CHAPTER 1 – THE MANY FORMS OF SPEED
High-speed running helps to excel an athlete as well as represents the frontline in humanity’s
battle against gravity
Speed – the process of overcoming gravity by harnessing energy w/ every part of your body and
directing that force at the ground to efficiently propel yourself in a specific direction through
space and time
oHappens on all three planes of motion simultaneously and requires multiple anatomical
systems to coordinate in unison
Mass-specific force
oStudy by Peter Weyand
Concluded that neither stride length nor frequency was the most important
factor in attaining max speed, but the amount of force an athlete can apply to
the ground w/ each foot strike compared to their relative body weight (aka
mass-specific force)
oGravity plays a factor in this – if you want to be fast, you need to be BOTH relatively light
AND strong
Contact time was also found to be an attributing factor
Top-speed velocity – determined by how fast you can apply large amounts of
force into the ground
Max force + minimum ground contact time
i.e. ground contact time for superelite runners is ~0.08 s
Elite sprinters are able to do that because in addition to being incredibly strong
for their relative body weight, they can create extreme levels of stiffness (what
Stu McGill calls “super stiffness”) across the tissues and joints in their legs at
ground strike and extend this stiffness through the hip complex and core to both
reduce energy leakage and get the most return
o“Father of Function” Gary Gray describes running as a chain reaction of co-contractions
that happens in three dimensions across multiple anatomical structures using the drivers
of ground reaction, gravity, mass, and momentum. Basically, running is a chain reaction
of reactive and proprioceptive events that starts below the ankle at the subtalar joint,
which unlocks the tibia and fibula and transfers energy up the chain through the knee
and hip joints
ohe ability to create super stiffness in the joints of the lower body in an extremely short
period of time is paramount to generating explosive levels of speed and reducing injury
risk
ohigh strength-to weight ratio and the ability to create super stiffness at ground contact in
the lower leg, hip, and core are the first factors to consider when looking at how to
improve an athlete’s speed.
What is speed?
oComes in many forms
Pure acceleration
Transitional acceleration
Max velocity
Deceleration
Multi-directional speed
CHAPTER 1 – THE MANY FORMS OF SPEED
oAcceleration – an increase in velocity over a given period of time
Two subcategories
Pure acceleration – process of initiating motion from a deadstart to
overcome the inertia of gravity
oVery strength dependent
Transitional acceleration – occurs when an athlete who is already
moving speeds up or rapidly changes direction and reaccelerates to
outmaneuver an opponent
Key component – body angle
When overcoming static inertia to rapidly accelerate, optimal form
involves
oLeaning body forward at ~45 degrees so that feet are behind
COM
oPropelling COM horizontally while punching downward w/
enough force to overcome gravity vertically
Force is being simultaneously applied in both horizontal and vertical
vectors that transition in a fluid way during the first 3-6 strides as speed
increases and the body becomes more upright
oMaximum velocity – the highest speed an athlete can achieve
The point where ground contact time (GCT) is so brief that all force is now
directed vertically into the ground to overcome gravity
Requires
Rapid cycling of the legs w/ minimal GCT
Neutral hips
Stiff, upright core that is balanced to minimize gravitational pull
Front-side leg action that allows thighs to come up high so it can fire
back into ground w/ max force
tudies show that world-class sprinters generate force into the ground at more
than 2.2 times their body weight, and amateur runners average around 1.8
times their body weight
max velocity sprinting provides unique benefits as a training stimulus when it
comes to enhancing overall athletic performance. In fact, there is a growing
body of scientific evidence showing that maximum velocity sprinting not only
improves overall speed and agility in shorter distances but also helps reduce
soft-tissue injuries in the groin and hamstring
lso, while an elite track sprinter may take up to 60 meters to reach their
maximum velocity, most trained athletes will exceed 80 percent of their
maximum velocity within 20 meters
Ultimately, the goal is to create rapid pulses of tremendous stiffness for
extremely short periods of time punctuated just as quickly by extreme levels of
relaxation.
oDeceleration – how fast you can slow down
High-speed deceleration and the ability to control your center of gravity are
paramount to executing rapid changes of direction and minimizing injury risk
CHAPTER 1 – THE MANY FORMS OF SPEED
As a motor skill, deceleration comes down to being able to safely lower your
center of gravity and manage the load with tremendous amounts of control so
you can explode back out of it or come to a safe stop at the end of an effort
Gravitational braking forces experienced by a decelerating athlete can be up to
2x BW
Eccentric strength and anterior chain strength BOTH play big roles in
safe deceleration
roper deceleration form involves lowering your center of mass and getting
behind it. This means shortening up your strides and getting your feet in front of
your center of gravity so you can quickly gain control over your momentum. The
arms help maintain your center of balance by countering the braking forces
created by flexion in the hips, knees, and ankles
oMultidirectional speed – a quick change of trajectory in any horizontal direction
The difference b/w being fast and being quick
hile it involves the basic elements of acceleration and linear speed—which is to
say powerful force production, proper posture and body angle, and the ability to
create rapid pulses of stiffness and relaxation—training for multidirectional
speed is more complex and dependent on the sport or position. It requires a
refined focus on skill-specific timing, movements, and pattern recognition.
roper change of direction (COD) form involves maintaining a low athletic
position with a slight amount of flexion in the hips, knees, and ankles with joint
angles that are bent just enough to enable optimal force transmission and fast
reacceleration
Consists of 3 distinct subcategories that require different training
approaches/assessments
COD – a rapid, pre-planned COD/change of velocity
oAka cutting
oPrimarily an offensive tactic
oThe athlete is in control of executing the neurological motor
programs of movement (motor engrams)
oMechanics of COD – three phases
Braking/decelerating – muscles primarily contract
eccentrically
Planting/transition – isometric
Reacceleration/conversion – concentric
Agility – COD/velocity in response to an external sensory stimulus
oReactive, unplanned, cognitive, and requires the ability to both
rapidly read visual/audio cues and response w/ appropriate
countermovements in the blink of an eye
oPrimarily a defensive tactic
oInvolves a number of multidimensional factors
Visual scanning
Pattern recognition
Decision making
CHAPTER 1 – THE MANY FORMS OF SPEED
Highly tuned NS w/ acute reaction speed
Maneuverability – ability to manage angular momentum of your body at
discrete angles
oCombines elements of top speed and agility
oAbout managing your COG while applying slight shifts in body
angle, movement tempo, and trajectory in response to a
stimulus
oTakes a higher level of foot, ankle, and hip stability compared to
traditional sprinting
ot relies on super stiffness in lower-body joints, a high level of
joint resilience, and three-dimensional spatial awareness
(proprioception) that allows you to know how fast you can go
based on the angle of the curve. The best way to develop this
skill is to actually do curve running, which not enough athletes
do
Speed-specific warm-ups
oA speed-specific warm-up is not just about increasing body temperature, getting the
tissues and joints lubricated, and getting blood flowing. It’s also an opportunity to hone
your skill set and refine neuromuscular coordination by working fundamental speed
techniques, postures, and drills into the routine
oBegin w/ general warm up – prepares athlete for movement
Designed to activate areas of body essential for generating speed
Glutes
Core
Lats
important for sprinting and movement because those are the major muscle
groups that combine to make an integrated whole-body connection that
provides the stability needed to efficiently transfer force through the kinetic
chain.
oPhase 1 – Pre-warm up
Address any soft tissue restrictions and adhesions in the kinetic chain via use of
foam roller, lacrosse ball, etc
Direct pressure via self-myofascial release (SMR) can help increase fluid flow to
restricted areas due to tissue warming and changes in osmotic pressure, as well
as acutely increase joint ROM and decreased muscular perceived px
Next step – get core, glutes, and lats engaged
i.e. the “McGill Big Three” – the McGill curl up, the side plank, and the
bird dog
Core activation warm up is critical to safely the most out of any speed
specific training program
oPhase 2 – general active dynamic warm up (ADW)
Exercises that help the body develop odd-position strength and overall shape
stability
CHAPTER 1 – THE MANY FORMS OF SPEED
Transitions into metabolic activation (via calisthenics or plyometrics) that
incorporate different jumping exercises and dynamic oscillating movements such
as jumping jacks
Stimulates NS, raises HR, increases core temperature, activates
anaerobic energy systems, and helps build local muscular endurance
oPhase 3 – speed specific active dynamic warm up
Focus on movements that necessitate the specific postures required for the
day’s objectives
Have athletes do a progressive series of skill-based drills that slowly ramp up to
doing the actual skill itself
“Our warm-up is our workout”
The warm-up should incorporate movement-specific drills that are going to help
the athlete develop better form and build a more diverse set of neural pathways
related to that specific movement
Assessment of strength-to-weight ratio
oWhen you’re creating a speed-specific training program, you first need to determine an
athlete’s training age and his - tory and which type of athletic animal you’re dealing with
—whether that’s a lean, fascia-driven cheetah or a bigger, more muscle-driven rhino
oTraining programs need to be customized for each individual to get the best results
oAfter assessing the type of athlete (i.e. rhino or cheetah), assess their existing strength
relative to their body weight before creating a program
i.e. max pull ups, max DL/squat, max VJ
Pull ups – 12-15 reps w/ 20 being optimal target
DL/Squat – 2x BW good foundation w/ goal of reaching beyond (~2.5x BW)
Highly individualized base on body type, size, and weight
VJ – 26-28 in for baseline, w/ target goal of 30+ in
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