are running at full speed, so your body
will be completely upright (perpendicular to the ground), and you will no
longer be leaning at an angle as you were during acceleration. You will want
to relax or 'float' during maximum velocity. What this means is you want to
ease back in the amount of effort you are expending while running but
without slowing down and losing any speed.
This idea sounds contradictory, and like any new skill, it takes some
practice to perfect. While running, you want to continue to step over the
opposite knee, but you do not want to drive the ball of the foot down into
the ground. This is tough to do but it is essential if you want to maximize
your speed and reach your full speed potential. If you are not relaxing
while you are running, your body is really fighting itself and causing you
to slow down. Relaxation while at top speed must be practiced. A great work
out for maximum velocity training is called 'Ins & Outs' or
'Sprint/Float/Sprint' or 'Fly Runs'.
Example of a Maximum Velocity Workout:
Flying 40's
Place a cone at the starting line, at 20yards, at 60 yards and at 80 yards.
Accelerate hard to the first cone (20y). Maintain the speed you have
generated by running relaxed and following the maximum velocity cues
from 20-60 yards. Once you hit 60 yards, slowly decelerate for the next 20
yards, coming to a full stop at the last cone. This is a fly 40. Total
volume for these workouts should be between 250 - 350 yards.
Workout 6-8 x Fly 40's
Rest interval is 5-6 minutes between each bout.
Start with 2 days a week of acceleration work. Once you feel comfortable and
are performing each rep with proper form and you have reached running 30
meter intervals with no problem, add a day of maximum velocity work in. The
summer is not that long and there is a lot of training to get done. The
first 2 weeks of the summer will look like this:
(**Note the days that I left blank I will fill in as we discuss other
aspects of summer training in future newsletters) Also, it is summer so we
can give our athletes the weekend off to 'recover'.
Monday:
Tuesday: Acceleration
Wednesday:
Thursday - Acceleration
Friday:
Next 2 weeks
Monday: Acceleration
Tuesday:
Wednesday: Maximum Velocity
Thursday:
Friday: Acceleration
Depending on your improvements and progressions:
Next 2 weeks
Monday: Maximum Velocity
Tuesday:
Wednesday: Acceleration
Thursday:
Friday: Maximum Velocity
I will discuss Speed Endurance when I cover Conditioning as they will be
easier to explain both topics together, but this is what your speed training
days will look like at the end of the summer:
Monday: Maximum Velocity (w/ Acceleration)
Tuesday:
Wednesday: Speed Endurance
Thursday:
Friday: Maximum Velocity (w /Acceleration)
The sport requirements and goals of the athlete will influence the workouts
but those are some general recommendations.
Other Summer Training Speed Guidelines:
Intensity 95-100%
Distance of run 20-60 meters
Rest interval approximately 1 minute rest for every 10 meters
(this is what Charlie Francis recommends and it has worked amazing for our
athletes)
Number of reps/set 2-4
Number of sets 2-4
Total distance in set 80-160 meters
Total distance in session 300 - 500 meters
Rest at least 36-48 in between each speed session
Be on the look out for next week's continuation of Summer Training for Speed
where I will give you more training modalities, concepts, exercises, drills
and workouts perfect for this coming summer.
If you want even greater detail then this with structured workouts done for
you, sample programs, descriptions and reasons behind why you perform each
speed training exercise, here is the top resource II recommend the Complete
Speed Training DVD (see below).
|
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Complete
Speed Training DVD in association
with Patrick Beith — The
most comprehensive speed training information available, all on DVD!
Now you can view this cutting edge information on your own time, learn
how to correctly perform and coach each skill, add variety to your
current program, and learn how to structure workouts to help your
athletes develop blazing speed! Click
here to find out more... |
