Speed Education

Eating less and eating healthy is no easy task. You are competing against a stacked deck prepared by wise food manufacturers and their marketing experts. Research shows that the brain is activated by thoughts of foods high in sugar, fat and salt. In fact, brain activation continues until the entire plate of candy, ice cream or potato chips have all disappeared. Add great packaging, art work, smell, taste, and the right words or script and you are receiving powerful cues to eat often, even when you are not hungry, and to overeat until the food disappears.

by Jim Hiserman, C.S.C.S

The recent article on 400/800 lactate tolerance workouts for 400 sprinters brings up the differing opinions of SHORT TO LONG vs. LONG TO SHORT philosophies.

I am currently consulting former athletes who are now in the “higher volume, shorter rests, slower speeds builds strength” type programs. While the concept of “building speed/strength endurance” through this method of training for 400 meters has been strengthened by the Clyde Hart approach, it is necessary to re-visit the PROVEN PRINCIPLES of Speed Development that apply to the 400 meters as well.

Stegeman (1981, p. 277) proposed that speed can be improved by strength training and by improving coordination with practice. This is the transfer of training effects hypothesis, that is, as capacities are altered they can be reeducated into movements in a sport which will result in performance improvements. For speed training the argument is as follows. The greater the load on an individual muscle, the slower will be the contractile velocity of that muscle.

Irena Szewinska, the legendary world record breaker and Olympic champion of Poland, presents a detailed year’s sprint training program in five main phases and their tasks for female sprinters.

Morrissey, M. C., Harman, E. A., & Johnson, M. J. (1995). Resistance training modes: Specificity and effectiveness. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 27, 648-660.

Research on various types of resistance training and research findings were reviewed. The authors were prepared to offer opinions based on the strength of collective studies.

By Harry Marra, Former US National Decathlon Team Coach,
There is no question about it! The stronger you are the faster you will be able to run. It’s as simple as that!! Does that mean that the strongest man in the world can be the fastest man in the world? Let’s take a closer look at strength training for speed improvement.

By Günter Tidow, The first two parts of this article illustrate the strength requirements for high level athletics and explain the various aspects of strength and their respective influence on an athlete’s performance. The last part deals with the use and effectiveness of a selection of strength training methods.

The sprint is determined by the ability to accelerate, the magnitude of maximal velocity and the ability to maintain velocity against the onset of fatigue. For the sprint coach it is important to have  objective information concerning, horizontal velocity, in the different phases of sprinting and the key mechanisms to these different phases.

By Bernie Dare & Beverly Kearney

This article presents a well-designed year-long periodized program geared toward the American collegiate season. The program is structured so that sprinting receives the highest priority, with all other elements subservient. Dare and Kearney at this time were assistant coaches in the women’s track program at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville.

In most every sport, speed is an important factor for success on the field, court, or otherwise. The following speed program is quite simple in nature, emphasizing proper technique as the key to improvement. Speed has been defined as: Stride Length x Stride Frequency. To improve speed you must take the components of running and improve the time/distance of that movement, or increase the power generated by that movement. Speed is a combination of a number of things such as power, endurance, flexibility, and adaptability.