Resistance Training for Speed Development
Let’s get straight to the point. Acceleration and top speed running are different for several reasons. One such difference is technique. During acceleration your body position is leaning forward, your stride length is shorter and ground contact time is longer than during top speed running.
The differences are visually obvious and many coaches and athletes will devote a lot of time and attention to coaching specific techniques related to acceleration or top speed running.
However, what’s not totally obvious is the different contributions from muscle groups during acceleration and top speed running. Coaches and athletes often miss these crucial differences.
Now, during acceleration say a 10 – 20-m sprint, the quadriceps, gluteals and upper-body have a very important role to play in the development of force.
Whereas in top speed running, the hamstrings, gluteals and hip flexors have more of an important role to play than the other muscle groups.
Coaches often plan training programmes to focus on one specific aspect of training say, top speed running and at the same time programme resistance training.
What some coaches often forget is that the type of resistance training should compliment top speed running training. That is you should choose resistance training exercises that focus on the development of the hamstring, gluteals and hip flexors when training for top speed.
This relates both to the choice exercise and set-and rep scheme. Generation of high force is required during top speed running and resistance training should therefore focus upon developing high force muscular contractions.
For instance there is no point prescribing, 3 sets of 20 reps of bench press when 1) this rep and set scheme does not develop high force muscle contractions and 2) the exercise develops upper body strength which has less of a contribution to top speed running.
So what resistance exercises are best for developing the muscle used during acceleration?
Squats, power cleans (from floor), push press, sled sprints (medium load), and incline sprints (medium incline).
And for top speed?
Romanian Deadlift, Good mornings, Bounding for distance, Single leg squats and lunges to name a few.
All these exercises should be used with a rep scheme from 1 – 6 and sets between 3 – 5 depending upon your training experience.
So when planning your training, make sure that whatever your major goal is you choose exercises that compliment the attainment of this target. Get specific and analyse the movements and contribution of muscle groups.
If your serious about improving your speed then you’ll find all the information you need and more in the excellent special report training for speed, power and strength. Click on the link to order your copy now!
PeakSpeed.net, helping you break the speed limit.
Alan Ruddock CSCS, YCS
 | Author: | alan_ruddock (alan_ruddock's profile, alan_ruddock's blog) |
 | Posted On: | Sunday, 21st October '07, 10:28pm |
 | Tags: | Rugby, Soccer Training, Speed Training, Sprinting, Training and Training Programs |
 | Comments: | 19 comments, go to comments |
Comments
human body
The human body is amazing. Just look at all these people doing things I find as impossible but still they're doing them in a very natural way. Almost looks easy...We have very fast runners, high jumpers, parcours fans (like the Yamakasi guys), all sort of combat like karate, weight pulling and many more. Nothing is impossible if the body is well trained. We've all seen "boneless" people at the circus or in all sort of shows. They do train since they are very small in order the get so elastic.
Resistance training has two
Resistance training has two different, sometimes confused meanings - a more broad meaning that refers to any training that uses a resistance to the force of muscular contraction (better termed strength training), and elastic or hydraulic resistance, which refers to a specific type of strength training that uses elastic or hydraulic tension to provide this resistance. This article discusses the more limited definition, of elastic/hydraulic resistance training.
Resistance training
Resistance training increases muscle strength by pitting the muscles against a weight, such as a dumbbell or barbell. The muscle cells adapt to the extra workload by enlarging (hypertrophy) and recruiting greater numbers of nerve cells to aid contraction. Understanding the principles of muscle contraction can help you reach your musculoskeletal (muscle and skeleton) fitness goals faster.
Alright here's the deal.
Alright here's the deal. There's a difference between a beginner and advanced trainee. There's a difference between taking your squat from 150 to 300 lbs and taking your squat from 300 lbs to 600 lbs.
Resistance exercise doesn't
Resistance exercise doesn't mean resistance to exercise! Instead, it's a type of exercise that has gained popularity over the last decade or so as researchers discover the many benefits it has to offer. It's so mainstream at this point that the American College of Sports Medicine, the governing body for exercise in the United States, has included it in its recommendations for all Americans since 1998. In this article, all that you need to know about resistance exercise will be presented: what it is, how it works, how to prevent injury, some of the most popular resistance exercises, and a general resistance-exercise plan.
Resistance training
Resistance training increases muscle strength by pitting the muscles against a weight, such as a dumbbell or barbell. The muscle cells adapt to the extra workload by enlarging (hypertrophy) and recruiting greater numbers of nerve cells to aid contraction. Understanding the principles of muscle contraction can help you reach your musculoskeletal (muscle and skeleton) fitness goals faster.
speed endurance
Many athletes must maintain a high velocity for longer than 6 seconds or produce repeated sprints with minimal rest periods in between.
Resistance
Resistance training
strengthens bones, joints, and muscles. Perform resistance training three times per week, resting one to two days before working the same muscles again. For each exercise, choose weights at which you can do one to three sets of 10 to 20 repetitions.
thank you,
There is a lot of confusion
There is a lot of confusion as to the right steps to take in starting a resistance training program. The following is for those people who have their aerobic workouts, but do not have an anaerobic workout. If you need a jumpstart to a resistance training routine, then this is it.
Resistance training will
Resistance training will increase the muscle size (hypertrophy). Muscle growth depends on the muscle fibre type activated and the pattern of recruitment. Muscle growth is due to one or more of the following adaptations:
* Increased contractile proteins (actin & myosin)
* Increased number of and size of myofibrils per muscle fibre
cheers,