Everything You Need to Know About Speed Training

Since the dawn of man, speed has been highly sought after.Whether it involved a hunter taking down a wildebeest, man outmaneuvering the enemy on the battlefield, or an athlete burning up the turf against an opponent, speed has had many faces.

There is no question that all of these scenarios demand the quality of speed. Speed is a physical characteristic that excites us. It makes us stand up and cheer, it saves lives, and it is something man is always working to improve in one form or another.

The Definition of Speed

In looking at building on athletic speed, we first must recognize what methods are most efficient in developing it in the first place. In order to do this, we need to understand the definition of speed. Speed involves increasing the rate at which an athlete can perform a certain task.

Strength Is the Foundation of Speed

Strength is at the foundation of building speed. The more efficient we are at building strength and mastering control of the body, the better we will be at escalating skillful movement. Once an athlete is able to perform a task with greater ability, he or she can then do so at a faster rate. This is the definition of power. Power can be referred to asstrength speed.

Now, I understand that certain lifts, movements, and drills can be performed at a faster rate in order to produce power output. But none of this can be done without the athlete first having built a foundation of strength in order to perform the most elementary exercises relating to strength. In other words, a novice needs to master the ability to properly perform movements such as push ups, squats, and dead-hang pull ups before trying to grab a bar to perform clean and jerks

"The more efficient we are at building strength and mastering control of the body, the better we will be at escalating skillful movement."

Additionally, strength is a necessary component and a key mechanism in helping an athlete obtain the specific speed elements of acceleration, deceleration, and lateral speed, as well as the ability to hit an efficient sprinting stride for linear speed during competitive athletic performance. Otherwise, a weak athlete may try to make a cut or abruptly stop on the field of play and fold up like a tent.

There are four types of speed that any versatile athlete must develop in order to be competitive:

• Acceleration Speed: From stop to go
• Deceleration Speed: From go to stop
• Lateral Speed: From side to side
• Linear Speed: Running in a straight line

Developing these different types of speed depends on a number of variables. But all these types of speed stem from the initial foundation of strength. Keep in mind this is only accomplished by placing proper stress on the body and subsequently producing specificity of a certain type of power output to foster the development of speed as it relates to these four given elements.

Enter Plyometrics

Plyometrics are exercises that produce short-burst, rapid muscular contractions. Jumping, skipping, and bounding are examples. The degrees of these drills can be varied in order to produce desired intensity and outcome.

The goal with plyometrics is to initiate the SSC (stretch shortening cycle) of the muscle and soft tissue in order to unleash the potential energy of the muscle for the desired physical outcome. As it relates to the four elements of speed, this is a valuable thing that allows us to acquire the trait of speed and multidirectional speed at a much faster rate. No pun intended!

Additionally, plyometrics condition the body to perform speed movements more efficiently, while also helping the body adapt to physical stress in order to become more resistant to injury. In a nutshell, if we are unconditioned to doing things quickly, then we may get hurt.

Enter Resisted Speed Training

When talking about true speed training, we want to force the body to work to move as quickly as possible. This may seem like an obvious application, but it’s not uncommon for coaches to get confused when attempting to apply this concept within a so-called speed-training model.

"When talking about true speed training, we want to force the body to work to move as quickly as possible."

To illustrate this, let’s take a look at a form of resisted speed training. Resisted speed training means that we add resistance to the athlete when performing a speed drill, but the athlete is still able to move with significant velocity. For example, an athlete running while dragging a sled attached to his or her center mass.

Imagine two different scenarios:

• Scenario #1:The athlete is attached to a sled with a harness. The sled is loaded with a fairly heavy load and the athlete drags the sled for a designated distance. With each stride, the athlete has to dig in his or her toes and gradually muscle his or her way down the running lane, dragging the sled behind in a struggling manner.
• Scenario #2:The athlete is attached to a sled with a harness. The sled is loaded with a weight that will add some resistance while still allowing the athlete to generate rapid velocity during the natural turnover of his or her running stride.

Scenario #1 makes for a pretty cool strength drill, but not such a good speed drill. With the trainee digging in and having to gradually muscle his or her way down the running lane, he or she is not producing any rapid movement specific for speed production due to the additional weight of the sled. Additionally, the SSC is not being initiated for the much needed production of power.

Remember, we defined speed as being able to increase the rate at which a task is being performed. Granted, you could argue the trainee is performing the heavy sled drags as quickly as he or she can. But the real question is, “Is he or she producing speed?”True resisted speed training is about the athlete being able to move the resistance with significant velocity.

Simply put, to be fast you must train fast. This is just the SAID principle (specific adaptations to imposed demands) being applied to the scenario. With the SAID principle in mind, Scenario #1 is good for training an athlete to drag heavy loads, while Scenario #2 is great for training the athlete to move resistance at a high velocity.

Enter Assisted Speed or Overspeed Training

Another method of speed development is the use of assisted speed training, also called overspeed training. This involves the use of tools such as bungees, cords, and even downhill running to assist the athlete in running or jumping at a rate faster than he or she is capable of on his or her own. These tools and methods assist the athlete in moving faster.

This assistance once again trains and stresses the body for the production of velocity. Assisted speed training can also aid in helping the athlete to accelerate and decelerate out of a stationary position, during movements involving the changing of direction, and with flat out being able to stop on a dime.

Don’t Misunderstand Speed Training

We can develop rapid velocity by properly applying the methods of resisted and assisted speed tactics. The important thing is that coaches should be able to recognize the purpose of these tactics within the overall speed-training strategy.

Unfortunately, many coaches misunderstand what constitutes true speed training. On top of the resisted speed example, another mistake coaches make is when they have their athletes perform sprints (without resistance or assistance) and call it speed training.

"Training for athletic purpose is a process of adaptation and should also be a specialized process based on the needs of the athlete and the sport."

Sprinting does foster the development of power and the SSC is being initiated during this activity, but this is only the case up to a certain point. After the athlete is adapted to the act of sprinting, then additional sprinting without some level of specific physical manipulation (resistance or assistance) has more to do with speed conditioning rather than speed development.

The Takeaway

Training for athletic purpose is a process of adaptation and should also be a specialized process based on the needs of the athlete and the sport. Speed development falls in line with this methodology, yet many fail to address the necessary prerequisite of strength. Instead, they prematurely implement and overemphasize various speed running, agility, and quickness drills without first addressing the needs of athletic efficiency. Speed has many faces, but it’s our job as coaches to recognize them and to match their identities to our athletes in order to achieve optimal performance.

A 5-Step Approach to Training During Adolescent Growth Spurts

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We have all seen the awkwardness that accompanies a period of growth for youth athletes. Some of us have even experienced it. The fastest runner on the team begins tripping over his or her feet. The once graceful dancer is all arms and legs. The number-four batter moves down in the lineup because he or she can’t get the timing right. 

Adolescent Growth Spurts (AGS)

According to the book Bright Futures in Practice: Physical Activity, published by Georgetown University, a temporary decline in coordination and balance may occur during puberty because of rapid growth. In many cases, this decline is not only demonstrated through sports performance, but also in regular physical activity. This experience can be frustrating for coaches, trainers, youth athletes, and parents, particularly if this decrease in athleticism is interpreted as a lack of skill or effort.

"Based on sports fundamentals, AGS training should focus on movement-based strength, overall fitness, speed and agility, plyometric work, and instilling confidence."

Knowing that adolescent growth spurts (AGS) and the accompanying athletic awkwardness are normal in this phase of puberty does not make it any easier for the youth athlete. As well as physically affecting sports performance, AGS can also affect athletes socially and mentally. It can also have detrimental effects on core strength, postural control, and performance - including skill, speed, coordination, and agility - as athletes struggle to adjust to their rapidly growing and changing bodies. 

Youth athletes need to know they are not alone in experiencing a lack of coordination and balance during and after growth spurts. In her article, Hockey Training During the Adolescent Growth Spurt, Kelly Anton explains:

At their fastest, boys grow by four inches a year and girls by two-and-a-half inches a year. As height increases, the center of gravity lifts. This happens so quickly that the brain does not get a chance to calculate the new rules for balance. On average, boys grow fastest between 14 and 15 and girls grow fastest between 12 and 13. Girls finish their growth spurt at 18 while boys need another two years before they finish growing at about 20.

Adolescent coaches and trainers recognize the physical changes that occur during AGS can decrease overall skills, speed, coordination, and agility. Coaches, trainers, parents, and athletes must also be aware of the athlete’s susceptibility to training injuries, especially during and after AGS.

How to Deal With AGS

The good news is that coaches and trainers who are aware of AGS can help alleviate and reduce athletic awkwardness by incorporating specific aspects of training into practices and training sessions. The Soccer Speed & Agility Clinic ebook, published by the Soccer Fit Academy, addresses these particulars of training. Although this book is geared specifically to soccer players, the common-sense approach of training through AGS is applicable to youth athletes of every sport.

Based on sports fundamentals, AGS training should focus on the following five factors:

1. Movement-based strength
2. Overall fitness
3. Speed and agility
4. Plyometric work
5. Confidence

It is important to note that while AGS is considered phased training, the fundamentals may be used separately or may be merged. The emphasis in AGS training, as opposed to a regular training session, is that particular attention is paid to the execution of proper biomechanics through all aspects of training for a growing athlete.  

Progressing from this point, coaches and trainers can start to increase the load and intensity of the drills as athletes become stronger and more confident in the movements.

1. Movement-Based Strength

Beginning with movement-based strength, coaches and trainers should look at the basic movements of the specific sport. Across the board, most movements will center on running, squatting, jumping, lunging, pivoting, and rotating. The object in this phase of training is to make these movements more rhythmic in nature through repetition, through recruiting correct movement patterns, and through building confidence in movement strength.

After these movement patterns are mastered, speed is added, with specific attention paid to performing drills without losing form. Progressing from this point, coaches and trainers can start to increase the load and intensity of the drills as athletes become stronger and more confident in the movements.

RELATED: Foundational Training for Youth Athletes: Are You Doing It?

2. Overall Fitness

The second phase of AGS training is overall fitness, which is defined as the level of play that allows an athlete to perform optimally. Pre-season conditioning is largely responsible for the overall fitness of an athlete, the focus of which should be optimal athletic performance late in the game and late in the season. In addition, fitness largely contributes to decreasing sports injuries.

3. Speed and Agility

In off-season training, building a strong speed and agility base follows closely with the first two goals of training through AGS. As athletes progress through growth spurts, they must relearn how to control their bodies in direction changes, changes of pace, and acceleration situations. They must relearn their balance points and readjust their center of gravity. Again, stressing the repetition of correct movement patterns, with a gradual increase of speed and intensity, is key to developing speed during and after AGS.

"The athlete must believe in his or her training, his or her abilities and skills, and his or her past experiences in order to prepare for and perform well in an event."

4. Plyometrics

Plyometric exercises are the final physical phase of AGS training. As discussed earlier, this area can be merged into other areas of training, especially with strength training, to help develop explosive strength, speed, and agility.

5. Confidence

Confidence is taught and worked on throughout all phases of AGS training. The athlete must have confidence in the hours spent mentally and physically preparing for the event - the repetitions, the workouts, and the coaching.The athlete must believe in his or her training, his or her abilities and skills, and his or her past experiences in order to prepare for and perform well in an event.

Take Time to Work the Basics

Speed and agility, as well as other sports skills, don’t just reappear after growth has slowed or stopped. That means coaches and trainers must understand how to retrain athletes in their movement patterns. To do this, the training program must emphasize movement, rhythm, and coordination over strength, fitness, and power.

RELATED: 5-Phase Adolescent Strength Program for Creating Good Movers

This is not to say that strength, fitness, and power are not important. They are absolutely essential to an athlete’s optimal performance, but in relation to sports performance and AGS, they must come after the athlete’s mastery of movement, rhythm, and coordination.

By implementing a training program that accommodates AGS, coaches and trainers canalleviate coordination and balance issues, decrease athletic awkwardness and injuries, and help young athletes reach optimal performance levels.

The Science of Strength Training for Vertical Jump and Change of Direction

Athletes who can jump higher and change direction rapidly have advantages over other athletes in many sports. Two recent studies point to strength as being an important causal factor and predictor of these skills.

Speed is often measured by how quickly an athlete can run in a straight line. But for many sports, athletes rarely run in a straight line as they often have to make some type of directional change. Take a look at John Wall in the video below:

From a biomechanical and bioenergetics perspective, changes in direction are very complicated. Muscles have to absorb force and then energize to move the person in the opposite direction that his or her body is going. It takes a great deal of strength to handle those stresses. It also takes a rapid neurologic response to activate the opposing muscle fibers quickly. What does the research say about skills needed for developing change in direction?

Deadlift Improves Vertical Jump and Rapid Torque Development

Keiner and colleagues found that many strength-training activities improved change in direction speed (see Doug Dupont’s synopsis here). You might expect that exercises such as squats might help with agility as they incorporate a change in direction (although not rapid) as the person switches from an eccentric to a concentric movement. Deadlifts usually only focus on the concentric portion of the movement as little to no effort is placed on lowering the bar back to the ground in a slow controlled fashion.

Thompson and colleagues investigated whether a deadlift program (twice per week) would affect vertical jump and rate of torque development in untrained athletes. This was an interesting study as the untrained athletes were all supervised for their twice weekly sessions and they did not participate in other activities. After ten weeks, the researchers found an increase in deadlift (expected), but also in vertical jump and rapid torque.

On the surface, these results seem a bit unexpected as training only the deadlift would not seem to help in explosive agility activities. One potential reason for the results might be the group being studied. The participants were untrained athletes and maybe any exercise would help these athletes. A study with more advanced athletes would be helpful.

Strength Is Strongest Predictor of Change in Direction Speed

Spiteri and colleagues examined semi-professional female basketball players with at least five years of competitive experience. The authors included different tests for change in direction, but the T agility Test highlights the results of all the tests (and it is something that many of you may have done yourselves).

In these experienced athletes, all measures of strength correlated with ability to run through the agility tests quickly, as indicated in the chart below. (A correlation indicates the strength of a relationship; scores closer to 1 or – 1 are the strongest; anything above .7 is very strongly correlated.) Surprisingly, power (as measured by a vertical jump) was the least correlated (although a -.46 is still a very significant relationship between power and agility.)

 

The big advantage with using trained athletes in a study is that you can see how much each type of strength plays a role in agility. It allows us to generalize and plan for training trained athletes. However, we cannot know strength or agility came first or whether one caused the other. Whereas, the first study allowed us to take a little better look at the causal mechanism of gaining strength followed by agility as athletes only completed deadlift training. In both studies, strength seemed to be one of the most important factors for agility.

The Take-Home

Barry Sanders was said to have close to a 600lb squat. He is also known as one of the most elusive American football running backs and for his ability to change of direction. The above research as well as many individual cases seem to point to strength as one of the most important factors in building change in direction speed.

3 Ways to Use the Kettlebell Swing for Overspeed Eccentric Training

In this article I will describe the mechanisms of plyometrics. I'll also tell you how to do a few relatively simple kettlebell swing exercises to elicit a plyometric response, and explain the benefits of these exercises.

Stretch Shortening Cycle

When you ask someone to jump, you will usually see the person bend down at the hips and then accelerate upward. There are two mechanisms why we take this little down-dip. They are known as the stretch reflex and the mechanical storage of kinetic energy. Both of these mechanisms improve our explosiveness and provide reason why plyometrics work so well.

Stretch Reflex of Plyometrics

When we land from jumping, we are activating the stretch reflex. The stretch reflex is the body’s involuntary response to muscles being stretched. It is elicited in the doctor’s office when the doctor taps on the tendon below the knee. The knee kicks outward involuntarily because of a feedback loop in the spinal cord. When we land from a jump, we activate this reflex (the dip down also activates this response but to a lesser extent).

Mechanical Storage of Kinetic Energy

We also store the kinetic energy when we land from a jump. Anthony Turner and Ian Jeffries described different theories for how we store this energy. There is an active debate about how much is stored in tendons and how much is stored in muscle fibers, and it’s actually an interesting debate. A simple way to think about it is that we are loading a spring when we land from a jump. If we jump again right away, then we can utilize the energy from this spring.

Benefits of Plyometrics

The more we do plyometrics, the more our body responds and builds explosive power. This explosive power can help our absolute strength (e.g., deadlift), speed strength (e.g., clean), and pure speed (e.g., sprinting). Basically, we are learning to load our muscles with potential energy to release it again later.

Depth jumps can be difficult for many athletes because they are complicated movements and increase the risk of injury. Teaching a good squat can be difficult, but a depth jump adds complication as the person has to land in a perfect squat position, absorb shock, and take off quickly. It is recommended that the person can handle squatting at least 1.5 times his or her bodyweight (with good form) before attempting depth jumps.

A Less Risky Method

A less risky method would be to do Russian kettlebell swings with an emphasis on the downward (eccentric) portion. Instead of the weight of our body being absorbed as it is in depth jumps, we absorb the shock of the kettlebell when it switches directions. The more we force the kettlebell to come down, the greater the plyometric effect. In the lab, experienced kettlebell instructors like Pavel Tsatsouline and Brett Jones can make a 24kg kettlebell come back down with the force equivalent to three times their bodyweight.

An analogy often used to compare kettlebell swings and the deadlift is that swings are like a bullet being fired and a deadlift is like a rocket. When a bullet is fired, it receives all of its force from the initial explosion of gunpowder. A rocket receives continual propulsion from the engine. The main point of doing kettlebell swings is to train our explosive strength when we reverse force. The more force we have to reverse, the more strength we will gain.

To continue our analogy, doing overspeed eccentric kettlebell swings is building a hair trigger that we can fire very quickly with a lot of force. There are multiple stories of advanced powerlifters adding strength to their deadlifts by doing these types of kettlebell swings. Kettlebell swing overspeed eccentrics can be accomplished in three ways:

1. Accentuate the Eccentric – Generally, we let the kettlebell float into position and let gravity take it back down into our next swing. However, we can actively accelerate it downward by throwing it down and between our legs. 
2. Partner Assisted Downward Throw – Have a person stand on the side and push down on the kettlebell when it reaches the top.
3. Band Assisted Eccentric – Wrap a band around the kettlebell and stand on the band. Once the kettlebell hits the top of the swing, the band will accelerate it back down.