Speed/core strength work

I would suggest keeping the speed program simple and concentrating on acceleration off the line. You must understand first, that to improve speed you must run at full speed each repetition. You also must understand that speed work, especially acceleration work, will tax the CNS and this will have to be taken into account. You also need to understand how to moderate volume in your speed work. These are things that are more ART than science, however there is some science to it as well.

I have found that with a solid strength program focusing on building strength in the posterior chain and trunk, basic acceleration work in 200-400 total yards range (a mixture of 10s, 20s, 30s, 40s) is sufficient. Make sure that adequate rest intervals are taken (b/w 1:30 and 4 minutes depending on distance).

I would do speed work on days that you lift, however, because of the stress it puts on the CNS. Since heavy lifting also stresses the CNS, it would be wise to place these two on the same day so that the CNS can get a full day of rest in between and overall only have 3 days of stress with 4 off, rather than 5 days of stress with 2 off.

Tuesdays and thursdays can be used as recovery/conditioning type days in the form of tempo runs, sled dragging (walking with sled) and concentric only med ball throws (meaning throwing only, no catching). You can also add in some light extra work (such as trunk) on your off days as you mentioned. There are a few threads on this board which talk about the different trunk exercises I use.

Jimbo

Jimbo -

Thanks alot!

By the way, where did you learn all of this stuff? Are you self-educated or formally trained in S&C?

Coach Hale -

Well, I hope that I am not gushing too much here, but posts by you, Groundchuck, and others have really opened up my eyes about running an effective offseason program.

This site and the contributing posters are an invaluable resource. At our next team meeting, I'm going to share this site with the other coaches I work with.

Thanks again!

govertical,

Its an honor to be able to help out. I agree this is a great site packed full of invaluable information.

Jimbo

I agree that change of direction is important, however I also feel that taking a break from football specific movements in the offseason is a good idea. Increasing strength in the trunk and hams/glutes alone will increase an athletes COD abilites. That in addition to some light/medium plyo work to increase elasticity. An increase in overall strength and elasticity will lead to better agility without the wear and tear that COD training puts on the joints. As the season nears, I would increase COD work and go heavier with the plyos, but I would make the COD work specific to the position.

For now, I would train for straight ahead speed working mainly on acceleration, as zulu said. Getting stronger and training for basic straight ahead speed will produce a faster overall team, in my opinion. Don't forget the tempos for conditioning and recovery.

The better your relative strength, the faster you will come off the line. So basically, get strong and do basic acceleration work. Thats what I would do.

Jimbo

Govertical, As far as speed training goes you can look at increasing pure running speed in two ways. 1. Increasing stride length and 2. Increasing stride frequency. Any thing reverts back to these two principles. Strength and plyometric training increase the explosiveness of the legs and hips allowing for more distance to be covered per step ie length. Plyometric training also goes one step further by stimulating an overload of the nervous system to allow for a quicker response, stride frequency. The two best methods are to alternate between resistance running ex.(up hills, parachute/sled/running against bunjee cords) with assistance running ex.(partner runs, down hill run at full speed, running with bunjee cords). Incorporate 1 day of plyometric training in your program as well. Also do some simple sprint work 10's 20's 30's 40's. This way your are sure to hit it from all angles. As far as agility goes there are all kinds of drills out there. I like speed ladder and Dot drills, plyometrics can also be incorporated with agilities. Strength training on the other hand is a difficult subject. There are way to many misinformed people out there shoveling out bad information. The key is not to overtrain. Too many think that by training daily and using the same muscles that they will get stronger because they use them more. This is not the case. In fact this is a quick road to injury. Give each muscle group at least 48 hours rest before hitting them again. Other than that apply basic strength principles. Heavy weight/Lower reps. The movement should be performed slowly during the eccentric or muscle building phase (example lowering the bar to the chest on bench press) and explosive during the concentric phase. I could go more in depth, but I fear I have already went on too much. If you would like more info (#sets,#reps,%'s, sample workout) let me know. Formally educated, physically educated, and certified.

dragon04 -

Based on the training level of our current crop of athletes, I think that our best approach to getting faster is simply to keep getting stronger and increase our lean body mass. Right now, overspeed training, stride length, and frequency is, IMO, putting the cart before the horse.

Thanks for you input. I'm glad to see that we have another knowledgeable contributer to this thread!

dragon4 could you give me an email i would like to talk with you further. my email is kadcarey@yahoo.com
thanks in advance