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Simple Speed Solution by Jason FerruggiaSimple Speed Solution
To run faster. Your mission? To find the most simplistic and efficient way of doing so. Why? Because why in the hell would you ever want to overcomplicate things? Oh, wait. I know why. We live in the age of overcomplicating things. It’s a way of life, a FaceBook status update, a YouTube video, a way for a strength coach to seem smarter than he is. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Improving your running speed can actually be quite simple. Firstly, you need to get stronger. You run faster by improving the amount of force to which you can apply to the ground. We can discuss tons of other factors and analyze stride rate and stride frequency and all that but I really believe that getting stronger is at the top of the list for most athletes who are not yet at an elite level. Once you are playing ball at a Division I school or beyond I think it’s safe to say that a variety of other factors should be addressed and we can get pretty intricate and detailed with the speed training. But for everyone else let’s keep it simple and focus on the basics, first and foremost.
How to Get Stronger No one would argue that the back squat is the best lower body exercise there is. Right? Right. So now you need to get stronger on it. If your squat goes up, meaning you’re getting stronger, you will then be able to apply more force to the ground, and thus run faster. Simple enough. Let’s start with just the back squat as our only strength training exercise. Do it once every 5-7 days and work up to a top end set of 5 reps. That’s it. That’s your entire strength training workout. When you can no longer make progress with the 5’s take a week off or deload then start back up again with 3’s.
Assistance Exercises
Think it’s not enough? Charlie Francis had Ben Johnson do something very similar when he was setting world records back in the late 80’s. Following this template Ben squatted 600 for 4 reps weighing 175 pounds. You think a 175 pound guy who can do that isn’t going to be fast? He also benched 365 for 3 at the same weight. Yes, he was on steroids and got caught, but focusing on that is missing the point. Getting stronger leads to getting faster. That’s the point. For the sake of simplicity you could do nothing but squat, or you could add in an upper body press with similar loading parameters and a pull up variation. The key is to maximize strength gains while doing as little as possible to impede your recovery.
Speed Work As hard as it is to believe in the age of space age clown workouts, that’s all many people will need to do to get faster.
All the Other Stuff Good questions and all are useful tools at the right time for the right person. But you always want to start with the least. Since we know that strength is an important factor in increasing speed let’s just start with squats and take it from there. I know most of you won’t be convinced and will want to add more so we’ll address the possible additions to this ultra basic training program. Single Leg Exercises- These days a great number of strength coaches include single leg work in an athletes program for a number of different reasons. Strength aint one of them. At least it shouldn’t be. Single leg work will never improve your big lifts, so if you’re already squatting there is nothing to be gained strength wise from adding single leg work. The only benefits of these exercises will be seen by those athletes who have severe imbalances from one leg to the other or have major flexibility/ mobility issues and could benefit from the bottom positions of Cossack and elevated split squat variations. Posterior Chain Assistance Exercises- Everybody knows that power and speed is primarily generated from the posterior chain. So, of course, it makes sense to train these muscles. Remember, though, if you’re already squatting deep you’re taking care of the glutes and hamstrings and the lower back is getting a workout as well. Therefore you need to think twice before adding in glute ham raises, back extensions, reverse hypers, pull throughs or swings. Like the single leg exercises these will not bring up your big lifts dramatically unless you are a very advanced lifter squatting with the proficiency and strength of Chuck Vogelpohl. If you suck as squats you need to squat more. There is no such thing as weak point training when you’re squatting under 315. Everything is weak. Just squat. Maybe you feel you want to focus on the posterior chain just a little bit more so as a compromise you choose the trap bar deadlift as your main strength lift instead of the squat. I have no problem with that whatsoever. Either way, you don’t need to go crazy on assistance work and may not need any at all. Olympic Lifts- Snatches are one of my all time favorite exercises. I also love a wide variety of pull variations and believe they can be of great benefit to an athlete. However, if you’re already running sprints twice a week you’re doing some form of explosive power/ speed work. So adding more of it right off the bat might not be necessary. Jumps and Throws- The same thing that goes for the Olympic lifts goes for jumps and throws.
Focus on Minimalism In time, and only after a plateau has been reached, your two sets of squats or trap bar deads workout can become this:
And then this:
And then this:
And then this: Milk each progression for all it’s worth and don’t add anything more to the mix unless it’s absolutely necessary. Whatever you do, don’t add more to the workout just for the sake of making it more fun or making yourself look smarter as a coach. I know it’s hard to do but it’s the right thing to do. Results are what matters most in the end. In one summer I had two college football players put 90 and 110 pounds on their squats respectively and set new PR’s on the 40. They did two sets each of squats, single leg work and glute hams (both done mainly for prehab purposes). That was it for their strength training. Because they weren’t getting tested on cleans and had very little experience with them we opted to go without Olympic lifts for the summer. They did low volume linear speed and change of direction work on two other days with plyos and quickness/ movement efficiency drills at the beginning of each session. All of the methods and exercises listed above have merit and there is a time and place for each of them. Eventually the programming can get even more complicated and there are other things to consider. Before adding more to the pot or making things more complex than they need be however, consider the fact that running faster comes down to a few basic things:
- Getting Stronger All of these things can be done quite easily and with less than most people think. Don’t try to do everything at once and take things in steps. The longer I’m in the game the more simplistic my training gets. And thus the more effective it becomes. As William of Occam said in Occam’s Razor, “It is futile to use more to achieve what can be done with less.”
Submitted by DMorgan on Sun, 03/06/2011 - 1:29pm. | Related Articles |
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