Top 10 Speed Training Myths

[farzamk]

1. Static stretching prepares you for competition/practice.

Static stretching actually reduces power output. Athletes should prepare for practice by doing a dynamic warm up that progresses from basic, low intensity movements to faster, more explosive movements as the muscles loosen up. The goal is to simulate movements that athletes will be using in practice or a game. What happens when you try to stretch a cold rubber band? You can think about your muscles the same way.

2. Strength training makes females too bulky

Many of the female athletes we train have this popular mindset. However, look at some elite female athletes like Mia Hamm or Lisa Leslie. They certainly train with weights, but no one would accuse them of having manly physiques. Strength training will improve performance and reduce injury if done correctly.



3. You can?t train speed.

For some reason, the popular belief is that you?re born with a certain amount of ?speed? and you can?t improve it. Nothing could be further from the truth. Most young athletes are so physically weak and mechanically out of tune that significant improvements in speed can be made often just by working on technique and form. Athletes at any age and any level can improve speed when implementing a complete speed training program designed to improve and develop the entire athlete. {Use the link http://www.completespeedtraining.com/ for the words ?speed training? in the last sentence.}

4. Training slow makes you fast.

I don?t think coaches directly think this way but their training techniques imply otherwise. This is especially true in sports that involve a higher aerobic element such as soccer, field hockey, or lacrosse. I see kids out running mileage and doing long, slow intervals of several minutes of continuous running. This will get them in shape. However, in games, I see kids jogging, jogging and then sprinting at full speed for 20?30 yards. Then they run, jog, and sprint for 20?30 more yards. If you want kids to improve their acceleration and top speed so that they can get to the ball faster or get back on defense, you have to train by running at full speed in practice.

5. You must train hard every day.

The workout itself is only a piece of the training puzzle. It?s the time between intense workouts?the recovery?where athletes make their improvements. Generally, it takes 36?48 hours to recover from high intensity training. If athletes are doing too much too often, they become overtrained. Coaches can expect to see an increase in injuries, complaints about being sore more often, decreased performance, and higher levels of fatigue earlier in games. It?s always better to under train an athlete than overtrain. Err on the side of caution to get maximal results.

6. Strength training will stunt a young athlete?s growth.

This is another myth held over from a different time. On a daily basis, kids as young as seven years old are playing organized sports year round. They?re tackling, getting tackled, sliding, and falling. These loads on the body can have a much greater physical impact than a well-designed strength training program. Though we don?t usually begin training with weights with prepubescent athletes, they can benefit from body weight exercises such as push-ups, lunges, and sit-ups. This will increase muscular efficiency, speed up recovery, and improve coordination and overall speed.

7. The harder the workout, the better the result.

Some athletes (and coaches) have this mentality that if a workout doesn?t reduce them to complete exhaustion and/or make them vomit, it wasn?t an effective workout. I can tell you that those who have this mentality probably see many injuries and frustrating performances. The purpose of a workout is to stimulate an adaptation by the body. If the body is forced to do too much work in a given time period, it will break down. The skill in coaching is to stimulate the adaptation in the body without reaching a point of diminishing returns.

8. Interval training is the same as speed training.

Repeatedly running 100s, 200s, etc. won?t improve top speeds. Even running repeat 40s with short recovery periods won?t improve acceleration and top speed. Speed work is defined as 2?8 seconds of maximal intensity running with full recovery. That means there should be at least two minutes of light dynamic movement between each effort. This goes against the experience of some coaches but is the only way to improve speed. An athlete must be able to focus on proper form and maintain intensity in order to get faster. If they don?t recover properly from each interval, they won?t be able to replicate proper mechanics with consistency and they can?t improve.

9. Flexibility won?t help you get faster.

Both coaches and athletes spend so much time on the skills of their sport, speed training, and conditioning, they often forget a fundamental component of success?flexibility. After practice or a game, the muscles are warm and loose. This is the time to work on increasing flexibility. So many athletes suffer injuries or compete below their capacity because poor flexibility inhibits their range of motion and speed. We see this in the hips and hip flexors where the stride lengths of athletes appear conspicuously short. Most often we see this in male athletes who will lift weights, train hard, and then skip out on their cool down and flexibility work.

10. Lift your knees.

When parents and coaches want their kids to run faster or when the kids are beginning to fatigue, I hear many yell at the kids, ?Lift your knees. Get your knees up.? This is one of the most backward cues that we can give to athletes. The way to run faster is to apply more force to the ground. Every action has an equal and opposite reaction so the more force that you apply to the ground, the more the ground will give back. So when we cue athletes to lift their knees, we?re doing two things incorrectly. One, we?re telling them to use their hip flexors to lift instead of their glutes and hamstrings to drive down. Just think about the size of your hip flexor versus the size of your glutes and hamstrings. Now which muscles do you think can create more force and therefore more speed?

Second, we?re cueing them to do a movement that is in opposition to what generates speed. If an athlete learns at age seven to lift his knees when he needs a burst of speed, the improper cue will be hardwired into his brain. To unlearn that as a teenager and to do the opposite and drive down will delay the athlete?s progress. He or she will have a difficult time coordinating an entirely new way of running and will potentially have to take a step or two backward. That?s why it?s critical to learn proper form early and get an advantage over those who still aren?t getting the best instruction. So cue athletes to step over the opposite knee and drive the foot down into the ground with the foot landing underneath the hip.


http://www.elitefts.com/documents/sp...ning_myths.htm

[Rsun88]

thanks for another great post, re: myth 10, should we consciencely drive our hamstrings at top speed?

[farzamk]

thanks for another great post, re: myth 10, should we consciencely drive our hamstrings at top speed?

when sprinting, just RUN. When going at slower speeds and doing drills, then look to perfect form. Only focus on upper body form and relaxation during max speed sprinting.

[PowerBuilder08]

when sprinting, just RUN. When going at slower speeds and doing drills, then look to perfect form. Only focus on upper body form and relaxation during max speed sprinting.

The truth right there...lot of athletes overlook this one, it's very important but not emphasized enough.

[farzamk]

The truth right there...lot of athletes overlook this one, it's very important but not emphasized enough.

Ya breakdown in form starts from there, first the person's jaw and face gets tightened, that leads to shoulders coming up and tightening up, next up is the entire upper body and that leads to stride length shortening. Also we cant forget by using so much energy and tightening at the start of a race (like a 200m) one will be at cool down speed! by the end of the race, having slowed down so much.

[qb0708]

nice info, need to show this to some coaches i know to help out some of there thoughts... i do believe their is a point were you do need to "burn out" though, then rest and then come back stronger

[westtexasfury]

5. You must train hard every day.

The workout itself is only a piece of the training puzzle. It?s the time between intense workouts?the recovery?where athletes make their improvements. Generally, it takes 36?48 hours to recover from high intensity training. If athletes are doing too much too often, they become overtrained. Coaches can expect to see an increase in injuries, complaints about being sore more often, decreased performance, and higher levels of fatigue earlier in games. It?s always better to under train an athlete than overtrain. Err on the side of caution to get maximal results.

6. Strength training will stunt a young athlete?s growth.

This is another myth held over from a different time. On a daily basis, kids as young as seven years old are playing organized sports year round. They?re tackling, getting tackled, sliding, and falling. These loads on the body can have a much greater physical impact than a well-designed strength training program. Though we don?t usually begin training with weights with prepubescent athletes, they can benefit from body weight exercises such as push-ups, lunges, and sit-ups. This will increase muscular efficiency, speed up recovery, and improve coordination and overall speed.

7. The harder the workout, the better the result.

Some athletes (and coaches) have this mentality that if a workout doesn?t reduce them to complete exhaustion and/or make them vomit, it wasn?t an effective workout. I can tell you that those who have this mentality probably see many injuries and frustrating performances. The purpose of a workout is to stimulate an adaptation by the body. If the body is forced to do too much work in a given time period, it will break down. The skill in coaching is to stimulate the adaptation in the body without reaching a point of diminishing returns.



http://www.elitefts.com/documents/sp...ning_myths.htm

A few things, first of all, training hard and working to exhaustion is more of a mindset than a science for athletes. While most all athletes are smart enough to know when too much is too much, sometimes a normal workout isn't quite enough for the mind. A feeling of "just going throught the motions" can occur, and a very intense workout, pushed to the point towhere the athlete can hardly stand, gives a temporary feeling of accomplishment. But I do agree with your post, many people do need to be reminded that these intense workouts should be a little more limited than usual.

Now that I have that out of the way, weight training has been shown more often than not to stunt the growth of young athletes, especial in males. Weight training at young ages increases testosterone levels greatly. Testosterone plays a big role in the calcification of epiphyseal plates. When the plates start to calcify, the rate of growth slows down. When they are fully calcified, growth has stopped.
Bodyweight exercises and speed/cardio training should be the means of physical training in youth. Once puberty is reached, light weight training focused on stamina should be incorporated. Heavy weight training shouldn't be implemented until the age of 14 or 15, and should be heavily regulated until about the age of 17-21, when high intensity, high weight resistance training can be the majority of training and working out.

[Reps n Sets]

yes, the mindstate is the tie breaker.

it's the last 100m in a 400m race when you have to suddenly shift into the final gear when you exhuasted.

great feeling.

[Daegus]

4. Training slow makes you fast.

Actually, this one is true if you are talking about half/full marathoners, half/full distance triathletes etc.

[farzamk]

Actually, this one is true if you are talking about half/full marathoners, half/full distance triathletes etc.

fast= speed

[Daegus]

fast= speed

Maybe for a short period of time, but you cannot sustain a 3 hr marathon or 11 hr full distance triathlon pace by always training fast. You will not have the aerobic endurance.

[farzamk]

Maybe for a short period of time, but you cannot sustain a 3 hr marathon or 11 hr full distance triathlon pace by always training fast. You will not have the aerobic endurance.

Notice that the thread title is speed training myths, not endurance training, I coach speed, not endurance.

[Chrome Face]

1. Static stretching prepares you for competition/practice.

Static stretching actually reduces power output. Athletes should prepare for practice by doing a dynamic warm up that progresses from basic, low intensity movements to faster, more explosive movements as the muscles loosen up. The goal is to simulate movements that athletes will be using in practice or a game. What happens when you try to stretch a cold rubber band? You can think about your muscles the same way.
]

I have to partially disagree with you there. Static stretching can be used in conjunction with dynamic stretching in warm-up. PNF would probably be your best option, but nontheless static could be used. Just because somebody came out with a study saying that vert jump decreased after static stretching doesn't mean that it's not a viable option.

Also, the goal of the warm-up isn't to simulate movements that you will be using. The goal of the warm-up is to increase body temp which will in turn create a series of reactions that will allow your body to be ready for work.

4. Training slow makes you fast.

I don?t think coaches directly think this way but their training techniques imply otherwise. This is especially true in sports that involve a higher aerobic element such as soccer, field hockey, or lacrosse. I see kids out running mileage and doing long, slow intervals of several minutes of continuous running. This will get them in shape. However, in games, I see kids jogging, jogging and then sprinting at full speed for 20?30 yards. Then they run, jog, and sprint for 20?30 more yards. If you want kids to improve their acceleration and top speed so that they can get to the ball faster or get back on defense, you have to train by running at full speed in practice.

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Training slow does indirectly make you faster... Although I sure you're refering to speed work, which in your case would be correct.

By my argument, training slow on recovery days allows you to ultimately intensify your speed days. Giving you quicker recovery between speed workouts and allowing you to attain a higher intensity on these days.

[farzamk]

I have to partially disagree with you there. Static stretching can be used in conjunction with dynamic stretching in warm-up. PNF would probably be your best option, but nontheless static could be used. Just because somebody came out with a study saying that vert jump decreased after static stretching doesn't mean that it's not a viable option.

Also, the goal of the warm-up isn't to simulate movements that you will be using. The goal of the warm-up is to increase body temp which will in turn create a series of reactions that will allow your body to be ready for work.





Training slow does indirectly make you faster... Although I sure you're refering to speed work, which in your case would be correct.

By my argument, training slow on recovery days allows you to ultimately intensify your speed days. Giving you quicker recovery between speed workouts and allowing you to attain a higher intensity on these days.

I disagree with both of those.

It wasnt a single study done, it was MANY and many done, and I've PERSONALLY and directly seen it with MANY athletes and myself on countless occasions. Momentary stretching statically, (1-2 second pause at max ROM) before a dynamic warm up can be useful, however mstly done to prevent injuries because near max range of motion can be reached with dynamic warm up only.

Extensive tempo is a regeneration and recovery method, it wont increase speed and that is exactly what it means. That if one were to run at 80% speed 3 times a week for months, they would icnrease maximum speed, doesnt happen, never will.