This Article is Sponsored by Studio 9 Fitness. The Premier Sports Performance Facility in Wokingham, Berkshire.
For me, speed is the most influential element in sports performance, whether you’re a boxer, footballer or even a golfer. If you can produce more speed than your opponent - in a straight line on the field or track, rotationally from your hips in a golf swing or a punch - you’re more likely to beat your opponent every time as you’ll win the race, send the ball further and hit your opponent before they hit you! That being said, you cannot build speed without strength. Power equals the combination of strength and speed. This is why all three elements are vital to overall performance! Here’s an explanation of what speed training actually involves...
Speed is the quickness of movement of a limb, whether this is the legs of a runner or the arm of the shot putter. Speed is an integral part of every sport and can be expressed as any one of, or combination of, the following: maximum speed, elastic strength power and speed endurance.
How is speed influenced?
Speed is influenced by the athlete's mobility, special strength, strength endurance and technique.
Energy system for speed
Energy for absolute speed is supplied by the anaerobic alactic pathway. The anaerobic (without oxygen) alactic (without lactate) energy system is best challenged as an athlete approaches top speed between 30 and 60 metres while running at 95% to 100% of maximum. This speed component of anaerobic metabolism lasts for approximately 8 seconds and should be trained when no muscle fatigue is present (usually after 24 to 36 hours of rest).
How do we develop speed?
When taking running speed as the example, the technique of running must be rehearsed at slow speeds and then transferred to runs at maximum speed. The stimulation, excitation and correct firing order of the motor units, composed of a motor nerve (neuron) and the group of muscles that it supplies, makes it possible for high-frequency movements to occur. The whole process is not very clear, but the complex coordination and timing of the motor units and muscles most certainly must be rehearsed at high speeds to implant the correct patterns.
Flexibility and a correct warm-up will affect stride length and frequency (strike rate). Stride length can be improved by developing muscular strength, power, strength endurance and running technique. The development of speed is highly specific and to achieve it we should ensure that:
Flexibility is developed and maintained all year round.
Strength and speed are developed in parallel.
Skill development (technique) is pre-learned, rehearsed and perfected before it is done at high-speed levels.
Speed training is performed by using high velocity for brief intervals. This will ultimately bring into play the correct neuromuscular pathways and energy sources used.
When should speed work be conducted?
It is important to remember that the improvement of running speed is a complex process that is controlled by the brain and nervous system. In order for a runner to move more quickly, the leg muscles have to contract more quickly, but the brain and nervous systems have to learn to control these faster movements efficiently. If you maintain some form of speed training throughout the year, your muscles and nervous system do not lose the feel of moving fast and the brain will not have to re-learn the proper control patterns at a later date.
In the training week, speed work should be carried out after a period of rest or light training. In a training session, speed work should be conducted after the warm-up and any other training should be of a low-intensity.
Strength is the foundation of building speed. The more efficient we are at building strength and mastering control of the body, the better we will be at escalating skilful movement. Once an athlete is able to perform a task with greater ability, he or she can then do so at a faster rate. This is also the definition of power, which can be referred to as strength speed. Certain lifts, movements, and drills can be performed at a faster rate in order to produce power output. But none of this can be done without the athlete first having built a foundation of strength in order to perform the most elementary exercises relating to strength. In other words, a novice needs to master the ability to properly perform movements such as push ups, squats, and dead hang pull ups before trying to grab a bar to perform clean and jerks.
Additionally, strength is a necessary component and a key mechanism in helping an athlete obtain the specific speed elements of acceleration, deceleration, and lateral speed, as well as the ability to hit an efficient sprinting stride for linear speed during competitive athletic performance. Otherwise, a weak athlete may try to make a cut or abruptly stop on the field of play and end up getting injured.
There are four types of speed that any versatile athlete must develop in order to be competitive:
Acceleration Speed: From stop to go
Deceleration Speed: From go to stop
Lateral Speed: From side to side
Linear Speed: Running in a straight line
Developing these different types of speed depends on a number of variables. But all of these types of speed stem from the initial foundation of strength. Keep in mind this is only accomplished by placing proper stress on the body and subsequently producing specificity of a certain type of power output to foster the development of speed as it relates to these four given elements.
Very often, agility is more relevant to successful sports performance than all-out speed. Agility is the ability to explosively brake, change direction and accelerate again.
Another element of fitness closely related to speed training is speed endurance. Many athletes must maintain a high velocity for longer than 6 seconds or produce repeated sprints with minimal rest periods in between.
The combination of speed, agility and speed endurance an athlete requires is determined by his or her sport. But regardless of the event, there are several modes of training that are integral to developing a fast athlete:
1. Strength & power training
Speed is mainly determined by the capacity to apply a large amount of force in a short period of time. This is also known as power. Many athletic movements take place in 0.1 to 0.2 seconds but maximal force production takes 0.6 to 0.8 seconds. The athlete who can apply most force in the short period of available time is said to be the most powerful. Strength training increases maximal force production. Assuming as a result, more force can be produced in the same period of time, strength training alone can increase power. However, it makes more sense to increase both maximal force production and the rate of force development. This can be achieved through power training. Both strength and power training are integral to improvement of speed.
Compare speed training to strength training for a moment. A sport specific strength training programme will first aim to develop basic strength. This is on the premise that a solid base of strength offers greater physical potential to work with when converting it to sport-specific strength later on. Basic speed training along with power training maximises the athlete’s ability to move rapidly. Agility training helps an athlete to apply their speed to sport-specific scenarios.
2. Speed training
Practising moving and accelerating faster helps to condition the neuromuscular system to improve the firing patterns of fast twitch muscle fibres. Two variations of basic speed training are assisted and resisted speed training. Assisted training (also called overspeed training) helps to improve stride frequency. Resisted speed training helps to improve speed-strength and stride length.
3. Agility training
Most team sports consist of very few movements that occur only in a straight line. Nor do those movements occur at a fixed pace or for a fixed length of time. Agility and quickness training improves an athletes ability to change direction, brake suddenly and perform sport-specific skills with speed and dexterity.
We strongly believe that talent will only take an athlete so far, particularly when it comes to speed! With the developments in sports science, strength & conditioning studies and coaching practices, it has never been more important to consistently train hard to excel in your game!
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