Sunday, April 30, 2006

How to put together a speed clinic

2 Day Structured Speed Clinic - Part 1

With the summer coming, there is no better time to run a
speed clinic. Athletes are looking for the best way to
improve their speed so they can explode onto the scene
in the fall and create a memorable year. Running speed
camps are definitely profitable, but also remember that
you can reach more athletes and help out many more people
by putting on a clinic then you can performing one-on-ones.

The more specific you can gear the speed drills to the
athletes sport, the better. Here, from start to finish, is an
outline for a 2 day Speed Clinic guaranteed to be successful.

Day 1
Introduction - Go over your brief bio, but remember the
athletes are there because they want to get faster as soon
as possible and don't really care about who you are and
who you have trained. Stay focused on how increasing
the athletes speed will have a huge carry over to their
performance in their sport.


I. Dynamic Warm-up
Loose skip
Lunge w/ hamstring
Backwards loose skip
Lateral lunge
Side shuffle
Leg circles
Side shuffle
Lunge w/ twist
Leg swings (front & lateral)
Skips for height

The warm up exercises should be structured from the
most basic, low intensity exercises and should progress
through to the more complex movements that simulate
the speeds athletes will be moving during practice
and competition.

II. Speed Drills
A-skip
A-run
Backwards run
Fast leg
Accelerations 4x30m

With the speed drills, you can break down running
technique into 'parts'. Give cues so the athletes can
focus on the purpose of each drill.

III. Acceleration Drills

1) Partner 'March' (4x10 meters)
2) Partner March and Release (resist and release at 10
meters then run for 20 meters)

The Partner Marching drills are to teach body angles
for starting positioning so the athlete can feel the correct
position. A common mistake is for the athlete to bend
or break at the hips. Make sure that there is a straight
line from the support leg's ankle all the way to their head.


Other Acceleration Cues:
* Drive the lead arm (same as front leg) up as you
begin to sprint.
* Drive out so the body is at a 45 degree angle to
the ground.
* Keep the heel recovery low during the first
6-8 strides. Think about 'running on hot coals' to get
an idea of how your heels should be recovering.
* Step over the opposite knee and drive the foot
down into the ground to create maximal force. During
acceleration, the foot should strike directly below or
slightly behind the hips.


IV. Arm Action

Perform arm action drills to teach the 'cheek to cheek'
movement. This drill will allow the athletes to rest a
little but it is also a great set-up exercise to help enforce
relaxation that will be touched upon in the next section.

V. Max Velocity

Explain what maximum velocity (top end speed) is and
why it is important in their specific sport. Use either
fly 30's or Ins & Outs to stress the importance of
relaxing while running.


1) Fly 20's
Place a cone at the starting line, at 15y, at 35y and at 55y.
Accelerate hard to the first cone (15y). Maintain the speed
you have generated by running relaxed and following the
maximum velocity cues from 15 - 35y. Once you hit 35y,
slowly decelerate for the next 20y coming to a full stop at
the last cone.

2).Ins & Outs
Place a cone at the starting line, 15y, 25y, 35y, 45y and at
65y. Accelerate hard to the first cone (15y). Maintain a
hard sprint for 10y, focusing on maintaining the speed
and intensity created during acceleration. Once you hit
the next cone (25y) go into a float by easing back in
intensity (don't try to continue to get faster) without
losing any speed. At the next cone (35y) go back to a
hard sprint, running at full intensity and trying to
increase your speed. At the next cone (45y), shut down by
slowly coming to a stop. You should not be at a complete
stop before the final cone at 65y, giving you a full 25
yards to slowdown.




VI. Plyometrics

1) Double Leg Hop - Stabilization
2) Lateral Double Leg Hop - Stabilization
3) Single Leg Hops - Stabilization
4) Lateral Single Leg Hops - Stabilization

Your athletes must learn how to stabilize and absorb forces
appropriately. The key is to land softly and absorb the
forces created with the muscles (not the joints!). If you
are landing quietly then you are probably on the right
path. If we jump right into single leg bounds or depth
jumps, without the proper progression, then we are putting
our bodies at risk for avoidable injury.

Due to the intensity (they place a high demand on the
central nervous system) and the need for correct form,
they can cause injuries when not performed correctly.
Plyometric exercises should be learned progressively,
starting with two foot jumping and landing exercises
(box jumps), then moving to stabilization work
(single leg box jump), then finally moving to more
complicated multi-jumps (double and single leg hurdle
hops). Since we do not know the ability of all the clinic
participants, you should just teach how to jump and
land correctly.


VII. Break

During the break go over the importance of Nutrition
and provide handouts.


VIII. Strength
Importance, misconceptions, techniques in the weight
room (if accessible)

Sprinting is all about force production/application. Faster
top running speeds are achieved with greater ground
forces. You need to get stronger in order to be able to
apply more force. The more force you can produce and
the more efficient you are at producing that force, the
faster you will be.


IX. Flexibility - Hurdle Mobility
1). Walkovers
2). Lateral
3). Holds
4). Over 2 Back 1
5). Over/Unders
6). Snake




Part II will come next week and I will cover Day 2 of the
structured two day speed clinic that I use myself for my
camps.

If you've thought about running your own speed camps
and clinics as a new career, a supplement to your current
coaching or even as a means to create a little extra revenue
for the summer, then you need to check this site out:

http://www.topfitnessprofessionals.com/speedcamp.html

It could be the answer that you have been looking for.
It was for me!

Wednesday, April 26, 2006

How to run a speed clinic

If you've ever instructed athletes or coached a team, you can easily
run profitable speed camps and clinics.

I'm serious! Just listen to my story...

OK, the truth is, years ago when I ran my very first speed clinic,
I only had SIX paying customers. Yes, I said six. Needless to
say I didn't profit from that clinic. However, I did learn a valuable
lesson.

Even though I knew how to coach speed, I didn't know much about
the business side of running speed camps and clinics. If I was going
to be successful, I needed to learn from professionals who were
already making lots of money doing the same thing.

================================================

Click here to learn from the experts:
http://www.topfitnessprofessionals.com/speedcamp.html

================================================

The truth is I was really embarrassed that my first speed clinic
was, let's be honest, a complete flop! I was determined that my next
clinic would be so successful that athletes would be sprinting past
each other to sign up for future offerings.

That's when I decided to purchase Ryan Lee and Jeremy Boone's
Speed Clinic Profits program.
(http://www.topfitnessprofessionals.com/speedcamp.html)

That decision has completely changed my life in ways that I can
only scratch the surface of in this email.

Ryan Lee is a guru of marketing and promotion for fitness
professionals. He has helped literally tens of thousands of coaches
and trainers learn to leverage their knowledge into more profits.
Over the Years, Ryan has personally helped me grow my business
at a pace that I can barely keep up with. He is an expert among
experts.

Jeremy Boone is one of the most successful speed coaches on the
planet. In addition to being the speed consultant for the NFL's
Carolina Panthers, he works directly with athletes such as Mushin
Muhammad of the Chicago Bears and Trot Nixon of the Boston
Red Sox. Jeremy is also the only person to ever get permission to
run a major speed clinic at Denver's Mile High Stadium.

Talk about two guys who know what they're doing!!

As soon as I started listening to the program I immediately began
to see all of the mistakes that I had made. I was filled first with
great frustration once I realized how a few small changes in my
approach could have made a huge difference in my clinic.

At the same time I was equally excited at the potential for future
clinics. I no longer had to rely on trial and error in order to learn
the tricks of the trade. I could bypass years of frustration and
immediately implement the proven strategies of two experienced
professionals

=================================================

Get all the details here:
http://www.topfitnessprofessionals.com/speedcamp.html

=================================================

Well my next clinic was a completely different story. We filled up
all our slots and I had to run another clinic for the 'extra' athletes.
We went from a total of 6 athletes to 53 athletes in just one year.
That's an improvement of almost 900%!! A jump in numbers like
that would never have been possible without Ryan and Jeremy's
system.

Now that's what I call an impressive return on my investment!

Since that first traumatic experience, we have consistently filled our
clinics with athletes, no matter what sport or age group the clinic was
marketed to.

Our success has spread from the playing fields to the internet as well.
I've even given up running my own camps and clinics to consult with
other coaches on theirs. In fact, they now pay ME to come to THEIR
clinic and teach my techniques to their athletes!

Who would have guessed that after my first sorry attempt at a clinic?

The bottom line is this:

If you've thought about running your own speed camps and clinics
as a new career, a supplement to your current coaching or even as a
means to create a little extra revenue for the summer, then this is the
email you've been waiting for.

It's time to stop procrastinating, making excuses or waiting until next
year. That's what I did at first and look where it got me. And look at
me now. You wouldn't be reading this email if it I hadn't taken that
step and gotten Ryan and Jeremy's program.

Summer is speed clinic season and pretty soon athletes are going to
start signing up for available clinics.

Here is your opportunity to leap frog over your competition and pull
those athletes to your camps and clinics. If you only use a handful
of the techniques found in this program (I promise you'll use much
more than that) you will more than earn back what you pay.

Do yourself a favor and check out the full story at:

http://www.topfitnessprofessionals.com/speedcamp.html

Tuesday, April 18, 2006

Speed Training Inbox

In a previous post I discussed a nutrition question that I get regularly and I wanted to show you an email I received from a coach I admire in response.


First, here is the section from the last newsletter that
I am referring to:

Nutrition

My other favorite question is that I got over the weekend but this question is also pretty frequent:


'What type of supplement do you recommend that I use to get stronger and faster, is their type of whey protein, creatine or anything else I should use?'


Now this might seem like a serious question to them until I ask them first what they had for dinner last night, what they had for lunch, and for breakfast.


Here was his response:

Dinner: fried chicken with mashed potatoes and gravy

Lunch: I got out of school early and got 2 JBC's at Wendy's (a JBC is a Junior Bacon Cheeseberger and if you coach high school athletes you already knew that)

Breakfast: Ohh, I woke up late and didn't have time for breakfast.


Now, I didn't make up this response, nor is it unusual nutritional habits for today's American youth. People are willing to spend thousands of dollars a year on supplements but can't take the time to eat an apple. How about trying to wake up 5 minutes earlier to make breakfast or even attempt to eat something from each food group? This isn't rocket science to come up with a balanced diet but people are getting lazier each day. Our society needs an easy button for everything.


People are just looking for me to say take this pill and you'll get stronger and faster and you don't need to change your current diet. They are pretty much saying that 'I am too lazy and I don't want to put in the effort it takes to make improvements'. Again, let's just get back to the basics in everything we do and stop looking for the easy way out, please.




Here is the email that I received in response that I thought fit in perfectly and I am sure that you have had similar experiences with your athletes:

'Hey Patrick!

Yeah, you are right about the nutrition issue. I had a high school athlete who asked my advice on how to 'gain weight.' To make sure he was serious, I had him keep a food diary for 1 week. To make a long story short, he was using various high priced supplements. When analyzing his food record, I calculated he was undereating by about 2000 calories per day.



Also, the quality of his food and beverage choices were horrible. Most of his calories were in the form of sugar rich beverages and fast foods (poor quality). We cleaned up his diet...asked him to use the money spent on high priced (ineffective supplements) to buy good quality foods and water....increased his meal frequency...1 month later, he gained 5# of muscle. The moral of the story...Use Food First!!'

- Les B.





Thanks a lot Les for the response! Other emails that I have received were for nutritional plans that I recommend. So here are 2 of them:



1). For people that are looking for actual nutritional structure and not just the latest pill/supplement then check out Dr. John Berardi:

http://www.topfitnessprofessionals.com/DrBerardi.html


2) To simply setup your meals with your favorite foods and have your meals nutritionally balanced, a great software program on Nutritional Planning, go to:

www.topfitnessprofessionals.com/nutrition.html

Friday, April 14, 2006

Speed Coach of the Year

I had mentioned previously that co-founder of Athletes' Acceleration and Performance Consultant, Latif Thomas, had received the Massachusetts State Track Coach of the Year Award this year. As you know it is a tremendous honor to be nominated by your peers in any sport you coach. I know personally what an amazing coach Latif is and of all the team and individual success his athletes have had, but it's not only about the awards his athletes receive. Coaching at the high school level, he has changed so many lives by developing these young athletes physically but more important, mentally.


I talk with Latif all the time about training theory and application and we have some great discussions, almost daily. I guess because of these frequent talks, it is why I haven't even thought to do an interview with Latif for our list members (I know, not a very good excuse).
So for all of you that have emailed me in the past 2 weeks that have been begging to know the thoughts, strategies, and programs that Massachusetts State Coach of the Year Latif Thomas uses, first, my bad, and I am sorry for not doing this earlier and second, I made Latif sit down over the weekend to answer all of the question that you have sent me for him these last 2 weeks.


So here you go:


Patrick: What coaches have influenced you throughout your coaching career?

Latif: I've been influenced by a wide variety of coaches over the years. I've come to know that coaching is both an art and a science, so being an effective coach isn't always about knowing when to run a particular workout. For example, one of the biggest influences on me was one of my high school coaches, Jason Gittle. He wasn't the most knowledgeable coach when it came to the science of coaching, but he was a genuinely nice guy. His personality and interest in me as a person made me look forward to going to practice just so I could hang out with him. He was good for a few belly laughs every practice. He helped me through some very tough times on and off the track and so I tried to learn from his coaching style. That's one of the reasons for our athletes' success. Instead of talking at the kids, I talk to them. Building that rapport and trust helps athletes buy into the system that we're running. When they believe in what they're doing, they're going to get their best results.


When it comes to the practical aspects and science of coaching, I've studied a lot of great coaches. My system is heavily influenced by my coaching mentor, Kevin Murphy, an outstanding coach and person who was inducted into the MSTCA Hall of Fame this year. He got me started in coaching and put me on the path to learning proven training methods instead of simply regurgitating what I thought I knew based on my athletic experience. Another influence was Mike Scanlon, another Hall of Famer, whose teams won something like 7 All State Championships in a row out of the smallest division in the state. He is one of the few coaches I have come into contact with who was willing to lay all his coaching knowledge out on the table. He didn't guard or protect his secrets, whether they were about how to train athletes or how to deal with kids, parents, etc. I learned an immeasurable amount of information from those guys over the years.


I come from a track background so my belief, in large part, is that if you want to teach athletes how to run fast then you should study the fastest people in the world: track sprinters. One of the first 'famous' coaches I began studying is the famed Canadian coach Charlie Francis. His philosophy on General Prep training has a heavy influence on my programs and he was one of the first people I heard
talk about eliminating middle intensity work, something that most programs and coaches use almost exclusively.


Who I study really depends on the type of speed I want to learn about. But my list of people you should really learn the philosophies of is Charlie Francis, John Smith, Clyde Hart, Mike Boyle, Barry Ross and Tudor Bompa. Actually I could keep going and even write in detail what I think of each person's theories, but for now just start looking into what these guys have to say.



Patrick: What are a few common myths that coaches still believe in regarding speed development?

Latif: Man, where do I start with this one. Even in the information age that we live in, it's amazing to see how many coaches don't bother learning or doing anything different than what they did when they were young. Sometimes it borders on physically painful when I watch the crap that athletes are still being taught. But I'll just list a few of the biggies:


1. You can't teach speed. This is just crazy. When I hear people say that I always ask, 'Oh yeah, then why do Olympic Sprinters and NFL receivers have speed coaches?' It's because they know they can get faster! I can't turn everyone into Carl Lewis, but every athlete can get faster. Some parents, coaches and athletes
resist this at first, but I've just proven it so many times that it's hard to argue against. In fact dispelling this myth is one of the many reasons we created Complete Speed Training in the first place.


2. To run faster you have to train harder. This is just an old school mentality that you still see being used in certain sports and by certain coaches. I could give Justin Gatlin or Reggie Bush a workout they can't finish, but what does that prove? A given workout is supposed to provide enough of a stimulus to foster an adaptation. Purposely running an athlete into the ground doesn't make them better. There is a point of diminishing returns when it comes to training. Our job as coaches is to be able to recognize when an athlete is reaching that point and stop them before they get there. Remember, train smarter not harder.


3. Drive your knees to run faster. Well this one is actually not a myth but a fact. The problem is that coaches do it backwards. Too many coaches are telling athletes to lift the knees when they should be driving the thigh down, applying more force to the ground. I was taught to run by lifting my knees and the result was countless injuries and frustration due to terrible mechanical issues. If someone had just told me that the key to speed is to 'step over the opposite knee and drive down' instead of 'knees, knees lift your knees' I'd have a lot more trophies on my wall. The benefits to this one change are truly overwhelming. If you can teach your athletes to apply this concept it will really change your whole program. That's why I spend so much time teaching and reinforcing the benefits of training athletes to run this way both in real life and in our speed programs. If you teach your athletes nothing else, teach them 'step over, drive down' and all that comes with it.







Patrick: Do you see a common trait that today's athletes are lacking?


Latif: We all know there is an obesity epidemic in this country. But there is also a laziness epidemic. In large part I'm sure it is due to the amount of time kids spend in front of the computer or playing video games. Either way, the result is an overwhelming lack of general work capacity.


Put simply, athletes are generally weak (I'm talking both pure physical strength as well as core strength), generally soft and generally out of shape. I've found that athletes have a difficult time doing the most basic core exercises, lack the flexibility to achieve proper range of motion and just get tired and sore very quickly from easy aerobic capacity workouts.


Let me give an example. I coach a boys and girls high school track team. When I get them the Monday after Thanksgiving I put them through a week of general conditioning to see where people are at. It doesn't matter what sport they did in the fall, when they get to practice the workouts are shameful.


I am a huge proponent of circuit training. I'll set up usually 10 exercises broken up between legs, core, arms, etc. Athletes do an exercise and then run 40 meters at about half speed to the next station. A couple times through these circuits and you'd think it was boot camp. Kids are cramping up, cheating and generally complaining. It's not because the workouts are tough, it simply because they're out of shape. And being out of shape is more than just their lack of cardiovascular
conditioning. They lack the core (abs, hips, glutes, lower back) strength required to stabilize their upper bodies when running, they lack the brute strength (in this case leg strength) to propel their bodies down the track or runway and they lack the mental strength to push through the workout when they are tired. And this isn't just with track kids. I get the same lack of work capacity with everyone from football players to soccer, field hockey and tennis players too.


More importantly, by the mid point of the season, these same athletes who were bailing out of easy conditioning workouts are begging me 'Latif can we do circuits today?' Once their weaknesses are made strengths and we've build a foundation to shoulder the load for legitimate training and improved performances, these types of workouts are no longer as challenging. On a scale of 1-10 these workouts should be a 5, not an 8 or 9.






Patrick: What is your approach to improving conditioning levels for speed and power athletes?


Latif: Speed and power sports, that is, sports that consist primarily of an anaerobic demand should be trained by looking at the actual demands of the sport itself. Does a football player or a 100 or 200 meter runner ever run slowly for an extended period of time during a football game or a track meet? Then there is no need for long slow intervals or going for runs out on the roads. Yet I know of coaches who train athletes this way and it's only making these athletes slower. If you coach another speed/power sport such as baseball, softball, volleyball, basketball, etc. you have to ask if the conditioning work is specific to the sport.


Even sports like soccer and field hockey go overboard with the slow conditioning work. I've seen plenty of both sports and I see athletes accelerating hard for 10-20 yards, then slowing down, then accelerating, then a run then a sprint. So if there is all this speed up, slow down why are coaches doing a lot of mileage and long slow intervals and neglecting the acceleration development?


I digress. Generally speaking I think aerobic work should be done more as active recovery and less as a form of conditioning.


In large part, like I mentioned before, I love bodyweight circuits. They improve overall aerobic capacity, core and general strength, coordination, flexibility and aid in recovery. They serve multiple purposes and can be done in a very short period of time. Plus, it detracts from the pounding on the legs that running interval workouts all the time creates. You can simply change which exercises you use, the order and where in the circuit you use them in order to make it harder or easier.


For example sometimes I'll do a circuit workout using all core exercises. Other times I might go heavy on the leg exercises to really challenge kids' mental toughness. Other times I'll put in a lot of flexibility exercises if I really just want to loosen the kids up on an easy day. Like I said before, you have to look at the demands of the sport and the overall picture. If I'm going to do a lot of cutting and change of direction drills tomorrow or even a tough speed endurance workout, I'm not going to trash their legs today.


At the same time I'm also a huge proponent of tempo running. For clarification, I call tempo runs any runs for a particular distance that are between 65-80% intensity. The way I see it, most sports involve running so athletes do need to get out and run. It's a good way to loosen up and accomplish the aerobic capacity and recovery needs of speed and power athletes.


I just don't think the volume needs to be extremely high. But again it depends on the sport. A football player or 100 meter runner doesn't really need to go over 1000m in total volume for a tempo workout. But a soccer player better. Again, look at the sport.


Sometimes I'll have athletes do their tempo work as part of their warmup to get it out of the way so I can work on other things. For example I'll have them do 10x100 meters at 75% with 30-45 seconds rest, depending on their conditioning level or run from endzone to endzone and then walk the width of the field for recovery. This is a great solution for non-track coaches who have a great deal of sport specific skills to teach every day.





Patrick: Do your track and field athletes train differently then the other athletes (court & field sports) that you train?


Latif: I guess the primary difference here is that non-track athletes don't do nearly the volume of starting/stopping, change of direction and agility work as court/field sport athletes. Since track is mostly linear, we do some of that agility work during the preseason as stabilization work, coordination and body awareness development and general work capacity.


However, from the standpoint of developing flexibility, core stability, strength and power development, mechanics, acceleration and overall speed development, etc. all the athletes follow the same general plan, keeping in mind the specific demands of each particular sport.


What I mean is, if a running back and a sprinter have weak cores, then they have weak cores. The way to solve that problem doesn't have to change because they play different sports. I know that kids can't see the almost universal carry of movement and demands between sports, but as coaches we need to be able to see those commonalities.


Again, slow is slow, weak is weak, uncoordinated is uncoordinated, regardless of the sport they play. Almost every athlete has the same fundamental problems holding them back. Each specific issue must be addressed for what it is, not necessarily what sport they play. Let's not reinvent the wheel here.





Patrick: In general, how many days per week should athletes train speed?


Latif: Generally I would say three days per week, one of those days being a competition. If the training is being done properly and athletes are doing the right amount of volume with sufficient rest, then three days should be more than enough to learn how to run as fast as possible while also getting enough recovery to ensure supercompensation.


If relatively inexperienced athletes start training speed more often than that, you're likely going to start seeing overuse injuries like tendonitis and increased occurrence of cramps, strains and pulls. If you're seeing these types of issues every season or you're finding that athletes are fading towards the end of the season then you are likely overtraining them and need to make an adjustment somewhere.





Patrick: There are many different opinions on weight training for speed and power athletes. Where do you stand on the topic?


Latif: We have a bodybuilder mentality in this country even as it applies to weight training for sports. I understand that certain young athletes and athletes of certain sports (like football) need some hypertrophe work in the early part of their training. The problem I have is when performance specific training includes bicep and hamstring curls and excessive use of machines.


I am from the camp that says strength training should involve multi joint movements using, for the most part, heavy weights in the 2-6 rep range. Just as important, athletes need full recovery between sets of lifts as they would between reps of speed intervals. That means resting at least three minutes between each and every set.


Our legs get us where we want to go so strengthening our legs is paramount. My programs, regardless of sport, revolve around the clean, squat and deadlift. Ultimately, you don't really need to do more than those three lifts.


Upper body strength training doesn't need to be done to the extent it is done by athletes in this country. For example, how much value is there in a sprinter spending time developing a big upper body? Very little. The fundamental goal is to gain the strength required to succeed in your particular sport. Any unnecessary gains in muscle mass (and therefore bodyweight) only stand to slow an athlete down. How? As I said before, speed gains come from applying greater force to the ground. The heavier I am, the harder it will be to move by body mass in any direction. But if I gain strength without gaining a bunch of weight it will make it that much easier to move quickly and easily.





Patrick: Do your endurance athletes train differently when it comes to weight training?


Latif: No. All things being equal, my endurance athletes do the same weight training workout as my speed power athletes. At first this was a form of sacrilege to my endurance runners, but once I explained to them why it would work, they couldn't argue against it. Again, especially with them, the goal is to make significant increases in their ability to deliver mass specific force to the ground, but without increases in body mass.


It takes a little longer for them to get the techniques down because heavy weight training is such a foreign concept to them, but once they start seeing results, they're hooked.


There are two great articles on the topic of force application that weigh heavily in my personal philosophies on speed and strength training. Both appeared in the Journal of Applied Physiology.


They are 'Faster top running speeds are achieved with greater ground forces not more rapid leg movement' by Peter Weyend and also 'Explosive-strength training improves 5-km running time by improving running economy and muscle power' by Leena Paavolainen. I strongly suggest you check out both articles.





Patrick: Do you use speed work with your distance runners?


Latif: I most certainly do speed work with distance runners. I'll teach them traditional (as I call it) acceleration development over 30-50 meters so they learn to get up on the balls of their feet and apply force to the ground. So many distance runners are so used to running slowly all the time that getting them to sprint is like censory overload. How many distance races have you seen that came down to a 'kick'? Well the athlete who does speed work is going to win that race everytime.
How often do you see an athlete surge in a race? Instead of just running, say, 70 seconds for each 400 over and over, they all of a sudden drop a 66, then later a 65. Plodders, athletes who train for pace only, can't make a move like that and are instantly out of the race.


Teach your distance runners how to sprint and you open up an entire realm of possibilities for them. This was a topic of discussion on our track site, CompleteTrackandField.com and someone raised the point that to be a good 3K runner, you need to have 1500m speed. To run a great 1500, you have to have 800m speed. To be a great 800m runner, you need to have 400m speed. You get the picture. Train slow to run slow.








Patrick: What might be a sample preseason routine for conditioning for the 100m or 200m event?


Latif: I'll give you a preseason 'conditioning' day, then a preseason speed workout so you get the idea. This is for an athlete with a training age of 3 or 4, so a high school aged athlete.


Recover/Conditioning Day


Dynamic Warm Up (no speed drills) - should take about
20 minutes


Tempo Workout: 1 = 100m, 2 = 200m, + = walk half the distance of the
previous rep. Intensity is at 75%.


1 + 1 + 1 + 2 + 1 + 1

walk 200 meters

2 + 1 + 2 +1 + 1 + 1


or Circuit Workout: run 40 meters at half speed between exercises


Prisoner Squats x 25

Pushups x 20

Bicycles x 30

Lateral Lunge x10 (each leg)

Up and Back x20 (each leg)

Toe Touches x 25

Split Squat x15 (each leg)

Fire hydrants x20 (each leg)

Superman x25

Burpees x12


Rest 3 - 4 minutes


Repeat the circuit




Hurdle Mobility:


4 drills over 6 hurdles

Go through each drill twice with each leg


Core work - stabilization exercises - 60 second
holds

Or

Medicine Ball Core Work


Warm Down Jog

Rope Stretch




PRESEASON SPEED SESSION


400m jog/400m skip

Full Dynamic Warm Up - 20 minutes


Speed Drill Practice - 10-15 minutes

(A March, A Skip, A Run, A Run to Acceleration, Fast Leg)


Speed Work - Short Hills - On grass


8-10x 30m sprints up hill (focus is on force application)

3' active rest between reps


Double Leg Hops over 12' Banana Hurdles (focus is on stabilization)

4 sets of 6 hurdles forward

4 sets of 6 hurdles lateral


Weight Room





Patrick: What does a typical structured speed day practice look like for your sprinters?


Latif: For the same athlete I used in the previous example. This is a competition phase speed session for a 100/200 runner.


Jog 400m/Skip 400m

Full Dynamic Warmup - 20-25 minutes

4 x 40m accelerations at 80%, 85%, 95%, 95%


Starts: 5 x 40m on the turn (should take about 5-6 seconds, the amount of time athletes should go at 100% intensity before beginning to float)

3-4 minutes rest between starts


3 x fly 40m with a 20m buildup and 25m deceleration zone

5-6 minutes rest between reps


5-10 minute cool down

1x10 each leg - front and lateral leg swings, iron cross, scorpions




Weight room and Plyos





Patrick: Should girls train differently than boys when it comes to speed development?


Latif: Psychologically, training girls and training boys is like two complete different jobs. But that is a whole other conversation in and of itself.


I train girls and boys almost exactly the same. Girls are just as capable of performing the same tough workouts as boys. The only differences I would make are in doing plyos and change of direction movements. There is an ACL epidemic with girls in this country so specific time and effort must be spent working on movements that will strengthen those areas and reduce the likelihood of injury.





Patrick: Do you see any trends or feel the direction speed coaching industry is heading?



Latif: The trend I see in the industry is what I'll call a trend toward minimalism. This is along the lines of what I have been saying all along here. That is, a greater focus on quality over quantity. In the weight room it means doing less reps but with more weight and longer recovery. It means eliminating some of the supplemental lifts like hamstring curls and military press if they don't directly assist an athlete in the event/s they compete in.


On the track it means more quality work at a lower volume and, again, with full recovery. It also means less long slow intervals and less aerobic conditioning. Why train energy systems that aren't being used?


I think as we move into the future, especially in track and field, we'll see less athletes looking like bodybuilders and these athletes will be more fine tuned to get the most out of their bodies. Instead of following the status quo, coaches and athletes will look objectively at what makes the most sense for that particular athlete in that particular sport or event.


In many ways it is what we set up in Complete Speed Training (www.CompleteSpeedTraining.com) and even Football Speed (www.FootballSpeed.com). The goal was to give coaches the answers to questions
that would provide them the opportunity, instruction and guidance to implement techniques and strategies that wouldn't take forever to teach or learn. Instead it specifically gives the workouts, drills, exercises, etc that have proven themselves to work over and over again with athletes of every sport, age and skill level. The success my athletes have had under this system has truly allowed them to dominate the competition. It's been great to see them succeed but also for other coaches to realize how much potential for improvement their athletes and teams
actually can make.



Learn more about Latif's proven system for
developing speed in every athlete and sport by
clicking here:

http://www.completespeedtraining.com

Monday, April 10, 2006

Frequently Asked Questions

I get many repetitive questions each day as you can imagine, from people looking for advice, so I wanted to show you my favorite 2 questions.




Question #1 – Weight Training:

One of my favorite questions is always:
“ I work with 13 year olds (or I have a 12 year old daughter or 15 year old son or ____ you
get what I mean) and these kids need to get stronger. I have them bench pressing and squatting already, what other lifts do you recommend since they are so weak?’


OK, here is my problem. The general conditioning of most athletes, especially younger athletes, is horrible. If you have an athlete of any age level that is ‘weak’, the first thing to focus on shouldn’t be in the weight room. I think we need to back up and work on the foundation of each athlete. I think weight training is a must to improve speed and power (although it is supplementary), but why are we so worried about rushing athletes into the weight room?


Let’s focus on core work step one. Abdominals, low back, hip/glute work is essential. Having a strong core is going to make your body more stable and help you generate the power from the rest of your body more efficiently.


Next, when it comes to strength training, we should be thinking about body weight exercises to get there. How many people have you seen that can’t perform a correct push-up or even a proper body weight squat? Exactly, too many.


Some coaches and athletes get too excited about how weight training can improve their speed & power and skip over the most basic (and most important) components of conditioning. Instead of worrying about what the greatest weight training exercises are, let’s first put our athletes in position to be able to benefit from weight training. If my athlete can bench press 350 pounds but can’t perform a rotational push-up, or squat 500 pounds but can’t do a 1-leg squat (pistol)
to save their life, then I have failed as a coach.


If you follow Athletes' Acceleration's Complete Speed Training (www.completespeedtraining.com) program at all, you know that I focus a great deal on conditioning and preparing our athletes. I still believe in weight training (it's in the CST program
too), but general strength is also a staple in my program.

Let’s get back to the basics and focus on the general strength and conditioning of the athlete to create a strong foundation.




Question #2: Nutrtion

My other favorite question is that I got over the weekend but this question is also pretty frequent:


“What type of supplement do you recommend that I use to get stronger and faster, is their type of whey protein, creatine or anything else I should use?”


Now this might seem like a serious question to them until I ask them first what they had for dinner last night, what they had for lunch, and for breakfast.


Here was his response:

Dinner: fried chicken with mashed potatoes and gravy

Lunch: I got out of school early and got 2 JBC’s at Wendy’s
(a JBC is a Junior Bacon Cheeseberger and if you coach high school athletes
you already knew that)

Breakfast: Ohh, I woke up late and didn’t have time for breakfast.


Now, I didn’t make up this response, nor is it unusual nutritional habits for today’s American youth. People are willing to spend thousands of dollars a year on supplements but can’t take the time to eat an apple. How about trying to wake up 5 minutes earlier to make breakfast or even attempt to eat something from each food group? This isn’t rocket science to come up with a balanced diet but people are getting lazier each day. Our society needs an easy button for everything.


People are just looking for me to say take this pill and you’ll get stronger and faster and you don’t need to change your current diet. They are pretty much saying that ‘I am too lazy and I don’t want to put in the effort it takes to make improvements’. Again, let’s just get back to the basics in everything we do and stop looking for the easy way out, please.


For people that are looking for actual nutritional structure and not just the latest pill/supplement then check out:

http://www.topfitnessprofessionals.com/DrBerardi.html

Monday, April 03, 2006

Sprinting - Mechanical problems

Sprinting is a skill. Doing it well takes practice.

You can get better at it, or make others better at it, simply by changing the way you use
your muscles. The primary ‘running muscles' are the glutes and
hamstrings. So it is critical that athletes learn to employ those
muscle groups when performing speed work.


Today's tip is one of the greatest coaching cues for improving running
mechanics and speed. I'm absolutely positive that once your athletes
apply this simple cue to their running, they will immediately get faster.


Today's Speed Cue: “Step over, drive down”


When doing any type of speed work, it is critical that your athletes learn to step over the opposite knee and drive the foot down into the ground so that it lands underneath the hips with each stride.


In terms of mechanics, your athletes must perform the speed drills (A march, A run, A skip, Fast Leg, Arm Action drills) that reinforce the ‘step over, drive down' principle. The purpose behind having them perform these drills and exercises is to reprogram their neuromuscular
system to fire the muscles in the patterns that produce greater force and therefore greater speed.


Most athletes have never been taught to run the right way so they are very inefficient.


A major problem affecting the vast majority of inexperienced athletes is called ‘reaching'. This occurs during the recovery phase of running when an athlete allows the foot to travel out past the opposite knee. The result is that the athlete's foot reaches and lands out past their
center of mass causing a breaking action.


Watch your athletes when they practice or go watch some film of them competing. As they run, check or pause the video as soon as their foot touches the ground. If it is out past their hips instead of directly underneath the hips, they are ‘reaching' and running considerably
slower than they are capable.


Additionally, they are placing great stress on their hamstring because the muscle is not working in the way it is meant to. So if you are seeing hamstring pulls, lower back problems, calf and/or achilles strains in your athletes, especially as the season wears on, there is a good chance that part of the problem stems from poor running mechanics.


One way to start to fix this problem is by applying today's Speed tip. By giving your athletes cues to think about during practice, they will begin to reprogram their movement patterns and immediately get faster.

For example, to fix the reaching problem (which I can assure you your athletes have) cue them to ‘step over the opposite knee and drive down.'


Greater speeds are produced by applying more force to the ground. By learning to drive the foot straight down, landing underneath the hips, athletes will make the most of their existing strength levels and reduce injury.

To learn more about speed development, click here:

http://www.completespeedtraining.com