There are two main phases of sprinting that you need to concern yourself with as an athlete's strength and conditioning coach. These are acceleration, the time and distance in which the athlete starts at zero velocity and builds up to their top speed, and max velocity which is the time and distance where the athlete holds their top speed before they begin to slow down due to fatigue. When coaching field athletes, our primary concern will be to maximize acceleration ability. This is because most field sports will be played in this acceleration phase with rapid changes of direction interrupting these phases of acceleration. Most of the time athletes will not have the time or enough uninterrupted space in order to reach their top speeds. However, this does not mean that longer distance sprints should not be trained for athletes since these offer some unique physiological benefits that we might not be able to get elsewhere. Remember, we are not high level sprint coaches who are working with track and field athletes, so our sprinting form does not have to be perfect. Most of the time the athletes you are training will not have the ability to keep this perfect form because of the nature of their sports. There are a couple key technique points that we will go over for each phase in order to get the most out of our sprint training.
Acceleration
As mentioned before, acceleration is going from zero to your top speed as fast as possible. When it comes to sprint training, this is where you will spend the majority of your time with your athletes. There are four main points of technique that we want to be aware of when we are coaching shorter distance sprints. First, we want to make sure we are hitting the ground with a positive shin angle, which means knee out over the toe. If we hit the ground with a negative shin angle, knee behind toe, the athlete is applying a braking force every time they hit the ground. This actually causes the athlete to slow down every step, and makes sprinting very inefficient. This negative shin angle is also a very common way for the athlete to pull their hamstring. While sprinting with this negative shin angle, the athlete is moving at high speeds and landing with their hamstring as stretched out as possible, which is the most vulnerable position for the muscle to be in. Add on top of that high loads and forces due to sprinting and it is a recipe for a pulled hamstring. In tandem with this positive shin angle, we want the torso of the athlete to be in a forward leaning position, close to a 45 degree angle, and for the athlete’s chin to be tucked down. These technique points allow the athlete to apply force back into the ground more effectively since there is more horizontal force application during the acceleration phase. If the athlete is too upright then energy will be wasted propelling the athlete vertically. While we know that we do not want the athlete to have their head down during a game, what this does is reinforce the proper body position of the athlete, and allows us to maximize the force application into the ground. This in turn will maximize the training effect of the sprints that you are programming. Lastly, focus on the athlete’s forward arm swing. Thinking about throwing uppercuts while the athlete is sprinting will help the athlete overcome their own inertia. This will also help increase stride length during this phase. During acceleration, the athlete will have a longer ground contact time. This will increase the time the athlete has to put force into the ground, and help increase stride length.
Shorter distance sprints and weighted sprints are used to work on acceleration. If the goal of these sprints is to improve the athletes maximum outputs, then they should be programmed at the start of the workout when the athlete is the most fresh. The sprints should have full recovery in between each set in order to maximize the performance of each sprint. Most commonly acceleration should be focused on before the athletes lower body lifts. This will prime them for heavier lower body lifts later on in that session. However, this will really depend on how many times the athlete is training each week, where this focus fits best in your program, and the time of year. For example, a highly trained football player in their preseason might have a whole day that is just dedicated to acceleration training instead of doing it at the start of a lower workout. Figure out what works best for your program. Volume is important to keep track of for sprint training, and just like with the weights, progression can be made by increasing the overall volume from week to week. This increase in volume can be a way that you better prepare the athletes muscles, tendons, and ligaments for the high force outputs and speeds you will see for their sport. The volume of sprints done will be measured in total distance covered, most often in total yards covered in each session. The amount of yards sprinted will depend on how trained or untrained the athlete is. For example, out of shape athletes might start with 2-3 sets of 10 yard sprints at the start of the workout, while athletes that have been training for a while might do 100-200 yards of sprints in a session, possibly more. Start on the lower end and build up. In order to truly perform speed training, full rest should be taken between sets in order to ensure quality, speed, of each sprint. However, a lot of field sports do not allow for full recovery between plays. Sprints can be used in order to condition an athlete to the specific demands on their sport. This can be done by performing the same acceleration exercises with rest that mimics what they will get during their game. Make sure you know the differences between working on an athlete's maximum outputs and operational outputs, and what time of year should each be focused on more.
There are many ways to work acceleration. Short sprints, with all sorts of starting positions, are some of the most specific ways to build this adaptation. Sprints 20 yards or shorter will generally be used since, after this distance, the athlete begins to transition to max velocity and the form changes. Since acceleration has a longer ground contact time then max velocity, muscular strength becomes even more important. So any form of lower body strength training can increase an athlete's acceleration ability, especially for a beginner athlete. Sled pushes have great transfer over to acceleration since the sled allows the athlete to get into the proper joint angles and strengthen the lower body at these specific angles. Sled resistance or other forms of resisted sprints, done for short distances, will help teach the athlete to put more force into the ground and therefore help acceleration ability. Resisted jumps also have great carry over to acceleration. These will allow the athlete to increase their rate of force development with their lower body, and this increased ground contact time, compared to a depth jump, increases the demand of muscular strength, which mimics the needs of acceleration.
Acceleration Exercises
1. Push Up To Sprint
2. Falling Sprint
3. Jump-Back Sprint
4. Half Kneeling Sprint
5. Sled Push Sprint
6. Sled Resisted Sprint
7. Falling Med Ball Throw Sprint
8. Crouched Med Ball Throw Sprint
9. Side Start Sprints
10. Mountain Climber Sprint
11. Hill Sprints
12. Heavy Sled Push/ Sled Drag
13. Lower Body Weight Training- Squats/ Lunges/ Bulgarian/Deadlifts/ Core
14. “Slow” (Or Resisted) Jumps
Max Velocity
If the athletes who you are working with are in good condition, there is no reason to not implement longer distance sprints in order to work top velocity. These will really test and develop the athlete's maximum outputs. In this context, good condition would refer to an athlete having a period of time in their training in which sprint volume was gradually built so their muscles and soft tissue would be prepared for sprinting. The technical points that we are looking at during max velocity are often the opposite of what we are looking for during acceleration. There is more vertical force application during max velocity then acceleration, and because of this the athlete’s foot will strike closer to right underneath their center of mass during each step. This will lead to a more upright posture and forward looking head position. The athlete should now focus on their backwards arm swing. This will help propel themselves forward since a powerful backswing will lead to a powerful extension of the contralateral glute and hamstring. The natural stretch-reflex of the pec and anterior shoulder will help the arm snap back forward for the next swing. Finally the ground contact time will be much shorter than during acceleration.
If the athlete is in good enough shape, then max velocity can again be worked on before a lower body workout, or can be done as a stand alone workout. Where you place this in the program depends on all of the same factors as acceleration. However, max velocity tends to be harder to recover from since the outputs, effort, and forces are so much higher than during acceleration, so this must be considered. The athlete needs to perform longer distance sprints in order to have the distance to reach max velocity in. Generally the athlete will need 30-40 + yards in order to actually hit this phase of sprinting. Because of this distance, the intensity of each sprint will be much higher. Just like with weight training, intensity and volume tend to have an inverse relationship with one another. So while 100 yards of acceleration based sprints, like 10 sets of 10 yards, might not be too bad for the athlete, 100 yards of longer distance sprints, for example 2 sets of 30 yards and 1 40 yard sprint, might be all that the athlete could handle on a certain day. While you can still look to progress the volume of max velocity sprints throughout your program, make sure that this is not at the expense of the intensity of each sprint. So if the athletes' times are dropping off too drastically, generally anything below 90-95 percent of their fastest sprint time at that distance for that day, don’t be afraid to cut the sets short. In order to get the right adaptations the athlete needs to be moving at the highest speeds they can, and other than that the sprints might not be eliciting the right adaptations. Just like with acceleration, if you are working on maximum outputs then full recovery is needed between sets. The higher the athletes outputs, faster sprint times, the more recovery they will need in order for their CNS to recover. Work to rest ratios can be anywhere from 1:30 to 1:70 depending on how elite the athlete is. Longer distance sprints can be used for conditioning too, just like acceleration, by cutting down on the rest between sets and making it more game-like. However, if you are going to perform longer distance sprints for conditioning then it should be because the athlete you are working with will actually see these distances in a game. For example, a wide receiver runs for farther distances on average each play then a lineman, so it would not make sense to condition a lineman with longer distance sprints. Another aspect to remember is that if you are going to perform longer distance sprints, that normally would allow an athlete to reach max velocity, adding incomplete rest will automatically reduce the velocity the athlete is moving at due to fatigue. Technically, these longer distance sprints will not be max velocity anymore because of this. True max velocity training can only take place if the athlete’s outputs are as high as possible for them. Max velocity training is very stressful on athletes. One way to introduce an athlete to longer distance sprints is to have them do a “rolling” start. This is when the athlete builds up speed for a certain distance before going all out in a sprint. For example, jogging or skipping for a 20 yard build up and then going into a 30 yard sprint before slowing down. This tends to be less intense than going all out at the start of a sprint, and allows for an athlete’s body to get used to longer distances.
There are fewer substitute exercises that mimic the training adaptations of max velocity sprints compared to acceleration. However, all other training from shorter sprints, to strength training, to weighted jumps can be used to prepare the body for the forces that are experienced during true max velocity training. These exercises can be looked at as supplemental exercises that get the athlete ready for future high speed training. In order to mimic similar training adaptations to max velocity sprints the athlete needs to be moving at very fast speeds. This is because our tendons and ligaments are primarily made of collagen which is a viscoelastic material. This means that at slower speeds they are very malleable and can be easily shaped. However, at high velocities our tendons and ligaments become very stiff in order to maximize force transfer across these structures. So the only way to truly elicit this training adaptation is to move at high velocities. The closest form of exercise that we can get, other than sprints, is depth drops. These jumps, and other shock method exercises, use gravity to accelerate the athlete at high speeds, which can mimic the velocity properties needed to get ready for high speed training. So all sorts of shock exercises can get the body ready for high speed training and properly condition the tendons and ligaments. Another way to mimic this high velocity training is to use bands on your primary or supplemental exercises. The bands cause overspeed-eccentrics, they shoot the athlete down into the bottom position of the lift. A high speed of movement, during eccentric movement, leads to an increased force demand on the athlete, and the high speed leads to an increased stiffness of the athlete's soft tissue. So while these speeds won’t totally mimic the speeds seen at max velocity, it can be used to prepare the athlete for future training.
Max Velocity Exercises
1. Flying Sprints
2. Rolling (Skipping, Jogging, Side Shuffle, etc) Sprints
3. Longer Distance Sprints (20-30 Yards +)
4. Shock Method (Depth Jumps-Vertical and Horizontal, Depth Drops, Bounding, etc.)
5. Use Of Bands (Overspeed Eccentrics) On Lifts.
6. Supplemental Lifts (weightlifting, jumping, acceleration sprints, skipping, jump rope, etc.)
By Coach Joe
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