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I. Introduction
The following principles are based on the latest research on developing speed and power in athletes as related by Dr. Ben
Tabachnik, former chief of Scientific Research for the Russian
Olympic Team.
Dr. Tabachnik comments that, while America is far ahead of the rest of the world in it's athletic talent pool and in it's sports skills instruction, it lags far behind countries like Russia in it's athletic training techniques.
Most American coaches and trainers are either self-taught or learned from other coaches and athletes. Russian training principles are based on scientific research.
The biggest criticism Dr. Ben has about the way Americans
train is that we train too hard. We try to do too much in a workout, we do not allow enough rest in between sprints, and we try to do everything at once. We will be working on sprints in the same workout as a 2 to 3 mile run. We do not fully recover between sprints so we do not train at maximum speed. We will run 220's and 150's which do nothing for speed and think we are doing a sprint workout. (They are great for endurance but when was the last time a lacrosse player or football player ran 220 yards in a game). We will run sprints after practice when we are tired or after we lift or after we run 2 to 3 miles. We will not take enough days off for rest and recovery.
Dr. Ben also feels Americans put too much emphasis on strength and not enough on speed and power. He asks why all pro teams have strength coaches, but none have speed coaches or power coaches.
He also feels Americans train like bodybuilders and not 1ike athletes. (The squat is a strength exercise, the power clean, by its name, is a power exercise. How many of you do power cleans!)
With that introduction, keep in mind that, while many of these ideas contradict traditional American training principles, they are based on the latest scientific research and will achieve optimum results.
II. Overview of Scientific Research on Speed and Power Training
- There are two types of speed. Start acceleration and maximum speed.
- Start acceleration is the ability to start quickly.
- Maximum speed is the top speed you can reach once you hit full speed.
- The principle of specificity of training states that you should train specifically for what you are trying to achieve... if you are trying to develop speed, train for speed... if you are trying to develop endurance, train for endurance.
- Using the principle of specificity of training, never run more than 1O-30 yards when working on start acceleration, never run more than 80 yards when working on maximum speed.
- When working on speed, never run more than 400-550 yards in an entire workout. Any more than this, and you start working more on endurance and less on speed.
- It is important to give a maximum effort for each sprint. This means you must recover fully between sprints. Take the following intervals between these distances:
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10-20 Yards |
1.5-2 minutes |
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30-40 Yards | 3-4 minutes |
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50-60 Yards | 4-5 minutes |
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80 Yards | 6-8 minutes |
- There are two types of exercises, general and specific.
- General exercises are, by their name, general in nature and are performed to develop a good fundamental fitness base.
- 2. Specific exercises are exercises designed for a specific sport.
When starting out, 90-100% of your exercises will be
general. The enclosed program is largely general. Over time you
will go from 90% general-10% specific to 50% general-50% specific to 25% general-75% specific. Olympic athletes are at 25% general and 75% specific.
- A program should be implemented in phases. Each phase
should be about 12 weeks. The enclosed recommendations are a
twelve week program.
- A general level of fitness is assumed. If you struggle with the recommended program, you may need to perform a two week general fitness program of distance running and weight training, alternating days six days a week with one day of rest.
III. Speed Training Guidelines
- Train for speed and quickness twice a week. A good schedule would be Tuesday-Thursday.
- Always be fresh when you train for speed. Train for speed first, and then practice your sport.
- Go lighter in your skill training on the days you train
for speed.
- If you can't get it done in 1/2 hour to 45 minutes, you can't get it done.
- Do not include any distance running. You want to be a
sprinter, not a distance runner! (Specificity of training).
IV. Strength Training Guidelines
- Train generally in your strength training sessions. You want to be an athlete, not a body builder.
- Never do the same program (exercises) two workouts in a row. If you do, you will tend to start to become muscle-bound.
- Train for strength two to three times a week. If you are a basketball player, twice a week is enough. If you are a football player, three times is better. A good schedule would be Monday-Wednesday-Friday.
- Train the whole body starting with the large muscle groups (chest, back, shoulders, hips, thighs) and working to the smaller muscle groups (biceps, triceps, calves, abs).
- Do two sets for each exercise. (Football players might want to do three sets of exercises for the large muscle groups such as the bench or squats).
- Do two exercises per body part for the upper body.
- Do 8-12 reps per set.
- Do two upper body exercises and then one lower body exercise.
- Rest completely, 2-3 minutes between exercises. This is
important. You want to handle maximum weight and to do so you must be fresh for each set.
- As much as possible, try to practice your sport after you work out to maintain your flexibility for that sport. This is especially important for basketball players.
*Note: If you are strength training in the off-season, you
can train three times a week, even as a basketball player. You
would never do the same exercises two workouts in a row and at
least one day a week the entire workout would consist of exercises handling your body weight. This would include push-ups, sit-ups, dips, chins, wide arm behind the neck pull ups, etc. No weights! This includes football, players!
V. Principles of Speed and Power Training
- The three joints involved in sprinting are the ankle, the knee and the hip. For acceleration, all three must push forward from a starting position. Emphasis must be placed on the ankle joint because it is the first joint to come into contact with the ground. You can dramatically improve speed and power by increasing the possibility of pain and injury in these two areas.
- You can increase ankle strength and flexibility simply by the way you run or walk. Jog in a prancing motion, much like a horse. Walk with a bounce in your step, sort of "bopping" along.
- Jogging in a prancing motion should be part of every warmup.
- Rhythmic, ballistic stretching is better than static
stretching, especially at the beginning of a workout. After jogging, perform large, sweeping, rhythmic motions such as arm circles, hip circles, neck rolls, single leg swings and even controlled jumping jacks. If you do any static stretching, it should be done at the end of the workout only.
- "Shake out" your legs and arms between all intervals and
sets to keep loose. Shake out between points, games, time-outs and
other breaks in the action of any competition. This will help you
stay fresh.
- Perform all speed and power sets and intervals at maximum speed or effort. In other words, fully recover between intervals or sets so you can move at top speed or perform at maximum effort. Speed and power, training are the greatest examples of specificity of training. If you are training for speed, you must move at top speed. Otherwise, you are really training for endurance. If you want to move at top speed, you must be fully recovered. The same is true for the exercises to develop power.
- The arms and legs are interconnected. If you move your
arms quickly, your legs will move quickly. Therefore, pump your
arms vigorously to increase speed.
- Always train for speed or power before any additional
training session, practice or workout.
- Whenever possible, perform all track exercises on grass.
- Rest and recovery are as important as the training sessions. Try to get a massage or use a sauna regularly. Take one day a week completely off from any physical training or workout.
- Emphasis should be on developing strength and flexibility in the ankle joint.
- Use jogging as a warm-up.
- Jog ball-heel-toe first.
- Jog heel-ball-toe second.
- You can actually increase strength and flexibility by
walking around with a bounce in your step, rolling through the ankle joint.
- Shake out legs, arms, shoulders and ankles whenever possible, especially during breaks between exercises, breaks between
drills and between points during a match.
- Pump arms vigorously for greater speed. Elbows should move
forward and backward as far as possible.
- When in doubt, take more rest, not less.
- To start quickly, push forward with all three joints of
the leg (ankle, knee, hip) and pump arms vigorously.
- Stretch between each exercise.
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