Sunday, July 15, 2012

PREPARING FOR FALL CONDITIONING

Around this time of the year, coaches are ready to start planning their Fall Conditioning Programs. In a past Blog, I talked about developing a Training Philosophy with which to use as a guide towards the process of athlete development. Vern Gambetta’s recent Blog concerning the coaches’ role in this development makes it clear that coaches need to grow and develop the same as athletes grow and develop. Gambetta points to a model created by British coach Frank Dick, thirty years ago. In Sports Training Principles, Coach Dick outlines the process of athlete development in four steps. 1) Basic Conditioning and all that it implies 2) Basic Technical Model (of the specific event movements) 3) Appropriate Advanced Conditioning 4) Specific Advanced Technical Model I have used this model unknowingly for over two decades but what I thought was important to share is the emphasis on having no specific timeline to accomplish these steps. Once athletes master one of the steps, they proceed on their own timeline towards the mastering the next step. It is the coaches who provide the motivation to begin the movement through each of the steps towards successful accomplishment of four basic stepping-stones towards mastering their event. Another great point that is made is one that the coach’s role should change in the process. It should evolve from that of a teacher and guide to one of mentor or consultant. My philosophy of coaching has always been to teach the “event” in such a way as to develop each athlete as both an athlete and a “prospective coach”. When you look at it in this way, there can be no timeline for mastery, just a continual growth of both coach and athlete that literally has NO FINISH LINE. So, what does this have to do with preparing a Fall Conditioning Program for your athletes this September? To answer that, you must ask yourself these questions: 1) How practical is your program? Can it be done within the confines of your physical environment, available equipment and amount of time allotted to train? Can it meet the varying needs of all the individuals in your program in respect to developing the Basic Conditioning and teaching of the Basic Technical Model? 2) Does the training fit the people you are coaching or are you trying to make the athletes fit the training? Can you develop different levels of conditioning activities to challenge different levels of fitness and talent? Can you pre-test athletes in order to group them according to the fitness levels most common to your group of athletes? 3) Do you have alternate plans to address situations you might encounter? Can you spend more time teaching a beginning group while intermediate and advanced groups have specific activities that can be accomplished with the leadership of older athletes? Some very wise person wrote “What is crucial is not the technical ability, but the imagination in all of it’s applications”. As coaches, the more we study, read and educate ourselves in the scientific and technical areas of coaching, the better able we should be to “create” different ways of applying the knowledge we have. There is no “one size fits all” way to do anything. Each coach has to learn to master their own environment by applying the scientific principles of training in ways that “fit” their environment. This is the challenge; to grow as a coach in much the same manner as the athletes themselves. So, these are things to think about before sitting down and planning another Fall Conditioning Program. Do you really want to have Sprinters and Hurdlers run Cross Country? How many throwers do not compete in a Fall sport and if so, are there simple, additional things that might be beneficial for them to do that won’t interfere with their Fall Sport? What specific Bio-Motor Abilities need to be addressed in the training plans for sprinters/hurdlers and jumpers ? My next Blog will cover ways to develop specific Bio-Motor ability Circuits for Sprint/Hurdle/Jump types as well as provide examples of beginning, intermediate and advanced circuits to better meet the needs of the various fitness and talent levels of athletes specific to the high school ages.
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THE ROLE OF STRENGTH/POWER TRAINING IN SPRINT ACCELERATION

THE ROLE OF STRENGTH/POWER TRAINING

IN SPRINT ACCELERATION: PART ONE


In order for successful acceleration mechanics to be performed, the sprinter must execute a technically efficient and powerful start, so as to allow for the optimal body lean and posture necessary for a sound entry into the acceleration phase.

The role of Strength/Power Training in all phases of the sprint race cannot be underestimated. Any discussion of Acceleration Mechanics specific to teaching sprinters to properly execute the Acceleration Phase of the sprint race must take into account the relationship between proper mechanics and the strength/power required to do so.

In “The Mechanics of Sprinting and Hurdling” (Dr. R. Mann, self published, 2007), Dr. Ralph Mann points out several elemental relationships between strength and the ability to be more mechanically efficient or productive in the various areas/phases of the sprint race.

Dr. Mann cites three specific examples of this Strength/Mechanical Efficiency relationship affecting a proper Sprint Start and the ability to perform a successful acceleration phase.

1) Greater strength allows for the athlete to produce greater horizontal forces in the Start (pg. 52).

2) Greater horizontal force produced at the Start allows for the sprinter to stay lower at the Start (pg.52).

3) Success in the short sprint race is determined by the ability of the sprinter to generate great amounts of explosive strength at the proper time. (pg. 91).

Mann’s analysis of sprinters found that weaker athletes tend to “pop up” during the Start because lesser amounts of horizontal force produced at the Start creates the need for the athlete to move the center of gravity vertically in order to maintain balance.

Given the need for the “falling or leaning” body position to properly execute a successful acceleration phase, block start mechanics must be incorporated into the drills used in teaching proper acceleration mechanics.

Glen Mills, coach of Usain Bolt and many world-class sprinters, alluded to the role of strength in the acceleration phase (termed Drive by many coaches) in an interview where he echoed the statements by Dr. Mann; “…the athlete has to stay in the crouch position while developing maximum power. If the athlete does not have the strength to carry the drive phase long enough then it has to be aborted so he can go into the transition earlier.”

Incorporation of relevant MAXIMUM STRENGTH (also termed Static), EXPLOSIVE STRENGTH (also termed Dynamic) AND ELASTIC STRENGTH development exercises into the overall sprint-training program cannot be argued in view of the proven interdependence between Strength and the ability to optimally perform the proven principals of Sprint Mechanics in all phases of the short sprint race.

Since Part 4 of this Acceleration Article will deal with Elastic Strength (or Plyometric Training), this section will focus on Maximum Strength and Explosive Strength Training exercises proven to be relevant to proper execution of Start, Acceleration and Maximum Velocity phases of the sprint race.

Both Maximum Strength and Explosive Strength exercises must be used in order to address both Intramuscular and Intermuscular coordination factors. Through the proper mixing of Maximum and Explosive Strength exercises, Recruitment, Rate Coding and Synchronization can be optimally developed through use of exercises that coordinate the amount of force, speed of movement and precision of movement patterns applicable to effective sprint mechanics. Use of exercises that cover the entire Force-Velocity Curve, with an emphasis on moving the curve to left over time, cannot be done with a proper mix of Maximum, Explosive and Elastic Strength exercises.

There seems to be a considerable amount of confusion among coaches about the need for Maximum Strength exercises to be included with Explosive Strength exercises in the training of sprinters. The idea that lifting heavy loads in a relatively slow manner is of no use to the high speed movements of sprinters needs to revisited in light of the specific research findings provided in “Strength and Power in Sport”, (P.V. Komi, IOC Medical Commission, 1992). Some of these specific findings are listed below.

1) High threshold Fast Twitch Glycolytic (FTb) Muscle Units are NOT recruited UNTIL force exceeds 90% of Maximum Strength (pg. 250).

2) Training with high velocity movements increases high velocity strength (pg. 263).

3) The load to be overcome and the movement time are the main factors in developing Rate of Force Development. If the load to be overcome is light, IRFD (Initial Rate of Force Development) predominates. If the load to be overcome is high, then MRFD (Maximum Rate of Force Dev.) predominates. For movements with a duration of 250ms or less (sprinting), BOTH IRFD and MRFD are the main factors (pg. 381).

4) Maximal Strength and Power are not distinct entities. Maximum Strength is the basic quality that influences power performance (pg. 383).

5) Improvements in Power have been shown to result from high intensity strength training, jump training under increased stretching loads and movement specific exercises requiring muscular coordination training (pg. 384, 385).

6) The use of training methods involving, maximal and near maximal contractions, cause a remarkable increase in RFD accompanied by an increase in movement speed (pg. 392).

7) RFD directed training should take precedence in the Preparation Phases but not be completely eliminated at any time of the training year (pg. 392).


Understanding the neural adaptations to the various strength training methods will allow for an intelligent selection of specific exercises and their proper integration into the overall training plan of each individual.

Strength/Power Training Plans must address the training age of the individuals within the sprint group. Beginning/Novice sprinters require different considerations than Intermediate and Advanced athletes. For example, research shows that Maximum Strength increases will also lead to increases in Power and the ability to generate force at fast speeds, especially in less experienced athletes. Training plans for Beginning/Novice athletes should contain more emphasis on Maximum Strength development and the teaching of proper lifting mechanics.

PART TWO: IN FUTURE POSTING