Showdowner52
Beast
Any tips on improving one's 40 yard dash time?
Improving speed
- Thread starter Showdowner52
- Start date
blackbeard
New member
running with a weighted vest or pulling a sled with weights
plymetric work
any suqatting type work should be geared towrds explosiveness but yet still heavy
plymetric work
any suqatting type work should be geared towrds explosiveness but yet still heavy
shortz
Just a guy
Building speed and explosive power is a whole other breed of training. You use more Oly lifts and plyometrics. I do know that you do not want to add weight to your actual body, but instead, add resistance to your running. For instance, running with a mini parachute on or inclines.
Try doing a search on the net. Google or yahoo will give you similar results. I am sure you can find a good article on drills and exercises.
Try doing a search on the net. Google or yahoo will give you similar results. I am sure you can find a good article on drills and exercises.
Showdowner52
Beast
thanks for the input
invisiblewounds
Member
How old are you and what is your training experience?
PowerBuilder
New member
You can add lifting to your training to increase your speed through use of a periodization program. In the off season, include a bodybuilding like routine to build up muscle. Remeber that in addition to lowerbody strength, upper body strength is also important for sprinting speed. Since you only want to grow the fastest of your fast twitch muscles, do work sets of 4-6 reps max. The fast twitch fibers that allow you to lift heavy weights are the same fibers that allow you to sprint and make explosive movements. But once you have this base built up, and you are closer to in season, you need to train your nervous system to utilize all of these fibers for sprinting. That is where the exercises mentioned should come in as well as other plyometrics exercises like jumping. Finally, when you enter the season your CNS should be completely ready and nearly the only thing you should be doing is sprints.
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Showdowner52
Beast
Invisible im 19 years old,and well i havent trained in a like a 3 months but will start training soon as i start back wrestling.
invisiblewounds
Member
What type of training have you done prior to this time period?Showdowner52 said:
please do not run with a parachute. it will absolutely destroy your sprint mechanics.
having said that, have you done any work on sprint mechanics? most young athletes have terrible mechanics, and most coaches (track coaches included) have no idea how to teach it. go hang out at www.charliefrancis.com and see what you can find. In general, if you can fine tune your start and first 10 yards, it will make a huge difference. The details of the mechanics are too numerous to get into here.
As for training, at your age simply adding muscle mass in general will be of benefits. However, put a LOT of focus on the posterior chain, as it is where all your sprinting power comes from. Plenty of squats, deads, box squats, RDL's, glute-ham raises, etc. Also, depending on how much muscularity you have, incorporate plenty of dynamic effort days into your training, where you use weights in the 50-60% of 1RM range and focus on speed. If you are fairly skinny, then its too early to worry about dynamic effort. Just add muscle mass and you will get faster!
Another thing... I am a big fan of olympic movements, but the gyrations most people think pass as an olympic lift will get you nothing. If you can not deadlift with perfect form, there is no reason to be olympic lifting. If you do not have appreciable muscle mass, there is no reason to be olympic lifting. If you have good muscle mass and have VERY GOOD technique, then by all means include the olympic lifts.
having said that, have you done any work on sprint mechanics? most young athletes have terrible mechanics, and most coaches (track coaches included) have no idea how to teach it. go hang out at www.charliefrancis.com and see what you can find. In general, if you can fine tune your start and first 10 yards, it will make a huge difference. The details of the mechanics are too numerous to get into here.
As for training, at your age simply adding muscle mass in general will be of benefits. However, put a LOT of focus on the posterior chain, as it is where all your sprinting power comes from. Plenty of squats, deads, box squats, RDL's, glute-ham raises, etc. Also, depending on how much muscularity you have, incorporate plenty of dynamic effort days into your training, where you use weights in the 50-60% of 1RM range and focus on speed. If you are fairly skinny, then its too early to worry about dynamic effort. Just add muscle mass and you will get faster!
Another thing... I am a big fan of olympic movements, but the gyrations most people think pass as an olympic lift will get you nothing. If you can not deadlift with perfect form, there is no reason to be olympic lifting. If you do not have appreciable muscle mass, there is no reason to be olympic lifting. If you have good muscle mass and have VERY GOOD technique, then by all means include the olympic lifts.
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