Is “over speed” training the ticket? Or is it resisted running that’s going to make our athletes FAST? How about extensive, and intensive, plyometric programs? What about high-speed treadmills? Maybe good old hill running is the way to go? How about ladder work? Or should we just use some of the hundreds of cone drills out there? There’s also parachutes, sleds (pushing and pulling), band running, wearing ankle weights while running, medicine ball work, performing isometric exercises, pool-running and so on. So, with so many options, what does one need to do in order to get faster and quicker?

            As one can see there are so many tactics utilized that this topic can quickly become a conundrum, especially when you begin to inquire the “how” from multiple sources. More than likely, for every person you ask, you’re going to receive a slightly different perspective. Because of this, allow me to give you our take on this subject, and then allow you to decipher for yourself if it seems reasonably logical.

            Regarding what special techniques to use, listed above, to achieve the goal is a topic I’ll put on the shelf for this discussion. They all have their merit in contributing to making athletes faster, but I want to address the very rudimentary basics of getting faster and more agile; as these are the foundation to which those other techniques are built upon.

            The first thing an athlete wants to have in place when attempting to develop these athletic facets is a bevy of character qualities:

·         Commitment: Development of speed and quickness is a process. It is not something that one ascertains in a brief period of time. Therefore, the athlete must be committed for the “long haul” and realize that one day, things will begin to fall in line.

·         Patience/Perseverance/Endurance: Athletes tend to think a few sets of a few reps of certain technical drills will unlock their potential. Unfortunately, this is not true in a majority of the cases. Attaining each individual’s inherent, genetically pre-disposed potential, will take thousands of reps, flawlessly executed.

·         Optimism: In order to learn, one must have their mistakes pointed out if there is ever any hope in correcting them. When being coached for speed and agility development, the trainee should expect, if not want, their coach to point their mistakes out. Then, they should not view the feedback as negative, but rather as constructive and work to correct it. Finally, realize the time you put in will pay off. Remember, it is a process. Time and effort are needed. The athlete needs to “see the forest for the trees” and press on with a clear mind and an insatiated appetite for continued growth.

·         Mentally Tough: Since results do not come quickly in the grand scheme of things, athletes need to exude a mental toughness to press on through all of the work required to obtain their goal. The one who throws in the towel and walks away will never know if their next rep would be “THE ONE”…the one who persists will know.

·         Teachable: Often, athletes find they receive the same feedback over and over, often times for good reason. After a period of time, relative to the individual, they put up walls and aren’t as receptive to the coaching. This will almost always delay the experience of success.

With the crucial “neck-up stuff” addressed, let’s take a look at the “neck-down stuff”.  First topic on-deck is maximizing the potential of the “engine” that drives FAST and EXPLOSIVE athletes: their musculoskeletal system.

Sprinting/running and changing direction are full-body activities that require maximal effort. Because of this, ensuring that all muscle compartments (head-to-toe, front-to-back, & side-to-side) in the kinetic chain are as strong as they are capable of being is critical if one is to ever experience true success. The only way to ensure this is to partake in a comprehensive and progressive strength program. The stronger each muscle group is, the more force they can produce in the activities they are used in. The more force they produce in those activities, with proper skill refinement, the greater the return in the end result (the faster and quicker the athlete becomes). Of note are the muscles comprising the low back, abdominals, hips, and thighs, as they perform the majority of the work.

Once the engine is adequately developed, it is then the task to “fine tune” the mechanism driving the body; the technical aspects of movement: proper movement mechanics. A strong and powerful athlete has the tools necessary to achieve success at most any venture, but proper refinement of skill patterns are essential to realized success. Being strong and powerful without prudent practice of the intended skills lends the athlete to sub-par results. The inverse is also true. Being coached by the best in the intended skills with an under-developed engine also lends the athlete to similar results. I always tell our athletes that there is a reason our weight room is located at one end of our indoor turf. That is because the marriage of strength and skill is essential for optimal results. One can not expect explosive and optimal movements in the athletic arena with weak muscles and little practice. The only way to set the stage for optimal results is to properly strengthen the body progressively and practice purposefully.

The conclusive, basic, ingredient in the athlete’s investment of time is to increase range of motion (ROM), or flexibility, around each joint. This can be enhanced via stretching routines and proper strength training; training through a safe, yet great ROM. The greater the ROM trained about each musculo-tendinous junction, the greater the return on performance, or realized speed and quickness (with practiced and refined skill work). After all, power is a scientifically defined, accepted, entity that has yet to be substantially refuted.

FxD

     P=  TIME

If one can increase the force produced by the muscles involved in a given athletic skill (by getting stronger), increase the distance the force can be applied (increasing ROM about the joints involved through proper weight training and/or prudent stretching routines performed regularly), the time required to perform a skill will decrease. This will make the athlete FASTER and QUICKER…or for all intents and purposes, more POWERFUL. Combine increased force production by the engine over a greater distance with proper movement patterns, and you have a more deceptively fast and agile athlete who will undoubtedly achieve success on the athletic stage (with all other aspects of performance being equal, especially skilled performance).

These conceptual ideas are the guiding principles employed at The Edge Sports Performance Academy in regards to helping our athletes realize success in their endeavors. We understand that to experience results in any facet of their sport, we need to address more than just the prime suspect. In this case, teaching proper movement mechanics or using certain techniques isn’t the ULTIMATE answer to increasing speed and agility…a holistic approach is a more appropriate one.

First and foremost, we ensure the athlete is mentally prepared to endure the training prescription. We then initiate a comprehensive resistance training program to enhance the “motor” of our athletes, increase ROM, and make certain that they are at a reduced risk of time lost due to injury. The next step is to give the athletes the very best coaching we can allot in the area of movement…both linear speed as well as change of direction quickness, which is applicable to the majority of sports. Finally, we do our part to help the athlete realize and employ practices that increase functional ranges of motion such as frequent stretching routines. All of this comprises our basic, yet all-inclusive plan of attack at optimizing our athlete’s speed and agility.

OF NOTE:

            Each athlete has a limiting factor in regards to realized success in terms of speed and agility. That factor is neuromuscular; the genetically, pre-determined efficiency of the brain to send signals to the involved muscles (efferent information regarding muscle firing patterns, body positioning & limb speed) AND for the muscles to send needed feedback to the brain (afferent information from the muscles’ pro-prioceptors regarding correctness of the executed movements). Both the efferent and afferent information is stored in the Central Nervous System (CNS) as motor engrams, or what is commonly referred to as “muscle memory” which is a misnomer based upon scientific explanation. These motor engrams are initiated when specific skills are being executed and are constantly refined by the CNS based upon feedback regarding success or lack-there-of.

            All athletes have the opportunity to improve speed and agility over time using basic and prudent training methods, especially the younger they are. The limiting factor is the “hard-wiring” which is genetic. How the individual athlete’s are “hooked up” from a neuromuscular standpoint is non-alterable via any training or surgical method- (at least a proven ethical and safe surgical method). Having stated this, realize that immense gains can be garnered through proper, all-inclusive training. The point to be taken home from this section is that if any individual could train comprehensively and prudently and attain elite physical ramifications regardless of “the cards dealt” at birth, then all of the world’s population would be better served by working out rather than working.

            In that case, economies may crumble, money may not prove to be as much of an incentive, relationships may falter, advances in many fields may come to a grinding halt, education may prove insignificant, and so on…but what great World Games, Olympics, and professional sports seasons we would have!

            OK, seriously…train hard, train smart, train in an all-encompassing fashion, and more than anything, realize this…

FOR ALL THE TIME,  BLOOD, SWEAT AND TEARS YOU PUT INTO YOUR TRAINING…YOU WILL ONLY REAP AT LEAST MORE THAN YOU SOW…AS LONG AS YOU GIVE IT YOUR ALL…EVERY REP, EVERY SET, EVERY EXERCISE, AND EVERY WORKOUT.

Brian White