Sports Training for Speed Sports

The Best Core Training Program

2009-03-04T12:50:00.000-08:00

Any coach or trainer worth their salt knows
how important a strong core is in terms of
improved athletic performance.

Power is transferred through the core. The
ability to run, jump, throw, cut, rotate -

It's all dependent on a strong core.

Weak core = Poor Performance

It's just that simple.

I won't give you a big song and dance about
this program. You just have to check it out.

Ab and Core Training

It's not just a laundry list of exercises.

It's a progressive program of core development
covering every type of bad ass exercise you
could possibly want to use with your athletes.

We all know how important this stuff is. And
we all know how boring it can get to force
your athletes to do the same old exercises
over and over.

And the same goes for your own training.

I'm not even going to bother listing all the
different progressions, exercises and implements
that it covers. Because there are too many.

Core Training

I've already started working Jim Smith's program
into my own training and I love it. And my
athletes are going to get a heavy dose this
spring. You can be sure of that!

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2009-02-03T08:53:00.000-08:00

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Soccer Speed Training

2008-11-30T18:34:00.000-08:00

Soccer Speed Training

Soccer can be a tough sport to train for. Soccer athletes must have not only an endurance base, but also the ability to sprint at full speed for short distances. Training for soccer speed requires a mix of aerobic conditioning (i.e. distance running) and anaerobic power (sprinting).

A solid soccer speed training program should include speed-endurance, which is the ability to run at top speeds for extended periods of time.

Here is a sample three-week pre-season speed training program to help your athletes improve their speed before the season begins:

Week 1

Monday and Friday (sprint speed)
3X30m (45 second rest between reps)
3X60m (45 second rest between reps)
3X90m (45 second rest between reps)
Wednesday (speed-endurance)

Use a 3:1 Rest Ratio (ex. if it takes 30seconds to run 150m, then rest for 1:30 before the 200m)

50m-100m-150m-200m-150m-100m-50m
Repeat the pyramid one more time

Week 2

Monday and Friday
5X30m (45 second rest between reps)
5X60m (45 second rest between reps)
5X90m (45 second rest between reps)
Wednesday (speed-endurance)

Use a 2:1 Rest Ratio (ex. if it takes 30seconds to run 150m, then rest for 1:00 before the 200m)
50m-100m-150m-200m-150m-100m-50m
Repeat the pyramid two more times

Week 3

Monday and Friday
6X30m (30 second rest between reps)
6X60m (30 second rest between reps)
6X90m (30 second rest between reps)

Wednesday (speed-endurance)
Use a 2:1 Rest Ratio (ex. if it takes 30seconds to run 150m, then rest for 1:00 before the 200m)
50m-100m-150m-200m-250m-200m-150m-100m-50m
Repeat the pyramid two more times

General Warm-up
(To be used before each workout)
1/2 to 1 mile jog
Full Body Stretch
Warm-up Speed Drills
High Knees (3X30m)
Heel-Glutes (3X30m)
Carriocca (3X30m)
1/2 Speed Striders (3X30m)

Ryan Lee, MS, CSCS
For more information on soccer speed and strength training methods visit: Sport Specific.com

Skill Training for Sport

2008-11-24T07:42:00.000-08:00

Skill training is essential towards any athletes training plan. Obviously, if your athletes aren’t getting any better skill and technique-wise for their particular sport, then all of the other exercises that they do are pointless.

Speed training, power, conditioning, strength, etc. can be similar in the types of workouts that different speed and power sports perform but position and sport specific skills are what differentiate the sports athletes.

Skill training should be worked on each workout. It can be blended and mixed into each weeks workout plan. These exercises and drills act to bridge the speed, agility, and strength that were acquired during training into a more functional activity and performance for the particular sport.
When planning an actual training program for your sport, the strength and conditioning part are extremely important but will not help you if you do not focus on the skills required to excel and perform at your position and sport.

It might sound basic, but you would be surprised to see how many coaches actual under-estimate the value of skill development and do not spend a lot of time working on the tools, techniques and skill sets required to become better at their sport.

Training for Quickness

2008-11-21T08:06:00.000-08:00

Quickness training is on of the most underlooked areas of training - and often ignored.

Coaches often times feel that an athlete is either quick or not so they do not think they need to train this area. Although there is a certain genetic predisposition to how fast and how quick some can be, but it does not at all mean that that ability can't be improved.

Quickness is how fast someone reacts to a stimulus. Reation time is a part of someone's quickness and can be trained. Agility training is already in your sports training program so start adding some quickness training drills to enhance your program.

Here are some training drills you can use for quickness development:

-Ball Drop
Your partner holds a tennis ball out in one hand. You start in an athletic stance and when the tennis ball is released/dropped, you sprint to the ball and snatch it before it bounces more than once. This is a great drill for first step quickness training.

You can change the distance that you partner stands away from you, you can hange the height of their arm (how high it is raised), and also change your starting position stance. All of these can help you change the difficulty and challenge of this drill.

- Dodge Ball
The old american game of dodge ball is a great game to work of quickness and reaction time. This game can be played with all ages and levels of athletes.

-Partner Mirror Drill
This is like the shadow game that you use to play as kids. This drill is performed between partners. One partner starts moving and the other partner follows and doesn't allowed to be juked. You need to try and mirror the movement and match each reaction.

These quickness training drills with help your athletes become faster and should be added to every sports speed training program.

Imporatnce of Speed Training for Soccer Athletes

2008-10-15T04:47:00.000-07:00

Soccer players, like all athletes, depend on their bodies for success. The importance of fitness and the attempts to minimize the toll exacted by injuries has given rise to companies specializing in the health of athletes. Teams use these programs to gain any edge they can.

While still playing catch-up with the world in many regards, the U.S. is at the forefront of athletic training and speed training. Yet soccer also retains intangible elements that cannot be broken down into scientifically measurable parts.

Some might believe fitness training is a rudimentary science that is more or less similar the world over. Soccer is mostly running and kicking, and that doesn't seem to lend itself to a specialized approach that overcomplicates those basic elements.

Yet, as Forsythe points out, on the elite level, even those fundamentals need to be at their peak almost constantly.

"Speed and power are what the players need most," he explained.

After running a battery of examinations on players, the A.P. trainers design individual plans for each athlete to maximize those two components. With the trials and follow-up assessments that are run on players, it's also possible to identify those who are slacking on their fitness goals or not fully committing to the program.

"The biggest cause of injury is lack of strength," Forsythe said. "Generally, it's just a matter of being a little bit unstable, relying too much on one leg. You need to be symmetrical. We run a series of tests on every guy on the Galaxy to identify any lack of symmetry, and then we target it. The major thing soccer players usually have is a very unstable dominant kicking foot."

Ultimately, exercise science is only one aspect of the overall picture. The skill displayed by teams like Brazil is another, and the U.S. still lags in developing such technique. If other teams, like Germany, begin making inroads in the areas where the Americans have traditionally led, the time might have arrived for the U.S. to find some outside experts of their own to improve those missing elements.

Click here to see the entire article>>>

Speed Training for Football

2008-10-07T07:59:00.000-07:00

Speed, especially acceleration, is extremely important for football players. For football speed training, there have even been some coaches that say that speed at the skill positions is even more important than strength.

I do think that there is too heavy of a significance placed on running the 40 yard dash in the football combine, but speed is critical to a players success.

As part of any coaches planning for their year long training, speed must be addressed in each training period (pre-season, in-season, off-season). A running program is set up immediately and started right when the players come in for their pre-sesaon work. A short to long type of running program is introduced and acceleration development should be the focus.

Football specific training plans will significantly improve your game by creating blazing speed while also improving your players strength & power. Work on your straight ahead speed first, develop acceleration and starting speed and become a much more explosive football player.

To get the little known secrets to developing an effective speed training program for your football players go to Football Speed Training Secrets Revealed!

Importance of speed training for football

2008-07-23T15:21:00.000-07:00

With football training camps about to start, one thing that many coaches are going to be working on is speed training. Sure they will make sure that conditioning is going to be a major aspect and strength is being developed, but speed and agility training are going to be on point.

Here is a quote from an athlete on the Deer Creek football team:

“We’ve learned how to run faster,” Gower said. “Coach Smith and Coach Laverty have done a great job with these guys in their workouts. Coach Laverty will be running a speed training program over the summer. There are two areas that are tougher in 5A than 4A. In our district last season, there haven’t been too many weeks that were easy, but its even tougher in 5A, and then the speed level of the game.”

No More Speed Training

2008-07-07T08:01:00.000-07:00

Tyson Gay will not be performing any speed training workouts for at least 2 weeks. Gay who suffered a left hamstring strain as he tumbled to the track during the US Olympic Track and Field Trials.

"He's making preparations for the call in Beijing. I'm very confident he's going to be in place when they say, 'On your marks,'" said US men's Olympic athletics coach Bubba Thornton.

Gay will be resting for about 14 days than will head out to Europe to get a couple of meets in and tune up before heading to the Olympics. His rest will be more of an active recovery before starting up his full training where he will continue his top speed training.

With world record holder Usain Bolt and previous world record holder Asafa Powell already running fast, Gay needs to be 100% to be able to contend for the gold or even the bronze. the question is right now, how much did the muscle strain set Tyson Gay back?

Speed Training and Acceleration Development

2008-06-23T09:48:00.000-07:00

Use the speed drills for acceleration running development makes sure that your athletes are getting the most out of them by not sacrificing form in any of the drills.

Ground contact times (the amount of time each foot spends on the ground) are another important factor to consider during acceleration. During the earliest parts of acceleration, especially the first two steps, you are trying to overcome (inertia) the weight of your body by moving it forward as quickly as possible. This takes a great deal of strength and power. The stronger and more efficient you are, the more you can extend your acceleration phase.

An example workout would be hill running. Hill work is perfect for acceleration development as it puts the athlete in proper acceleration mechanics naturally without any tools or cues. You are bringing the ground up to them as they will be driving out and running in the 45 degree angle to the ground.

Since high intensity sprint work involves recruiting specific groups of muscle fibers improves the efficiency of neuromuscular firing patterns, sprinting is taxing to the central nervous system. Once the CNS becomes fatigued, workouts quickly lose their effectiveness. Any type of speed work must be done with full recovery. Generally speaking, that means approximately one minute of rest for every 10 yards that you run. Sprinting is a highly technical activity. Without full recovery, both your muscles and your central nervous system will begin to fatigue quickly, reducing the short and long term effectiveness of your training. For this reason, acceleration should not be trained with fatigue present. To optimize your success, full recovery must be adhered to both in your individual workouts as well as your weekly plan. It takes roughly 36-48 hours to fully recover from a speed workout.

Speed training drills give us an opportunity to teach cues. We use speed drills to break down certain aspects or parts of the whole body of sprinting. For example, I use cue like: 'drive down' during a speed drill in practice. This gives the athlete a frame of reference to use when I need them to make adjustments to their form while sprinting. This will help the athletes carry over the theory of what needs to be done so they can apply it when performing high speed sprinting.

Lateral Speed and Agility Training

2008-06-18T20:04:00.000-07:00

Today we're going to talk about agility training.

'Agility' is one of those words that cover a variety of skills. When people talk about agility, most often they are talking about an athlete'sability to make cuts and quickly change directions.
The way I see it, the primary component to improved agility is through the development of COORDINATION.

Before you start putting team through complicated drills that have them going in ten different directions over the course of a 30-second time period, you must take a step back and address their level of coordination.

In my experience, even the best athletes have coordination problems that are so bad that it even makes me blush just to think about it.

The thing about coordination and agility is this:

The earlier you address it, the better the long-term results. If your football players don't begin developing their coordination until their mid-teens, they will be limited in the amount of progress they can make.

That's why I like to get kids started as early as possible, preferably before they hit puberty.
I'm not saying a 17 year old can't improve her agility and coordination to a significant degree, but then if she started when she was 8, she'd be much better off.

Just something to think about for those of you working at the youth levels.

OK, here is what to do...

STEP 1: Improve your teams coordination

My favorite way to both expose an athlete's lack of coordination and also develop it is through the use of an agility ladder.

You can do an infinite number of drills that focus on single leg movement, double leg, linear, lateral, backward movement, change of direction - The list goes on and on.

All of these movements will help address the types of movement they may see in their competition.

As we get those down, we implement the traditional cone drills that allow for more instruction on movement patterns that are more applicable to game situations.

But like everything else, technique is the most important skill to both teach and learn.

As I've said before, I even use agility work with my field (straight ahead speed training) athletes during the preseason as well.

Why?

When players are uncoordinated, in order to maintain balance and keep the athlete from falling down or getting hurt, the brain has to work harder.

In order to compensate for all the extra math that the brain must do instantaneously and on the fly in order to coordinate the movements of all the active muscles in the body, the body must slow way down.

This is why players often look like they are stuck in the mud during agility drills.

Well, sprinting is a highly technical activity as well. So if your players don't improve coordination and agility, their brains will have to slow the limbsdown during sprinting to compensate.

So, like with flexibility, athletes aren't being held back because of some innate lack of ability, but simply because they are only operating at 50%of their true ability.

By applying these (and all the other skills we've gone over so far) they can operate at a much higher percentage of their true ability.

Rule 144 Specialist

2008-06-18T09:11:00.000-07:00

In wealth management, a Rule 144 Specialist is someone who knows what the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for sales on securities.

Rule 144 was adopted in 1972 by the SEC. Rule 144 is an important federal securities law which dictates when, and under what conditions, a person or entity may sell shares of restricted stock into the public marketplace.

Security sales must meet a series of conditions, including filing paperwork with the SEC and compliance with regulations that address when, how and how much restricted or control stock may be sold. Failure to comply with Rule 144 can lead to sanctions by the SEC.

You need to find a Rule 144 Specialist to help you navigate your sale of restricted or control stock under the Securities and Exchange Commission Rule 144.

With so many restrictions, regulations and rules regarding certain sales of securities, it is always safer to just find a Rule 144 Specialist.

Secrets of Power Training and Plyos

2008-06-03T05:09:00.000-07:00

Here is a video that goes over and discusses power and plyometric training that you should be using with your athletes:

For more information on plyometrics and to discover how power training should be used in your sports training program for your athletes go now to Complete Speed Training

Lacrosse Training - Running Drills to Improve Speed

2008-05-25T08:29:00.000-07:00

Speed training is important, and some players are naturally faster than others, but you can improve your speed through conditioning and strength training.

For conditioning, set a goal of running one to two miles three times a week, ideally throughout the year but definitely three months before the start of your season. If you haven't been running frequently, I wouldn't try to make a time in this range the first time out, but it is a good milestone to gradually work toward.

Sprinting drills are extremely important for developing quickness, agility and fast feet. Set two cones or pick two landmarks 10 yards apart, and sprint back and forth between them as many times as you can in 30 seconds. Rest 30 seconds and repeat.

Lateral drills, such as pushing side to side off one foot to another while running forward, will help develop muscles needed to execute a good dodge or maintain good positioning as a defender.
To strengthen your legs, deep-lunge walk for 15 yards.

As for dodging defenders, practice split or face dodges using a trash can as an imaginary defender.

For the rest of the article on Lacrosse Speed Training click here

Allyson Felix Runs Faster Than You

2008-05-23T12:44:00.000-07:00

Eyes On The Olympics: Allyson Felix

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be the fastest person in the world?

What would it be like to be able to say that you could out run any other person?

There are a lot of fast people in the world, but only one person is the fastest. Could you imagine being that person? Imagine what that would feel like: You’d crouch down, get your stance ready, and then with a burst of energy propel yourself forward. The wind would fly across your face so forcefully that tears would begin to run down the side of your face - your legs dancing across the ground. Bystanders would surely stand with jaw-dropping expressions, as you raced by, an indistinguishable blur.

Of course I’ve never felt this incredible speed (I was a mediocre high school track athlete)… the closest I’ve come to experiencing such a rush came when I decided to drive with my head stuck outside my car window.

While most people, like me, can only envision what it would be like to have that raw explosive ability, one recently graduated college student, Allyson Felix, need not imagine. In a few months Felix will be able to say that she is the best, the fastest in the world. She’s competing at the upcoming Beijing Olympics; her eye is on the gold.

Tons of college students are heading to Beijing to compete in the Olympics this year. Allyson Felix, a 22-year-old USC alum and world class sprinter, is one of them. Look for her to score the gold in August!

For the rest of the Allyson Felix sprint training article Click Here

Plyometric and Power Training Guidelines

2008-05-08T21:06:00.000-07:00

So let's get into how to effectively introduce plyometric training in a way that will result in positive growth in the area of strength, power, coordination, body awareness and, of course, speed...

The underlying principle behind teaching plyos is simple. The concept is something that you've heard me preach over and over again:

Start with simple movements and progress to more complex movements ONLY when players have mastered the basic ones.

With my teams and groups, I let athletes 'graduate' to the next drill in our progression once they meet the criteria required for advancement.

In fact, players get pretty intense when it comes to 'graduation'. They all want to be the first to move on, but more importantly they don't want to be the last.

So using 'graduation' as a reward is a great way to get players to focus on the task at hand.

Remember, only do plyos on your speed days. They tax the same energy system as speed work and the weight room. So don't have your players do explosive plyos on your recovery days.

Here are the principles to follow when doing your plyos:

STEP 1: Start with basic stabilization exercises that begin and end using both feet.

Athletes must learn to control movements off of both feet before advancing to the more demanding drills.

Additionally, be sure to keep the number of ground contacts (total number of times the feet hit the ground) low until player learn to handle the increased load.

You can see the specific plyo progressions that we've found to generate the best results by getting your own copy of Complete Speed Training.

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Step 2: Emphasize soft landings.

When doing plyos, players must learn to land softly. Cue them to absorb each landing with the muscles in the legs, not with joints, bones, ligaments, and tendons.

Each foot strike or impact should make a minimal amount of noise. Athletes can't graduate to the more 'fun' drills until they can learn to land softly.

If you cave in and let them graduate early, before they have acquired the necessary skills, then their ability to learn the new drills and avoid injury will be greatly reduced.

Here are some tell-tale signs that your players are not performing the drills correctly:

* Loud slapping sound with the feet upon landing
* Landing on the balls of the feet, with the weight forward and heels
off the ground
* Taking off with one foot instead of both feet
* Landing on one foot instead of both feet
* Inability to maintain/loss of balance upon landing

Once basic drills are mastered, and these common mistakes have been eliminated, players can start the bounding drills that people traditionally equate with plyometric training.

*************
Step 3: Use medicine balls.

When athletes have a tough time with 'regular' plyos, I'll often back off and use medicine ball throws.

This will teach them many of the same explosive elements, but can be easier to master the movements. It also takes some of the pressure off of trying to succeed in the more difficult drills.

Of course, I use medicine ball throws for the more skilled football players as well. As always, make sure that the football players are doing the drills with perfect form.

The main flaw that I see with these drills is that athletes will throw the ball with their arms. The arms are a guide for the weight and shouldn't be the primary mover.

*******************
Plyometric workouts require a coach's close attention.

Hopefully I've given you some useful ideas on introducing these valuable exercises into your program. The temptation to skip the basic elements will be great, but I implore you to force your football players to be patient.

Get started today...

Power Training and Plyometrics - What not to do

2008-05-05T07:28:00.000-07:00

Today we need to address how to develop the explosive power of your players by using plyometrics.

Now, plyos are one of those touchy subjects that some people don't have a very good understanding of.

So, the first thing we have to do is get a working definition of what plyos actually are. Otherwise, we can't be sure we're doing them correctly, if at all.

Plyometrics are defined as movements that cause a rapid change from eccentric contraction (lengthening a muscle) to concentric contraction (shortening a muscle).

In fact, the very act of running fast is a plyometric activity, as it trains for the storage and release of elastic energy. And elastic energy is required for faster running.

You can develop the ability to store and release this elastic energy by having your team engage in a variety of activities such as hopping and bounding drills, box jumps, hurdle hops, medicine ball throws, etc.

But there's a catch.

These movements require a healthy degree of strength, coordination and balance.

My point?

You can't just decide that tomorrow you want to do hurdle hops or single leg bounds with your team.

Plyometrics are a SKILL that take a great deal of practice if your expectation is that players are going to do them correctly and actually get something out of it.

Ok, it's story time...

Last year I was at an area high school gymnasium helping a friend of mine while he conducted practice for the team that he coached.

On the far end of this gymnasium a football team was lined up in front of a row of 8 plyo boxes that were of various heights between 24" - 48".

So I decided to watch, hoping that I was going to see an impressive display of athleticism brought about by some coaches who had taken the time and effort to learn how and why certain activities are performed before having their football teams perform them.

Well it turns out that my wish went unfulfilled.

These football players started doing their box jumps (jumping up onto the box), then went right into depth jumps (dropping down off of the box) trying to negotiate 8 boxes of different heights.

So, like clockwork, the line of kids began to lose focus. Their form, this was already terrible, began to fall apart. This was not geared to improve their speed training at all.

Then it happened.

One young athlete, during a depth jump, landed awkwardly and began to fall forward. But instead of stopping or bailing out of the drill, he tried to jump up onto the next box.

For a number of reasons, that didn't work. He clipped the front of his toot on the box, fell over the box, and landed on the floor in a heap, clutching his leg.

The result?

The kid broke his ankle in three places.

Needless to say it wasn't pretty.

Don't let this happen to your athletes.

Strength Training for Speed and Power Athletes Cont.

2008-04-29T15:01:00.000-07:00

Strength Training for Speed Athletes continued from the other day.

Rule #3: Stronger = Faster

Seems obvious right?

As you already know, greater speeds are determined, in large part, by an athlete's ability to apply greater amounts of force to the ground with each stride.

It makes sense that if an athlete wants to move faster, they must increase their physical strength.

At the same time, it is also dependent on increasing physical strength without significant increases in bodyweight.

Otherwise those gains in strength are neutralized by the fact that the athlete now has to carry that extra mass around with her.

The bottom line is this:

If you want your players to become faster they must lift in a way that maximizes strength gains without gaining a lot of extra mass.

You should have seen the other coaches when we maxed out in the weight room and I had a 17-year-old girl squat a legitimate 225 pounds.

By legit I mean she stayed back on her heels, kept her back flat and squatted BEYOND PARALLEL.

Anything else isn't a squat.

OK the truth is I was surprised too. But that is a true story.

By lifting this way, players will recruit and activate more motor units within the muscle with each rep. This develops greater degrees of applicable strength and power, making it much easier for players to move and control their bodies while competing.

Weight training isn't as complicated as it is made out to be. Simply follow the same teaching protocols, as far as technique and progressions that you do for every other speed training skill.

If you want to see exactly how we set up a strength-training program, the core lifts that we use and the specific rules we follow for creating huge gains in single rep max lifts in no time, you need to get your own copy of Complete Speed Training now...

Strength Training for Athletes

2008-04-27T12:17:00.000-07:00

So, what are the rules of the weight room as it relates to speed athletes?

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Rule #1: Learn right....Start light

I know that it is very difficult, especially for boys, to go into the
weight room and put anything less than 45-pound plates on the bar.

That's why I have a motto that I have to repeat over and over and
over again: No Egos in the Weight room.

Most players' strength training technique is so bad in the weight room that they are rarely
more than a lapse in focus away from a career ending injury.

I can't stress how important it is, especially with football players brand new to weight training, that they start with very light weights and master the technique of the lift first.

At the beginning, complete forget about 'heavy' or 'light' and just go for good form. With your 'veteran' lifters, back them up and reteach them how to lift with perfect form.

As you'll see in a minute, effective weight training for sports is dependent on a player's ability to get the most out of the precious few reps they will be doing. So if their form is crap, then that's just what their workouts will be.

In this instance, I apply the 'graduation' game with their weights. I allow them to gradually increase the number of pounds on the bar once they prove to me that they can do it with good form.

I suggest you do the same. Of course, I'm assuming that you have learned how to teach, correct, and identify perfect form with the fundamental lifts.

And no, your experience as a high school or college athlete 15+ years
ago does not qualify you.

If you'd be 100% comfortable correcting and instructing your football team
in front of me, then you qualify.

*******************
Rule #2: Speed athletes are not bodybuilders

With very few exceptions, it isn't going to help an athlete's speed if
they are in the weight room doing lifts that are going to add useless
bulk to their bodies.

Players should only be doing multi-joint movements that address multiple muscle groups at once and can have a positive impact on athletic performance.

For example, there are certain core lifts that we use in all of our strength
training programs.

None of them involve a machine.

There are supplemental exercises that can be added to these core lifts, step-ups for example, but they must follow the multi-joint movement
philosophy.

Now, here are some popular weight room exercises that are great for getting players to look good at the beach, but have no athletic value:

Bicep curls
Hamstring curls
Leg extensions
Chest flies
Tricep extensions
Most machine exercises

On top of that, Smith Machine squats and leg press are what I consider leg exercises for athletes too lazy to do squats and dead lifts and coaches too lazy to teach them.

If you want to learn how to teach and perform explosive weight training lifts that will make faster athletes go to:

Complete Olympic Lifting

How to Run a 4.2 40 Yard Dash

2008-04-25T07:03:00.000-07:00

In the NFL Draft, where potential is prized above all, objective measurements like 40-yard dash times can count as much as stacks of game tapes. Times like East Carolina's Chris Johnson's have a special power because they were taken at the combine, the annual gathering where NFL teams put top college prospects through their paces -- and where 40-yard times are measured indoors with an automated system. (The legendary 4.17-second 40 Deion Sanders ran at Florida State in 1989 was measured by stopwatch.) Jeffrey Foster of National Invitational Camp Inc., the firm that runs the combine, says Mr. Johnson's mark is the fastest at the combine since records have been kept.

Despite being one of the NCAA's active leaders in career all-purpose yardage and the MVP of the Hawaii Bowl, Mr. Johnson knew pro scouts were wary of him because he hadn't played at a powerhouse school. He figured his only chance to crack the draft's upper echelon was to run a scorching 40. "If I had run a 4.30, I would have been upset," he says. It all comes down to speed training.

Only days after his college career ended, Mr. Johnson packed his bags to spend eight weeks with NFL speed guru Tom Shaw, who runs an independent combine-preparation camp near Orlando, Fla. Mr. Shaw's clinics consist of two-a-day training sessions and cost about $750 a week, plus room and board. He has trained 94 first-round NFL picks, and in 2007, his trainees ran four of the top five 40 times at the combine.

Click here for the rest of the story>>

Strength Training for Speed and Power Athletes

2008-04-24T06:45:00.000-07:00

Today I'm going to talk to you about the importance of strength training.

For some reason, the majority of programs simply do not consider this important enough to make it a regular part of their preseason and in season training.

The only sport that I see using weight training with any regularity is American football and most of the time they're not doing it right.

It's true.

For some reason, in the United States, we have adopted a 'bodybuilder' mentality when it comes to strength training for sport.

Let me give you another example:

I used to coach at a high school. Whenever I'd be in the weight room with my athletes, I would obviously watch all the athletes lift.

OK, the only other athletes in the weight room besides mine were the football team. Literally no other team in the school used the weight room.

Shameful, but not surprising.

Anyway, it became a running joke with my athletes because whenever we'd be in the weight room, the football players would be doing some crazy stuff!

What do I mean?

I can count the number of times on one hand that I saw a workout that consisted primarily of leg exercises and contained rep schemes that were less than 8-10 reps.

On top of that, coaches didn't instruct anyone on how to do the lifts correctly (the football team started coming to me for that - and their coaches would just give me dirty looks).

Plus, many of the lifts they did were, well, useless for sports.

Next time I will go into some weight room rules.

Warm-up Drills and Protocols for Athletes

2008-04-22T20:31:00.000-07:00

OK, let's get to the basic principles behind the warm up. But I will warn you - once you read this you have no excuse for using static stretching or a sloppy, unorganized dynamic warm up with your team. Your warm-up should be done before you perform and speed or agility drills.

**************
1. Progress from slow, simple movements to faster, more complex movements.

Think back to my 'cold car' analogy. Your players have to start with movements that aren't going to put muscles in a position to pull or tear because they aren't fully warmed up.

****************
2. A good warm-up will have your players slightly out of breath and lightly sweating.

Anything less than this and they aren't ready to go at full speed. This means that on a speed day, the warmup should take a good 20 minutes.

Remember, our goal is to make your team faster. You can't cheat the warm up and expect your team to achieve their goals.

How you decide those numbers depends, again, on your training goals for that day.

**************
3. Make sure your players do the drills with perfect form every time!

You'd think this was a no-brainer, but in my experience that couldn't be further from the truth. The majority of the time, even in programs that claim to use a dynamic warm-up, the player's technique is so sloppy that it is almost counter-productive.

I'm serious!

In addition to being a great warmup, these drills also work on running mechanics, coordination, and flexibility. If your team just goes through the motions by doing the drills half-assed, then they're only setting themselves up to become injured.

Show your team how to do each drill correctly and get on them when they're not putting in the effort. I've kicked kids out of practice on more than one occasion because they didn't focus on their drills. If that takes too much effort to do correctly, then how can I expect them to properly execute in the workout or the competition?

There is no excuse for telling your athletes to do a certain type of drill if they don't know how to do it right and you can't tell them how to fix any mechanical problems.

I can't emphasize the importance of this fact strongly enough!

******************
4. Don't do the same warm-up every single day.

Your team will quickly get bored doing the same old warmup. That means the drills will be sloppy, they won't be warmed up correctly, and they set themselves up for injury. Variety is one of the keys to getting the most out of your team.

If the warmup gets monotonous, kids will go through the motions. So you should switch up your warm up routines a few times every season so that athletes don't get bored and lazy before practice even starts.

If they're lethargic from a warmup they've been doing every day for the past two months, what do you really expect to get out of them in their speed workout?

My experience tells me not a whole lot.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

I hope this gives you some ideas on how, where and when to modify your warmup. You can't get more out of your players without making this the first issue you address.

If you are looking for more warm-up exercises to go along with your speed training drills you can see more at Warm up Drills for Athletes

Warm-up for Sports

2008-04-20T07:59:00.000-07:00

Many coaches claim to use a dynamic warm-up, but in fact, it's just a series of poorly taught, poorly executed drills that aren't set up with any rhyme or reason. Although better than only using the static stretch warm-up, this is still a terrible way to prepare your team to run as hard and fast as they can.

Here are some of the many benefits to the athletes I train, that I attribute to our implementation of a dynamic warm up:

- Muscle strains and pulls have been almost completely eliminated because entire muscle groups have been activated through various progressive movements.

- More points and better marks are being scored earlier in competitions because the players aren't spending the early part of the game or meet trying to get loose.

- Players are running at faster speeds, making sharper cuts and exploding off the line with ease, again, because they're fully warmed up before they have to start moving at full speed.

- Late-season and post-season productivity has increased significantly. Players aren't getting burnt out at the end of the season because, among other things, they're avoiding the muscular and cellular trauma that comes with forcing cold muscles to move at speeds they aren't ready for.

Here's a quick analogy to prove my point...

When you start your vehicle on a cold morning, what do you do?

You let it warm up for a few minutes before trying to drive it. Otherwise, acceleration is terrible and you risk seriously damaging your engine because oil and other fluids haven't had the chance to heat up parts that make your car run efficiently.

Well, think of your football players like a car.

If you try to get them to run at full speed before they are properly warmed up, their acceleration will be terrible and you risk a serious muscle pull or tears because blood hasn't had a chance to heat up the muscles that allow the athlete to run quickly and efficiently.

Does that make sense?

The most glaring evidence I have in support of a good warmup is the behavior of the athletes that I coach.

They'll come to me from their sports having primarily used static stretching to warm up. If they did do some type of movement based, dynamic warm up, it was sloppy and followed no particular pattern.

After working with me, not only do they run much faster and feel better, but they couldn't imagine warming up any other way! When I go watch their competitions, I see them out there with their teammates using my warm-up!

Listen, the warm up doesn't have to be complicated. It just has to follow a few basic premises.

But before I list them I will say this...

In my experience, if you've been using static stretching at the beginning of practice, you shouldn't just stop cold turkey. Most players have been doing this at the start of every practice, for their entire lives.

It's hardwired into their heads that they need to do it to warmup properly, even though it is not true. Therefore, I don't cut it out completely. Instead, I'll give them 5 minutes to stretch out alone before own before we start our full warm up. This way they feel like they got a 'pre-stretch' and it gives them a chance to see what their tight spots are.

For more sports training information, on audio, go now to:

Sports Training Interviews

Sports Training - Warm-up Speed Drills

2008-04-17T12:57:00.000-07:00

If you really want to make your team faster, the first step you must take concerns the very first thing that they do each day at practice - The Warm Up!

I know it doesn't sound too glorious, but if you don't show your athletes an effective dynamic warm-up, you're asking for some serious problems!

What do I mean?

I still know A LOT of programs that are using static stretching as the primary form of warming up. You know what I'm talking about. Players will jog a lap or two around the field, get together in a circle and do those stretches where you hold one position for 8 or 10 counts.

I know YOU wouldn't use that as your primary method of warming up, but sadly some of your colleagues and competitors still do it.

So let me ask you a couple of questions...

How many sports can you think of that involve, at any point, holding a stretch for 10 seconds in order to be successful?

That's right, none. So is that an effective way to get ready to compete or practice?

In fact, studies show that static stretching can reduce power output by up to 20%. Don't you think that might have a negative effect on the speed and performance of your players?

Here is a quick warm-up presentation:

Complete Speed Training is a great source for speed drills for warming-up and more importantly how all these exercises go together.

Static stretching impairs sprint performance in collegiate track and field athletes

2008-04-13T10:53:00.000-07:00

The purpose of this study was to establish whether the deleterious effects of static stretching (SS) would wash out the performance enhancements obtained from the dynamic warm-up (DW). Eleven males and 11 females, who were athletes of a NCAA Division I track team, performed a DW followed with either a SS or rest (NS) condition. After warm-up was completed, speed training was performed, three 40 m sprints were performed to investigate the effects of the SS condition on sprint performance when preceded by DW. Time for the NS versus the SS group was significantly faster.

The results of this study suggest that performing a static stretching protocol following a dynamic warm-up will inhibit sprint performance in collegiate athletes.

Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 2008, 22(1), 13-9

Winchester JB, Nelson AG, Landin D, Young MA, Schexnayder IC

Click Here for the rest of the study >>

Athletic Speed Formula Seminar

2008-04-11T09:34:00.000-07:00

Have you been looking for a speed training seminar that will tell you everything you want to know about developing athletes and making them faster?

If you answered yes, then you must attend Lee Taft's Athletic Speed Formula.

The Athletic Speed Formula is set up to be a tell-all seminar that will give you a proven system to help your athletes succeed. Coach Taft is going to spill the beans about everything he have learned on developing better athletes over the past twenty years.

In the seminar Lee Taft will take you through:

The real goal of any program is to set your athletes up for success. I have a proven system that will do just that.
How to assess athletes in order to gain an optimal training environment.
An efficient warm-up system to prepare athletes for performance and reduce injury potential.
How to develop proper landing and foot placements through repeating balance and stability training.
How to properly teach, as well as, not over teach deceleration and acceleration.
How to correctly teach lateral acceleration and quickness skills.
How to teach cutting techniques to instantly improve your athletes' speed and quickness.
How to teach jumping and landing skills to protect from injury and achieve an explosive body position.
A fool-proof way to evaluate your athletes' agility and movement instinct.
How to analyze and beak down faulty sprinting mechanics.
Teaching progressions and cues to produce great multi-directional speed athletes.
How to trick athletes into proper movement patterns that will be engrained into their motor programs.
How athletes strength train at Lee Taft Speed Academy.
Believe it or not, much more!

For more information on the seminar and a personal video of Lee Taft letting you all about what's happening at the seminar go to:

Lee Taft Athletic Speed Formula Seminar

Nike SPARQ Training Promos

2008-04-09T18:57:00.000-07:00

Nike Sparq campaign broke on American Idol and started gaining traction during the NCAA Final Four men's basketball tournament; two new TV spots will debut this week. The current commercials begin with a taunt, a bully haiku, really: "My better is better than your better."

In partnering with Sparq, Nike is selling the weird-looking tools, too, like hurdles and a ladder. A slew of "better"-talkin' Nike pro athletes -- soccer stars Landon Donovan, Hope Solo and Abby Wambach; lacrosse players Kyle Harrison and Ryan Powell; basketballers Kevin Durant, Steve Nash, Brandon Roy and Diana Taurasi; major leaguer Matt Holliday; NFL running back Adrian Peterson -- populate the spots. They're captured at practice, and sometimes in slow motion, using the tools and doing the drills, which do indeed look strange. The weirdest is the parachute, which comes in sizes M, L and XL. ("What size is your parachute?" would seem to be the resulting question.) Apparently, running with it increases resistance for strength and speed training, and allows some kind of unique brain connection to the body that also boosts speed.

Continue to news story >>

The greatest speed training drill

2008-03-14T08:06:00.000-07:00

When it comes to speed development, speed training drills are important. Speed drills train the athlete to move in an efficient and powerful way to take advantage of the single most important factor in speed development.

Force application.

One of the best speed training drills to use is the A-skip ( Gerard Mach - Mach Drill).

Here are some cues for the A-skip:

cue 'chin up, chest up, toe up, heel up
cue athletes to repeat 'hop, hop...hop, hop' in their heads to help coordinate the double hop movement
recover the active heel underneath the hips while hopping with the support leg
step over the support knee
drive the active leg down into the ground as soon as the heel clears the knee while hopping on the support leg
initial foot strike should be with the ball of the foot, not the heel
active foot should strike directly beneath the hips
active foot should land no farther than ½ footlength in front of support foot
deceleration of active thigh ('drive down') should be noticeably faster and more forceful than the initial recovery of that active leg

The A-march is a great speed training drill to use first to help the athlete understand the motion before the A-skip is used. Since it is a 'complicated' movement for some athletes, you can have your athletes start with their hands on their hips, so it takes their arms out of the movement, until they have mastered the skill.

For speed training information and resources, make sure you check out http://www.AthletesAcceleration.com

Speed Training Podcast

2008-03-11T12:12:00.000-07:00

If you are interested in interviews from the top coaches in speed training and strength & conditioning, then I have a site for you. Latif and I put together our interviews that we have done throughout the year and added them to our new website. The site has those podcasts up now and we will continue to add to the site so make sure that you check back often or sign up for the RSS feed.

Here is Athletes Acceleration's Speed Training Podcast site:
http://athletesacceleration.libsyn.com/

If you are looking for speed training information for speed and power sports on audio and podcasts, make sure you go to:

http://athletesacceleration.libsyn.com/

How to Run a Faster 40-yard dash

2008-03-07T13:24:00.000-08:00

Perfecting your starting position

Getting stuck on your 40-yard dash time can be frustrating, especially when you're doing everything you can think of to get faster. You're running harder and longer, but it seems like you've hit a wall. Running a faster 40-yard dash is often a key to unlocking your athletic future. For this very reason, it can be very daunting when it seems like the clock is ticking faster than it normally does. However, you can improve your 40-yard dash time without setting one toe in the gym. You won't need to log more miles during your work outs either. The key to running your fastest 40-yard dash lays before you even take your first step. The starting position for the 40-yard dash is tremendously important to the final time, yet it is often overlooked in the name of strength training and speed drills. While those things are important, proper starting form will cause you to shoot off the line and help you rack up those precious hundredths or even tenths of a second. Here are a few tips to perfecting your starting position that save you time in the end.

Before you start working on the details of your form for your starting position, be sure you're starting out on the right foot, or what's known as your strong foot. If you're not sure which leg is your strong leg, stand with both feet together and have a friend push you forward slightly, but hard enough that you have to step out of your stance to recover. The leg you step onto first is your strong leg and should be in front in your starting position. The strong leg is in front because it can provide the greatest force against the ground and thus the best speed in your initial burst off the line. This is crucial, as your speed in the first ten yards can greatly affect your overall time for the 40-yard dash.

To start building your stance, place your strong foot slightly behind the starting line. The strong leg should be bent at about a ninety degree angle. The other leg, or the quick leg, is bent and the knee should practically touch the ground. Your quick foot should be placed about one and a half feet behind your strong foot.

Next, your hips should be slightly higher than your shoulders. The positioning of the hips is tricky: if they are positioned too high above your shoulders, this can cause you to slightly lose balance after exploding off the line. This lack of balance can cost you your fastest 40-yard dash time. If your hips are positioned too low, this can affect your initial speed off the line as well, as too much body weight distributed to the back of your stance will make it more difficult to send your body into motion. Perfectly positioned hips will lend you the greatest balance and power when you first explode off the line.

Your hands should be shoulder width apart. Your quick side hand should touch the ground in front of you but only with your fingertips, this should prevent you from unconsciously shifting too much of your body weight onto your hand. The strong side arm is by your side at a ninety degree angle. Your head and neck should be aligned with your spine. Also, focus will prevent you from being too relaxed as well as too tense in your stance. Being too relaxed could affect your response time. If you're too tense, your muscles will have to work extra hard to set you into motion. A balance between the two states will help you achieve your fastest 40-yard dash.

If you've paused your reading to create this stance with your own body, it might feel a bit unnatural. Feeling uncomfortable and cramped is normal when you first begin implementing this form. In fact, if it does not feel cramped, carefully analyze your form to ensure you are correctly positioned. The idea is for your body to create a sense of being compressed so it can explode off the line to run a faster 40-yard dash. The more you practice it, the more natural it will feel. In the meantime, when you are first starting out, try not to adjust the dimensions of the stance so that it feels more natural or comfortable, no matter how miniscule the variation may seem. In doing so, you may compromise form and thus your potential for improving your time for the 40-yard dash.

Practice this stance during your workouts so that it begins to feel more natural. If you aren't distracted by the discomfort and awkwardness of your stance, you're able to be more clear-headed and focused on the task ahead, which is, of course, running the 40-yard dash in your fastest time ever. To feel confident that you are using the best form, have a friend or coach watch you practice it. This can help create consistency even as you become more comfortable with your stance. You can also video tape your stance and evaluate yourself. Consistency and technique is crucial when your training goal is to shave time off your 40-yard dash.

Once you've incorporated great form and technique for your starting position, you are bound to have a breakthrough on your overall time and run a faster 40-yard dash. The greatest part about this approach to a faster 40-yard dash is that you can see a change in your time very soon, if done right. It cannot replace conditioning and strength training. However, when it seems as if doing more of the same thing is not getting you the results you want, making a few slight adjustments to your existing technique can make a tremendous difference in your performance. Combining power and form is sure to set you on the path to running your fastest 40-yard dash.

For more football speed training tips and to learn more about how to run a faster 40 yard dash, go to:
Sports Training Articles

Why 'sport specific' training is a myth

2007-07-08T19:25:00.000-07:00

That's right, it's not real.

You see people are always asking for (insert your sport)
specific drills, workouts, programs, whatever.

And everytime I get one of these emails I sigh deeply.

Why?

Because unless you're working with elite collegiate or
professional athletes, you shouldn't fool yourself into
believing your athletes need 'special' training, drills,
etc. specific to their sport.

But Latif, you always say that you don't train a football
player the same as a soccer player.

Yes, of course there are going to be differences in approach
based on the energy system demands of a sport.

But that doesn't make those differences a whole different
'sport specific' program.

It's called using common sense.

Let's say I'm doing some agility ladder drills and I have
a soccer player and a football player.

They both need speed, coordination, agility, timing,
body awareness, etc..

Do those drills require a 'Soccer Agility' product and a
'Football agility' product?

No. It's the exact same thing: Developing better athletes
who *happen* to play soccer or football.

The only difference is that for the soccer player I'm going
to have them dribble or kick a soccer ball after going
through the ladder.

And I'll throw a football to the football player and have
him cut and run a pattern.

That's not 'sport specific'. It's training athletes using
common sense.

Another example.

It's an acceleration day for my 15 year old 100m runner and
my 15 year old field hockey player.

Better break out my sport specific track and field training
manual *and* my sport specific field hockey manual right?

No, both of these athletes likely have the exact same
weaknesses in their running mechanics and skill. So I can
train them the same way with the primary differences
being based solely on individual strengths and weaknesses.

At some point my sprinter will have to come out of blocks and
my field hockey player will have to run with her stick.

That distinction is not based on some 'sport specific' guide.
It's based on developing better overall athletes using a
common sense approach to training. Not some fictitious need
for 'specialization'.

It doesn't matter what sport/s you coach or play, the training
plan you use has to be based on the same fundamental goal
for all athletes, ages and genders:

Improve the speed, strength, flexibility, coordination and
endurance of every athlete.

The only program specifically designed to cover each of those
topics is Complete Speed Training. It's called 'Complete' for
a reason.

If you don't already have this program then there are huge
gaps in the way you develop your athletes.

If you haven't purchased a copy because you're looking for
a program specific to your 'sport' then you've been doing the
coaching or training equivalent of beating your head against
the wall.

And I hope this article helped you change your mind.

As the saying goes: 'When you change the way you look at
things, the things you look at change'.

So get your copy of the *only* Complete Speed Training program
that's going to develop *all* the skills required for success
in any sport:

Complete Speed Training

In speed,

Latif Thomas

P.S. Still not convinced I'm on to something?

It's OK to be skeptical.

Listen to my recent conversation on the topic with Strength
and Conditioning Hall of Famer Al Vermeil. Al is the only
Strength and Conditioning Coach to work for the NFL, NBA
*and* MLB. He's also the only coach ever to earn a World
Championship ring in both the NFL (49ers) and the NBA (BUlls).

Listen to Al Vermeil

Now, here's how to develop your athletes' ability to get
faster for any sport.

Complete Speed Training

To listen to the rest of this 60 minute interview, log into
your account at The Speed Training Report.

Lessons from World Champion Head Coach Tony Dungy - Part V

2007-07-07T11:34:00.000-07:00

We're finally to the last part of my series of Leadership
Lessons I learned from World Champion Tony Dungy.

This is arguably the most important of the 5 lessons, but it
is also dependent on the understanding and application of the
first 4, which are:

1. Direction
2. Perseverence - Staying the course
3. Develop a Thick Skin
4: Discernment

Coach Dungy's final Leadership Lesson is one, in my opinion,
that gets overlooked by many people in every aspect of life:

5. Be yourself

To be a great coach and/or leader, we have to pull knowledge
and experience from other people whose opinions and actions
we respect and admire.

But it can be easy sometimes to go too far in emulating a
particular coach's demeanor or style because we respect their
accomplishments.

However, that isn't being true to yourself and your athletes
or children or even peers will see through that.

Coach Dungy's quote during his talk was "A genuine Tony Dungy
is always better than an imitation Vince Lombardi."

And the same is true for you. Learn as much as you can from
others, but be yourself and develop your own coaching style,
method of implementation, tools and techniques.

Of course you're going to borrow other peoples' information
as you establish the foundation you will build off of in
the coming years.

It's critical that you first establish that foundation so you
can assess where your results are coming from not only on
a year to year basis, but month to month, week to week and
day by day.

If you don't follow a specific system and repeat the process
over and over until you obtain enough data to start making
your own changes, your athletes will *always* get inconsistent
results.

So make Complete Speed Training your foundation for athletic
development.

Follow the advice of World Champion Head Coach Tony Dungy.

You can't really go wrong if you follow that path, can you?

In speed,

Latif Thomas

P.S. Listen to what just one satisfied Complete Speed Training
Customer had to say.

Leadership Lessons from Tony Dungy - Part IV

2007-06-26T09:34:00.000-07:00

Coach Dungy's fourth Leadership Characteristic is:

4: Discernment - knowing what to do and when to do it is a
true sign of wisdom

In his talk, Tony said that when a coach plans well there
are very few situations where you don't know exactly what
to do in a situation.

For example, in the course of the Colts Superbowl run last
year, he said there were only 3 occasions in the entire
season where his organized system and planning didn't dictate
the decision that he should make.

I would have figured there would be 3 times per game, at least.

But this only shows how important it is to have a plan. To
develop the first 3 characteristics he discussed, but to
do so with intelligent design, not BS your way through.

As coaches, we must be analytical, not emotional in our
decision making. And this is true whether we're in the
planning stages of designing our training programs or in
the heat of a game or meet where we must make a decision
that could decide the outcome of that competition.

If you've ever driven to practice saying to yourself 'I think
this would be a good workout to do today' then you haven't
developed the characteristics that have been discussed here.

Because starting with a foundation (Direction) and having
the confidence in the science and knowledge that created
that plan (Perseverence) will give you the structure to
follow your system (Develop a thick skin) even when, invariably,
people respond and react emotionally and selfishly to the
way it must be carried out.

Developing the wisdom that gets others to believe in you and
to follow you comes from the natural confidence that you
emit when you know that you know what you're doing.

People (your athletes, your peers, your competitors) know
when you know and they know when you don't know. There
are too many variables involved to BS your way through
an entire season.

You can develop these four traits by following a few
basic steps.

The first one you've already done by not only signing up
to receive our articles and newsletters, but by reading
them, thinking about them and applying the concepts I
discuss.

The second step is to invest in your education. You have
to put your athletes in a position to succeed and that
requires getting the most out of their athletic ability.

Your foundation should be the Complete Speed Training Program.
I flat out *guarantee* that it will help you, your athletes
and your program evolve in the right direction.

Don't let the next athletic season sneak up on you without
having made any changes to your system or way of thinking.

Click here to order the program:

http://www.completespeedtraining.com/cmd.php?ad=315096

The third step is to get develop your knowledge by getting
information from experts and engaging in discussion with
your peers.

If you've already gone through Complete Speed Training,
bring your knowledge to our community of proactive coaches.

Join The Speed Training Report community today:

http://www.speedtrainingreport.com

Follow these steps and there is simply no way you can fail.

Remember, more has been lost by indecision than by wrong
decision.

Sitting back on the fence and making excuses why you can't,
shouldn't or have to wait just a little bit longer before
you make a decision is just the same as choosing not to
succeed.

Show the Discernment that leads to success.

In speed,

Latif Thomas

PS. Let me make it easy for you:

Complete Speed Training:

http://www.completespeedtraining.com/cmd.php?ad=315096

Speed Training Report:

http://www.speedtrainingreport.com

Lessons from Tony Dungy - Part III

2007-06-18T07:00:00.000-07:00

1. Direction
2. Perseverence - Staying the course

Tony's third characteristic of true Leadership is:

3. Develop a Thick Skin

To be a great leader you have to develop the
ability to handle criticisim.

Many 'experts' said that Tony's coaching style
wouldn't work with today's NFL. They said he
could never win the big game, not in Tampa Bay
and not Indianapolis.

People are always going to criticize you, especially
if you're doing well.

You should count on it, it's just human nature.

In fact, I'm a believer in the idea that if
people aren't hating on you, then you're probably
not doing anything worth talking about.

When I first started becoming successful, I really
thought that the people around me would be
supportive, they'd get on board with what I was
trying to do because of the obvious results.

Man did I have it wrong.

And back then I did not have thick skin and I
took everything personally.

When athletes and parents started jumping ship
and coming to me for help, other coaches in my
area started saying I was 'stealing' athletes.

It didn't matter that I didn't coach teams in
those sports or, for that matter, that these
people were from other towns.

And it didn't matter that I never approached a
single athlete or parent, they all came and found
me, without exception.

No, logic goes out the window when the human
animal feels threatened. And when you don't follow
the herd, people start to feel threatened.

People are creatures of habit and convention and
they don't like change. They will fight against
it.

When I first started running sports camps and clinics
I couldn't get these coaches to actively promote
them to their teams.

They didn't want to 'lose' these kids to a modern
way of training because they didn't want to put
the time in to learn it themselves.

Back then I took it personally, now I take it as
a compliment. It's amazing what a simple shift
in focus can do.

After all, when you change the way you look at
things, the things you look at change.

I have to laugh now when these same coaches want
me to come back and run clinics for their teams
and towns.

But let me point one thing out:

You can shrug off criticism (because you will be
criticized) but it doesn't mean you shouldn't
listen to it.

Coach Dungy said you can always improve. Take in
the criticism and evaluate it. See where you
can make changes for the better.

Early in my career I was talking to a coach and I
laid out my training progressions for him.

He told me that it was 'too scientific' and didn't
think it would entirely work in practice.

At first I got defensive (I'm as much a creature
of habit as anyone else) and tried to justify
my position and 'prove him wrong'.

My athletes were better, my team was better, so
I must have been 'right'.

But after some time I went back and looked at
what he said. It turns out, alot of his constructive
criticism was accurate.

By analyzing the criticism, I made improvements
that I wouldn't have made otherwise.

And as soon as I made myself open to it, by simply
shifting my perspective, I evolved as a coach

And, quite frankly, as a person too.

<$firstname$>, you can always become a better
leader, coach, parent (or person) once you can
develop the ability to take criticism as an
opportunity to grow, not an indictment of your
personal character.

From a coaching standpoint, you have to decide
how you want your criticism because it'll come
from one of two camps:

One group will criticize you because they see
talented athletes who aren't being developed properly.
And they'll criticize you for your lack of skill.

The other group will be jealous of your ability to
make your 'average' kids better than their team
leaders.

Both have something to teach, but I prefer my attacks
to come from the second group.

To put yourself in that position, your entire
program has to be built on a solid foundation.

Because that thick skin needs something strong
to support it.

Complete Speed Training is that foundation.

-Latif Thomas

Leadership Lessons from World Champion Coach Tony Dungy

2007-05-29T07:41:00.000-07:00

1. Direction.

2. Perseverence - Staying the Course

Tony talked about how people told him his laid
back style of coaching would never work as a head
coach in the NFL, but he wasn't going to change
his philosophy based on other peoples' opinions.

As coaches, it's important that we stay the course
once we have decided on the direction we want to
go.

It's not about stubbornly refusing to make changes
when things aren't working, we see the results of
that on the world scene right now.

Instead, it's about showing consistency in the
application of the plan of action we believe in.

I can promise you that even the best prepared, best
written training plans are going to give you
moments of doubt.

Athletes aren't improving like you expected, they're
sucking wind at the end of the game, they're
getting beat to the ball and off the line.

You'll start second guessing yourself, your program,
your ability.

And your athletes will be able to see the doubt
and frustration in your body language. I'm a firm
believer in the idea that your team, your group, etc.
takes on the personality of the coach.

It's why I always (ok, almost always) try to
stay positive. I try to act like everything that
happens is part of the plan.

Did we get our butts kicked this week? No problem
guys, we're training through it.

Even during times I had no idea how to steer what
I thought was a flaming train wreck, I always
stayed the course.

Again, because my plan was researched, based on
science and physiologically sound, I had every
reason to believe that things would come together
when it mattered.

And the vast majority of time it did.

Because I knew that if I wanted my athletes to
naturally trust and follow me (not out of fear or
because I'm the adult in charge) I could not
flip flop in ideology or change course mid season.

Athletes will take on the underlying belief and
expectations of the person/people coaching them.

And if I'm all over the place because I don't have
utmost confidence in the preparation I put into
planning the season, then my athletes won't
either and we'll all fail to reach our goals.

<$firstname$>, if you're operating with a solid
base of knowledge and designing your athletes'
training with a proven system, stay the course
and things will come together.

If you have any doubts about the effectiveness of
your training program, here is the program that
will give you the Direction to Persevere:

Complete Speed Training

In speed,

Latif Thomas

PS. To hear directly from World Class Coaches and
discuss training questions with other peers in
similar situations to yours, join us in the
Speed Training Report community:

The Speed Training Report

Lessons from World Champion Tony Dungy

2007-05-24T06:32:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago I attended a Get Motivated Business
Seminar in Indianapolis.

I got to see several successful and inspiring speakers
including Steve Forbes, Robert Schuler, Zig Ziglar and
General Colin Powell.

But being in Indianapolis, it was headlined by two
local heroes: Tony Dungy and Peyton Manning.

As a diehard New England Patriots fan (I used to teach
and coach right in Foxboro, the home of Gillette
Stadium and the New England Patriots) it was tough
to sit in the RCA dome and listen to all the diehards
go overboard everytime the Colts were mentioned.

Nevertheless, as part of my ongoing quest to evolve
as both a coach and a human being, I took advantage
of the opportunity to learn from both of these men.

So I thought I would share with you some of the key
points I learned from them and put them in the context
of how we can apply these pieces of wisdom to our
coaching.

I'll start with Tony Dungy, who is just as much of
a class act as people say he is.

Tony talked about leadership and as coaches, trainers
and parents, we simply can not expect our athletes
to follow us and meet their potential if we do not
display the following five characteristics.

Of course, what I'm talking about is dependent almost
entirely on the fact that you consistently apply
training strategies that will get results.

So let's look at the first of the 5 points Tony
Dungy discussed:

1. Direction.

You have to know where you are going and how you plan
to get there.

Great leadership is not leadership at all if you don't
know exactly how to get your athletes from Point A
to Point Z.

They depend on you to accomplish this task.

Just because you're the adult and you're in charge
does not mean you have the full attention and respect
of your team, group or clients.

I've had enough athletes (and parents) approach me in
various situations and ask for help or ask my advice
because they (parent and athlete) have lost faith in
the coaching they are getting.

The fact that you are reading this tells me that you
know there are holes in your system.

None of us (myself included) should be so arrogant as
to believe that just because athletes are doing what
we say, that it also means they believe in what we
say.

Young people are incredibly perceptive. They pick up
on your mistakes. They know when you have no idea how
to fix technique, teach a drill or come up with workouts
that work. They dream of mutiny when their teammates
keep getting overuse injuries (shin splints, strains,
hamstring pulls, etc) year after year.

Tony said that the best leaders have the ability to
listen and get the opinions of others, not claim to
know it all.

This is critical. It's the foundation of any success
you hope to have in any position of authority and all
other traits hinge on it.

It goes back to my recent articles on identifying the
'World's Greatest' speed coach.

A few years ago, a particular team (and on paper a
successful one) had a disproportionate
number of athletes and parents coming to me for help.

In fact, several of them offered to match, out of
pocket, my coaching salary if I would jump ship and
come to this town to coach.

It was tempting because this town was overflowing with
underdeveloped talent and I always wanted to coach
there.

I knew those coaches would never allow such a thing
to take place and I was happy with the progress of
my current program.

But I sent a 'feeler' email out to the Head Coach.

He told me, in no uncertain terms, that the way they
did things there wasn't going to change and that they
were not interested in change.

His exact quote was 'The (name of town) way is the
only way'.

And that's why his athletes and their parents came to
me in droves.

He didn't have the hearts and minds of his athletes
or their parents. And that is not the way to get the
most out of everyone.

Or anyone, for that matter.

If you want athletes to *want* to work hard for you,
it starts with clearly knowing where you want to go
and how you're going to get there.

It's why you need to be using Complete Speed Training
as the foundation of your speed and athletic
development program.

If not, you're already lacking a strong sense of
direction.

http://www.completespeedtraining.com/cmd.php?ad=315107

And if you don't have one, your athletes are already
going elsewhere to find someone who does.

Give Your Athletes a 'Criticism Sandwich'

2007-05-23T07:09:00.000-07:00

There are a lot of tell-tale signs of a crappy
program.

One of the most obvious is when coaches stand around
and chat in a group while their athletes are doing
their speed work.

No intsruction or feedback other than the occasional
'Nice Job', 'Swing your arms', 'Lift your knees' or
other generic sayings.

You and I know this happens for two reasons:

1. They are lazy.
2. They don't know how to teach or correct speed to
begin with.

Coaching speed correctly is a skill and it takes
some trial and error to put in place a good system
depending on your situation.

If you have a large group it can get tiring trying
to watch several athletes run, save the
file of their run in your head and then give
feedback while simultaneously doing the same thing
for the next group.

And then the group after that.

On top of that, let's be honest, most kids are a
complete mess. It's going to take some time to get
their technique under control.

And that means you have to keep breaking them down
over and over and over.

If you're not careful, they'll start to get frustrated
and believe they won't be able to pull it together.

And we all have those extra sensitive athletes (high
school girls??) who need to be tip-toed around.

To avoid drama and maintain motivation, I like to give
all of my athletes a 'criticism sandwich'.

(I'd like to take credit for this term, but I can't.)

A criticism sandwich is when you first *praise* your
athlete for something, then deliver the criticism
and then close with praise that also sends them
back to the starting line before they can begin a
long round of over analysis.

It goes a little something like this:

YOU: Hey Courtney, great effort on that one. I could
tell you were really focusing on (weakness you have
been trying to correct) there and it looks like it's
really starting to come together. It's like night
and day compared to how it was at the beginning of
the season.

COURTNEY: Thanks!

YOU: Here's the thing. You popped straight up again
and didn't drive your lead arm. Remember, if you want
to run (goal time discussed in goal setting meeting)
you have to be more patient at the start. If you
rush because you're trying to keep up with (team
superstar) then you're never going to get to full
speed. Remember, it's OK to spend a little more
time on the ground at the start, but you have to
drive the lead arm all the way up over your head
so you can get into good position. If you keep
rushing through the first 5 steps, your times aren't
going to drop.

(Remember, only focus on 1 thing at a time. In this
instance, everything stems from driving the lead
arm.)

COURTNEY: Umm...OK I thought I drove my lead arm.

(This is where we have to neutralize the self doubt
that is coming in hard and fast.)

YOU: Listen, you're doing great. Once we can fix
that one issue, everything else will fall into place
immediately. As long as you keep trying as hard
as you are and focus on that one thing, I'm 100%
confident that you'll get it. You're more than
half way there, so just keep focusing like you have
been and all of a sudden you'll drop a bomb and
never look back.

COURTNEY: Really, do you think so?

YOU: Most definately. Now I want you to go get ready
for the next one and just visualize the perfect
start, with your lead arm coming all the way up. No
chicken wing arms.

COURTNEY: OK!

With that interaction, you've neutralized the
possibility of a self confidence crash, given
constructive feedback and likely even boosted the
athlete's confidence.

As long as you maintain that procedure with your
athletes, you'll be amazed at how quickly they
develop.

The art of coaching is, in large part, a mental game.

Of course, to serve a really great criticism sandwich,
you have to actually know what problems to look for
and how to fix them.

Otherwise, kids will start to see that
you're BS'ing them. I hired an assistant once who
tried to drop the sandwich on some kids who knew
better. He lost all credibility trying to make up
a technical analysis on the spot that made no sense.

And getting credibility back is tough.

If you're not 100% confident that you can serve up
quality criticism sandwiches every time, I'll tell
you exactly what to look for and how to fix all
the problems that I see in athletes.

It's all on Disc 5 of the Complete Speed Training
Program: Pure Speed Training.

Click here to get your copy.

In speed,

Latif Thomas

P.S. Think you can't do it?:

"Wonderful, enlightening information. Recently, I
went to a speed and agility class offered by my
son's local sports club. I had just completed
studying your Complete Speed Training program and
reading several articles in the newsletter. Well,
I was speaking with the coach who was so impressed
with my knowledge that mid way through the class,
I was instructing the kids on mechanics and
exercises. I was invited back to lead the class by
myself and now I've been requested to set up
programs for the entire program. Also, several
parents have approached me about working with
their kids this summer. I guess I now need
information on getting certified and how to run a
summer camp. Thanks!"

Allen Williams
New Milford, CT

Complete Speed Training

Lift Strong

2007-05-01T19:40:00.000-07:00

Lift Strong

Cancer is an issue that affects millions of people worldwide, both directly and indirectly.

In fact, this disease even affects us here within the Athletes' Acceleration family.

So when a good friend and colleague of mine, Alwyn Cosgrove, told me about a cause that he was committed to that would help fight this disease, I knew I wanted to help.

You see, Alwyn had faced cancer in the past, twice, and he beat it both times.

You really should listen to this interview Alwyn gave where hetalks about his ordeal and the project that came from it.

You can listen to that interview here:
http://tinyurl.com/2539dc

Alwyn has put together a CD that you can purchase at:
http://www.liftstrong.com

This program, had it been a book, would have weighed inat over 800 pages and contains information from a laundry list of the biggest names in the industry.

*All* proceeds benefit the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

We hope you'll listen to the interview and donate to thisworthwhile cause.

Here is the link again:
http://www.liftstrong.com

Regards,
Patrick BeithLatif Thomas

Speed Training Report: Update

2007-04-18T10:48:00.000-07:00

I want to give everyone a heads up...'The Ultimate Guide to
Underground Sled Training’ 60 minute DVD is only available to
the first 100 people who join The Speed Training Report
Community.

As I write this, everyone who has joined so far is among the
first 100 - they are all 'in'.

If you haven't ordered yet, there is still time. However, the
DVD's are going fast so I can't guarantee how long this bonus
will be available. But, trust me, it's a pretty darn good DVD
especially with all the other content you get in your introductory
package.

Zach Even-esh sells that DVD for $37 by itself, which is
considerably more than you'll pay for an entire month's
membership to The Speed Training Report.

Here is the link one more time:

http://www.speedtrainingreport.com/

The Speed Training Report - Concern #2

2007-04-15T22:47:00.000-07:00

Concern #2

This update covers Concern #2 about The Speed Training
Report

(We already addressed the #1 concern (that we're just going to
charge people for what amounts to a series of product sales
pitches here.

CONCERN: There is so much material and information spread out
over a number of formats, topics, sports, etc. that the information
will be too complicated to retain or not specific enough to one
particular sport. Therefore only elite coaches will be able to
get anything out of it.

BACKGROUND: When we first started putting this idea together, we
considered this fear from Day 1. But we know from our experience
that the best way to become a successful coach, teacher and mentor
to young athletes is by educating yourself through as many sources
of information as possible.

Our free Complete Speed Training Newsletter covers the same type
of information (just not nearly as in depth or consistently as
The Speed Training Report) and we have, literally, hundreds of
testimonials from people of all sports, age groups, experience
levels and disciplines.

ANSWER: While the concern is understandable, I call this one
of those 'no worries' situations. We've thought about this
from the beginning.

When contacting and interviewing coaches, they were given specific
instructions as to how to present their content. So as long as
you are not getting overly confused by the Complete Speed Training
Newsletter and how I present information in that resource, you'll
have no problems with the Speed Training Report.

The information will be easy to grasp and I am quite confident
it will be immediately useful to both beginner and veteran
coaches alike.

Yes, there is a ton of content.

Yes, it does come from a variety of coaches and from a variety
of sports.

However, it is EXTREMELY easy to understand.

Plus it will still have a distinctive 'Athletes' Acceleration'
feel to it.

Even if you only are involved with one sport or style, I promise
you that you'll be able to apply information to your athletes
from a sport or arena that seems totally unrelated.

I used to think 'How can I apply this information on middle
distance running to my tennis players?'

But when you look foundationally at how the information is being
presented, you'll start to see amazing paralells.

It's kind of like the movie The Matrix when Neo starts to realize
how the Matrix actually works.

It reminds me of a great saying:

'When you change the way you look at things, the things you look
at change.'

Yeah,what can I say, I'm deep.

Let me give you a specific example.

Many of you have had the pleasure of working with Kimberly, our
adminisrative wonder woman. Kim is excellent at handling all
the administrative and customer service details that it takes to
run Athletes' Acceleration.

This is the type of stuff that Patrick and I will (and have)
screwed up.

Kim answers the phones and has learned enough about our
programs to give answers to the most popular questions that
potential customers have. However, she has no serious knowledge
of speed development or athletic performance, nor does she care.

However, since she'll have to answer a ton of questions about
the product when we launch, we gave her a copy of the first
issue so she could get familiar with it.

It sat on her desk for a few days because she really didn't want
to read all those articles or listen to a long interview about
any of the facets of athletic performance.

Quite frankly, she was dreading it.

But after looking at the first issue, Kim said:

"Honestly I was very surprised at how interesting it was.
Even though the topics were different, I feel like I could
understand how everything could fit together if you were
paying attention. Maybe I should start running camps and
clinics!"

And the most impressive part is - she just skimmed the articles
and only listened to the first half of the audio! (It is an hour and
20 minutes long after all!)

She wasn't taking notes or thinking about how to apply the
information to her own athletes.

She didn't highlight any sections or even think about diving
into all the bonuses.

She didn't check the forums, watch any video breakdown or
even read the transcripts of the audio interrogation.

She was reading it because I made her :)

My point is this: The information in The Speed Training Report
will work for coaches, parents and athletes of every sport, age,
skill level and gender.

And regardless of your current knowledge level, you'll be able
to pick up priceless information that you can take to your team,
kids, facility, etc.

More importantly, we want to build a community within the
members of the Speed Training Report.

So if the group decides the information is too difficult, we'll
change it.

If you want more of something, we'll add it.

Our goal is to serve as educators. We want to get information
to you using the path of least resistance. We're truly here
to serve you.

BOTTOM LINE: While The Speed Training Report content is quite
thorough and gives you a huge amount of material to consider,
it is also easy to understand. It will work for you whether
you're a beginner coach or a veteran, whether you coach
multiple sports and athletes or just one.

So stay tuned for more details. We'll be launching The Speed
Training Report on Tuesday, April 17 at 12pm EST. The best way
to stay informed about the release of The Speed Training Report
is by joining our announcement list.

You can see the details at the bottom of this message.

If you haven't already joined our Speed Training Report list
and checked out the Sneak Preview of the program, just enter
your name and email address below.

And of course, we won't share your contact information with
anyone. And that includes contributors to The Report. We
respect your privacy.

Regards,

Latif

THE SPEED TRAINING REPORT ANNOUNCEMENT LIST

If you haven't already joined our Speed Training Report list
and gotten your sneak preview of the report offering, just
enter your name and email address and press the button
that says 'Submit'

The Speed Training Report - Concern #1

2007-04-12T14:40:00.000-07:00

Concern #1

We've heard three major concerns from our readers about the
impending release of The Speed Training Report. This update will
address the #1 concern...

CONCERN: Is this going to be real information from coaches who
really know what they are doing or just a series of diguised sales
pitches for products and programs that you want to sell?

BACKGROUND: A couple of months ago we let it slip to our readers
that we're getting ready to launch a speed training
resource that covers every componant of athletic development; from
sport specific training articles and programs, strength training,
linear and lateral speed development, youth training, sports
psychology, mechanics, the list goes on and on.

That announcement set off a bit of a frenzy of emails from our
readers. The funny thing is, the biggest concern is not what
we anticipated.

People really enjoy receiving the Complete Speed Training
Newsletter, our regular free athletic development resource. But
our readers told us they were worried this new subscription
based resource would just be a marketing ploy to sell advertising
and sell programs. Instead of giving cutting edge training
advice from top experts, we'd be selling
fluff and wasting everyone's time and money.

To tell you the truth, I was a little taken aback at these
comments. Countless thousands of people have benefitted from
the information I give away weekly, for free. And our other
'paid' products are jam packed with information that have,
in some instances, literally changed peoples' lives.

To think that we would come out with anything less than a rock
solid training and coaching resource caught both Patrick and
I off guard, so we had to really sit and think about how we
would introduce the information and the experts.

As you may remember from when we first announced this project,
we've been working on cultivating this resource for almost a
year. So even though the comments threw us off, we wanted to
make sure we felt we were over delivering on the content.

And I promise you that if The Speed Training Report truly is
captain of the 'varsity' team then the Complete Speed Training
Newsletter is a 'freshman' in comparison.

Just think of it like this, I write the Complete Speed Training
Newsletter each week. While the articles and Q&A are informative,
it's tough to come up with great new info each week.

So while Patrick and I will contribute heavily to The Speed
Training Report, our articles and answers will come out monthly,
giving us a ton of time to really give thought out, well
researched answers and content.

Now think about what you'll learn from the coaches and experts
that Patrick and I go to when WE have questions!

It's truly world class info.

SOLUTION: So given that background, we've decided to take a
somewhat unorthodox approach. To get you hooked on The Speed
Training Report from the outset, we're going to give you a
drastic discount on the regular price AND give away a bonus
60 minute sled training DVD and ebook...at least initially.

Since taking action is the spark that ignites success in any
and all endeavours, we're only going to give the discount and
bonuses away to a limited number of people. Either the first
100 people who sign up or for the first 24 hours of the launch.
We haven't decided yet, but you can be sure that if you don't
act, we WILL start taking product away.

What I personally believe (and hope) is that these incentives
will just be gravy for serious and active readers.

I think once you see the line up of coaches we have joining
Patrick and I, you'll be sitting anxiously at
your computer waiting for the launch to start to ensure you
get subscribed as soon as humanly possible.

You already know the level of knowledge and quality of content
that you get with Athletes' Acceleration products, programs and
newsletters. But if you need a reminder of who we are, you can
click this link to see our bios:

More about Latif and Patrick

Here then, are just a few of the coaches that will be joining
Athletes' Acceleration's 'The Speed Training Report' with exclusive
content and interviews.

As a side note, these guys' bios were so extensive, I had to limit
them to a few (fairly long) bullet points each for the sake of being
reasonable:

Michael Boyle

Michael Boyle is one of the world's foremost experts in the fields
of Strength and Conditioning, Performance Enhancement and
general fitness.

-Co-founder of Mike Boyle Strength and Conditioning, a performance
enhancement company that trains athletes from junior high schoolto
All Stars in almost every major professional sport
-Served as the Head Strength and Conditioning Coach at Boston
University for 15 years
-from 1991-1999 Boyle served as the Strength and Conditioning
Coach for the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League.
-Strength and Conditioning Coach for the 1998 US Women’s Olympic
Ice Hockey Team, Gold Medalists in Nagano, and served as a
consultant in the development of the USA Hockey National Team
Development Program
-has been a featured speaker at numerous strength and conditioning
and athletic training clinics across the country and has produced nine
instructional videos in the area of strength and conditioning

Brian Grasso

Brian Grasso is the Founder and Executive Director of the
International Youth Conditioning Association.

-Began his sport-training career as a Performance Coach to
Olympic, professional and elite athletes from a variety of sports
and has traveled extensively throughout North America and
Europe as a Conditioning Consultant for both the Canadian and
United States National Team athletes.
-an outspoken leader in the youth athletic development industry,
Brian has written feature articles for sport training magazines
throughout North America including, Men's Fitness, Men's Health,
SportingKid, American Track & Field and Personal Fitness
Professional.
-Brian provides educational seminars covering youth athletic
development and training topics to sporting organizations
throughout the world including: the National Coaching Education
Program, the National Alliance for Youth Sports, the United
States Figure Skating Association, the Illinois Olympic
Development Program, Skate Canada, the Canadian Athletic
Therapists Association and the Korean Aerobic Association
among many others
-serves as an educational consultant to the Children's
Memorial Hospital's Institute for Sports Medicine.

Irving 'Boo' Schexnayder

One of the nation's premier field event coaches, Boo serves as
Chair of the Jumps program of USA Track and Field Coaching
Education, and is the former national chair of USA Track and
Field's Coaching Education Committee and Biomechanics
Subcommittee.

-Coached 10 different athletes to 19 individual NCAA titles during
his tenure at Louisiana State University-In 2004, his jumpers
combined to win three individual NCAA titles and earn 12
All-America honors
-Responsible for at least one National Champion in seven of his
11 seasons at LSU, while he has also developed 57 All-American
athletes during that time
-Coached Suzette Lee as she shattered the NCAA record in the
triple jump and captured outdoor national titles in both 1996
and 1997. Lee also won the NCAA Indoor triple jump title
in 1997.
-Guided the efforts of United States and World Triple Jump
Champion, Walter Davis, in 2005 and 2006 as well as John
Moffitt, who swept the NCAA Indoor and Outdoor long jump
titles before winning a silver medal in the event for Team USA
at the 2004 Olympic Games

Lee Taft

Lee is highly respected as one of the top agility and change of
direction specialists in the country and serves as Performance
Director and owner of Sports Speed, Etc., Inc.

-Executive Vice President for the International Youth Conditioning
Association, the premier international authority with respect to
athletic development and young athlete-based conditioning
-Certified by the National Strength and Conditioning
Association(NSCA) as a Certified Strength and Conditioning
Specialist (CSCS), a Sports Performance Coach certified by USA
Weightlifting (SPC)and he is also a certified Level 1 Track and
Field Coach by the USA Track & Field (USATF level I)
-Lee’s innovative techniques to improve multi-directional speed
are the teaching method of choice for many professionals
-Lee has written dozens of articles and e-books on the topic of
multi-lateral speed and youth development, produced audio
CD and DVD programs and is a featured speaker on the Perform
Better tour and other sports development clinics and seminars

Jeremy Boone
Jeremy Boone founded his own sports performance consulting
company, the Carolina Athletic Development Institute
dedicated to providing athletes with comprehensive training
and conditioning programs based upon the athlete’s sport,
position, and individual needs.

-Jeremy has helped to take four professional teams to a national
championship final including the NFL Carolina Panthers, WUSA
Atlanta Beat, WSL Charlotte Lady Eagles, and A-League
Charlotte Eagles
-He has worked with athletes from the novice to professional
levels in multiple sports including baseball, basketball, football,
soccer, softball, swimming, tennis, track and field, and
volleyball
-A highly motivated speaker, Jeremy has presented at numerous
conferences including the Perform Better Learn-By-Doing series,
the National Soccer Coaches Association of America, and the
National Soccer Coaches Association of Canada
-Creator of numerous highly regarded programs and resources
dedicated to safe and effective athletic development for speed
and power athletes of multiple sports

Brian Schiff
Brian Schiff is the owner of Fitness Edge, a private fitness
studio specializing in personal fitness and sport specific training
programs for athletes of all sports and ages and serves as clinic
director for an outpatient therapy clinic in New Albany, OH.

Brian served as the strength and conditioning coach for The
Columbus Crew Major League Soccer Team from 2002 – 2006
-Schiff co-authored a breakthrough manual on ACL injury
prevention entitled Protecting the Athlete’s Knee and contributed
three chapters in a much awaited golf conditioning e-book
entitled Fitness Secrets of Championship Golfers.
-Brian has presented at professional conferences and coaches’
clinics on topics including training for shoulder stability,
baseball specific training, soccer specific conditioning and sport
specific training, safe shoulder training, ACL injury prevention,
functional golf training and training the low back.
-Brian graduated from The Ohio State University in 1996 with a
Bachelor of Science degree of Physical Therapy in Allied Health
Professions, practices as a licensed physical therapist specializing
in sports medicine and is an NSCA Certified Strength and
Conditioning Specialist

Robb Rogers

With over 25 years of coaching experience Robb is an authority
on performance enhancement at every level from youth
development to professional athletes.
-Robb has honored by the National Strength and Conditioning
Association as the 1996 Southwest Conference Coach of the year
and the 1994 National Coach of the Year, as well as the Training
& Conditioning magazine Comeback Athlete Rehab Team award
and the University of Southern California Football Spirit Award
-Certified by the National Strength and Conditioning Association,
USA Weightlifting and is a Certified Master Strength and
Conditioning Coach by the Collegiate Strength and Conditioning
Coaches Association
-Robb has worked with the University of Missouri, Southern Cal,
Baylor University and the St. Louis Blues of the National Hockey
League-Published in numerous journals and magazines and is a
consulting member of the National Academy of Sports Medicine
and the Perform Better companies

Barry Ross
Barry Ross has been coaching for more than 25 years, initially a
track and field throwing events and general strength training
coach, his focus in the last 10 years is on increasing the strength,
speed and power of athletes in nearly every sport.

-Coach Ross has had a solid percentage of his athletes receive
NCAA Division 1 and 2 scholarships in a variety of sports
(including volleyball, football, soccer, and track) at UCLA,
San Jose State, U.C. Berkley, University of Southern California,
UNLV, Washington, and the Naval Academy
-Trained Jessica Cosby, winner of Pac 10 titles in the shot put
and hammer, as well as a NCAA Division 1 title in the shot put
and Allyson Felix who, as a 17 year old high school student in 2003,
broke all of Marion Jones high school records in the 200 meters
and went on to run the fastest 200 meters in the world that year
-Author of the popular and controversial book ‘Underground Secrets
to Faster Running’
-Barry’s strength training methods are used throughout the world
by high school, college and professional athletes in a variety of
sports including professional baseball, tennis and rugby.

BOTTOM LINE: We are going to act to maintain the integrity of
Athletes' Acceleration, Inc. information. We have developeda
certain style and relationship with you and we have no intention of
souring that with The Speed Training Report.

Like with all of our information products, if you don't like it
you can simply and easily unsubscribe.

For the vast majorityof you, that simply will not be an issue.

The launch of The Speed Training Report will be structured.

Thosewho take action quickly will get more 'stuff'. If you want
to test us to see if we're actually going to start taking free
resources away, I invite you to do so. But we will not make it
available again at any point during the launch.

So stay tuned for more details. Our anticipated release date is
Tuesday, April 17.

The best and easiest way to stay informedabout the release of
The Speed Training Report is by joiningour announcement list...
you can see the details just below...

THE SPEED TRAINING REPORT ANNOUNCEMENT LIST

If you haven't already joined our Speed Training Report list
and gotten your sneak preview of the report offering, just
enter your name and email address and press the button
that says 'Submit'

Are you on The List?

2007-04-03T13:22:00.000-07:00

We're just a couple weeks away from the launch of The Speed Training Report, our monthly Newsletter on the most important elements of athletic development.

I just looked over the first issue and I have to say, just calling this a 'Newsletter' doesn't really do it justice.

We'll be bringing you the type of content you expect from Athletes' Acceleration plus a ton of incredibly innovative training information from the top coaches in the world of sports performance.

So stay tuned for more information on that.

Anyway, a few weeks back I sent a link to a survey that really helped us refine the information that YOU want to hear more about.

If you haven't given us your specific thoughts on that survey yet, I hope that you'll take just a few minutes and do that now.

This is also the best way to get on the 'Early Bird' list so you can be the first to get the latest updates on the impending release of The Speed Training Report.

Here is the link:

Speed Report Survey

But the primary reason I'm emailing you today is to let you know that we've made some updates to our Complete Speed Training home page.

We added a bunch of new content that you can add to your database of knowledge and bring to your training, athletes and programs.

So be sure to check out all that new information right now by clicking here:

Complete Speed Training

In speed,

Latif Thomas

Secrets of Speed Development

2007-03-27T12:38:00.000-07:00

I thought I'd post a few pictures from my presentation at
last week's Strength, Conditioning and Rehab Symposium in
Chicago.

My talk got some great feedback and I want to post some
video of the talk, as well as all of my PowerPoint slides
here in the near future.

To make that happen I'll have to negotiate with the
company that recorded the conference so you will have to let
me know if it's something you are interested in seeing.

Check out these pics and scroll down for my Complete
Speed Training Newsletter Experiment:

OK so what's my big idea for this week's Newsletter?

I thought I'd try an audio version instead of a written version.

Now I can cover a heck of a lot more information in the time it
would normally take me to write out an appropriate response.

I've posted the questions that I've answered this time around
to help you get an idea of what I'm talking about.

Again, let me know what you think of this format because if you
don't like it or have no preference, it's actually easier to
just hammer out a response with the keyboard.

All (appropriately worded) feedback is welcome.

Click on the player to hear or download the audio edition of
the Complete Speed Training Newsletter:

1. How do you manage to work the aerobic file and strength
knowing that they don't go togheter AND because that's what
has to be worked before the anaerobic files AND the Power.

If you have 12 weeks of preparation, how would you organise
all that? How would your pre season planning look?

Robert
Canada

2. What are the most important muscles for speed work?

Steve

3. Can i know more about dynamic stretching? and how it is
"properly" done

- joseph b

4. Can you explain how the A,B,C skip Mach Drills are performed
and what cues to teach as a coach?

How do you classify if an athlete is showingsigns of CNS
fatigue?

Jimmy L.

5. What are your recommendations for WHEN to incorporate
lower body lifting weights (squats/lunges/deadlifts) in
conjunction with their sprint training workouts?

There is no doubt that weight training and strengthening
your lower body is important - but WHEN is the best time to
devote to training heavy lifting in the weight room?

Should someone lift weights for their lower extremity only
after their sprint work is complete? OR should they strength
train on a seperate day when there is no sprint training?

**********

Let me know what you think!

- Latif

P.S. The best way to build a strong program is by using a
proven system as the foundation of your training. Complete
Speed Training gives you all the tools to build that program.

Complete Speed Training

World's Fastest Men

2007-03-01T15:20:00.000-08:00

Tuesday's article on the overly generous timing system
used in the 40 yard dash really sparked a big response.

(Scroll down to the next post if you missed it.)

I tried to respond to some of the emails and questions
but I got overwhelmed by the pace they came in at!

It was like every time I pressed the refresh button,
there were another couple of emails.

So be patient as I get through them or simply send
me another refresher email.

****************

Here is a really interesting (and motivating!)
documentary on the World's Fastest Men and the
evolution of speed and speed development.

If this doesn't motivate you then I give up!

Enjoy.

The World's Fastest Men

How to run a 3.9 second 40 yard dash...

2007-03-01T15:06:00.000-08:00

It's NFL Combine time and that can only mean one thing:

My email inbox is filling up with coaches and athletes asking
how to improve 40 yard dash times.

There's something about hearing fast 40 times that gets football
people salivating.

There's only one problem.

You can't believe 99% of the times you hear even at the highest
levels of the game.

Why not you ask.

That can't be true you say.

After all you saw so-and-so from such-and-such high school run
a 4.5 last year.

You timed it yourself...

I believe one of the things about the 40 yard dash that make it
such an enigma is the fact that it's really one of the only
objective facets of football that can be universally understood
by everyone involved in the game.

You can rush for 300 yards against a terrible team and look like
Barry Sanders. But against a great defense you get stuffed for
30 yards. Those totals are subjective based on the competition.

So human nature and therefore Ego takes over and we see 40 times
creeping down ever so slowly.

That 4.7 your best player ran last year has magically become a
4.6 in this year's conversations and would have been a 4.5 if
he hadn't been sick that day...

So now guess who's 40 time seems to have magically improved.

(Don't get me wrong, I see the same mysterious improvements with
track sprinters ALL the time.)

If we ignore the fact that the 40 has no bearing on football skill
whatsoever, it doesn't matter what level you play at or how
competitive your conference is. A 4.5 is a 4.5 is a 4.5.

Right?

Wrong.

Let's take a look at how and why the 40 time is arguably the most
inaccurate number in all of sports.

We'll start with a base time like 4.6. I hear this time a lot.
When I do I'm never sure whether to laugh or cry.

Sometimes I do both.

So Johnny ran the 40 yesterday at his camp or practice.

Well, chances are it was hand timed. That means there was no
electronic equipment used. Just a coach with a stopwatch.

So let's say Johnny's coach has him at 4.61.

The rule with a hand time/stopwatch time is that you MUST ROUND
UP to the next tenth even if it's a 4.61. Now Johnny's coach
probably told him he ran a 4.6 but the fact is he ran a 4.7.

Now, if a stopwatch was involved anywhere in the process, the
time isn't accurate. Once the gun goes off there is a delay in
the amount of time before the coach starts the watch. At the finish
the coach doesn't accurately stop the watch at the exact moment
the athlete crosses the line.

So the rule is that you must add .24 seconds to compensate for
the difference between a manual/hand time and an accurate fully
automatic time.

Where does this 'rule' come from?

Track and Field where accurate timing is critically important.

So if you have any interest in accuracy Johnny's 4.7 has now
become a 4.94.

Now let's be generous and say that Johnny used one of those
timing pads that starts the clock as soon as his hand lifts off
the pad.

Since the clock starts at his first movement and not the sound of
a gun connected to a computer connected to a laserbeam at the
finish line, his 40 time is not accounting for the reaction time
between the gun and his start.

If you look at reaction time of a quality sprinter, they're looking
at a delay of between .2 and .3 seconds between the start of
the clock and when they actually start moving.

So since the vast, vast majority of 40s and combines don't use
a track and field start (aka an accurate start) you'll have to
add (let's be nice) another .2 seconds to that 4.94.

So Johnny's accurate 40 time is 5.14 seconds even though his
coach had him at '4.6'.

The truth hurts my friends and I doubt many people, even if they
knew this, would actually take it into account when handing out
times to their athletes or telling their peers about their times.

What fun is it to know that you're not as fast as you think you
are or that your athletes aren't as fast as you thought they were?

So when you hear about that high school kid who runs a 4.4, he
doesn't.

When you hear about how Deion Sanders ran a 4.29 in the 40, he
didn't. (It was run in 1989 and the NFL didn't start using any
electronic timing until 1990.)

Even at that, the timing used in these combines isn't as accurate
as the timing that dictates official times and world records
in track and field.

So that means a couple of things if we want to truly talk in
terms of equality.

The only people who can run times approaching sub 4 seconds are
elite track and field sprinters.

Asafa Powell (the world record holder at 100 meters) would make
a mockery of the fastest NFL guys on their best days.

If you applied typical 40 yard dash timing rules to elite sprinters,
Powell's 9.77 second world record at 100m would be something
in the range of 9.2.

Let me give you one more example to prove my point. In 1988 Ben
Johnson ran a then world record of 9.79 seconds to win the Olympic
Gold medal.

Well it turns out that he was on steroids at the time and was
stripped of his title.

Subsequent breakdowns of his 'roid induced run timed him as he
reached the 40 yard mark. (By the way his times at 50 and 60
meters were faster than the current world records at that
distance.)

His time?

4.38 seconds.

Mark Zeigler sums this up perfectly:

"He was running in spikes . . . on a warm afternoon perfectly
suited for sprinting . . . with a slight tailwind . . . with
years of training from arguably track's top coach, Charlie
Francis . . . with Carl Lewis and six others of the fastest men
on the planet chasing him . . . with 69,000 people roaring at
Seoul's Olympic Stadium . . . with hundreds of millions of
people watching on TV . . . with the ultimate prize in sports,
an Olympic gold medal, at stake."

Yet he only ran a 4.38 40 yard dash?

Knowing that, can you really believe any of the 40 times you
hear? Does it seem likely that any high school kid can run a 4.6?

You have people claiming 260 pound linebackers have 4.5 speed.

Well they don't. These times aren't real and you just shouldn't
believe them.

After reading this article, I hope you look at all the 40 times
you've been hearing about with a healthy dose of skepticism.

If you want to build athletes who run fast times in real
life, not just made up times from a stop watch you have to make
sure you're teaching them proven speed training techniques.

Focus on creating better overall athletes.

Educate yourself on what top coaches do to train their athletes
who have legitimate speed.

You don't want your athletes getting exposed as frauds because
the results of their training turned out to be, literally, a
slight of hand.

Develop real football speed.

The Complete Speed Training Newsletter # 69

2007-02-15T07:45:00.000-08:00

Due to the time contraints that come from coaching and working
on new projects, I'll be scaling back the frequency in which
I publish the Complete Speed Training Newsletter. I haven't
made an official decision, but I'm thinking that I will put
out a fresh newsletter probably once or twice per month.

It takes hours to go through the mountain of questions that
come in, answer them and create fresh content each and every
week.

That being said, those of you who like to stay on the cutting
edge of speed training and athletic development will not be
disappointed!

Stay tuned to emails from Patrick and I in the coming weeks to
find out exactly what I mean!

NOTE: In order to continue receiving your Complete Speed
Training Newsletter, you MUST be registered at:

Athletes' Acceleration

Even if you've been receiving the newsletter in the past, I
will only be sending it out to those of you confirmed at that website.

So don't delay in submitting your request!

Next, if you are a Complete Speed Training customer, please use your
consult! With so many questions coming in each day, I can't
differentiate a 'customer' question from the others so that is
the best way to get your specific questions answered in great
detail.

Finally, if you do send in questions, the best way to get
noticed is by putting the topic of your question in the subject
line. There is a much greater chance I will open an email with
a specific subject than one that does not.

You can also post your questions here on the blog. With less
competition here, it's much easier to get noticed!!

One of our readers, Jesse, sent in the following
comments.

"'m sure you've heard by now either through the media or maybe
during the many hours of pregame before the "Big Game" on
Sunday that the two teams that made it to the championship
game were the two lightest teams, on average, in the NFL.
In my local paper they went on to say that this year was the
first year since 1995, I read it over a week ago, that several
teams have actually gotten lighter. I think you get my point.
Its what you guys and many others have been saying for some
time now~Speed Kills and wins Championships."

Great point. So many football players focus on the hypertrophe
work that adds mass and bulk, but makes them slower.

Barry Ross talks about why this strategy isn't conducive to success
in his incredible book 'Underground Secrets to Faster Running.'

If you haven't read it yet, I strongly suggest you check it out.

First, here is a great article he wrote. It's not specific to
this question, but his ideas later in the article relate to why
'less is more' when it comes to the relationship between speed,
strength and body weight.

http://www.1speedtraining.com/Barry-Ross.html

Also, here is the direct link to check out his book:

http://www.completespeedtraining.com/cmd.php?ad=292412

OK, let's get straight to the 'Q & A!'

Even though the following two questions are about different
sports, I'm grouping them together because of the similarity
of the answers.

It's a great example of the commonality between sports and
the movements required to be successful.

Q: ...What I can do to help my kids with their 40 yards times for
football?
-James

Q: I coach a sprinter that comes up too quickly at the sound
of the gun...any suggestions?
-Andrew W.

A: Though the starting mechanics of the 40 and the sprint start
differ, the result is often the same. The event starts and athletes
pop right up.

Right off the bat, this is a strength issue. 'Staying low' at
the start of a race or 40 is all about creating ideal shin angles
with the ground. The ability to hold this position depends on
the strength of the athlete couple with aggressively driving the
foot down and back.

(As a side note, this is why I don't teach starting blocks to
athletes before they are introduced to the weight room. So
my athletes usually don't get to use blocks until maybe the end
of their Freshman year, possibly their sophomore year.)

From there, it is about developing a consistent drive phase. Now
some coaches argue there is no such thing as a 'drive phase' and
I can see that point. For young athletes we don't really need to
get that technical.

The point is that athletes must learn to consistently accelerate
powerfully and efficiently as the accelerate to top speed. That
means learning how to run and improving the ability to run the
same way (the right way) every time. Once athletes develop
this consistency along with improving absolute strength, they
will run a faster 40, or naturally 'stay low' out of the blocks.

Whenever you see an elite football player run the 40 or great
sprinter out of the blocks, they look smooth. They run powerfully,
but pretty and the whole thing looks natural. It's because they
have developed consistency in the patterning of their running.

Remember, telling athletes to 'stay low' is a horrible cue. I'm
sure you've seen the results: kids running completely vertical
5 steps from the start, but with their head down looking at the
ground.

'Staying low' happens naturally as a result of the aforementioned
ideas. The upper body should unfold naturally as athletes
become vertical, it shouldn't be forced.

Here is an article on setting up the starting blocks that will
help your sprinters:

http://www.completetrackandfield.com/starting-blocks.html

Q: Am an athelete coach in Uganda, Africa. my inquiry; Gym and
plyometric work stresses the nervous system. so does speed work.
My question though is that does harness running (elastic rubber
tube strapped around the waist with partner trying to hold the
athlete back as they try to sprint) which is resistance training
have the same effect as the above mentioned. or can it be done the
day after a speed work out.
-Noah

A: When doing the resistance work, if an athlete is running at
full intensity, then this will tax the CNS. This is speed work
and the resistance runs are simply the same as a regular full
intensity sprint.

I can't think of any reason an athlete would do harness work at
less than full speed, so this would be a substitute for or part of
a regular speed workout and should be treated the same because
it is the same. So don't do it the day after a speed workout any
more than you would do 2 speed days in a row. (There are some
exceptions to this rule.)

Also, when possible, use a shoulder harness as opposed to
resistance only at the waist. This way athletes can run 'hips
tall' and won't be bent at the waist which often happens
when not using the shoulder harness.

Q: I do have a question about lifting weights for youth [say
ages 11-13] is it safe ,is it beneficial , can lifting stunt
growth or do bone damage. I listen to quiet a lot of different
ideas on this can you enlighten some? Thanks
- Duane S.

A: In 99.9% of situations I don't start athletes lifting weights
until they are 14. Until that time, they will benefit significantly
from body weight exercises and core training. You can
teach proper lifting technique of traditional lifts like the
squat, deadlift and clean (I just do the high pull with young
kids) by using a broom stick instead of weighted bar.

When they get older and are physically ready for weight, they
will be miles ahead of their untrained peers.

The problem with weight training is that for it to be effective
athletes must go heavy. But the loading that comes from heavy
weights can hurt athletes and potentially stunt growth. The bad
outweighs the good. Athletes shouldn't be lifting to gain size
at this age, so 'light weights' is pointless. Use bodyweight
exercises and circuits until high school and you'll see
plenty of positive results.

Q: How much of the Complete Speed training techniques might be
applicable to young children (8-10 yrs old)? What portions would
you consider implementing for soccer players of this age? Do you
have or can you recommend other techniques more age appropriate if
this program is not?
Thanks, Ed

A: Other than the strength training and advanced plyos, they can
do anything in the program. The difference in mindset comes from
you as the coach/parent, etc. Kids this age don't really need
organized, detailed training. They need to just be kids.

What you should do if you want to give them the edge is teach them
the right ways to move and react, work on their coordination,
introduce the speed drills and running mechanics that facilitate
speed. Better to teach them good habits now than force them to
unlearn bad habits later. This will put them at an incredible
advantage over their peers who are just running around crazy
with no thought, ingraining bad form and technique into their
neuromuscular systems with every step.

The important thing is to keep the instruction simple, workouts/
practices short and keep things fun by making it a game. There
should be no winning or losing or competition, just positive
reinforcement.

Q:. I am looking after a Women's Basketball Team preparing
them for a Aust Basketball League which commences March 10.
So far they have been working on endurance with some explosive
work (hills., stairs) plus incorporated active recovery days
(pool sessions, light training). The girls are now involved
in 2 sessions a week of team training, a club game, fartlek
training and hills/stair training. I am looking for help to
develop the 5 week preparation prior to the commencement of
the League. Should I do some speed work on the track by way
of sprints e.g. 400, 300, 200, 100, 50 or should it be more
shorter explosive sprints. I look forward to hearing your
thoughts on all this and learning. Kind Regards, Raelene

A: I would start to phase out the hill and stair training and
focus more on acceleration and speed endurance. I don't like
to go crazy with the stair work because I find tha the pounding
often results in shin and knee problems.

But in basketball athletes are engaging in constant short
bursts of speed, often in a state of fatigue. So they should
train under these conditions. Of course they need to learn how
to accelerate when they aren't tired before doing the speed
end. work while they are. But with the practices, game and
fartlek runs, they're getting endurance training.

I would alternate the fartlek runs with the interval work on
the track. Also, when you say 'some speed work on the track by way
of sprints e.g. 400, 300, 200, 100, 50', none of those distances
(except the 50) qualify as speed work. At the pace they would
run these distances, at best it would qualify as intensive
tempo and, for the sake of simplicity, these would be considered
intervals.

But by looking at all their training so far, the specificity
is underdeveloped. They need speed endurance.

Q: I have heard that stretching before training or competition
weakens the muscle. Is this correct?? Should we only stretch after
training??
-Jackie

A: Excessive static stretching before performing any explosive
movement can reduce power output by up to 20%, depending on the
study that you read. This is temporary, but long enough to ruin
your ability to accomplish the task/s at hand.

You can do some light stretching before your dynamic warm up,
but save the static stretching for after your warm down which
comes after your practice or competition. That's where you'll
improve your range of motion.

Q:I have one question: I have a 11 yr old girl, she is flexible,
can do splits all the way to the ground, touch her foot on her
head etc... but she can not run, its like she runs in slow
motion. Is there anything that can help?
Thanks, Kim

A: Yes. Stop doing so much flexibility work. There is such thing
as being too flexible. Ultimately, athletes only need to be flexible
enough to go through the range of motion required in sprinting.
The fastest sprinters, male and female, usually have good range of
motion, but are would a little bit tight.

Speed, in large part, comes from storing and releasing elastic
energy. When an athlete is excessively flexible, that ability is
diminished and so they run slow, spending a lot of time on the
ground.

Though it is an oversimplification of the process, if you keep
stretching a rubber band, eventually it becomes too loose to
be of any value. It will no longer recoil when stretched and
so you won't be able to fling it very far. You can think of
your muscles in a similar way.

Q: I was planning on working out the boys on this type schedule
M-W-F speed training and plyometrics
T-T weight training and agility drills

After reading one of your news letters on strength training maybe
I should reverse the schedule? Since strength will increase speed.
- Thanks, Emmit

A: Weight training should be done on your speed days. Though
agility work is potentialy as taxing as speed work. Also, in
my experience, speed work M,W,F is going to be too much to
maintain over time. They'll start to break down.

Also, 2 days per week should be plenty for plyos.

YOur set up could look more like this if agility is as important
as linear speed:

Week 1:

M,F: speed/plyos/weights
W: agility/weights
T,Th: recovery/tempo, technique

Q: Quick question-- I remember reading that following a substantial
hamstring strain/tear, you recommend doing some light form runs to
help break down the scar tissue. My questions are how long should
the runs be, at what degree of intensity, and do you recomend a
dynamic warmup (if so, the standard warmup movements you guys
prescribe?) before starting? Any advice you can give would be greatly
appreciated. Thanks.
-Jim R.

A: I do. This is something I learned from Charlie Francis and
when I first read it I was a bit skeptical. I had chronic hamstring
problems as an athlete and I always babied it back from injury so
I thought that putting any stress on it before it was 100% was crazy.
However, I used it with athletes to great success.

I wouldn't call them light form runs (I don't believe in 'form
running' by the way) I call them regular accelerations over short
distances. Maybe I should call them 'sprints' so as not to
undervalue the intensity. I start out by doing 1 set of 10 x 10m
accelerations.

Go as fast as you can handle. Remember it's only 10m so you won't
be able to get going fast enought to put serious stress on your
leg. If everything goes OK, we'll try to add another half or full
set. Once that becomes easy/pain free, we'll do 1-3 sets of
10 x 15m. From there I think you see the progression. We're still
getting our regular sprint volume in, we're just keeping the
distances short to avoid undue stress.

Of course I recommend doing a dynamic warmup, though I would stay
away from any hamstring dominant exercises, particularly early
in the warm up, until feeling loose, you have a light sweat
going, etc.

- Latif and Patrick

Come see us in Chicago

2007-02-14T12:44:00.000-08:00

I'm excited to let you know that on Saturday March 17 I willbe giving a presentation on linear speed development at the2nd Annual Midwest Strength, Conditioning and Rehabilitation Symposium near Chicago, IL.

This is a great opportunity to come out and meet Patrick and I,but also learn from some of the brightest minds in the fitnessindustry as they present on a number of interesting topics.

If you live in the area and you can get there, I promise itwill be a valuable learning experience.

I'm going to be giving away my most effective strategies andtechniques on training speed and power, so don't miss out!

Patrick and I will even break off and hold a 'mini-conference'at the event where you can get all your training questions answered.

Simply click on the following link to register. In doing so,you'll also get the VIP discount to attend the Conference.

Be sure to mention my name on the sign up form so I will knowthat you'll be attending.

Here is the link for all the event and registration information:
http://www.completespeedtraining.com/cmd.php?ad=293415

The Complete Speed Training Newsletter

2007-02-09T13:28:00.000-08:00

If you missed Issue #68 of the Complete
Speed Training Newsletter you missed an important
announcement.

That means you may have been a little confused
yesterday when you didn't get your weekly
Newsletter in your inbox.

From this point forward, I'll only be sending the
Complete Speed Training Newsletter to
those of you that have subscribed to receive
it at our home site:

Athletes' Acceleration

So if you want to ensure you receive our free
information packed Newsletter the moment
it comes out, you'll have to sign up there.

So don't delay, head over to Athletes' Acceleration,
subscribe to the Newsletter and
check out some of the great articles, tips and
workouts dedicated to improving speed, power
and agility.

- Latif

How to become a Speed Expert in just 10 days

2007-01-30T12:33:00.000-08:00

Recently I went to Arizona to visit a good friend of mine.

While we were there I was introduced to a trainer who had his
own workout facility where he trained the general population.

We got to talking and he told me about how he too was going to
get into the speed training and sports performance industry.

He explained that there was no real competition in his area and
parents would be willing to pay almost anything (he lives in
a very wealthy part of the state) to help their kids become
faster athletes.

And knowing a bit about the area, I knew he was right.

So I asked him a very basic question about his background in
the industry.

His response almost made me choke!

Now I didn't really know this guy and there was nothing to gain
by grilling him about his plans.

But his response was both disappointing and insulting considering
what it took for me to get where I am today.

So what was the response that got me so worked up?

This guy told me that he had NO background working with
athletes.

(But he did play highschool football and baseball!)

Instead, he was going to pay for his credentials.

By attending a 10 day workshop, he would learn not only how
to assess and train athletes, but also how to market and promote
his programs.

10 days and he's going to start taking peoples' money and
'training' their kids?

Even as I write this I get fired up!

And it should get you fired up too.

Because there are a lot of trainers like this out there working
with the athletes on your team or with your son or daughter.

In fact, there are a lot of sport coaches out there who are
using outdated training methods with your kids as well.

And they shouldn't be. It's a disaster waiting to happen.

If you are going to start working with athletes, whether as a
a sports coach, a parent or a speed coach, it starts with
education. It means obtaining resources that teaches you the
fundamentals of athletic development and using that as the
foundation of both your training and your education.

You don't have to know everything that I know in order to make
your athletes faster.

But when working with young athletes, you have to consider their
long term development. And it starts with learning the fundamentals.

It means learning from professionals who have the knowedge
and experience you want.

Once you have access to training secrets of successful coaches,
the sky is the limit.

You took the first step by signing up to receive this special
report.

So make the commitment, right now, to learn and apply the
foundational training methods that are proven to work.

It's the safest and smartest way to develop superior speed in
any athlete.

Best,

Latif Thomas

P.S. Here is the solution:

Complete Speed Training

Ideal Speed Training Resources Survey

2007-01-24T04:57:00.000-08:00

At Athletes' Acceleration, we're constantly trying to expand and improve the quality of the resources that we provide, whether in the context of articles, newsletters or programs and resources.

In the end though, it really comes down to providing you with the type of information that you want.

That's why I need your help.

In order to make sure that we're on the right path, it's important that we get your feedback as to the types of resources that *you* are interested in.

So please take a moment to cast your vote in our 'Ideal Training Resources' Poll:

Speed Resources Survey

Of course, if you have any thoughts or suggestions, I'd like to hear them!

Send your emails to: info@athletesacceleration.com

In speed,

- Latif

P.S. Here is the link to the poll:

Speed Resources Poll

New Year Nutrition

2007-01-18T13:31:00.000-08:00

I have to say that I'm surprised by the number of athletes, coaches and parents who have written in over the past few weeks asking for help with nutrition.

It must be the New Year and the resolutions that come with it.

If nutrition is an issue for you (and it should be!) you must check out Dr. John Berardi's Precision Nutrition System.

In it, you'll discover how to determine what's keeping you from having the body you want - and just what to do about it.

Precision Nutrition is the nutrition system used by Dr. John Berardi's personal clients and athletes to build lean, muscular, high-performance physiques - in record time.

Click here to learn more:
Berardi Nutrition

Speed Training Questions

2006-12-21T06:33:00.000-08:00

Here are the questions:

"I really enjoy reading your training tips. However all of the articles pertain to the younger athletes. What about us old guys who still compete at one level or another. How do we get faster? I have tried some of the techniques you have listed in previous articles and all I do is hurt myself no matter how warmed up I am. I am not a weekend warrior. I bike, run two miles a couple of times a week and I lift three times a week.

What type of speed training should someone in their fifties do? Right now I am running a 7 second 40 - pretty pathetic. In my prime it was sub 5 seconds, not fast but a heck of a lot faster than I am now. I would like to cut a second off of my current time. Any ideas?"
- Dan R.

Dan
Training principles still fundamentally apply to a 50 year oldas they do to a 22 or 12 year old simply because all of thetraining concepts we go over are based soundly on science.

The key, then, is to know your own strengths and weaknessesand modify your workouts accordingly. Older athletes maynot have the same range of motion, ability to workout forextended periods of time or may have back, knee, shoulder problems that limit the types of activities they can perform.

That may mean you can't deadlift heavy weights any more evenif it's a fundamental strength building exercise. However, I see no reason that you would get injured from doing a speedworkout unless you were trying to do too many reps. Perhaps you need to be more active during the rest period to prevent tightening up.

Also, time each run. Once your times fall off, stop the workout.For example, if you're running repeat 40 yard dashes and yourtimes are 7.1, 7.2, 7.1, 7.1, 7.4, 7.5 then it is clear thatthe workout should stop. The 7.4 should be a red flag. That's where knowing yourself (or your athletes) and theart of coaching comes into play. Either give yourself another rep to see if it drops back to the standard range orshut it down. You're reached the point of diminishing returns.

But if you truly want to improve your 40, STOP running distance!!!!

I'm not sure where I heard this, but it's true. Many people, especially very young people or 'old guys' (your words not mine!!) will do something that doesn't work or get the results theywant. Instead of stopping and doing something different, they do the same thing that doesn't work, but just do it harder andmore often. Then they wonder why it still doesn't work!
Running slow for 20 minutes or riding a bike for half an houris the exact opposite of what you should do if you want to run fast.

You told me you want to cut a second off your 40, but whenyou described what you do for workouts, speed work was never mentioned.

You lift three times a week, but what do you do? Most olderguys I see in the weightroom come in and do full body workoutson the Universal. A set of lat pulls, then a set or two ofleg extensions, over to the bench press, then some curls.

That type of training won't make you faster. You have to improve your maximum strength with squats, deadlifts, lunges,Olympic Lifts, etc.

That's how you'll drop your 40 time.

********************
"I am an assistant coach of an Arizona U11 girls soccer team.We are a very skilled team but overall are slow and smallerthan some of the other teams in the league. How would your speed training program assist me in getting more speed on the team? Also, what is a realistic time level each week to spend on the speed training? We currently practice tues/thurs with conditioning training every other Wed. We are just beginning the second half of the season with our state tournament beginning at the end of March. Because the parents support the team any purchases need to be approved by them. I need something concrete that I can sell. Maybe you can let me use the progam for 30 days and then we could purchase it if we find it useful. Also, since we are part of a larger club (approx 28 teams) any success that we experience would translate in the oter teams having interest in the program. Please let me know you thoughts. "
- Scott M.

Scott
The best way to develop speed, particularly in young athletes, is to develop overall athletic ability. This means focusing on developing the five biomotor abilities that affect athletic performance: speed, strength, coordination, flexibility, endurance. The Complete Speed Training program will assist you in getting more speed with your athletes because it specifically focuses on showing you how to develop these abilities in your athletes. Each of the 5 DVDs in the program focuses on one of the biomotor abilities, with there being some obvious carry over.
For athletes in that age group, I would recommend incorporating some degree of speed and agility/coordination training into their training twice per week. I especially believe that developing your girls' coordination will get you positive results. I find the coordinative abilities of younger athletes to be a major detriment to success and it is often not something that people spend time focusing on. This may mean temporarily cutting back on some of the 'skill' work and focusing more on the speed/agility/coordination component, especially if speed is the clear area of weakness holding your team back.

We generally don't give away or loan out free copies of our programs. First, people don't return them. Second, we know the program works. You can read the countless testimonials from satisfied customers at the program website. That's why we offer an unconditional 365 day money back guarantee if you try the program and don't believe the price has provided an equal exchange of value . As a coach, parent, athlete, etc. if you're not willing to invest in yourself, your team or your child's success unless someone else gives it to you for free, then Complete Speed Training may not be the program for you. I don't believe in getting something for nothing whichis one of the many reasons why we can not just give it away.

*******************
"Its too cold outside to train. Not to mention the daylight savings time has hurt. Any suggestions on training for the next 3 months at the gym? Running outdoors is impossible, and I don't want to lose what progess I've made."- Stephen S.

Stephen
Coming from a cold weather environment, I understand all to well the limitations that come with being forced to train athletes indoors. As a very general rule of thumb, I don't like to do any speed work outside if it's less than 50 degrees out. I'm not saying I always follow that rule, but in my experience the quality of work you can do in those temperatures is limited. Ultimately if you want to continue to improve speed while training indoors you have to be able to find a place where you can do some degree of acceleration development and speed work.

If you're in a school setting you need to get in the hallways. Because the hallways in the school I coach at are fairly short, I lean a high jump mat as a 'crash mat' against the wall for athletes to run into so I can extend the distance they run by a few meters. Believe me when I tell you that your athletes will love this workout. For you cold weather track coaches you can set up mats on both ends of the hall and now you can do speed endurance workouts by having them run, crash, turn around and start sprinting again.

If you don't have a hallway, you can use a basketball court. I have athletes run on the diagonal since that provides moreroom to run. Of course, from an agility training standpoint, a basketball court provides infinite options.

Sometimes we'll do stair work as well. It gets the feet moving quickly and teaches athletes to apply force to the ground to get their bodies moving. However, stair work is very hard on the legs and should be done in moderation. I have seen athletes develop severe shin splints and even stress fractures from doing excessive stair workouts. Coaches simply need to be more creative in their training. It's harder to develop speed indoors then outdoors with limited space. But then again that's a major reason why athletes who live in predominately warm weather climates run considerably faster, on the average, than their cold weather peers.

But as I will cover later in this section, speed gains are in large part determined by strength. So if you're in a traditional gym setting where, at best, you might have an aerobics studio to do a warmup in, you're going to have to focus on getting stronger and make due until it gets warm again, then get back into your traditional speed work. You'll find that even without running real workouts all winter, you can get faster just by getting stronger.

Click here to get the most effective speed training program available no matter the age, sport or gender:
http://www.CompleteSpeedTraining.com

Explosive Strength and Power for All Athletes

2006-12-21T06:29:00.000-08:00

In today's Q & A one of the themes that I covered was the importance of developing strength in your overall speed development program.

One of the most effective methods for developing this strength and power is with the Olympic Lifts.

Today we will go over how to perform progressions of one of the absolute, most effective lifts that every high level athlete regularly uses in their training program: the Power Clean.

This exercise is fundamental for creating explosive power. It is also an exercise that many athletes do incorrectly so, when performing or teaching this exercise, if athletes are not performing all the actions as they are described, then need to back off the weight and continue to follow the progressions. Here are some great progressions tostart with before you introduce the entire Clean:

Clean RDL:
Stand with barbell in hands, feet at hip width, shoulders back and chest up. Keeping arms straight and eyes fixed straight ahead, lower bar by moving the hips backwards while maintaining a slight but fixed bend in the knees. Stop once the bar reaches the top of the knees or when the flexibility in the hams runs out. Quickly return to startingposition by moving hips forward and standing up straight.

Clean RDL to Power Shrug:
Stand with barbell in hand, feet at hip width, shoulders back and chest up. Keeping arms straight and eyes fixed straight ahead, lower bar by moving the hips backwards while maintaining a slight but fixed bend in the knees. Stop once the bar reaches the top of the knees or when the flexibilityin the hams runs out. Quickly move the hips forward, as the hips extend explosively shrug shoulders and rise on toes.

Clean RDL to High Pull:
Stand with barbell in hands, feet at hip width, shoulders back and chest up. Keeping arms straight and eyes fixed straight ahead, lower bar by moving the hips backwards while maintaining a slight but fixed bend in the knees. Stop once the bar reaches the top of the knees or when the flexibility in the hams runs out. Quickly move the hips forward, as the hips extend explosively shrug shoulders and rise on toes. Continue to elevate the bar to mid-chest height by bending elbows and continuing the upward movement of the bar. Be sure to lift elbows up and keep the bar close to the body.

Muscle Clean:
Standing erect with barbell in hands with a clean grip and feet at hip width, slide bar upwards almost along the body to near shoulder height. Once at shoulder height rotate elbows underneath the bar, releasing the hook grip and letting the bar fall onto the shelf created by the shoulders. Return bar to starting position the same way it got there.

Power Clean:
Stand with barbell in hand, feet at hip width, shoulders back and chest up. Keeping arms straight and eyes fixed straight ahead, lower bar by moving the hips backwards while maintaining a slight but fixed bend in the knees. Stop once the bar reaches the top of the knees or when the flexibility in the hams runs out.

Quickly move the hips forward, as the hips extend explosively shrug shoulders and rise on toes. Continue to elevate the bar to mid-chest height by bending elbows and continuing the upward movement of the bar. Be sure to lift elbows up and keep the bar close to the body. Once at shoulder height simultaneously rotate elbows underneath the bar, releasing the hook grip and letting the bar fall onto the shelf created by the shoulders while falling into a quarter squat. The quarter squat should be reached at the same time the barbell is received on the shoulders.

Teaching Olympic lifitng is much easier if you first break down each of the movements. Once your athlete has perfected each individual movement, they will find performing the whole clean a much simpler task. Also, if you have an athlete struggling with a particular stage of the lift, you can use these exercises to 'Clean Up' their form.

For more details on how to incorporate and properly teach the Olympic Lifts with your athletes, visit:

http://www.CompleteOlympicLifting.com

How to Develop Speed and Quickness on the Basketball Court

2006-12-20T18:27:00.000-08:00

Teaching and practicing the fundamental skills of basketball is crucial to success.

But at the end of the day, if your athletes don't have the speed and quickness to beat the defender to the basket or prevent them from getting there, then success will not come easy.

Fortunately, this type of speed and quickness can be taught.

And there is noone better at teaching the change of direction quickness required for basketball than Lee Taft.

In case you haven't heard about Lee already, he is the Executive vice President and Contributor of the certification resource book for the International Youth Conditioning Association (IYCA).

Over the past 16 years, Lee has worked with many athletes of all ages and abilities. His major focus and passion has been on the development of young athletes. Nationally known as an expert in multi-directional speed techniques, Lee's innovative technique to improve multi-directional speed is the up and coming teaching methods of many professionals.

In fact, I use many of the techniques I have learned from Lee with my own athletes.

If you deal with basketball players in any way, I strongly recommend you check out Lee's product on Basketball Speed Progressions.

Learn more about it here:
Basketball Speed Training

Free Shipping

2006-12-01T06:49:00.000-08:00

From now until Midnight on December 4, you'll pay no shipping on Complete Speed Training or any Athletes Acceleration productsno matter where you live.

Grab a copy of Complete Speed Training for yourself, the coach or athlete in your family and get the New Year started by giving the gift of unrivaled speed, power and agility.

In fact, you'll also pay no shipping on our Complete Olympic Lifting and North-South Football Speed Programs as well.

Simply click on the Complete Speed Training order link and order as you normally would. When you get to the checkout, there won't be any shipping charges.

By ordering during this time period, no matter where you live, you should receive your program before Christmas.

We hope you have a Happy Holiday Season,

Patrick Beith
Latif Thomas
Athletes Acceleration, Inc.

P.S. Pay no shipping on the following products from December 1through December 4, 2006:
Complete Speed Training
Complete Olympic Lifting
North South Football Speed

Develop More Speed for Football

2006-11-26T19:45:00.000-08:00

I always get questions about running a faster 40 or setting up a football specific speed training program.

You can get a series of reports on these specific topics by checking out our popular football speed program 'North-SouthFootball Speed'.

Simply put your name and email address into the form and we'll start sending you proven tips on these topics right away.

Or grab your copy today and start implementing these football specific techniques in just a few days.

Click here to learn more:
www.FootballSpeed.com

**********
'I recommend North-South Football Speed to anyone interested in drastically improving their speed. The drills allow anyone to make substantial gains in a short amount of time and are extremely easy to teach or to perform on your own. Being a sports performance trainer in one of the hotbeds for high school football, athletes are always trying to get faster and quicker. This DVD has definitely given me the tools necessary to get the results me and my athletesare looking for.'

Mark Tarle, ATC, CSCS
Ath-Elite Sports Performance Training
Canton, Ohio

**********

To develop more speed for football, you must go now to:
www.FootballSpeed.com

Designing an Effective Speed Training Program - Part VII

2006-11-20T12:24:00.000-08:00

At this point we've covered a ton of information. Again, if you want a refresher, click on the above link for the other articles.

Today I want to cover 10 Key Points that you must considerand apply when designing your speed training program. As you read these points, think about the athletes you'll be working with and how to apply these with the specific training protocols you'll be needing to use.

1. Identify your athletes' weaknesses
You have to know where your athletes are weak if you expectto be able to effectively and consistently help them improvetheir speed and performance.

In large part, this means establishing a baseline of properposture and efficiency in the movement patterns used intheir sport and training.

Common weaknesses I see in athletes running mechanics are almost always due to lack of coordination, strength, flexibility and proper instruction.

2. Be consistent in your training
I often see coaches who will do core work for the first two weeks of the season and never specifically do it again.Or, they'll work on speed drills until the first competition and then assume athletes don't need further work.

Any element of training that isn't consistently addressed will regress and become ineffective. Don't let your athletes become detrained in areas that are required for success.
A poorly designed speed training program is better than nospeed training program at all.

3. Be specific
Use training activities that complement those movements thatare going to be required in your particular sport. Thismeans using similar movement speeds, intensities and energy systems to those required in competition.

A football player doesn't need to go for a 3 mile run on his recovery day, but a soccer player does.

A 100m sprinter doesn't need to focus on change of direction drills, but tennis player does.
And of course, no athlete can improve their speed by runningat less than full speed.

4. Sweat the Technique
You must be a stickler for perfect technique in practice. I always tell athletes that it's likely we'll have to take a step back to go two steps forward.

If that means you have to move a little bit slower in orderto get things right then so be it. Unlearning bad habits is the only way to improve.

If athletes focus on form and technique in practice, thecorrect movement patterns will soon become automated and this will carry over to competitions.

It's easy to ignore mistakes in technique that take a littlemore time and effort to fix. But in the long run everyone will be much better off taking the time to work out thekinks in practice.

Remember, practice is the time to work on mechanical problems.Even when the problem isn't fixed, don't address it during a competition. Just let the athlete be an athlete.

5. Use ground based, closed chain activities
In short this means, train on your feet. With most sports, the majority of competition takes place on the feet. To further emphasize the third topic, your athletes should do the same if you want to maximize their results.

A couple of examples are: squats instead of leg press and medicine ball work instead of crunches.

6. Strengthen the core
When running, most of your power is transferred through the core. This means the strength and conditioning of your abdominals, lower back, hips and glutes will dictate how much of your leg strength can be used to drive you forward.

We often neglect to train this area consistently, which isa significant mistake.
Slow down some video tape of an athlete with poor core strength and you will see the blatant postural deficiencies that result. Of course, this has a considerable impact onperformance.

7. No gain with pain
Don't have athletes perform or continue to perform any activities that cause pain. This will either cause anacute or long term injury or develop an faulty movement pattern.
If squatting or a certain plyometric exercise causes painin the knee, stop doing it. Find a different exercise ordiagnose the cause of the knee pain.

Often times with some basic evaluation, we can determine the reasons behind the pain and prescribe corrective measuresthat will allow for gradually resuming the movements.

8. Mental Strength People!
I say this to my groups all the time and they often mockme for saying it.
But the funny thing is, I hear them using the same line to motivate their teammates.
Whether it's a physically demanding set of deadlifts, a brutal speed endurance workout or simply focusing on our speed drills, mental focus and toughness will separate your athletes from their competition.

I'll take an athlete of lesser talent who is mentally strong any day.

It is your responsibility to never allow your athletes off the hook when performing any activity with less than 100% effort and focus.

When working with large groups and teams, I find the bestway to get the whole group to buy into the training plan isto really get on the captains and the stars of the team.When they have to be accountable for every step of their workout, the younger athletes will follow suit.

9. Build them up before you break them down.
Before you correct a mistake or instruct an athlete on improving a particular skill, it's critical that you paythem a compliment first.

Athletes will often get frustrated at how difficult it canbe to apply new movement patterns. If I keep telling them what they're doing wrong, they'll start to shut down.

But when I lead with a positive comment, they are willingto make many more efforts before reaching the point of diminishing returns.

So I'll always say something like 'Nice job Billy. You're really starting to recover the heel quickly and you're keeping your toe up. Remember how tough that was for you last week?Now all I want you to do now is....'

The first thing they hear is the compliment, so the correction is taken as constructive instead of yet another failure.

10. Periodize your training!
Maybe I should have led with this one. However, I wanted it to be the last point that you read.
To get the best results from your speed program, you have to be able to measure the progress. That means periodizing your season plan by following all the principles that we've discussed so far in this series.

First it means looking at the end goal and working back from the beginning. Ultimately it means creating an organized,well structured and flexible plan that will guide both you and your athletes to their goals.

Remember, a poorly designed program is better than one with no structure at all. Consistency is the key at a foundational level.

To determine how to apply these 10 principles, as well asall the other topics that have been discussed, it's critical that you implement a complete speed training program with your athletes and clients.

Get the help you need to organize your training with the only speed training program that covers every modality of training required to make significant improvements to the speed, agility and power of every athlete.

Check out Complete Speed Training Now:
http://www.completespeedtraining.com/cmd.php?ad=272283

Combat Condiitoning

2006-11-02T12:42:00.000-08:00

I wanted you to be the first to know about a strength and conditioning 'must-have'.

Coach Jason Ferruggia just released a new resource that you should check out immeditely.

http://www.TopFitnessProfessionals.com/combat.html

Coach Ferruggia has been featured in journals such as Men's Fitness, MMA Sports Mag, Men's Health, and Maximum Fitness. But, moreimportantly, I use his information with my athletes because he gets results - period.

I have said before how much I trust his knowledge and even consult with when I have strength training questions and need an experts opinion.

In my view he is the leader in strength & conditioning for any combat athlete. His resource is targeted for combat athletes but it is really for any speed/power athlete looking to get stronger, more powerful and better conditioned.

I'll let you go take a look at Ferruggia's resource for combat conditioningand I won't keep you any longer.

http://www.TopFitnessProfessionals.com/combat.html

Complete Speed Training Newsletter #61

2006-10-30T07:22:00.000-08:00

Welcome to Issue #61 of the Complete Speed
Training Newsletter

Our scheduling has been thrown off a little bit
lately due to a hectic schedule.

However there are a few things I wanted to talk
about, in particular a must have resource on
program design for track and field, something that
should serve as a foundation of knowledge for
athletes in any sport. You only have until the end
of the day today, so read more about it below.

This week's topics include:

1.) The Importance of Goal Setting
2.) Brand New Program Design Resource for Track
and Field
3.) Fast Workouts for Full Recovery

----------------------------------------------

1.) The Importance of Goal Setting

----------------------------------------------

This week I want to digress a bit from our regular
series on program design. Instead I think it's
important to look at goal setting in regards to
the athlete's goals as opposed to setting goals
for the speed program itself.

Whether you coach a team of 50 athletes, just
your son or daughter or run groups at a facility,
getting athletes to both write and verbalize
their goals is an important part of the overall
process. Like any aspect of life, if you don't
know exactly where you want to go, you'll have an
extremely difficult time getting there. So if you
do coach a big team, don't make that an excuse. I
regularly find the time to a 4 - 5 part series of
goal sheets/meetings with a group of over 40
athletes.

You'll be amazed at what your athletes have going
on inside their heads. Many of your athletes, even
the ones who never speak at practice, have
incredibly detailed (and lofty) goals. Some of your
most talented athletes have a surprisingly low level
of self confidence. But if you don't sit down and
assess these goals with your athletes, you'll never
get this inside information.

I believe the coach/athlete relationship is
underrated. Top coaches take the time to learn
something personal about each one of their athletes.
Even if its one small detail, that can make a huge
difference in that athlete's success and life. Your
goal setting meetings are a perfect opportunity to
get to know a little about each athlete.

And you can use that to your advantage. When an athlete
is struggling in a workout, being able to specifically
mention something they talk about in their goal sheets
will have an immediate impact on their psychology. When
athletes feel like you know and care who they are as
people and not just another name and face amongst the
masses, I find they are less likely to goof off, take
short cuts, get in trouble and make excuses. Because
you know what their goals are, they can't escape that
accountability.

So here are my top 3 keys to effectively establishing
seasonal goals with your athletes:

1. Progress from simple to complex (sound familiar?)

Start out with simple goal sheets that only
contain a small amount of information. Most athletes
aren't really sure what their goals are so you
don't want to overwhelm them. By progressing, it
will be easier for them to get clear on what they
want. Many times, kids will be hesitant to state
their real goals because they fear success, not
failure.

Once you meet with your athlete and discuss the
first series of basic goals and expectations, you
can give them the next goal sheet where they have
to analyze their goals and get more specific. It's
up to you how many goal sheets you want to give.
Often I will only use 2 sheets with my young athletes,
where my experienced athletes will sometimes
complete 4 or 5 sheets. And believe me, some athletes
take this very seriously. I've had the hardcore ones
write 7-8 pages papers on their goals. I'm not sure
if this is good or bad, but I can't count how many
times an athlete has said, 'I spent more time on
this than any paper I've ever written for a class.'

I'm never sure how to respond to that!

2. Make them accountable

Our goal meetings are an important part of the
process so I expect it to be take seriously.
Therefore I have certain parameters that must
be met before I will accept one for review.
First, all responses must be typed and in complete
sentences. I accept sheets and set up meetings on
a first come, first serve basis. This is great
because there becomes a feeding frenzy of athletes
trying to get their sheets turned in. Star athletes
want to be first to have their meeting because,
well, they want to be first in everything. They'll
even compete for who writes the longest goal list.
Everyone else looks at it as an opportunity to
show commitment and effort and earn points with
the coach. So when I post the order of meetings,
no one wants to be down at the bottom of the list.

Athletes who don't turn in sheets or try to hand
me a hand written sheet get put on the 'Incomplete'
list, the team equivalent of being in the leper
colony.

3. Follow up

I have a lot to do so doing hundreds of goal
meetings a season is a challenge. But its worth
the effort. But nothing undermines that like
expecting athletes to be accountable, then not
finding the time to hold meetings. My goal meetings
have to be short, I limit most to 5 minutes. I'll
grab kids when I can. Maybe a meeting will be in
the weightroom, another at the track or on the field.
I do it when it works out, but I make sure to do it.

In these meetings you're going to learn a lot
more than how many touchdowns Johnny wants to
score or how Mary wants to be league MVP. You're
going to learn personal information and get glimpses
into who the kids are as people. It is critical that
you use this information to your advantage.
Sometimes I'll use it publicly, sometimes in private
conversations. But I always make sure that I try and
say something relevant to that specific athlete as
often as possible. I carry all the goal sheets
around with me in a big purple 3 ring binder. It's
one of my most important coaching tools.

So use these tips with your athletes. It's going
to help you develop your team into a family, and
give your individual athletes specific things to
shoot for each and every day. When they forget,
you'll be there to remind them and then they'll
do anything for you.

So now that your athletes know where they want
to go, click here to make sure you have the tools to take them
there.

-----------------------------------------------

2.) Brand New Program Design Resource for Track
and Field

----------------------------------------------

Over the past 12 months I've been involved in a
project with the absolute best track and field
coaches in the world.

Our goal is to bring the most comprehensiveseries
of program design informational resources
in the history of track and field to coaches at
every level of the sport. By providing *all* coaches
with the proven training design techniques of world
class coaches, you will be assured that your program
will be taken to levels you never thought possible.

My problem with many track and field program design
resources is that they are geared toward collegiate
and post collegiate coaches and athletes. I love
this series because its easy to understand for the
the high school coach, the middle school or youth
coach.

Until midnight tonight, Monday October 30, we're
holding the world wide launch for this series of
resources. All of our authors have earned the
distinction of being USA Track and Field Master
Coaches. This is the highest level of recognition
in the sport.

Now, we're only selling 500 copies as part of our
launch deal so you'll have to move fast if you want
to get a copy. That may seem like a lot of copies,
but when you consider how many athletics coaches
and athletes there in this world, you'll understand
it really isn't.

Click here to visit
the site,
where you can sign up to receive a sample chapter
from each event group book. Even if you don't coach
track and field, the techniques in these program
design resources will still teach you about the
demands of designing training for your own sport.
After all what is more fundamental to most sports
than the ability to run, jump and throw?

At least go sign up for the free chapter from each
book.

Check out Complete Track
and Field Conditioning today!

*NOTE: This launch was originally exclusive to
members of our Complete Track and Field sites.
But because of its relevance to the lead topic
of the Newsletter over the past several weeks,
I want to open it up to you as well. However,
the end of the launch is tonight at midnight.
To save 20% on our launch offer,
you must order today, October 30.
--------------------------------------------

3.) Fast Workouts for Full Recovery

-------------------------------------------

As we've stressed many times, recovery from
workouts is just as important as the workouts
themselves. On top of that, as the season wears
on, sometimes you just want to get your athletes
in and out of practice as quick as possible. You
both need a mental and physical break from the
rigors working out and program modification.

When you're looking for fast, effective workouts
that will help speed up your athletes' recovery,
here is your answer.

In fact, even if you're looking for a
subsititute for going to the gym because you
simply don't have the time, this is a great
solution to that ongoing problem.

Men's Fitness Magazine calls this 2 DVD
program "...the FASTEST workout that produces
REAL results."

Click here to learn more.

Designing an Effective Speed Training Program - Part VI

2006-10-30T07:16:00.000-08:00

This week we need to look at the energy and body
systems that we're training when trying to develop
the speed of our athletes.

I try to look at training from a slightly different
perspective.

Instead of designing training based on trying to
guessappropriate sets, reps, density, etc. I
considerthe theme of the training session that
provides theoverview of the goals I'm trying to
accomplish duringthat particular mesocycle,
microcycle and/or trainingsession. From there,
I create workouts by taxingthe energy or body
system I'm training in a way thatwill elicit the
results I am looking for.

By understanding how these systems work and how a
particular prescription of exercise develops that
particularsystem/s, I can facilitate more effective
adaptations.

First, we'll briefly look at the energy systems
we'reworking with in our speed development.

There are three that we have to be concerned with.

1. ATP/CP System (which we've already discussed)
2. Glycolytic System (commonly called the lactic
acid system)
3. Aerobic System

Ultimately these systems describe the metabolic
pathways available to replace ATP concentrations.

From a pure speed development standpoint, we are
goingto be primarily concerned with the first system
which wascovered in depth in last week's newsletter.

In the glycolytic system, as hydrogen ion
concentrations increase, enzyme activity decreases
and glucose or glycogen breaks down to pyruvate to
provide energy.

In short, this is the burning, lactic acid feeling
that you get during speed and special endurance runs.

That pain is essentially the muscles shutting down.

If you've ever run a 400m dash or seen the last 100m
of that race, you have seen the full effects of this
energysystem. We call it 'rigging' short for 'rigor
mortis'.

The name says it all.

I'm not going to get into the aerobic system here,
exceptto say that when it comes to most speed
developmentprograms (though I may be preaching to
the choir here) this system gets far too much
attention.

But to truly design an effective program, knowledge
of your sport/event and how these energy systems
affect success in that sport/event is critical to
making improvements.

The next topic requiring some attention is that of
understanding the 4 body systems that must be
developed with your training.

There are actually 5 body systems, the first of
which we call the 'energy systems' and they comprise
the three systems I just highlighted.

The Neuromuscular System

This system consists of the elements of the Central
Nervous System that control skeletal muscle
activityas well as muscle tissue that is involved
in creatingforce production during athletic
performance. The degreeof effectiveness of the Central
Nervous System is the single greatest factor in
performance. Developingthe neuromuscular system
should be the most important focus of your training.

As I've mentioned on countless occassions, this
systemmust be trained in the absense of fatigue in
order to elicit the best results. Despite its
importance, this system is widely underdeveloped in
most programs.

The Neuroendocrine System

This system operates by releasing hormones into
the blood stream during exercise. By having certain
hormones in the blood stream, strength development,
recovery from workouts and other metabolic functions
are significantly enhanced. So certain types of
exercise produce clear responses to the endocrine
system where effectively designed training can
result in marked improvement in performance.

The Musculoskeletal System

This system consists of the muscle tissue
responsible for force production, connective
tissue and the bones. It is important to note that
force created and force applied are *not* the same.
The musculoskeletal system facilitates the
transformation of created force to applied force.

From a training stand point, it is critical to
develop postural stability as well as postural
alignment in order to enable efficient movement
patterns as well as prevent injuries.

The Proprioceptive System

This system's job is to sense and provide the body
with information concerning body position, movement,
coordinative abilities. Many movements and actions
in speed development, as well as in athletic
performance as a whole, are considered reflexive.
Thus they are reliant on proprioceptive function.
Athletes who can quickly and easily respond to their
body position and movement are at a decisive advantage
in regards to overall skill development and therefore
performance. In order to effectively and efficiently
develop this system, athletes must engage in
activities that challenge their coordination and
balance.

Because all 5 of these systems contribute to speed
and performance *all* of them must be developed.
There is a level of interconnectedness between all
5 systems. So in developing one system, you will
be developing others at the same time. This does not
change the fact that your speed development program
must address all of these systems with some degree of
*planned* balance. This balance in training is just
as important to overall speed gains as the
development of any one system in particular.

That being said, it is important to consider the
demandsof your sport/event, the age (training and
otherwise) of your athletes, skill level, etc. in
order to determine the most appropriate balance of
activities.

Coaches will often overemphasize the aerobic energy
system with respect to inappropriate development of
the neuromuscular system. At the same time, many
programs entirely ignore the proprioceptive and
neuroendocrine systems. All of these fatal flaws in
program design adversely affect speed gains and
consistency of performance. According to
Cliff Rovelto (2006) 'the cause of most injuries is
the overdevelopment of the neuromuscular system with
respect to the musculoskeletal system.'

So how do you make sure that you're effectively
developingall of these systems and getting the most
out of your time and effort?

Click here to find out.

Designing an Effective Speed Training Program - Part V

2006-10-12T12:23:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I was reading a forum discussion about
defining various elements of speed, strength, power,
etc.

The post was about how different people use
wildly different terms and definitions to define
the same concepts. And I agree that we have far too
many definitions for common training terms. Since
I have no aspirations of reinventing the wheel or
trademarking any new terminology, I think it's
important that we all speak the same language. So,
once again, here is a link to some common training
terminology that I will be using to define certain
elements of the training plan.

It's not a complete list, but certainly each term
should be one that you familiarize yourself with:

http://tinyurl.com/jqz4s

Last time we looked at the 5 biomotor abilities.

One of the main problems that many coaches have in
training speed is that they are looking at the
topic through a very narrow lens. Maximal speed
development is far more than just running some 40s.

With biomotor development, every single microcycle
should address all 5 biomotor abilities to some
extent. But where you are in your training plan will
determine the degree of emphasis that should be
placed there.

Everything you do in your training must be done for
a reason. We live in a universe based on order.
Everything that happens, happens for a reason that,
given enough time, can be specifically identified.

That is why each element of an effective speed
training program must be based, ultimately, on
sound scientific and physiological principles.

At the same time, don't be a robot. Coaching is
both a science *and* an art. My speed training
philosophy pulls from more coaches and sources than
it is worth mentioning here. But the point is that
I don't *just* do what one coach says or *just*
regurgitate someone else's theory. I study everything.
Then I test it out and see how it works with my
particular athletes. Some I keep, some I get rid of.
But that is how you develop your own system of
training.

Now that I'm done with that brief rant, there are
6 fundamental training principles that I think should
be addressed so far as continuing to build a
foundation for understanding how you should approach
designing a speed training program for your athletes.

1. ADAPTATION

In essence, adaptation is the adjustment or
enhancement of fitness ('fitness' being a very
general term for the sum of the entire training
process) that comes from your specific speed training
protocols. Proper adaptation is the effect of relatively
stable changes caused by the training sessions you
implement.

Examples are the reduced resting heartrate seen
following an endurance training program and the
increase in muscle fiber diameter after a period of
strength training (Lamb 1978)

As I said before, everything happens for a reason.
The effectiveness of your athletes' adaptation stems
from the effectiveness of your training.

Keep in mind, however, that rate of adaptation
depends on such factors as sex, genetics, biological
age, training age, level of fitness and motivation.

Such factors (called 'biovariability') must be
considered when establishing the goals of your speed
training program.

2. INDIVIDUALIZATION

This is where you adjust your training methods to
the particular adaptive ability and response of one
specific athlete.

This has to be done as much as possible in order to
get the best results. Biodiversity is a very real,
very obvious factor. Giving all your athletes the same
generic program to follow will result in the same
generic results.

It can not be emphasized enough that you must
individualize your program.

If you're working 1:1 or with small groups, the
program is easily tailored to the individual needs
of these athletes.

I understand first hand, however, the difficulties
presented in training the speed of a team of 30,40
even 50+ athletes and still indididualizing the
program.

There are solutions to this that I will get into
later, but such things as testing, goal setting
meetings and organization are the first steps
toward getting the most out of your athletes.

Even breaking goals and expectations down based on
training age, fastest times, strength levels, etc.
will produce far greater results than the 'one size
fits all' ideology employed in most programs.

Yes, individualization makes your job harder. You
have to be more organized and efficient in your
coaching. Fundamentally this is where you separate
yourself from the rest of the pack.

3. OVERLOAD

Overload can be termed as any training stimulus
significant enough to elicit an adaptive response.
For athletes to continue to adapt, said stimulus
has to be increased along specific lines. The degree
of this increased load can be measured by:
1. volume
2. intensity
3. density
4. duration

Volume can be measured by the number of repetitions
performed, the total distance run or the total
weight lifted.

For example: 10x30m = a volume of 300 meters
5 sets of 5 squats at 225 pounds = a volume of 5625
pounds

Intensity is the percent of maximum performance that
a particular exercise is performed.

An athlete with a personal best in the 100m dash of
11.0 seconds who performs one run at 11.58 seconds
equals an intensity of 95%.

Density is the amount of recovery between bouts of
exercise, but in relation to the amount of time said
exercise takes to complete.

An interval workout where an athlete runs for 45
seconds and jogs for 90 seconds is less dense than
a workout where the athlete runs for 45 seconds and
rests for 45 seconds.

Duration relates to the amount of time the athlete
is actually exercising as opposed to recovering from
that exercise.

A sprinters interval workout of 10x200m may have a
duration of 5 minutes even though the workout lasts
30+ minutes while a speed workout 6x50m lasting the
same length of time may have a duration of only
30 - 40 seconds.

It is important to consider all these factors and
their impact on general adaptation when designing
your speed training program.

4. RESTORATION

Restoration, or recovery, is the *aided* return of
the athlete to his/her normal state through means
such as massage, nutrition, hydration, recovery
work, rest and relaxation.

The term also refers to the amount of time required
to go from the fatigued post workout state to the
point of super adaptation.

For example, it may take 48-72 hours to fully
recover from an intenste neuromuscular training
session.

Some coaches have a mindset that if athletes are
not relegated to the point of complete muscular
failure, then they have not worked hard enough.
This 'no pain, no gain' mindset leftover from the
1970s is truly disturbing to see.

Adaptation takes place not from the workout itself,
but from the effectiveness of the recovery
mechanisms employed between (in the case of speed
development) neuro days.

5. REVERSIBILITY

Also known as 'detraining', this is the loss of
adaptation due to either lack of or inadequate
training stimulus.

How long it takes to start to 'get out of shape'
depends on many variables and is of particular
concern in track and field athletes during the
peaking phase.

For example, aerobic enzyme production begins to
decrease after just 24 hours. Yet strength may
be maintained for several weeks of inactivity, though
muscle fiber size will decrease fairly quickly.

6. SPECIFICITY

Once you lay a foundation of general fitness in the
preparation phases, your training must evolve toward
the specific speed requirements of your athletes
and sport.

While general conditioning will have positive
effects on other systems, maximal training response
comes from training designed to stress the systems
specific to that sport or event, at the intensity of
and duration of the event.

This is why you can't run slow all the time and get
fast.

An example would be improved reaction time and
acceleration following a series of starting practice
sessions.

************

By considering how these factors will affect your
athletes, you are in a better position to design
a specific, individualized and effective speed
training program for your athletes, regardless of
the degree of biovariability within the group.

Discover the only Complete Speed Training program
designed to give you all the tools required to make
the greatest impact on the speed and performance
of your athletes:

http://www.completespeedtraining.com

How to get your athletes to do everything you say

2006-10-10T10:44:00.000-07:00

Latif and I swear by this method, but I'll let him
break it down...

I have a rule with my athletes.

Anyone who goes on to compete in college has to send
me a tshirt of their sport and school.

Over the years I've collected a pretty good arsenal of
collegiate apparel.

(Coincidentally, I'm wearing one of those shirts as I
write this.)

The thing is, I don't even have to ask anymore, athletes
just ask for my address and send me my shirt.

It stems from a relationship we've developed over time.
In fact, I get calls, emails and messages from former
athletes every week.

So you can imagine how hard they work for me in our
training sessions if they independently keep in touch
when their obligation to me is long over.

So how do you get your athletes to commit themselves
to your team, system and training?

The way to get your athletes to buy into your coaching
is very simple.

In fact I've mentioned this before but never really
focused on it in an article or email.

Sometimes, as coaches, parents, etc. I think we assume
that just because we are adults and 'authority' figures
that athletes are going to respect that and follow
orders.

And if you think that, I have to wonder what
color the sky is in your happy little world.

Kids are skeptical and rebellious.

They may be doing what you say and 'yessing' you to
death, but they know whether or not your coaching
makes sense.

And they are actively finding ways around your half
ass training.

I truly can't count the number of athletes (and parents)
who have come to me and said:

'Latif my coach doesn't know what he/she is doing. Half
the team is hurt and people are starting to give up.

Can you talk to my coach or give me workouts I can
do that will actually make me better?'

The funny thing is, most of these athletes come from
the most 'successful' programs in their area, but we'll
get into why that is in another article.

Of course *YOUR* athletes would never say those things,
but those "other" coaches' athletes sure do.

So you have to get your athletes to buy into what you
do. And that starts at your very first workout, practice
or training session.

Because even if they're paying you to teach them how
to get faster, it doesn't mean they'll come back for
future programs.

Here is my sure-fire way to get athletes to buy into
what you're teaching.

But first I have to warn you.

Once you do this, you have to be able to back it up.

Your athletes *will* call you out. And if you make
yourself a liar, then you'll lose the entire group.

Here's the magic words to tell your athletes:

"Every single thing we do in practice is specifically
designed to make you better. If I can't explain to you,
in a way that makes sense, exactly how any part of any
workout we do is going to make you a faster athlete,
then you don't have to do it."

I'm telling you that those words are magic.

It tells your athletes that you're committed to doing
things right and that you know what you're talking
about.

Because as soon as you read those words, in your heart
of hearts, you knew whether or not you could back that
statement up if you were put on the spot.

In making that one of the first statements you make
to your athletes, two things will happen:

1. Your athletes will call you out on it.

When you can answer all their questions, they'll do
absolutely anything you tell them to. Before long,
they won't even bother asking you to explain.

Most of the time with my athletes, especially on a
tough speed or special endurance day, they'll say those
infamous words:

'Latif, how is doing this workout on this day going
to make me better?'

Then I'll start to explain.

About 5 words in they'll yell:

'Forget it! We believe you. Just tell us what times
we have to hit.'

I love when that happens!

And when your younger athletes see the older ones so
willing to blindly follow you into battle, you've
created a dynamic within the group that leads to
continuous maximal effort.

2. You'll rapidly become a better coach.

When they call you out, you have to come up with a
good answer. And remember, it has to be an answer that
they understand. I can rattle off a long answer full
of 5 syllable scientific words, but that means nothing
to a 16 year old.

Your answer has to be clear, simple and delivered in
2 minutes or less.

To make that happen, you have to be on top of your
game. The accountability that comes with verbalizing
the answer forces you to get a firm grasp on your
training system and methodology.

Explaining things out loud helps you fill in the holes
in your knowledge that every coach, no matter how
successful, invariably comes to find.

That's the secret to laying the foundation for a
dominant program.

But it all hinges on your ability to explain these
concepts clearly.

In the end its simple, good coaches can do it or are
willing to learn. Trial by fire isn't a bad thing, it
just takes confidence.

Bad coaches will be afraid to try or will make excuses
why that's not a good idea.

There are only 2 categories.

Deep down, you know which category you're in.

Get the program that will give you the knowledge and
confidence to answer those questions and give your
athletes the best possible training.

Order Complete Speed Training now:

http://www.completespeedtraining.com

Designing an Effective Speed Training Program - Part IV

2006-10-05T07:31:00.000-07:00

As I said at the end of last week's article, there are
5 biomotor abilities that must be trained in order to
maximize the performance of any athlete.

And this is true regardless of sport, age, talent or
experience.

It is important that these 5 abilities be trained to some
degree in every workout. However, depending on time
of year, sport and individual training goals, some will
need to be trained more frequently than others.

Of course, it is no coincidence that our Complete Speed
Training program contains, yes, *5* DVDs. And within the
overall theme of the entire series, we cover these 5
biomotor abilities in detail.

It's also why any so-called speed training program that
does not directly address all 5 biomotor abilities can
not be considered a *complete* speed training resource.

So let us review and cover these 5 traits before getting
into the meat and potatoes of specific program design.

Again, the 5 biomotor abilities are:

1. Flexibility (covered in DVD# 1 - Pre Competition)
2. Coordination (covered in DVD#2 - Agility Training)
3. Endurance (covered in DVD#3 - Hardcore Conditioning)
4. Strength (covered in DVD#4 - High Powered Training)
5. Speed (covered in DVD#5 - Pure Speed Training)

FLEXIBILITY

The need for flexibility varies by sport and event as well as
from muscle group to muscle group.

However,rarely have I ever seen an athlete who appears
to be 'too flexible.'

However, lack of flexibility is an ever present issue.

Why flexibility is so important has been covered in the
7 part series you originally signed up for, so I won't
bother being redundant here.

But for our purposes there are two types of flexibility
that we must address in our program:

1. Static flexibility
2. Dynamic flexibility

These can be addressed in different ways, many of which
are covered in the Complete Speed Training program.

Simply, the need for static stretching before a workout
or competition is a subject for debate and, like many
training factors, is a matter of preference.

However, static stretching as the sole means of improving
mobility before a game or practice is a recipe fordisaster
and a sign of sheer laziness and complacencyby the coach
who uses it.

Give your athletes a short period of time to stretch
before beginning a dynamic warm up if need be, but
dynamic mobility exercises must be the foundation of
any practice or competitive situation.

Excessive static stretching is known to decrease short
term strength and power output so it can not be the
primary method of preparation for activities requiring
strength and power output.

Save static stretching for after practice. This is where
the biggest gains in flexibility will be made. Muscles
are warm and core body temperature is raised. There is
less chance of sustaining an injury this way.

For a library of flexibility options that break 'dynamic'
and 'static' stretching into much greaterdetail and options,
refer to the 'Pre Competition'DVD of your Complete Speed
Training Program.

COORDINATION

In my opinion, lack of coordination is one of the single
greatest limiting factors to the success of young athletes,
even the 'best' ones.

Development of coordinative abilities is a requirement f
or success in sports. According to Tittel, these
abilities include:

1. To spatially orient oneself
2. To kinesthetically differentiate
3. To react
4. To keep rhythm
5. To maintian balance

In addition, coordinative ability develops before
sexual maturity. Thus, it is believed that these skills
must be developed during pre-pubescence since
they are seen to regress during puberty.

Something to keep in mind for those of you working
with young athletes or wondering if Complete Speed
Training is appropriate for your 7 - 10 year old
son or daughter.

There are an inifinite number of activities that develop
the coordinative abilities including, but notlimited to:

change of direction drills
agility ladder work
dynamic exercises
hurdle mobility
plyometrics
proprioceptive work
speed drills
medicine ball throws
strength training
sport specific activities (block work, batting practice
running routes, running approaches, kicking a ball,
etc.)

All of these activities, when structured correctly
within the overall macrocycle (yearly plan) will
develop the coordination required to succeed on
the track, court or field.

Refer to your Complete Speed Training program for
a considerable number of examples of each of these
activities.

ENDURANCE

Endurance is the capacity to maintain a certain degree
of speed in the presence of fagigue.

Specific endurance requirements vary by sport.

As I've said on countless occasions, sending a football
player or 100 meter runner out to run 3 miles is an
unacceptable waste of time, but entirely appropriate
for a soccer player or miler.

Knowledge of general physiology is a requirement for
the coach to understand the type of endurance required
for their athletes and sport.

Generally, we can break down endurance into two broad
categories:

1. General Endurance
2. Specific Endurance

General endurance is ultimately the ability to maintain
a level of performance for an extended period of time.
It includes the neuro-muscular, central nervous, and
cardio-respiratory endurance systems. General
enduranceis often equated with aerobic endurance
because of its long term nature.

Specific endurance refers to the unique endurancer
equired to perform activities from playing football
to running the marathon. As I said, different sports
require different specific endurance and knowledge
of physiology allows coaches to design training
specific to the needs of their athletes.

Check out this article on specific types of generale
ndurance training for a more detailed look at how
to design your conditioning and recovery workouts:

http://tinyurl.com/r8xkw

Again, refer to your Complete Speed Training program
for more details about general and specific endurance.

STRENGTH

Strength is another requirement of optimal speed that
is often either ignored or done incorrectly in most
programs.

Common sense tells us that athletes can't expect to get
faster if they don't get stronger. This is simply dueto the
fact that they will be unable to move theirbodies forward
due to limitations in their force output.

There are, of course, different types of strength.

As an overview of the term, absolute strength is the
ability to produce great force, regardless of the speed
of movement. This quality is fundamental to all types
of strength and governs the body's ability to control
internally generated forces.

Power is the ability to produce force quickly. Overcoming
one's bodweight quickly is critical to acceleration, the
fundamental element of speed development.

Think of power as a combination of strength and speed.
Progress in developing these two areas as part of power
development training.

General strength is the ability to control one's body
and overcome internal resistance. Think of it as a
combination of strength and coordination. This is a
critical area of development for young (high school
and below) athletes who either lack this type of strength
or focus on developing other areas and neglecting this
area, at a cost.

Use general strength for postural stability, a
substitute for weight training, endocrine system
development, coordination and recovery.

For detailed breakdowns of general and specific strength
as well as power development, refer to the Hardcore
Conditioning and High Powered Training DVDs in your
Complete Speed Training Program.

SPEED

Speed, as you know, could be the focus of, say, an
entire ongoing weekly newsletter.

A traditional definition of speed is:

'The ability to move the body and/or it's parts quickly.'

But certainly, this term has many components which
have been covered in depth in this newsletter before.

So we will not spend significant time discussing its
components here.

As with all training, I look at the demands of the activity
in regards to it's energy system requirements.

This, as before, requires a knowledge of physiology
beyond the scope of this article, but covered in part
in the following article of this newsletter.

Generally, we can break speed down into categories. Keep
in mind these are general guidelines and vary by athlete:

Acceleration: 0 - 40 meters (0 - 5 seconds)
Maximum Velocity: 40 - 80 meters (5 - 8 seconds)
Speed Endurance: 80 - 150 meters
Special Endurance I: 150 - 300 meters
Special Endurance II: 300 - 600 meters

Outside of track and field, most athletes will not
focus much time and energy beyond speed endurance.

But as I said, this is an almost unfair simplification
of 'speed'.

So refer to your Complete Speed Training program for
greater details regarding how to incorporate speed
elements into your program.

Take the time to consider how these 5 biomotor abilities
should factor into your athletes' training.

In my next report, we will get more specific about
designing your speed program.

To learn more about Complete Speed Training and save
yourself a great deal of time and effort when putting
your training program together, click here:

http://www.completespeedtraining.com

Designing an Effective Speed Training Program - Part III

2006-09-18T20:04:00.000-07:00

Last time I talked about identifying the demands
of your sport in order to effectively design an training
plan that will help your athletes achieve those goals.

I got a lot of questions about that over the past
two weeks so I want to go into more detail about that
before continuing on with the specific details of actually
putting that program together.

As far as demands of a speed training program I think
it is important to first look at your sport and where
the focus is during the preseason and regular season.

We can simply break this down into two categories:

1. Team sports
2. 'Individual' sports

Team sports like football, basketball and soccer are
going to have to focus the majority of speed and
conditioning development in the preseason. Once the
season starts the focus is likely going to be more on
maintenance of the improvements made during the
off season and preseason as opposed to specifically
trying to make significant speed gains during the
competitive season.

Don't forget that competitions must be factored into
the overall conditioning plan as well.

The problem I see with most coaches of team sports is
that there is no organized periodization or progression
of conditioning in the preseason or regular season.

This is why there is often a rash of burnout, mid season
performance regression (due to overtraining)
and late season injuries.

Even worse, I can't count the number of times I've
gotten athletes from other sports in their next season
who needed excessive rest and modified training to
help them recover from the beatings their unorganized
coaches gave them during the previous season.

The techniques you'll learn here should prevent that
from happening ever again.

On the flip side you have 'individual' sports, which
we'll basically consider track and field. Here we often
train through early season competitions with the goal
being to have athletes run their fastest at the end
of the season, instead of the beginning of the season
like in team sports.

The training principles for both categories are the same,
it is just the structure that is going to be different.

Now, before you can begin creating a specific training
plan you have to get organized. Early in my career I
chose to skip this part because I was lazy and ignorant
(by ignorant I mean uninformed, unaware) but invariably
it would come back to bite me when circumstances forced
me to be more flexible in amending the plan.

And believe me, even the best plans have to be modified
for a variety of reasons.

Here is a list of 7 steps that must be followed before you
sit down to write out the specific details of youroverall
plan.

Some of you will groan at the amount of time and thought
that goes into a well crafted speed program, but that's
why your athletes aren't fast and mine are. If you take
the time to learn this process it gets faster and easier.

I also suggest you start taking notes on the answers
to these questions as it will make your life much easier
as we break them down further as we progress through
this series.

*******
1. Establish a clear, specific goal for the training
plan.

This is the same whether designing a plan for an individual
person or a team.

Is the goal to improve your 40 by .3 seconds by the
start of the season or improve the team's average 40
time by .2 before the first game?

Do you want to win a State Title in the 100 or place
3 athletes in the finals at the League Championship
this spring?

If you set generic goals like 'make the team faster'
then you won't accomplish them. You have to set your
intention on a specific goal by focusing on the end
result and then working backwards.

As you'll see later this is one of the most overlooked
and also difficult components of the training plan.
But if you don't start with the end goal and end date
and work backwards, you can't get a true understanding
of how to progress your training.

2. Make a detailed analysis of the demands of
your sport.

A football player and a soccer player aren't going
to be on the same speed training program.

Is there a significant aerobic demand to your sport?

How about agility and change of direction skills?

Does your sport focus on acceleration or top end speed?

Do your athletes hold, swing or carry an implement in
their sport?

3. Establish a list of qualities and abilities needed
to succeed in the specific speed applications of your
sport. This should be based upon your analysis of
demands.

For example:

- Absorb impact and then accelerate.
- accelerate while in a state of extreme fatigue
- develop consistent acceleration pattern out of blocks
- hit a moving ball while running at top speed

4. Create a list of specific training activities. This
list should be designed to address and develop the
identified list of qualities and abilities.

For example:

- specific drills teaching athletes how to take a hit
and effectively accelerate
- fartlek runs and whistle workouts where athletes
simulate the types of starting and stopping while fatigued
that they'll experience in a game
- drive phase development and block work session to teach
a consistent, explosive sprint start
- drills teaching athletes techniques for striking, kicking or
dribbling the ball while running at full speed

5. Create a list of general training activities. These
should be designed to prepare the body to undertake
more specific training, when specific training is
considered too advanced for the learning athlete.

For example:

- an athlete must learn how to separately absorb
contact and learn to accelerate before the actions
can effectively be combined
- athletes must develop their aerobic power, lactic
capacity and acceleration ability before they can
succeed at combining those three elements successfully.
- athletes must develop a consistent acceleration pattern,
understand the drive phase and perfect running mechanics
before successfully developing a fast start
- athletes must learn how to kick, strike or dribble the ball,
as well as learn acceleration and top speed mechanics before
they can combine these skills

6. The list of both general and specific training
activities must be organized in a logical fashion into
a valid training program.

With any speed program, skills must go from general
to specific, basic to complex.

Athletes must establish general conditioning before
doing complex lactic acid workouts.

They must develop the ability to accelerate before
doing speed endurance.

And beyond that these skills must be broken down further
as well as addressing other biomotor abilitiesthat we will get
into shortly.

7. The training program must actually be administered
and should undergo constant evaluation.

Even the best plans must be modified. Weather, injuries,
and a myriad of other situations and circumstances
will arise that force you to change what you are doing.

Sometimes something you plan just plain doesn't work.

That is why a detailed plan, as well as note taking
and testing, will give you a good idea if your planis
progressing as expected.

So start going through these 7 steps and taking specific
notes on how they can be specifically applied
to your team, sport or training.

Because even these 7 topics are just a general overview
of the pre-planning behind the training plan.

Once you've established your lists and have gotten
more focused on the general areas that must be developed
you can start to get more specific.

But first you must understand where the specificity
comes from and why it is applied.

In developing the speed of any athletes in any sport there
are 5 biomotor abilities that must be developed, regardless
of the perceived differences between thesport/s being trained,
age, gender and skill level ofthe athletes.

These 5 biomotor abilities are:

1. Speed (of course)
2. Strength
3. Coordination
4. Flexibility
5. Conditioning

In Part IV of the series, we'll examine the 5 biomotor
abilities in detail and look more directly at specific
principles for applying the results you came up within
the 7 steps we covered today in relation to those
biomotor abilities, so far as it pertains to designing an
effective speed training program.

Of course, if you have any questions about the topics
I covered today or anything related to speed training
or program design, feel free to email me at:

info@athletesacceleration.com

To learn more about the only program on the planet
that gives you lists of general and specific drills and
exercises covering all 5 biomotor abilities, visit:

http://www.completespeedtraining.com

How to learn good nutrition in Only 8 days...

2006-09-15T07:30:00.000-07:00

The other day I got an email from Dr. John Berardi.

He wanted to let me know about a brand new nutrition coursehe just released.

I have to admit, I'm a big fan of John's programs. But the title of his program 'Body Transformation withPrecision Nutrition -- in 8 Days' had me a little bitskeptical.

8 days doesn't seem like much time to transform your bodyand I'm more concerned about how different informationcan be applied to athletes.

But I can never get enough information and nutrition is something that can always be applied to my athletes, myfriends and my family so I decided to give it a look.

And honestly, I'm glad I did.

The course starts with three consecutive onlinequestionnaires, which I thought was a pretty cool wayof setting it up. Plus, they got right to the point calling you out on some of your weaknesses and offeringreasonable solutions. Just going over the questionsexposed some of my bad habits and I know this stuff!

The lessons get right to the point so you won't haveto try and filter through a lot of nonsense. So whetheryou're well versed on nutrition or you're trying tofeel your way along you'll have some valuable insightto begin to offer your athletes and your clients.

Plus I really like that he goes beyond advice about foodto talk about how to make sure you actually stick to the plan.

I find that athletes are great at starting to eat healthybut it often doesn't last. Now you'll know exactly whatto say to them so they know what will lead to failureand what will lead to success.

His 10 Rules cover everything from what to eat to whento eat it which, truthfully, is more than I expected in such a short course.

Of course, it's not perfect. I wish there were some moredetails on meal planning, maybe a few meals thrown inthere as examples. Also, like I said, I wish it was a little bit more directed at athletes.

But regardless I learned a lot of information that hasalready been helpful.

Overall I'm a big fan of this course and in eight daysyou'll learn more about nutrition than most people doin their entire lives.

All you have to do is walk around in public for a fewminutes to see how true that is!

The bottom line is that if your athletes and clients (notto mention friends and family) come to you for nutritionadvice half as often as they come to me, and you wantto be able to offer them advice that works, I highly recommend that you check the course out for yourself.

It's available for free at:
www.topfitnessprofessionals.com/nutritiontips.html

72 Hour Sale Ends in 12 hours...

2006-09-08T08:50:00.000-07:00

This is your last chance...

You've only got 12 hours left to save *BIG* on our best selling
programs and resources.

Our '2 Year Anniversary Sale' is practically over...

Tonight at 12:00 AM, EST (Friday night/Saturday morning)
marks the end of this unique opportunity.

So make sure you take advantage of this offer before these
deals are gone (in case you haven't already).

http://www.completespeedtraining.com/2anniversary.html

Regards,
Patrick Beith

P.S. OK - time for me to get back answering your emails and
phone calls. I just love talking to excited coaches, parents,
athletes and trainers who can't wait to start implementing
these groundbreaking techniques as soon as possible.
Believe me when I tell you that your athletes will thank you
for it!

http://www.completespeedtraining.com/2anniversary.html

72 hour sale begins in just 5 minutes…

2006-09-05T21:01:00.000-07:00

Just a quick reminder - your 72 hour window to save on our
best selling programs and resources starts in about 5 minutes.

It's to celebrate the 2 year anniversary of our first online
sale.

http://www.completespeedtraining.com/2anniversary.html

In fact, we expect such a huge response by your colleagues and
competitors that we've opened up an extra phone line to call
and place orders or ask questions.

You might even catch Latif and I manning the phone lines too!
But you can only call between 9AM - 6PM EST.

Here are the numbers:
(508) 699 – 2986 (order placement questions)
(217) 344 – 5644 (training related questions)

http://www.completespeedtraining.com/2anniversary.html

All my best,
Patrick Beith
info@athletesacceleration.com

P.S. This is the *only* time we'll offer our programs at these
prices. If you're serious about improving your athletes or
your knowledge of speed development you'd have to be just
about crazy to ignore this sale...

http://www.completespeedtraining.com/2anniversary.html

Designing an Effective Speed Training Program - Part II

2006-09-02T09:18:00.000-07:00

At the collegiate level, most coaches have every aspect of their seasons planned out in advanced. Most college coaches couldn't imagine 'winging' it.

The idea of running, to quote my friend John Doherty, 'Junction Boys' style training would never realistically occur to them.

In case you don't know what Junction Boys training is, watch theend of most football practices. It's when coaches run athletes into the ground just because it's what they did when they were in high school. It pretty much consists of running wind sprints until you can't run anymore.
This, of course, is an inferior way to develop athletes. However,this style of coaching is unfortunately less the exception and more the rule.

I am sure that you have heard of or even know coaches thatdecide what they are doing for practice that day, on their driveover to the practice facility. Now don't get me wrong, I have lived in New England most of my life so I know that you need to be able to make changes on the fly. Weather can cause problems to your ideal practice for that day so you need to be able to make adjustments. Even the way your athletes feel on that given day is going to change what you can do for practice. You can make adjustments to your training plan but you must know what the goal or theme of the workouts are and what you want to get accomplished in order for you to reach your end and desired result.

The key is to actually have a plan set-up in advance. Volumes, intensities and the entire program should be set-up and in place before you ever set foot on the practice field.
Over the course of this series, you'll understand exactly howto do that.

But before you can begin creating a program for yourself or your athletes, there are certain questions you have to answer.

Let's examine a few of those questions now:

1. What are the demands of your sport and, thus, the speed, strength and conditioning requirements of your athletes?

Without having a clear understanding of this foundational question, you can't possibly design an effective program for anyone.

Let's break this question down a little bit further so that there is no confusion. You shouldn't read any more of this series(or conduct a practice session or workout) until you have clearly outlined these parameters.

The following questions will help you understand the mindset you must bring to planning and organizing your sport's practice and training activities.

1. How long does a game/competition take?
The training plan for a 55 meter sprinter and a soccer playercan not be the same. One athlete may be competing for up to 90 minutes, the other for less than 7 seconds.

2. What is the rest period between plays/events?
Would the rest intervals for a track sprinter who may have anhour or more off between events be the same as a football playerwho only has 30-40 seconds between plays?

3. What is the ratio between sprinting, jogging and walking during a competition?
Your soccer and field hockey players need to be able to sprint at short bursts then go into a jog, repeatedly, for an extendedperiod of time. Would interval training be more useful for your athletes or continuous slow distance training? Generally I see these coaches focusing on the latter.

How about speed development? Acceleration is critical to the success of these athletes. But how often do coaches specificallybuild this necessary skill into their programs? In my experience,not often.

4. What type of 'speed' do your athletes need to succeed at their sport?
There is a difference between just doing some speed work and actual speed development. The former is what is occasionally done insome programs. The latter is specifically designed to foster adaptations that improve the skill of sprinting over time.

This is why I advocate a 'short to long' program with speed development, a topic that will be discussed in a future edition of this series.

Back to the question:
Do the demands of your sport focus on acceleration like soccer, football, lacrosse and basketball? Or does the ability to maintainnear top speeds determine success, like for a 200 meter sprinter?
Acceleration development and maximum velocity training must be addressed differently.
What about speed versus speed endurance?

Faster top speeds can only be developed when there is no presence of fatigue. While both skills need to be trained, some sports require athletes to be able to quickly accelerate or change directions while under a state of fatigue.

After all, there is a world of difference between these two seemingly similar workouts:
A.) 10x30m @ 100% intensity with 3 minutes rest
B.) 10x30m @ 100% intensity with 30 seconds rest
One will improve an athlete's ability to get from point A to Point B in the shortest period of time possible.

The other will improve an athlete's ability to repeatedly get from Point A to Point B in the shortest *average* time possible,with decreasing difference between the fastest and slowest times.

5. What sport specific and speed specific skills must be factored into your training plan?
We'll go into this in much more detail when discussing training inventories, but it is worth mentioning here.

How many times in a game do your basketball players or volleyball players have to jump? How many times in a row will they have tojump in most situations?

Many coaches will have these athletes do sustained vertical jumps for periods of 30+ seconds as the sole means of improving specific 'jumping' or 'vertical leaping' ability.

But how many times do these athletes have to jump in a row?
Two, three *maybe* four if they are a Dennis Rodman style rebounder?
Wouldn't they make better improvements to their maximum verticalleap height by practicing a few jumps at full intensity, then resting?
How does jumping endurance help an athlete outrebound their opponent or spike the ball in a single effort situation?

If my team does Workout A and yours does Workout B, whose athletes are going to succeed in getting more rebounds, blocks or kills over time?

A. 4 sets of 5 jump squats with 3-4 minutes rest.
B. 3 sets of 30 seconds sustained jump squats with one minute rest.

From here we can keep adding details to the training demands such as looking at the energy system and metabolic demands (we'll get into all of that later).

But when you use common sense, it really isn't that complicated.

Now that you are beginning to understand the specific demands ofyour sport, we have to look at two things in order to identifywhy this process is so important to athletic success:

1. Why we train in the first place2. What organized training actually does for the body
While conclusions made during a discussion of these two issues may seem painfully obvious once explained, one only has to look at the lack of organization and forethought behind most strengthand conditioning programs to understand that such issues are hardly being taken into consideration when most plans are being created.

That is why, when in doubt, we go back to the basics.

So, why do we train?

At its most basic level, we train to overcome fatigue.

During the course of any competition, athletes are going to get tired. By using certain specific training modalities, athletes can learn to overcome that fatigue, or at least delay it long enough to succeed.

Here is an analogy that fits.

The 100 meter dash.
Many people think (or are taught) that you will experience the greatest success in this race by running the entire distance as hard and as fast as humanly possible.

However, that is just not possible. (You'll understand why when we discuss energy systems)
In an nutshell, a sprinter must 'rest' or 'float' during the race to conserve energy. This is a subtle skill that takes patience and experience, but is nonetheless true. By the midpoint of the race, most athletes are, in fact, slowing down.

When you step back and look at the entire picture, the 100 meter dash, like most competitions, is won by the athlete who*decelerates the slowest*.

By using certain specific training modalities, the 100 meter runner can learn to overcome some of the fatigue that sets inby training him/herself to decelerate slower than the competition.
Now, it is the job of the 100 meter coach to factor in this fact to the athlete's training by understanding the demands of the event. Of course slowing down slowing down is just one of manyelements of the 100 meter dash. But without specifically addressing this fact, athletes can not reach their potential.

So the coach must consider what methods he/she can use to address this issue, one of many limiting factors that must be understood and dealt with in order to develop the fastest possible athletes.

Another reason we train is to perfect technique.

Repetition of a *properly* executed skill will train the athlete to perform automatically, a critical skill when considering the amount of information athletes must process during the course of any competitive situation.

This too must be addressed in a specific fashion worked into the framework of the overall training plan.

But the main reason we train, above all else, is to improve performance. Often, to improve so that we are competing atour best at the end of the season for the state championship, playoff tournament, Super Bowl, etc.

But other times, especially in team based sports like football and basketball, athletes must be in top shape at the start of the regular season. The season is all about maintaining all the improvements that were made in the preseason.

This difference, however, in no way changes the approach that should be taken to creating the speed development program.

Regardless of the sport there are clearly many factors that go into a season. Your job is to ensure that your training program allows athletes to be at their best when the time comes.
The best way to maximize the likelihood of this occuring is to organize your training by carefully following the framework that is being laid out in this series.

The next issue of importance deals with what organized training techniques actually do to the body, especially in comparison to the generally unorganized training that most coaches employ.
This will go far in helping to understand just how significant the level of improvement can be when incorporating organized skill development into each microcycle, mesocycle and macrocycle.

In next week's Complete Speed Training Newsletter we'll explore this issue and look more specifically at the most important principles and components to designing an effective training program.

But consider this:
Once you commit to planning and organizing training, you'll need to have an encyclopedia of drills, exercises, training aids, tools and technical instruction to make all the pieces fit together.
The blueprint of a new building is of no value if you don't have the tools, supplies and resources to raise the structure.

I'm giving you the blueprint, but *you* need to take action if you expect your construction to be up to code.

Order Complete Speed Training now:
http://www.completespeedtraining.com

Believe me when I tell you, as we get deeper into this subject you're going to realize just how critical an inventory of training exercises and drills are for all the elements of speed development.

Many of the topics I will discuss here are simplified, explained and organized for you in the Complete Speed Training forum.

You've heard the saying:
'Give a man a fish and he'll eat for a day. Teach a man to fish and he'll eat for a lifetime.'
Here I'm teaching you to fish, so you'll have the knowledge to construct every detail of a program.

But Complete Speed Training just gives you the fish, so you don't have to commit as much of your valuable time to program design.

When you have both, your athletes will be unstoppable.

Order today and you'll have your copy of Complete Speed Training in hand before the next piece of this series is published.
--> http://www.completespeedtraining.com

Designing an Effective Speed Training Program

2006-08-27T07:18:00.000-07:00

Designing an Effective Training Program, Part I

Over the coming weeks, I'm going to be bringing you a series I'm calling 'Designing an Effective Training Program'.

I can't say how long it will be because it is a work in progress. I first expected the 'step over, drive down' series to last 2 weeks, butI ended up writing 4 lengthy reports for it.

With all the projects we are working on here at Athletes' Accelerationit is impossible to create large amounts of content in advance, 52 weeks per year, especially for a free newsletter.
Sometimes we need a week or two off between articles!!

Now this report on program design is to help give you a basic, yet detailed, look at how to set up your programs for you and your athletes.

However, it is not meant to be the definitive text on periodization,I am not trying to reinvent the wheel or promote myself as the next Tudor Bompa. (If you don't know who that is, you'll learn a great dealfrom this series!)

Thus, this information comes from a variety of sources.

My purpose is to provide you with information and resources to help youcreate better annual plans for your athletes. However, coaching is a science *and* an art. If your goal is to simply cut and paste sampleprograms into your own program, you are not putting in the same effortyou expect from your athletes.

Therefore you won't get very much out of this, or any, training advice.

It doesn't matter whether you coach team sports, run 4,8 or 12 week groups or train yourself, if your season as a whole isn't organizedfollowing specific training guidelines, then neither you or your athletes should expect to see consistent or continuous improvement.

No periodization at all is just making things up as you go along.

And I can't think of many situations in life or athletics where sucha philosophy is a recipe for success.

I know that the 'step over, drive down' series was a popular and much needed one based on the depth and range of positive responses I got.

With this series, I invite you to ask questions as we go along. I strongly believe that is the best way to learn. While we don't professto have all the answers to every possible sport, training situation or scenario, we will certainly do our best to supply valuable answers to any and all questions and comments that come in.

Just as importantly, the information here will be useful to you whetheror not you currently own Complete Speed Training.

However, sales pitches aside, having a large inventory of effective drills and exercises to pull from for the various phases and elements of training is, quite frankly, essential to the continuedsuccess of your athletes.

If you have Complete Speed Training it is simply a matter of, literally, plugging the information from the DVDs into the appropriate workouts.

If you haven't purchased Complete Speed Training yet, this is an idealtime to get a copy. Otherwise, you'll come to understand *how* toorganize and plan training, but you won't have the tools to implement your knowledge.

It's like having the recipe for a 4 course meal meal, but not havingany of the ingredients. You can make do with what you have lying aroundthe house, but how good will your dinner actually taste?

Click here to get your copy of Complete Speed Training before the next newsletter is delivered:
http://www.completespeedtraining.com

Now, we can begin our look at training theory.

I find that one of the biggest misconceptions regarding training theory is that there is some universal method of training that magically applies to everyone.

There isn't.

There are multiple paths to the same goal. The problem comes when coaches aren't on any particular path at all. Instead they just wanderaimlessly toward some poorly defined end point, making things up based on their mood that day. Science is not used in any of their training decisions.

This is not to say that experience and tradition don't have a role inprogram design, they do. But they shouldn't be the foundation of theprogram.

On top of that, let's not make training theory and program designmore complicated than it is. Adding depth and detail for the sake ofbeing fancy will take away from basic training principles that serveas the glue holding the plan together.

In the past, I would try to add as much detail, charts, graphs and testing protocols as I could think of to my programs. I thought this would get better results.

Well unless you coach full time, you don't have time for that. And all it will do is add more to an already full plate.

Just like I always advocate the 'train smarter, not harder' philosophy with training, I also employ the 'coach smarter, not harder' mindsetwhen it comes to organizing and planning training.

Don't forget, a well thought out program doesn't absolve you from havingto teach running mechanics, drills, etc. In fact, it makes those issuesall the more important.

But you should still factor in the amount of time you have to committo program design before you get in over your head. I always wish I hadmore time to add more details to my training programs, even the onesthat result in state champions.

There is no such thing as the perfect plan. Plus, any plan must account for the fluidity of your season. What I mean is, s*** happens.

Your athletes may be excessively sore, rain may keep you inside, coldweather could make it unsafe to get that speed workout in, acompetition may get rescheduled, an injury could occur, school couldget cancelled.

All of these things will force you to adapt to the current situation.

That is why it is so important for you to take the time to learn howand why certain things affect athletes. You need to be able to make changes to your training plan on the fly without it throwing your entire season into chaos.

If you're just cutting and pasting a sample program and calling it yourtraining plan, what will you do when forced to improvise?

It's the same reason why I don't write out every workout of my season in advance. I learned the hard way that once your schedule gets thrownoff once, that whole plan has to be amended. You'll need to plan whatyou want to get done in detail and in advance.

But always have a plan B that affects the body the same way as Plan A.

OK, so that is a very quick overview covering some of the things you should be thinking about as you begin to aquire new information.

You'll want to go out and start making changes in your program and inyour training.

This is the art of coaching. Learn something new, apply it to your athletes and see what works for your situation and athletes and what doens't.

Next topic:
I have found that one of the biggest problems in having this discussion is that of different coaches using separate terms to describe the same things.

Therefore, before we really get going, it is critical that we be on the same page regarding our use of terminology. I will be using terms that may not be familiar to you and that could cause confusion.

So, check out this link and familiarize yourself with the terms anddefinitions so that we don't encounter any unnecessary road blocksalong the way:

http://www.completetrackandfield.com/track-definitions.html

Bookmark that page, print it out or add it to your favorites, but make sure you can access it at your convenience.

But make sure you read it all.

Now, any well designed program revolves around one central principle.

Without it, you can't possibly devise effective training in the longterm or the short term.

What is that one overriding principle?

The End Result.

What is the goal of your training? What are your athletes training for?

Is it to win the Superbowl? Qualify for the post season? Peak for the State Championship?

You can't ask for directions if you don't know where you're going.

Designing an effective program is no different.

I want you to think about a few things for next week.

What is your end goal? Is your current or past training designed specifically to help you or your athletes be at their best when thatday arrives? Or does erratic, inconsistent training prevent you fromgetting there in the first place?

When you really sit down and think about it, how organized and specific is your athletes' training?

Next week we're going to break down the most important principles involved in designing an effective training plan.

Until then, become familiar with those training terms. And if you haven't already, get your copy of Complete Speed Training so you have the resources to implement your new and improved training system:
http://www.completespeedtraining.com

The Ultimate 4 Minute Workout

2006-08-17T13:04:00.000-07:00

Let's face it:

We live in a fast paced world.

When it comes to staying in shape or getting in shape, society makes itvery easy to compromise.

How many times have you skipped out on a workout because you:

'didn't have time'

or

'have too much to do'

We've all been there. We know we *shouldn't* skip the workout, but we just don't make the time to do it.

But all that has changed!

Getting a heart pounding, quality workout does not have to take up2 hours of your day.

In fact, it doesn't even take one hour.

Or even 30 minutes!

If your workout time is limited because of your busy schedule, the solution is fast and easy.

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If you want to get back in shape, but know you can't commit hours to the gym, the solution is
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If you're looking for extra drills, exercises and 'in and out' conditioning workouts to give your athletes on their recovery days, the solution is fast and easy.

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The Speed Drills You NEED To Do

2006-08-15T13:59:00.000-07:00

The first thing that has to be mastered before any traditional speed drills is athletes' arm action. I can tell exactly what an athletes' legs are doing just by watching the way they move their arms.

The role of the arms is to stabilize the torso, maintain balance and help the legs generate power (so to speak).

So I always start with:

ARM ACTION DRILL

- feet hip to shoulder width apart- weight slightly forward on the balls of the feet
- chin up, chest up
- front arm between 70-90 degrees, back arm 90-120 degrees
- hands should come up to cheek height, clear the hip in back
- all movement through the shoulders
- cue athletes to 'pound nails' behind them by driving the elbow down and back
- arms never cross midline of body

Once athletes get that down, they may be ready for the traditional speed drills.

Start with the 'A' MARCH.

Use two variations of this drill. The first is simply done without the use of the arms because most of the time that is too complicated for athletes to do.

So once athletes can coordinate the 'A' MARCH W/NO ARMS, I'll then add the arms following the same technical expectations as with the ARM ACTION DRILL.

With this drill, the legs should behave in a piston-like fashion. That is, there should be no 'pawing' or 'cycling' of the legs. Such cues and movements will get athletes in trouble once they increase their horizontal velocity.

Increased speed will naturally force athetes' legs into a more cyclical pattern. For now, they need to train their neuromuscular systems to decelerate the thigh as soon as the active heel clears the support knee.

In short, this will look like the name implies; a march.

'A' MARCH (with no arms)

- hands on hips
- cue 'chin up, chest up, toe up (dorsiflexed), heel up (over the opposite knee) for the duration of the drill
- recover the active heel underneath the hips
- step over the support knee
- drive the active leg down into the ground as soon as the heel clears the knee (ankle should not drive out, paw or cycle past the hips)
- initial foot strike should be with the ball of the foot, not the heel
- active foot should strike directly beneath the hips
- active foot should land no farther than ½ footlength in front of support foot- alternate legs for prescribed time, # of reps or distance

Once your athletes get this down with perfection, you can add the arms to the drill. You'll be amazed at how quickly everything falls apart with this simple addition.

And if athletes are struggling with this basic drill, imagine how inefficient they must be when attempting to run at full speed.

The next drill you have to teach is the 'A' SKIP. Now this drill really exposes lack of coordination, so make sure that the 'A' MARCH has been perfected.

Generally, athletes are so bad at this drill (I don't want to admit how long it took me to learn this drill correctly) that I only let them perform it with one leg at a time, in place and, of course, with no arms.

Like with the 'A' MARCH, teach this drill with no arms at first. For the sake of political correctness, I won't make an analogy as to what your team will look like if they try to do the full drill right away.

Most of your athletes will just turn this into a regular, exaggerated skip. That's why I start them in place.

But the key to the 'A' SKIP is the double hop on the support leg.

Each hop should only be a couple of inches off the ground, but there should be two of them: the first as the active leg recovers and active ankle steps over the knee and the second as the active leg is decelerated into the ground. When done correctly, both feet should hit the ground at the same time.

'A' SKIP (no arms, alternating legs, in place)

- hands on hips
- cue 'chin up, chest up, toe up (dorsiflexed), heel up (over the opposite knee) for the duration of the drill
- cue athletes to repeat 'hop, hop...hop, hop' in their heads to help coordinate the double hop movement
- recover the active heel underneath the hips while hopping with the support leg
- step over the support knee
- drive the active leg down into the ground as soon as the heel clears the knee (ankle should not drive out, paw or cycle past the hips) while hopping on the support leg
- initial foot strike should be with the ball of the foot, not the heel
- active foot should strike directly beneath the hips
- active foot should land no farther than ½ footlength in front of support foot
- alternate legs for prescribed time and/or # of reps once double hops is successfully coordinated
- deceleration of active thigh ('drive down') should be noticeably faster and more forceful than the initial recovery of that active leg

In writing it doesn't look much different than the 'A' MARCH but it is. Once athletes can coordinate the double hop you can let them cover some ground, add arm action and alternate legs.

The next drill to teach is the 'A' RUN. This drill starts to simulate running mechanics in a more obvious way than the other drills, though it can be just as difficult to learn.

I'm going to describe the full 'A' RUN here. I usually start with the HALF 'A' RUN which is simply to limit the range of motion by stepping over the calf instead of the knee. So simply change 'knee' to 'calf' when first teaching this drill. Also, I only teach this drill with arm action as it should be mastered by this point.

Despite the exaggerated nature of this drill, athletes should not cover much ground with each stride. It should not look like a bounding drill.

'A' RUN

- cue chin up, chest up, toe up, heel up
- keep the shoulders in line with or in front of the hips
- do not break at the hips
- starting at a jogging pace, recover the heel, step over and drive down using proper technique learned in previous drills
- at the same time, use appropriate arm action to maintain balance and find rhythm
- simply alternate legs and slowly increase speed as dictated by power generated through force application

Performed correctly, this drill looks like someone running throughwaist deep water. Once mastered, I will often add a hard acceleration out of the 'A' RUN. This will force athletes to keep driving down because the tendency is to fall back into old habits. The acceleration will make this more pronounced.

Don't forget, old habits die hard.

The final drill in my progression is the FAST LEG drill.

It's also my favorite.

This simulates the speeds and ranges of motion that are closest to actual sprinting, but isolates one leg at a time. There are a number of variations that I use with athletes, depending on their level of coordination and skill mastery.

They're discussed in greater detail in the Complete Speed Training program.

With the FAST LEG drill, start out by focusing on one leg at a time. Jog very slowly between repetitions with very little range of motion so that the difference in technique when jogging versus doing the drill is very pronounced.

Let athletes do as many of as few FAST LEGS as they need when first starting. If doing the drill for 30 meters, let them only do 2 total FAST LEGS if that is all they can coordinate. At first it will take a lot of brain processing for athletes to coordinate the movement correctly so they won't be able to bust out repetitions in a rapid fire format. At least at first.

But you'll see what I mean when you try to learn the drill yourself or watch them try to do it.
Ideally, athletes should be able to go: FAST LEG, 2 steps, FAST LEG, 2 steps, etc., whether alternating or using a single leg. However that is an advanced skill requiring both practice and patience.

One final thing:

Cue athletes to think about the drill as two separate, but seamless movements: recovery and step over, then drive down.

Often, athletes will recover and then just let the foot flop down out in front of them. They must focus on the whole movement. They'll discover that the more force they apply, the more they can feel themselves being propelled forward.

Once they learn to alternate legs, their speed will naturally increase due to the power they are generating. For most athletes it really drives home the importance and benefits of 'stepping over and driving down' when it comes to running faster.

FAST LEG:

- cue chin up, chest up, toe up, heel up
- don't break at the hips, dip or drop the shoulders when performing the drill
- slowly jog forward
- recover the heel, step over and then drive down focusing on firing the glutes and creating great force
- coordinate arm action with leg movement
- land on the ball of the foot with the foot
- active foot should land no more than ½ foot length in front of support leg
- slowly try to increase # of reps completed over a given distance
- alternate legs when single leg technique is mastered

That is my proven drill progression. I know it works because all my athletes get faster, sustain less injuries and out perform their competition.

I used the Complete Speed Training video to help me write these descriptions. And the truth is that these written descriptions really don't do the drills justice.

If a picture is worth a thousand words than the Complete Speed Training Program has to be worth 100,000 words.

Easily.

Try these drills out yourself or with your athletes. If you use the same teaching progression I showed you here, your athletes will get much, much faster.

It's just that simple.

But I strongly recommend getting a copy of Complete Speed Training. The secret to running faster involves much more than just drills. This is just a piece of the overall training puzzle.

I've already put the puzzle together for you.

Click here to learn more:

http://www.completespeedtraining.com

3 Speed Drills You Should Never Use

2006-08-10T09:15:00.000-07:00

How much faster can an athlete get under the right training?

The answer to that question is one we try to provide answers for
each and every week.

One of the fastest ways to get there is through the use of
effective speed drills.

Why are speed drills so effective?

Because, when done correctly, they train the athlete to move in an
efficient and powerful way that takes advantage of the single most
important factor in speed development.

Force application.
Over the past two weeks I've been talking about the importance of
using speed drills as one of the primary methods of developing faster
athletes.

But not all speed drills are created equal.

In fact, there are a few drills that I don't think you should use at all.

These drills actually reinforce the bad habits that you're trying to
break.

What's worse is that they are drills that are used regularly in most
programs.

Remember, the goal with any technical training is to retrain the
nervous system to fire the muscles in a way that promotes the most
efficient and powerful running style possible.

So you can't let athletes do drills that will erase all their efforts.

When it comes to speed development, here are my top 3 drills you
should immediately eliminate from your program:

1. High Knees

We're trying to get athletes to recover the heel underneath the hips,
step over the support knee and then drive the foot down into the ground
so that all the motion stays underneath the Center of Mass (CoM).

The key point is keeping the ankle beneath the hips/CoM. Many
athletes let that foot paw out or cycle out past the CoM and this results
in a breaking action where the athlete is actually slowing down with
each stride.

Doing high knees supports the idea of bringing the foot out past the
CoM instead of recovering, stepping over and driving down.

Eliminate high knees in favor of more effective drills proven to
improve technique.

2. Butt Kicks

This is another classic speed drill.

However it teaches athletes that running involves knee flexion when,
although it may look like the hamstring is involved through bending
at the knee, it actually doesn't operate like that when running.

The recovery of the active leg is not from the 'butt kick' action.

When inexperienced athletes do butt kicks, it reinforces backside
mechanics (where range of motion appears to take place primarily
'behind' the body) which is a tell tale sign that athletes are not
producing any power while sprinting.

Lack of power = lack of speed.

Using butt kicks in your program gives athletes mixed signals as
far as teaching them the right way to move.

You have to get rid of butt kicks in favor of drills that promote
efficiency and power.

3. 'B' Skip

There are a few different names to this drill, but the problem
remains the same.

This drill starts out like an 'A' Skip (a great drill). But as soon as
the active ankle clears the support knee, it all goes downhill.
In the 'B' skip, the active ankle now drives out past the CoM as
though the athlete were kicking in a door that was in front of them.

From there they cycle/paw through with the foot landing, more or
less, underneath the hips.

This is simply unacceptable from a technical standpoint.

One of the biggest problems athletes have is learning to drive the
foot down into the ground as soon as it clears the knee.

This leads to a number of extremely limiting problems. Regardless,
this drill should be put on the shelf with only one exception...

I do use this drill with some of my athletes.

But only these athletes:

Track and Field hurdlers.

The 'B' skip is an ideal drill for teaching lead leg mechanics with
your hurdlers.

But hurdling and sprinting are not the same.

So, unless you're working with hurdlers, get rid of the 'B' skip and
replace it with proven drills that are guaranteed to improve
running form, mechanics and speed...

Learn the most effective speed training drills proven
to develop faster speeds:

http://www.completespeedtraining.com

What are the 4 Most Important Words that Improve Speed?

2006-08-06T21:49:00.000-07:00

In the last issue I talked about the importance of and key components
to the ‘step over drive down’ action and why it is critically important.

I can’t stress enough the fact that the ability to apply force to the
ground is developed by incorporating a number of specific, but
different training details into your program.

Again, there is no magical exercise or drill that will make everyone
an Olympic sprinter. Many of your emailed in agreeing with this
idea. Others said that it has been difficult to get old school,
‘my way or the high way’ head coaches to buy into this truth.

All the time coaches ask me for specific scientific information or
‘proof’ convince their ‘dinosaur’ colleagues of the truth about
modern speed training.

I hope that this article continues to help coaches, athletes and
parents understand the need for *more* than just rehashing
the same old program and outdated workouts year after year.

Last week I talked about the need for a complete speed training
program in order to truly take advantage of the amazing
improvements that will occur once athletes beginto step over
and drive down EFFICIENTLY.

So now it is time to talk more specifically about how to teach it
and I’m talking primarily about using drills to fix this.

Again, things like flexibility, strength training, shorthills, resistance
work, etc and and will improve the ability to apply force, but I really
emphasize technique because proper technique breeds efficiency.

Think of efficiency and technique the same way you should think of
cause and effect. They’re not separate entities but two sides of the
same coin. You can’t have one without the other.

So how do you develop it?

First, I’m a firm believe in teaching my athletes ‘why’ we do
anything. Growing up, I never particularly believed that my
coaches knew what they were doing. So there was always that
hint of distrust in my training. Of course I didn’t have the Internet
to use as a resource so I couldn’t exactly prove it.

Turns out I was right.

Nevertheless, I pride myself on being proactive in the sense that I
want athletes to know what they are doing, why they are doing it and
how it is going to make them faster. It likely stems from my own
disappointment in the way my talents were handled, but clearly it has
worked out for the greater good.

When athletes believe in their training and it makes sense to them
they are much more likely to both buy into the training but also work
out that much harder and focus that much more because they know
that everything they do is done for a specific and tangible reason.
If you don’t currently explain your training to your athletes I strongly
suggest that you start because it not only increases the work rate of
your athletes but I believe it creates a stronger more trusting
relationship with them.

As I tell my athletes at the beginning of every season and periodically
throughout:

“If I cant explain to you how this or any workout will make you
better in terms that you understand and in a way that makes sense
to you, then you don’t have to do it.”

And over the years athletes have been notorious for trying to
stump me on something that I have planned for that day. Especially
on tough lactic acid workout days because as beneficial as they are,
they hurt. (And if I was a teenager I’d probably try to take a legal
way out of it if I could too!)

Being accountable to my athletes forces me to have a purpose behind
everything I do. And the fact that my athletes know that I can explain
everything to them in simple terms means they’re willing to run
through a brick wall for me.

And with some of my workouts, that analogy isn’t too far off!

Now, now how many workouts would your athletes get out of if they
got to pass on every workout you couldn’t effectively explain the
benefits of?

There is a reason I bring all this up.

It’s important that we understand WHY ‘step over, drive down’ is
important. As coaches, if we don’t know why it works, what it does
and why athletes are not doing it correctly, we really aren’t in a
positionto fix the problem.

And we certainly can’t develop the ability to create independent
methods of fixing the various technical problems and skill
development roadblocks that different athletes are sure to face.

The simple truth is, athletes aren’t doing it when they run.

Why?

They have never been taught how to run correctly.
Part of that stems from the ideas they’ve been given about
running and even the use of drills that they have seen in the past.

So in order to explain everything the first thing I want to do is describe
what ‘step over, drive down’ should look like.

And again, as with every description that I go over in the rest of this
article, seeing it done of video is a much more efficient and accurate
method of learning, seeing and teaching this concept. And it is
explained with greater depth and scope in the complete speed
training program.

Here is what I mean by step over drive down.

Its important that you visualize what I am describing here, though
for the sake of keeping things fairly simple since this is a written
description, I will not get overly technical by discussing the details
of what each muscle is doing at each point of movement or explain
the role of angular velocity, inertia, etc.

We’ll start with the athlete’s right leg (support leg) being on the
ground with the support foot directly underneath the center of mass
(CoM) or for our purposes, the hips. The active or swing leg is
‘trailing’ behind the center of mass (the hips). Recover the active
leg/foot by contracting the stretched hip flexors. This aids in the
forward and upward swing of the active leg and also puts the leg
in a better position to apply force at the next ground contact. At the
same time this is taking place, athletes must also dorsiflex the active
foot at the ankle (pull the toe up toward the shin).

Pulling the active leg foot up and under the hips, the ankle should
pass ABOVE the knee of the support leg.

This is where we need to pause because it’s the point where things
really start to fall apart for many young athletes. Weak,
uncoordinated, inflexible and/or inefficient athletes see major
breakdowns in form because they don’t ‘step OVER’ the opposite
(support) knee.

Instead the active ankle swings out below the knee, where it
continues to travel out past the CoM where it flops, drops or
collapses onto the ground out in front of the CoM, the kiss of death
for faster running.

I call it ‘falling forward’ instead of sprinting because when you
watch an athlete from the side (or slow them down on video) it
looks like they are simply trying not to fall down with each step
forward the same way someone who has just tripped slams their
foot out in front of them to keep from falling.

Remember that the more time an athlete spends on the ground
when running, the slower they are going. This is another reason
why athletes who run flatfooted or land heel first can never and
will never be fast using that method.

So that is why it is critical that the first thing athletes learn and
train their bodies to do is to recover that active leg ankle up and
OVER the support leg knee. And that requires a specific
progression of drills that I need to explain to you.

But I’ll get to that once I finish explaining running mechanics.

Now, as soon as the active ankle passes over the support knee,
it is time for the ‘drive down’ phase. Here the active leg thigh is
decelerated. The leg begins to open up at the knee and extension
begins at the hip.

But remember, and this is of critical importance because athletes
WILL make this mistake:

Extension is due to the transfer of momentum not reaching by
kicking that ankle outward or contracting the quadriceps.

Athletes should not look like they are goose stepping, trying to
kick in a door or going over a hurdle as the active foot clears the
support knee. Instead the foot should cycle over the knee, open
up and then explode back down into the ground landing, generally,
underneath the CoM.

During acceleration the foot should land directly beneath if not
slightly behind the CoM, while at full speed the foot should land
slightly in front of the hips. And by slightly I mean no more than
one-foot length in front of the support foot.

Once athletes retrain their neuro muscular systems to operate
efficiently in this strict pattern of movement, they will be able to
truly take advantage of the strength, flexibility, coordination,
power, etc. they have been actively developing in the rest of their
complete speed training program.

But in order to ensure athletes are able to learn this technique,
they must use a proven drill progression. As an athlete who
struggled with this very concept I have spend years learning
through trial and error. First for myself and then to teach all
my athletes the most effective drill progression for quickly and
effectively teaching perfect running form based on the ‘step over,
drive down’ concept.

And one of the first things I learned, both conceptually and
experientially, is that some speed drills continue to reinforce
bad running form and mechanics. They should be immediately
eliminated from every athlete’s warm up or drill progression.

They should never be used at all, quite frankly.

And I’ll tell you exactly which drills you should never use, as
well as outline my proven drill progression in next week’s
Complete Speed Training Newsletter.

After reading my description of the ‘step over, drive down’
technique, you can understand just how powerful a teaching
and training tool this can be when you have it on video,
demonstrated with perfect technique by accomplished athletes.

Combined with an extraordinary amount of clear, easy to
understand techniques for every element of training required
to improve an athlete’s ability to apply more force to the ground
and run faster, how good will your athletes be when you have
the ability to turn all of their weaknesses into strengths?

Learn more about Complete Speed Training Now:

http://www.completespeedtraining.com

What's the ONLY Way to Get Faster?

2006-07-28T12:18:00.000-07:00

On a daily basis I receive emails from subscribersLike you asking variations of the very same Question:
What is 'step over drive down?'
How do you 'step over drive down?'
What does 'step over drive down' actually do?

I think you understand what I mean.

And this is a great question that clearly needs some further explanation.

The only way to get faster is to learn to apply more force to the ground. Simple Physics state that every action has an equalAnd opposite reaction. So it stands to reason that the more force you apply to the ground with every step, the more it is going to give back to you.

Now this is an overall concept of course. Athletes must use a variety of training methods to develop this ability. But it is this ability to apply greater force to the ground that determines how quickly an athlete can accelerate, change directions or maintain top speeds.

So I don't want you to get the idea that if you practice one specific drill or do one specific lift in the weight room that you will now have done everything required to help athletes achieve all their speed goals.

The truth of the matter is that you have to build all of your speed development around this fact. By improving things such as flexibility, doing short hills runs, running at full speed, performing speed drills, strength training and plyometrics, athletes directly and indirectly improve their ability to apply more fore to the ground by becoming stronger, more coordinated and thus more efficient.

All of these elements added to a structured speed workout program will result in every athlete quicklyimproving their ability to run faster.

But for the purposes of this article, I want to focus on the action of 'step over drive down' because efficiency is important and if your athletes' running form is terrible, then they will not be able to take advantage of all the work that goes into mastering the ability to apply force to the ground.

Some coaches and trainers have suggested that doing speed drills will not improve technique. Some say that other elements of training will actually correct technique by their very nature.

In my experience working with thousands of athletes of various ages, sports and skill levels, I find that *certain* speed drills are an excellent and required means of reinforcing these ideas. So what exactly am I talking about?

First, lets break running down into two parts: accelerating and maximum velocity or speed maintenance.

Most sports rely heavily, if not exclusively, on acceleration. This means that athletes rarely reach full speed during while competing in their sport. A great example of this is American football where athletes compete mostly in spurts of running that last 5-20 yards. The only time they reach full speed and must try to maintain it is when a breakaway occurs.

-=-=-===-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Get football specific speed training strategies:
http://www.footballspeed.com
-=-=--=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

I bring this up because there are going to be differences in the way athletes must run and think about running depending on whether they are accelerating or attempting to maintain top speeds. The differences are subtle but significant and must be addressed.

Yet, the overriding principle remains the same, they must 'step over, drive down'.

More specifically, athletes must learn to step over the opposite knee and drive the foot down into the ground so that the foot lands, generally speaking, beneath the hips.

As I just mentioned, there are subtle differences between where the foot strike will take place depending on what phase of running the athlete is in.

The important factor is that they be able to put themselves in a position to apply force to the ground as efficiently as possible.It's really one of those paradoxes that we often find in athletics. At the end of the day, no matter what else an athlete trains and regardless of how great their coaching is, if they aren't in a mechanical correct position upon foot strike, it doesn't matter how perfect the rest of their training is, they're going to under perform.

At the same time, all the mechanics in the world won't help an athlete who doesn't have the strength, coordination and flexibility required to apply that force.

And this is why athletes *need* a complete speed training program to help them achieve their full potential.It's the reason why sometimes we see super strong athletes who can put up ridiculous weights in the weight room, but get them on the track or on the field and they're slow as molasses on a cold winter morning.

It's lack of efficiency, not lack of strength. As coaches and athletes we must change our focus.

And that's' why I cue the step over, drive down technique. As an athlete, and I pretty darn fast one I have to say, this was my Achilles heel. No one ever taught me how to do this properly and so I suffered from a number of the side effects of poor efficiency: painfully slow acceleration and chronic hamstring, arch and knee problems.

Talent took me to a pretty high level, but now I sometimes sit back and think to myself that curse afflicting many former athletes 'what if...'

So that's why I've made it one of my life's missions to make sure that other athletes and coaches don't allow themselves or their athletes to underachieve like I did.

Because if one person, one time had been a good enough coach to pull me aside and teach me how to 'step over, drive down' my entire athletic career would have gone in a completely different direction.

So as I've spent all these years studying speed development, in many ways searching for the reasons why I didn't achieve my athletic goals. 'Step over, drive down' is a Truth that always rings clear in my head as the primary solution to many athletes' lack of achievement.

Over the years I've found a particular progression of cues, drills, exercises and techniques that, when taught in a specific order using specific ways of understanding how and why it works, athletes quickly make radical changes in their technique and efficiency.

And that means, of course, they got much faster.

Next week I'll be back with the second part of this article, where I'll go into further detail explaining how to teach this 'step over drive down' technique that has so many of you both intrigued and confused.

But the truth is, you could have your own copy of Complete Speed Training in your hands before I send out the second part of this article.

You can see my specific drill progression on video. And watch as I perform each drill with perfect technique as I explain exactly what to look for, how to teach it and where and how athletes will do it wrong.

Because like I said. Without getting this technique down, the rest of your training is like trying to teach algebra to an infant: Pointless.

Click here to learn more about Complete Speed Training
right now:
http://www.completespeedtraining.com

Complete Olympic Lifting, 10 more reasons why...

2006-07-18T15:40:00.000-07:00

It doesn't matter what sport, age or training goal you have.

People from all over the world agree that Complete Olympic Lifting is a 'must-have' in any coach or athlete'straining library...

'This is the most complete training DVD on the market on the Olympic Lifting subject It is stocked from top to bottom with incredibly insightful information about how to perform lifts safely and productively. Each exercise is demonstrated from multiple angles, which I believe, will really help viewers with their exercise form. Each movement is broken down and learning progression is demonstrated and explained so no detail is left untouched. This DVD will serve as a completeintroduction for any beginner, and as a go-to reference guide for an experienced lifter's skill refinement and/or refreshmentIf you are looking to develop explosive speed and strength either for yourself or your athletes and are into Olympic lifts this is a must have DVD.
Congratulations on a wonderful product.
Efim Kourbatski,
Personal Trainer
Melbourne, Australia

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'I work with a professional team of soccer called GENOA CFC as a physical trainer. I also teach to the soccer players the correct technique of the Olympic Lifts because many times they don't know how to do them correctly. With your fantastic DVD I can show them all the correct progressions. In this way I can eliminate the possibility of injuries. The demonstrations with the explanations are very clear and easy to learn. I'm very satisfied with this product.'
Alessandro Pilati,
GENOA CFC, Italy

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'I have found the progressions and demonstrations provided in the Complete Olympic Lifting DVD to be the top of the field for Olympic lifting instruction. Not only are the lifts performed with accurate technique and impeccable form but the variety of lifts and easy to follow progressions will certainly help you and/or your athletes quickly accelerate through new strength and power plateaus. This is a must have DVD for any aspiring coach, CSCS, PES or CPT-it's been one of the best investments I've made in my training career. Trust me your clientele/athletes will thank you for it!!'
Robert Belley BS, CPT, YCS,
Pembroke, MA
Purely Physique: Results Training Systems

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Click here for more information:
http://www.completeolympiclifting.com
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'I have 5 different videos or DVDs about teaching the Olympic lifts. This is by far the best one I have. Detailed, professionally shot and narrated. Great teaching progressions and an excellent section on trouble shooting the Olympic lifts. I have shown my athletes this DVD and just seeing the lifts performed correctly has helped them dramatically. If you include the Olympic lifts in your program, you need this DVD!!'
Dale Spitzer,
Head Football Coach,
Fort Defiance High School

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'I have been coaching fitness and strength for rugby league at Secondary level (16-18 years old) for the last 10 years at Saint Brendans College in Yeppoon, Australia. In that time we have had bit of success winning 7 state titles and 1 Australian title. Since we started Olympic Lifting in our in-season program this year, our players are faster and less fatigued than where they were previously on conventional strength programs. I would nothave contemplated switching to olympic lifting if it wasn't for your DVD. So thank you very much.'
Lindsay Jones,
Yeppoon, Australia

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'During this past winter , my daughter, Trisha, a U-15 soccer player- trained and lifted- using your DVD on the TV in my basement. She followed the instructions- and although not performing all the lifts- managed to put on 15 pounds of musclefrom November through February. She is more explosive, her shot is better, and her Olympic Development coach states- 'Trisha - You have made a quantum leap this year!' Thank you!!!!!!!'
Mark J. Wladecki, M.D.,
Avon Lake, Ohio

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Order now:
http://www.completeolympiclifting.com
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'I have the complete olympic lifting video and have studied and applied these methods for my weight training program.The video was very educational and help me to understand the proper method to use these lifts. I'm coming along well and hope this will help improve my throws. I'm a Senior athlete and compete in Senior and Masters T&F. My goal is to improve on both my strength and quickness. Thank you for sharing this information with me.'
Donald Lantrip,
Angleton, TX

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'We are so happy to have found your DVD! We have used it with our classes to give them a good visual of how the lifts should look. As we all know some kids are visual learners and having your DVD as that resource has helped us to get the point across in a much more direct manner. It has also helped some of our coaches with their teaching techniques. The DVD has helpedour whole program tremendously'.
Chuck Markiewicz,
Head Football Coach
Arundel HS, Gambrills, Md.

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'As a Track and Field coach for over twenty years, it was like a beginning of a sunny day when I got the Complete Olympic Lifting DVD from Athletes' Acceleration. I have made for many years the Olympic lifting a part of my explosive training for power in my athletes. I was always looking fore good demonstrations to show my new athletes many variations ways and break down the drills in Olympic lifting. Like I say, everybody can run and jump but to be quick and explosive is another thing and fun to practice.The DVDs from Athletes' Acceleration are very good to have when you're teaching the lifting techniques to new athletes that are looking for quickness and explosive in their sport. It is no question about it.'
Hlynur Chadwick
Guðmundsson , Iceland

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'This product is jam packed with information. If you are serious about learning the Olympic lifts; this resource is invaluable. I gave it to all of my trainers to watch and each had similar reactions. No question we all benefited tremendously from this DVD. I highly recommend the purchase.'
Thomas Phillips,
ThomasPhillips.com

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Take the advice of your colleagues and order now.
http://www.completeolympiclifting.com

Vertical Leap - you wanted proof...

2006-07-13T06:22:00.000-07:00

By now I’m sure you’ve heard of sports performance coach Luke
Lowery and his program ‘The Vertical Project’ (theverticalproject.com).

In it, he guarantees that he can improve ANY athlete’s
vertical leap a *minimum* of 6 inches in 60 days.

Just think of how that could improve success in just about
every sport!

But as a speed coach and performance consultant, I’m very
hesitant to just buy into everyone’s bold claims on how
revolutionary their product or service is.

Well Luke called me last week and offered to prove to
everyone that his program is truly the Real Deal.

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Click here to find out what he’s talking about:

http://www.completespeedtraining.com/Lowrey.html
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He knows that a lot of people think that his claims about increasing
vertical leap are ‘ridiculous’, ‘impossible’ and ‘a scam’.

In fact, since we started promoting The Vertical Project, we’ve gotten
some emails from people who visited his site who said the same
things!

Remember the article I sent you last week about how to find the
ideal speed training program?

Well just apply those criteria to Luke’s program and I think you’ll
be impressed.

Because any successful performance enhancement resource must
pass the burden of proof with potential customers and other members
of the training industry.

And Luke’s does.

But I’m not writing to you today to try to get you to purchase the
Vertical Project.

I want to talk to you about something even more
comprehensive and more valuable.

When I talked to Luke last week, he told me about a program that
he is offering to an extremely limited number of coaches, athletes
and trainers.

Being the kind of guy I am, I had to ask him why he’s putting his
neck on the chopping block to offer such a powerful program.

I thought he was going to give me the same generic response I
get from other people who come to me to promote their
information, something like:

‘I want to prove all the doubters and haters wrong.’

Or

‘With my customer base, I know this program can make us
a lot of money.’

But Luke didn’t say anything like that at all.

In fact, his response really impressed me and that’s why I’m
writing this letter to you.

Because any performance enhancement resource I promote
becomes one that affects my reputation with you.

And that’s something I take very serious.

Instead, Luke started telling me how ever since he released his
program a few years ago, he began consulting with coaches,
athletes and trainers from all over the world.

As word of the results people were getting began to spread, he
started receiving phone calls from some Big Name professional
athletes.

And these are Big Time NFL, NBA, NCAA and Olympic
athletes that you would certainly recognize.

****Sorry I can’t ‘name drop’ here. We sign non-disclosure
agreements with athletes at this level, so we can’t talk about
our training arrangements!****

Luke believes that there are a ton of coaches, athletes and
trainers that are busting their butts to get better at what they do.

And you don’t deserve to be left out of this ‘insider information’
when you can use it to your advantage just as easily as these elite
athletes and coaches do.

I’ve been to and listened in on some of these elite training seminars
and I know how the most cutting edge information stays in these
circles for a long time before trickling down to the ‘masses.’

Have you ever heard the saying:

‘The rich keep getting richer and the poor keep getting poorer.’

Well that’s how the sharing of training information can go in
our industry.

But Luke wants to change that and I fully support his idea.

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OK, you’ve peeked my interest, show me that link again:

http://www.completespeedtraining.com/Lowrey.html
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Like I said before, Luke is only allowing an extremely small
number of coaches, athletes and clients to sign up for this offering.

With giants like JumpUSA and Peak Performance UK promoting
this amazing tele-seminar as well, I can guarantee you that over
250,000 people will have access to only a relative handful of
openings.

So I strongly suggest you click on the above link to find out how
to secure your spot.

Now here’s the deal:

Registration opens on Thursday, July 13.

If you’re one of the lucky few who actually get into the program,
you’ll also get a FRE*E copy of Luke’s revolutionary program, The
Vertical Project (retail price $247).

So as you can see, the value of this seminar is incredible.

It comes with the full endorsement of Athletes’ Acceleration, as
well as several other industry heavy-weights so you have nothing
to lose.

So check out everything that Luke is offering and mark Thursday
July 13 on your calendar!

Click here now: http://www.completespeedtraining.com/Lowrey.html

Complete Track & Field

2006-07-10T16:22:00.000-07:00

I want to let you know that we've just relaunched one of ourmost popular websites, Complete Track and Field.

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Check it out:http://www.completetrackandfield.com
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We've opened up our entire database of content so now youhave complete access to all the track and field training articles,programs and interviews that used to be exlusive to payingmembers.
In addition I invite you to register for our discussion board soyou can ask, answer and get advice for any aspect oftraining and coaching track and field athletes at every level.

Our discussion board is moderated my experienced coachesand athletes so you can be sure that your questions will betreated with respect and courtesy. Rude behavior simply won't be tolerated.

Our content is updated on a regular basis, whether its in theform of articles, interviews with elite coaches and athletes, activity on the discussion boards or news updates on theWorld of professional Track and Field.

So no matter where your interest in track and field lies, CompleteTrackandField.com has the information you're looking for.

Even if you're not a track and field coach, there's plentyto learn about how the world's greatest athletes train.

And it's all absolutely free!

We have so much content that we're still in the processof adding new content so keep checking the site for new training information.

But for now, there's a ton of exclusive content to read.So head over to the site, read some articles and sign up for the discussion board (and ask some questions so we canget things rolling!)

Check out the site now: http://www.completetrackandfield.com

I'll see you on the discussion board!

How to find your ideal speed training program

2006-07-06T06:35:00.000-07:00

We get a lot of emails from people asking us what the differences are between the dozens of speed training programsthat are out there on the market.

So we took the questions that we get and made a quick listof exactly what you should look for in a speed training programto ensure that your money is well spent.

The truth is that you may not end up purchasing our program.

But as long as you follow these 6 guidelines, you'll be sure to findand be satisfied with your purchase, regardless of who sells it:

1. PROOF
Any speed training program worth it's salt must be able to provethat it can get results within the sales copy that describes and promotes the product. With the internet, anyone off the street canclaim to be a speed expert so you have to make sure that their information and knowledge is worth paying your hard earnedmoney for. There are two primary examples of proof that you should look for: specific examples of how athletes have improved their fastest times and testimonials from satisfied customers.

Only the most dishonest people would make up testimonials. So when you see programs that have pictures of people, names of schools and training facilities, cities, states and countries that is a sign that certainly increases the likelihood of those testimonials being from real people. Of course, the more testimonials that there are on a product site, the more likely that the program really works.

2. DEPTH
How comprehensive is the program? True speed development requires much more than a list of drills and exercises. The warm up, speed drills, conditioning, agility, coordination, core training, strength work and power development are just a few of the elements that go into a well rounded and effective speed training program. Does the product you are looking at cover all (or any) of these elements? If not, you are likely to just get a laundry list of speed drills that, while they may work, give you no real understanding of when, where and why they should be added to your current training program. Make sure that any program you purchase gives you all the pieces to the training puzzle, not just one or two.

3. STRUCTURE
This is related to the previous topic. How is the program structured? Is there an easy to understand rhyme and reason to the set up of the product or is it a bunch of random concepts throwntogether haphazardly? Regardless of the sport you coach, you need a program that is going to give you results and make your life easier. It should show you exactly what to do, when to do it and how to teach it. Just as importantly, it should progress from easy/basic drills and concepts to more difficult/advanced techniques. This way, you will know exactly how and where to modify different parts of your training program to fit the specific needs of your athletes. A valuable program should make you feel like it is doing the work for you.

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Compare these guidelines to Complete Speed Training:
http://www.completespeedtraining.com
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4. GUARANTEE
Most people are at least a little bit hesitant to purchase anything over the internet. I know that I am at times. People also want to make sure they're getting an appropriate return on their investment. After all, in this day and age, few people can afford to just throw their money out the window. So when deciding which speed training program to purchase, make sure it has some sort of specific guarantee attached to it in case you don't like the program or it doesn't work for you. A reputable business will stand by their products and services and give you the opportunity to return your program without jumping through a series of flaming hoops. Look for a guarantee that will refund your total purchase, yet still give you enough time to try the program out. It's tough to really tell if a program works if you only have 30 days from the date of purchase to test it out. A quality product will give you at least 6 - 12 months to give you ample time to use the program to its fullest.

5.VIDEO?
In this day and age I can't imagine why anyone would purchase a speed training program that wasn't on video. It's one thing if you are interested in learning training theory or periodization. But if you are searching for a practical speed development resource that you can actively apply to real athletes, make sure it is on video. Taking it a step further, make sure it is on DVD. This is the 21st Century and let's be honest, they don't even make VCRs anymore. It is nearly impossible to get a full understanding of how to properly perform or teach speed and agility drills or movements unless you can watch them done correctly on DVD. I don't care whose program it is, if it is a book or Ebook you're not going to be able to easily apply it to real life situations with a clear understanding.

6.GADGETS
In this case I'm talking about fancy equipment. Unless you work with athletes that are competing at the elite, professional levels, there is little need to spend your money on complex speed training equipment. Young athletes already have so many technical, form and strength related issues holding them back that trying to solve those problems with chutes and sleds is putting the cart before the horse. There are a few programs out there that hook you with their program, then sneak up and make you buy several expensive pieces of equipment in order to fully use their program. It's crafty from a business stand point but entirely unnecessary for you. I'm not saying that there's no place for speed training equipment in training because I do use them with some athletes. However, it's better served for breaking through training plateaus that come long after athletes have mastered other foundational concepts.

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I invite you to take this list and match it up with other speed development programs that you've found and think about the results.
Then go to: http://www.completespeedtraining.com

You'll immediately see that Complete Speed Training standshead and shoulders above its competition.

Before long, so will you.

http://www.completespeedtraining.com

Warm up Drills for Athletes

2006-07-03T18:32:00.000-07:00

An effective warm-up must consist of a series of dynamic and active movements that start with low impact, low intensityexercises and progress naturally to high intensity, full speed 'exercises that simulate the intensity of the upcoming practice orcompetition.

As you know, in order for you to be ready to perform speed work or compete at high intensities, you must get warmedup properly.

We often find that there is some confusion as to what constitutes a proper warm-up. For example, some coaches are still using static stretching to get athletes loose before practices and competitions. Unfortunately, this outdated method actuallyreduces speed and power.

Think about it: how often during a practice or competition does an athlete hold a stretch position as part of their sport? That is right, not very often. So if you are still using this methodto get ready to compete, you are not getting the most out of your ability.

Instead, perform dynamic exercises that are similar to the types of movements you will be going through during practiceand competitions. Keep moving and gradually increase the intensity of your activity. That way you can get the blood flowing into the muscles through a natural progression.

Remember, a good warm-up should take at least 20 to 25 minutes to complete. This will reduce the likelihood of injury by ensuring that you do not try to go too fast too soon. In addition, you will get the most out of your muscles because you followed a thought-out progression of movements that went from low intensity jogging and skipping to high intensity speed development drills and exercises.

By the time you have finished warming up, you will be lightly sweating, fired up and ready compete!

Another issue to note when doing any type of drills is to make sure that you are performing the exercises correctly. You compete like you practice. If you are not performing the drills correctly you are going increase the likelihood ofinjury by adding unnecessary stress to joints, muscles, ligaments and tendons.

Drills are designed to be done a certain way for a specific reason. If you are not technically sound during the warm-up you will not be technically sound in games and competitions when it counts. The warm-up is the foundation of the day's activities and sets the tempo for all that is to follow it.

So now that you know what types of activities must be done and how to approach them, let us take a look at an actual dynamic warm up that top athletes and coaches use to get ready each day.

Before trying this out, be sure to jog and/or skip for aboutfive minutes.
Here is a sample warm-up:

High knee walk - x 10 each leg
Jog 50 yards
Lateral lunge walk (both legs) x 10each leg
Jog 50 yards
Front leg swings - x 10 each leg
Jog 50 yards
Lateral leg swings - x 10 each leg
Jog 50 yards
Iron cross - x 10 each leg
Jog 50 yards
Scorpion - x 10 each leg
Jog 50 yards
Backwards run - 2 x 30 yards
'A' skip - 3 x 15 yards
'A' run - 2 x 20 yards
Fast leg - 2 x 30 yards (each leg)
Accelerations - 4 x 40 yards.

By performing this type of warm-up every day, you will be loose, powerful and fast. In fact it is the only way.

Be sure that you perform a dynamic warm-up before eachpractice and competition; otherwise you are not competing to the best of your ability and the likelihood of sustaining an injury is increased.

For sample warm up routines, step by step instructions for over 48 dynamic warm up exercises and active stretches (and how they fit into your overall training program) check out: http://www.completespeedtraining.com

Olympic Lifting

2006-06-29T19:21:00.000-07:00

In order to teach and learn the 'Clean', you must break down the technique into parts of the total movements. This will help your athletes understand how each particular stage of the lift should feel before performing the entire lift. I have had greater success breaking the lift into partial exercises then trying to have my athletes try and perform the whole Clean right away.

I have provided some of the drills that I use with my athletes. These are great for beginners as I stated above, great for athletesthat are struggling with a particular stage of the lift, and great for advanced athletes as a warm up before performing the whole Clean. The focus is going to be on perfect form on each exercise.

Clean RDLS
tand with barbell in hands, feet at hip width, shoulders back and chest up. Keeping arms straight and eyes fixed straight ahead, lower bar by moving the hips backwards while maintaining a slight but fixed bend in the knees. Stop once the bar reaches the top of the knees or when the flexibility in the hams runs out. Quickly return to starting position by moving hips forward and standing up straight.

Clean RDL to Power Shrug:
Stand with barbell in hand, feet at hip width, shoulders back and chest up. Keeping arms straight and eyes fixed straight ahead, lower bar by moving the hips backwards while maintaining a slight but fixed bend in the knees. Stop once the bar reaches the top of the knees or when the flexibility in the hams runs out. Quickly move the hips forward, as the hips extend explosively shrug shoulders and rise on toes.

Clean RDL to High Pull:
Stand with barbell in hands, feet at hip width, shoulders back and chest up. Keeping arms straight and eyes fixed straight ahead, lower bar by moving the hips backwards while maintaining a slight but fixed bend in the knees. Stop once the bar reaches the top of the knees or when the flexibility in the hams runs out. Quickly move the hips forward, as the hips extend explosively shrug shoulders and rise on toes. Continue to elevate the bar to mid-chest height by bending elbows and continuing the upward movement of the bar. Be sure to lift elbows up and keep the bar close to the body.

Muscle Clean:
Standing erect with barbell in hands with a clean grip and feet at hip width, slide bar upwards almost along the body to near shoulder height. Once at shoulder height rotate elbows underneath the bar, releasing the hook grip andletting the bar fall onto the shelf created by the shoulders. Return bar to starting position the same way it got there.

Power Clean:
Stand with barbell in hand, feet at hip width, shoulders back and chest up. Keeping arms straight and eyes fixed straight ahead, lower bar by moving the hips backwards while maintaining a slight but fixed bend in the knees. Stop once the bar reaches the top of the knees or whenthe flexibility in the hams runs out.

Quickly move the hips forward, as the hips extend explosively shrug shoulders and rise on toes. Continue to elevate the bar to mid-chest height by bending elbows and continuing the upward movement of the bar. Be sure to lift elbows up and keep the bar close to the body. Once at shoulder height simultaneously rotate elbows underneath the bar, releasing the hook grip and letting the bar fall onto the shelf created by the shoulders while falling into a quarter squat. The quarter squat should be reached at the same time the barbell is received on the shoulders.

For more ideas, exercises and strategies to improve Olympic lifting for athletes, and to discover how easy it is to learn and teach the explosive Olympic Lifts, go now to: http://www.CompleteOlympicLifting.com

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