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SprintTraining:TheCompleteTrainingSystem

DerekM.Hansen

www.StrengthPowerSpeed.com

@DerekMHansenNot a day goes by that someone asksme a question via email, textmessage or some othermeans of messaging about speed development and sprint training. The most commonquestionsare:

• HowdoIintroducesprinttrainingtopeoplewhoarenewtotheactivity?• Whatvolumesofsprinttrainingareenoughtodevelopormaintainspeedqualities?• ShouldIhavemyathletespullsleds?Ifso,howfarandhowheavyshouldthesledsbe?• Whatkindofweighttrainingprogramwouldmakemyathletesfaster?• Willuseofelectricalmusclestimulationenhancemysprintabilities?• AtwhatpointinarehabilitationprocessshouldIintroducesprinting?• Willsprinttrainingenhancemyendurancecapabilities?

NowIcouldgoontoanswerallof thesequestions ingreatdetail,but IdohaveaconsultingbusinesstorunandIamalsoworkingonacomprehensivetrainingmanualthatwilladdressallof these questions. My goal is to outline the key progressions, volumes, mechanics andsupportiveelementsinthemostbasicwaypossible,withbroadapplicationtoallsportsandallabilities. Myinterventionsfromyouthsport,SpecialOlympicsandallthewayuptotheNFL,NBAandOlympiclevelathleteshaveyieldedexceptionallypositiveresults.Inmanywaystheanswersarestaringusrightintheface.Wejustneedtoopenoureyesandacceptthatsimplesolutionsareallthatarerequired.Shortofgivingawaythefarm,Icanprovidesomeinsightintohowsprinttrainingcanbethefoundationofa trainingprogrambecauseof thewide rangeofqualities thatare required tobecomeagoodsprinter. Inmanycases,asIhavealludedtopreviously,someofthesimplestsolutions can yield the broadest range of benefits. Think of two of themost highly toutedrecoveryandperformancesolutionsbeingpromotedthesedays:sleepanddrinkingwater.Gofigure!HowmanyofyouneededaPhDinsportsciencetofigureoutthatthesearetwoofthemost importantelementsofa trainingprogram? Thesamecouldbesaidofrunning. I trulybelieve that sprinting is the purest expression of “fight-or-flight”. Back in prehistoric andancienttimes,priortothedomesticationofhorses,yourabilitytorunfastdeterminedwhetherornotyouwouldliveordie,whetheryouwerechasingyourdinnerorbeingchasedfordinner.Forsomereason,itishardformanypeopletounderstandwhysprintingissuchanimportantcornerstoneofacompletetrainingprogram.Justlikesleepanddrinkingwater,manypeopledo not sprint enough (or in many cases – they do not sprint at all) and find that theirperformanceandresiliencysuffersasaresult.Theexcusesfornotsprintingareweakatbest.Inmostcases–likenumeroussimpletasks–peoplehavenoknowledgeonhowtoimplementa sound sprintingprogram. Othersworry that theymaygethurtdoing sprint trainingon aregularbasis. Evenmorelaughablearethepeoplethatclaimlinearsprintingisnotusefulor

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“functional” for team sports because of the agility requirements of these sports. People –watchagoddamnsportingevent!Guesswhat?Athletes,moreoftenthannot,sprintinstraightlines whether it is soccer, basketball, football, rugby or baseball. Given that the shortestdistancebetweentwopoints isastraight line, Iwouldsaythatsprinting linearlywouldbeagoodstrategy. EvenpeopleinTrackandFieldaregettingawayfrombasicsprinting, lookingfor the Holy Grail of speed by dragging heavy sleds, pulling parachutes, running throughladdersorboundingover shorthurdles. Andmostpeople’sdefinitionofquality sprinting isbeingdiminishedbytheneedto“keepmoving”or“lookbusy”or“vomitbetweenreps.”Whyisalmosteveryoneavoidingqualitylinearsprinting?Rememberwhenpeoplewerealwayslookingforsuper-foods?Youknow,allyouneedtoeatiswheat-bran,acaiberries,quinoaorkale.Thesefoodswillgiveyoueverythingyouneedtohavea perfect, healthy diet. Your hair will glow, your bones will be denser and you will beincrediblyvirile (which sounds toomuch likeviral). The same search is alwaysgoingon inexercise, with most of the solutions being tied to buying a specific product or piece ofequipment,withlessthanstellarresults. Butwhat if I toldyouthatyoucouldfollowabasicsprintprogramandgetamultitudeofresultswithoutsellingyoursoultotheDevil?Figure 1 below is very telling in that it identifies opportunities for developing differentperformance qualities based on ground contact times and the specific running mechanicsappliedinthatinstance. Inessence,almosteverystepfromthestartthroughaccelerationtomaximum velocity offers a slightly different training effect. Step 2 is very different fromStep6. While some people may want to clump all sprinting together as “one-dimensionallinearsprinting,”thoseintheknowwillunderstandthatthemultitudeofbenefitstobederivedfromasinglesprinteffort.

Figure 1: Ground contact times for an elite sprinter on the way to top speed

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Evenasingle10-metersprintprovidesignificantbenefits,withanelitesprinterabletoachieveaspeedof70%ofmaxvelocitybythesixthstrideasindicatedinFigure2.Thesixthstrideisalsoveryclosetoagroundcontact timeofone-tenthofasecond, implyingsignificantelasticpowerandagreatdealofverticalforceproduction.

Figure 2: Velocities achieved by elite sprinters – step-by-step StrengthThe initial push out of a start position requires significant strength capabilities. It is nosurprisethatmostworld-classweightlifterscangetoutofthestartingblocksaseffectivelyasthetop100msprinters. Ifanathlete isperformingsprintsfromalow,static-startposition–whetherfromstartingblocksorathree-pointstance–theinitialfewstrideswillbeperformedwith significant knee flexion on ground contact, working quadriceps, glutes and calves (seeFigure3). The initial pushout of the start results in a ground-contact timeof almost four-tenthsofasecond.Thisisequivalenttothetimerequiredtoexecuteaverticalboxjumporanexplosivemedicineballthrow. Whiletheseinitialstridesdonotnecessarilyreplacestrengthworkinaweightroomsetting,repeatstartsandaccelerationscanhaveasignificantimpactonbothlowerbodyandupperbodystrengthabilities.

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Figure 3: Knee angles at various stages of acceleration. Note that weighted sled pulls allow

for greater knee flexion further into the acceleration. PowerStrides1through4willbeverysimilartothemuscleactionrequiredforsingle-legjumpssuchasapowerfultake-offforahighjumporalongjumpevent.Thegroundcontacttimehastobelong enough to provide the optimal production of both vertical and horizontal force withadequate knee flexion to involve the quadriceps and glutes for power production, asdocumentedinFigure3.Useofaweightedsledallowstheathletetoholdaccelerationposturefurther into the run effort, allowing for greater exposure to similar knee angles and groundcontacttimesforpowerproduction.SpeedElastic power plays a significant role in attaining higher speeds and maintaining speed inlongerdurationefforts. In the latterstagesof theaccelerationphaseand into themaximumvelocityphase,shortergroundcontacttimesaremadepossiblebythecontributionofthehips

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andhamstringscreatingsignificantdownwardforceandhighdegreesofstiffnessinthelowerlegandfootcomplex.Minimalkneeflexionongroundcontactisdesirabletomaintainstiffnessin the lower extremities. Without significant lower leg stiffness and elasticity, any forceproduced by the hipwould be greatly dissipatedwith no significant energy fed back to therunningstridecycle. Thatadaptationsachieved throughmaximumvelocitysprintingcannotbesimulatedthroughanyothertrainingmethod. Groundcontacttimesbelowone-tenthofasecondwithextremelyhighforceproductionareuniquetosprinting.AgilityandDirectionChangeIndividualswho do not possess the skills to enhance an athlete’s linear speed qualitieswilloften“poo-poo”theworkof trackcoachesand linearspeedadvocatesbysayingthatthekeyqualitiesinsportsareagilityandchangeofdirection,andnotlinearspeed.IfIcanimproveanathlete’s linear sprinting abilities, I know that I have improved their strength, power andelasticperformanceabilities. Thesequalities readily transfer toagility anddirection changemovements,asevidencedbythefactthatathleteshaveimprovedtheiragilitytestresultswhenno formal agility training has been introduced. In many cases, the high volumes of sport-specific work done in practice sessions will more than satisfy the agility and change ofdirectionrequirementsforanathlete.However,itisamazinghowmanycoacheswillnotcountthat sport specific work as part of the daily training load. Layering on more supposedly“specific”agilityworkcanonlyincreasethewear-and-tearonanathleteandnotimproveforceproductionandelasticqualities.At one of my recent presentations, I was asked how much time I spent exclusively on“deceleration”work.Ihadtopointouttotheindividualthatwearetrainingdecelerationallofthe time. Everymaximal sprint repetitionmust be followed by a deceleration phase. Theathlete may not be “stopping on a dime” after each run (nor should they). However, theaccumulationofeccentricloadduringthedecelerationphaseaftereachsprintrepetitionaddsuptoprovidesignificantcompetenceandabilityintherealmofdeceleration,withsignificantlylessriskofinjury.InjuryPreventionHowevercounter-intuitivethismaysoundtopeople,high-intensitysprintinghelpstoprotectathletesfromsoft-tissueinjuries.Exposuretohighstresses,bothcentrallyandperipherally,inaprogressivemannermakesathletesmoreresilienttothedemandsoftheirsport.Ihaveevenused sprinting to train athletes in sports that don’t require sprinting for this very reason.Athleteswhoswim,bike, fight, tumble, skiandsit ina sailboathaveallbeengivensprintingprograms to develop their nervous system and strengthen their bodies. All have reportedimprovedperformanceandminimalincidenceofinjury.Inthecaseofathletesthatdomakealivingoffofrunningfast,sprintingintraininghasbeenproventomakethemfaster,minimizesoft-tissueinjuryand,incaseswheretheyhaveincurredaninjury,assistedtheminaspeedyrecovery.Forhamstringrehabilitation,accelerationsover10metersallowtheathletetotrainglutes,calvesandquadricepseffectively,withoutexcessive

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eccentric stress on the hamstrings. The accumulation of work over these relatively shortdistances not only maintains strength, power and speed qualities in the primary musclegroups, it also safely conditions the hamstrings for the demands of running fast. A smoothprogressionto longeraccelerationdistancesultimatelyacclimatesthehamstringsforuprightsprintingatmaximumvelocities. Sprinting is thecure,andnaturallyconditionsthebodyforthedemandsoftheactivity.Specialexercises,ortrainingequipment,designedtoindividuallystrengthening component parts of the musculature will not address the issue ascomprehensivelyorassustainablyassprinting.CentralNervousSystemTrainingAsImentionedpreviously,sprintingcanbedescribedasoneofthemostpureexpressionsof“Fight or Flight”, albeit dispensed in a controlled, deliberate manner. The amount ofneuromuscularcoordinationandinputrequiredforexecutingalmostfivestridespersecondatmaximumeffort isunmatched in the fieldof exerciseandperformance. Seeing thatwearewiredtothrowamaximumamountofresourcesintoanactivitythatwouldsaveourlives(i.e.runningawayfromapredator),youcanseehowitisanidealmeansofpositivelystressingournervous system. When implemented with optimal recovery times, moderate volumes andreasonably efficient technique, significantbenefits canbe accruedby athletesof any level ofperformance. And, as mentioned previously, the transfer provided by such intenseneuromusculartrainingcantransfertootherabilitiesveryreadily. Whilesportscientistsaretrying to determine start times and windows of opportunity to implement weightlifting,plyometrics andother formsof trainingwith young athletes, these athletes canbe sprintingandmakingsignificantgainsinseveraldifferentareas.Ifyouwatchyoungchildrenplay,theyaresprintingaroundplayingtagandsimilargamesatmaximumintensity.Kidshavenomediumzone.Theyareeitheronortheyareoff.Theyareallsignalwithaminimumofnoise(atleastneuralnoise).Theirnervoussystemsareextremelyplasticandtheirabilitytoadaptisexceptional.Sprintingispartoftheirregularinformalplaypatterns. However,whenyouplaceyourchildinorganizedsport,toomuchstructure,lotsofstandingaround,over-coachingandlowest-common-denominatorconditioningbogdownthesessions.Icanguaranteeyouthatmostsportcoachesarenotcreatinganenvironmentwherehighqualitysprintingisbeingachieved.SpeedReserveandBenefitsforEnduranceNumerous studies have identified the link between enhanced high-intensity abilities andimproved economy in endurance oriented activities such as running, cycling and swimming.Improvements insprintingabilitycreatea“speedreserve”thatallowathletestoperformforlong durations at sub-maximal velocities. Speed-based athletes can benefit from improvedenduranceabilitiesbyconstantlyimprovingtheirmaximumvelocityabilities,whileenduranceathletescanimprovetheirperformancebyintegratingsmallerdosesofsprintworkintotheirtrainingprograms.

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AsItoldparticipantsinarecentpresentation,aFormula1racecarhastobedesignedtolastfora90-120minute(190milerace),butalsoproduce1000horsepower,hittopspeedsofover200milesperhourandacceleratefromzeroto60mph(100km/h)in1.7seconds.AllF1carscan travel fromzeroup to100mph (160km/h) andback to zero in five seconds. Athletesmustalsohaveexceptionalhigh-intensitycapabilitieseventhoughtheirgamemaylastseveralhours. If you neglect these higher-intensity abilities and focus solely on endurance andconditioning, your athletewill have no business being on the fieldwith faster, stronger andmorepowerfulcompetitors.Conclusion:BuildaFoundationItellallthatwilllistentobuildtheirtrainingprogramsonafoundationofspeed.Manypeopleerrantlybelievethatabasemustbebuiltfromexcessiveconditioningorcountlesshoursintheweightroom.Whiletheseelementsareallimportant,remembertotakealookatthegameforwhichyouarepreparing.Athletesaremovingtheirbodiesexplosivelyandrapidlyaroundthefield or court. They are rarely lifting anyone or running continuously at moderate speeds.Theyarestanding,walkingorsprinting.Atleastthegoodonesare.Sowhywouldn’tyoubaseyour training program around these qualities, particularly if you believe in specificity oftraining? Onceyouhave identified themechanics, volumes, recoveries andprogressions forsprinttraining,thenyoucanbegintointegratesupportiveelementssuchasstrengthtraining,explosive training and endurance training and build around your base. Identify what isimportantandthenbolsteryourprogramwithsecondarybutsupportiveelements.Onceyouunderstandandbuyintothisconcept,makingappropriatechoicesfortrainingonanygivendaybecomesmucheasier.Thenextstepistodeterminehowmuchvolumeneedstobeappliedthroughoutagivensessionandweek.Whileitisnotwithinthescopeofthisarticle(ormylivelihood)toprovideyouwithall thedetailsonhowtomakethisworkforyou, Iwouldencourageyoutoerronthesideoflessinitiallyandthenslowlybuildonyoursuccesses.Onegoodsprintgivesyoutheopportunitytosprintanotherday,particularlyifyouarerunningforyourlife.