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Originally Posted by 00Snitch
Can someone tell me why "Oh dear god, no."?
I'm asking cause I would love to improve my speed off the mark/acceleration for rugby.
And this is why I asked the other day about whether that Mark Twight article about how the best way to get better at endurance events is to run/ride/swim lots of kilometers, applies to speed/acceleration training? Is the best way to get good at accelerating over 5 or 10 meters is to do that lots of times? Or do things like plyometrics and ladder runs have a lot of cary over into this? What about max speed jump rope? Explosive lifts like power cleans?
Also, I get the feeling that out of all the things we train for, explosivness is most affect by genetics.
Basically "Oh dear god, no" because the guy is a hack trying to sell a product. He gets a lot of things right (a bigger engine will ldo mean higher speed if all things are equal - problem is of course that all things are never equal), but then goes all absolutist, ignoring technique training and the angle of attacking the ground. He might be right if he was training 10meter runners, but for 100m things are quite different. He's a number chaser in the weight room, who was gifted with a genetic freak in Allyson Felix. That's always good for business.
Quote:
Originally Posted by 00Snitch
I read somewhere that until you are squatting 1.5x body weight, the other things are little rocks.. but I've also read just as much about how ladder drills and plyos are the shizzle for increasing spead... Are they worth doing concurrently? Should you get your squat up, then worry about foot-speed?
Acceleration is all about applying force and getting your feet off the ground quick, right?
Get your squat up, but the accelerations should still be the focus imo. Don't chase an exact number in the weight room, since specifik work trumps this. There is no definitive answer to what is needed.
Quote:
Originally Posted by 00Snitch
Oh, and flexabilty? I've read that if you can't touch your toes, you can make some decent speed improvements by increasing your flexability there. Sound right?
Meh, it's debatable. It's probably good for injury prevention, but as long as there isn't any tightness in the ROM you need for the actual running it shouldn't be a problem. Research is lacking in this area, and there have been very fast sprinters who probably couldn't reach their toes, and then there have been sprinters like Linford Christie: