Protein

i will disagree slightly. Hard work is still the main ingredient for success but getting more protein will not hurt you. Vary where you get it from. Get it from milk, whey protein(if you choose this route), beef, eggs, chicken, fish, etc. You cant build a house without bricks.

Protein is just food. You are doing the work thats gaining the weight, not the protein. Find a cheap protein to supplement(not replace) your diet but get the majority of your protein from real food. The best time to use the protein shakes is with gatorade or something similar directly after your workouts. This will give you the best results.

I agree wholeheartedly. I get a good bit of my calories from shakes, although I enjoy my share of steak and cheese quesadillas!

Most of the info says theoretically Glutamine is great. In the real world its never really worked out. You would be much, much better taking in some slow digesting protein before bed(casein, beef, chicken, etc).

Just curious, I know about the window of oppurtunity Coach P referenced above. Is there a benefit to taking protien during a longer workout. For example, it is suggested to do weight training before any aerobic type training. As a lot of athletes work out only once a day, if they were to do weights first and say agilities or speed work immediately after, should the athlete take the protien drink following the weight training and before the speed or agility training.

take the drink after EVERYTHING is done. The PWO window is highly variable and its not like it closes shut one minute after the recommended time. After the agilities would be fine.

And I disagree about the order with annihilator. I like doing the weights first and then the agilities/speed. The weights will not effect the agility/speed work as much as the opposite is true. In a perfect world, I would have them done on separate days or during different workouts(Morning/evening).

I didnt say that it wouldnt effect it. I said it wouldnt effect it as much. That has been my experience. I would also go as far as to say that most young athletes would be better suited spending their time in the weight room as that is their bigger weakness.

If I were training a track athlete, then the sprinting would come first. But in football, speed and strength are equally important in my mind so I would give emphasis to the one that is the weakest.

It would also depend on the position. Lineman for instance rarely run farther than 5-10 yards. However strength and power are of the upmost importance. For this reason, the weights should come first.

I agree that speed and strength are equally important, but that being said, I have found that weights affect speed work more than speed affects the weight room work. I have never really seen a dropoff in strength after a sprint/agility session, but I find that after strength training, the legs are like jell-o and getting explosion of the line is practically impossible.

And it is true that lineman don't need to sprint much more than 10 yds per rep, but still I find the explosion "gone" if their legs are not fresh. The problem with all of this is that if the athlete isn't firing off the line or accelerating at full speed during drills, then nothing is really being accomplished.

Young athletes DEFINITELY need to make gaining mass a priority, but that is also the time to begin developing proper sprinting mechanics and gains in overall speed and COD.

It seems that we have very similar beliefs when it comes to S&C, but I guess we'll disagree on this one. No big deal.

Galdrapan,
I don't really think it matters TOO much whether or not speed work is done on oly days or base strength days. The main thing to remember is 1)combine all CNS stressing activity into one big session (sprints/weights) or 2)Take enough time in between sessions so that enough rest is given. It depends on what type of split you are doing and what type of sprint work you are doing.

There are 3 types of running:
1)acceleration- very demanding on CNS and 48 hours recovery are needed before next session.
2)max velocity (top speed sprinting)- also very demanding and 48 hours are needed.
3)tempos- ran at 75% or less for conditioning/recovery. NOT demanding on CNS and no rest is needed.

Now, because 1 & 2 are very demanding and approx. 48 hours rest is needed, I choose to combine sprint/agility and strength training together so that more time is allowed before the next session.

Personally, I would stay away from chutes and cords altogether due to the fact that they can easily screw with the mechanics of the sprint. Just a little wind can cause the chute to flap around all over the place and with the cords, they pull you and cause you to step outside the center of gravity, forcing a braking effect. The same can be said for downhill running if it is more than about 3%.

As for glycogen storage, heavy endurance training and intense strength/power training will have the greatest effect on glycogen depletion. Sprint/COD training done properly really isn't too taxing. But if combining speed and strength, glycogen will definitely be decreased, although probably not COMPLETELY depleted.

True, weight room work is VERY important, but added mass, added strength AS WELL as added speed and COD ability can all be attained simultaneously. Why short change a player on one capacity when he can become better at all of them? Its not just about plyos, etc. Its about taking an athlete and preparing him to be better at football. There is no reason why you shouldn't teach a freshman to accelerate and decelerate properly or begin teaching sprinting mechanics to him. Yes, added strength and power will help him become faster, this is no revolutionary statement by any means. However, if these players practice exploding out of their stance and changing directions quickly, which makes up about 95% of a football game, then they learn to play the game fast. I'm a HUGE believer in lots of weight room work for all football players, but there is more to it than that. You don't have to be advanced to learn to sprint or increase your agility.

Its obvious that nobody's mind will changed on this topic, so honestly, I'm ready to drop it. I DO like discussing these things and hearing other's opinions though, so I appreciate this discussion.