Tag Archive: sprinting

1. Sprint Training Mechanics: Frans Bosch

   21st March 2016 9:01 am 5 Comments

   “Humans aren’t descended from apes, but are a bad crossbreed of kangaroos and horses”

   Frans Bosch delivered 4 great presentations at GAIN V this year each one packed full of information and ideas.

   This included two practical sessions. One was gym- based and one was running -based. That helped immensely with my understanding and application.

   Here are some of my thoughts on his analysis of sprint mechanics, based on his anatomical model. He looks not at how the “wheels turn, but how the motor runs”. This requires an internal focus of running mechanics, not an external focus.

   He uses comparisons of human anatomy with that of kangaroos, horses and springboks: the best runners and jumpers. By comparing hamstring and gastrocnemius length with tendon length in the different species, we could see how improvements could be made in speed and jump training.

   He started off with 3 building blocks for improving sprinting:

   1. Muscle slack (the most important)
   2. Reactivity
   3. Reflex Patterns

   Working on improving and developing these areas will improve your running speed.

   What is muscle slack?

   Imagine a rope dangling from one end, then being pulled from both ends: the slack has been taken out of it. Jogging is bad running with more muscle slack, removing the slack increases your speed.

   Slack is not a bad thing, it helps with control of lower speeds. But, to run fast you have to eliminate the slack.

   The 2 ways to do this are either:

   1. Use a counter movement, which is what less coordinated and slower athletes do.
   2. Use pretension where the muscles are co-contracting (preferred option).

   

   Reactive strength training

   Bosch then explained why certain weight training exercises don’t help pretension because the bar does the work for the muscles. Instead, use other exercises that allow the body to provide solutions.

   This video shows one of the exercises that Bosch showed us:

   (As an aside someone from the ECB told me that a cricketer I was working with who couldn’t do a bodyweight squat, could be tested with a barbell because the weight helped him get lower to the ground! Unfortunately, he wasn’t allowed to do fielding in matches with that weight on his shoulders!).

   Bosch has also eliminated the counter movement from any weight training exercises or drills that he is doing with the Welsh Rugby Union at present. This forces the rugby players to find another solution.

   He has also reduced their reliance on ‘traditional’ weight training because the barbell reduces the muscle slack. This means that the players’ bodies don’t find a solution themselves.

   4 Ways to get a bouncy athlete

   1. An erect posture (max 20 degrees of knee flexion when jumping). Really good jumpers have 5-9 degrees of knee amortization. These are sometimes known as speed jumpers compared to power jumpers. (Bosch said that power jumpers are just speed-jumpers with bad technique!)
   2. Short contact time and little change in joint angles
   3. Pretension prior to ground contact.
   4. Drop height no higher than the jump height of an athlete (you shouldn’t store more than you can unload)

   Bosch then went into more detail on the running mechanics themselves (regular readers and our athletes will have as seen this before).

   The pelvic girdle is very important in sprinting:

   1. The rotation forwards/ backwards
   2. The anterior/posterior tilting
   3.  The elevation of the free hip

   all influence how the hamstrings, abdominals and dorsal muscles are able to work effectively and maintain elastic energy in the running cycle.

   Plantar flexion of the ankle and the timing of the foot contact are also essential components of sprint training. By ‘whipping’ the foot down the heel is encouraged to come off earlier.

   Summary

   I have barely scratched the surface of what was covered in these 4 seminars. I can’t say I grasped all of his concepts at this conference, but am able to watch the lectures back on video which helps!

   I first saw Frans at the RFU speed conference 7 years ago and was blown away by the concepts. This is what we have been working towards with our athletes since then.

   The bottom line is that our athletes are benefiting from this. (Jazmin Sawyers got a Long Jump bronze medal at the Junior World Championships having been trained using this methodology.)

   • Luckily Gary Winckler developed the Bosch speed training principles at a later GAIN: How to develop speed
   • This has helped me with the Speed Training  I do at our Athletics Club in Devon.

2. The fundamentals of acceleration mechanics

   30th June 2014 10:55 am 2 Comments

   “I have spent my whole life devoted to writing 1 good programme”

   Vince Anderson, Texas A&M sprints coach at GAIN VII.

   Coach Anderson was talking about his 100m speed training programme. His belief is that coaches only need to teach 1 model of sprint mechanics, get damn good at it, then add “subtle variations“when required, for example, in the 200 meters acceleration pattern or the 110 meter hurdles acceleration pattern

   When dealing with athletes, he uses a basic language. All other patterns come from that. It is hard enough for athletes to get good at 1 model, let alone several different types.

   So while we may look of “sport specific speed training” in reality it all comes down to acceleration training first, then application second.

   The 100 meter acceleration pattern, because it requires maximal intensity, provides the aggressive pattern language necessary for coach and athlete to work from.

   This seminar then concentrated on how his model works, and more importantly, how he coaches it.

   Common Problems in 100 m sprint training

   Anderson describes himself as a “reactive coach” he “coaches to the problem I see“. Here are some of the problems he encounters in sprinters and how he attempts to solve them.

   • Too little body lean: they fail to push well or deep enough at the start. This causes them to come upright too early.
   • Failing to continue to accelerate to maximal; IF they manage to get upright into a sprinting posture.
   • Trying to claim territory: athletes step out, instead of stepping down. It should feel exactly like marching in place.

   The 100m race is often broken down into phases for analysis. Whilst this may be useful for the coach to understand, it just adds complexity to the athlete. As Anderson says “My athletes can’t handle complexity“.

   He describes the well run 100m as a holistic event. It is like a symphony or harmony without rhythm breaks. However, unlike an Orchestral movement, the 100m is a race of seamless aggression and smooth violence with big ranges of motion.

   The start requires awareness and patience, it is easy to mistakenly use small quick actions. Instead think “The faster the run, the longer the push“.

   “Don’t let the smooth taste fool you; sprinters have to work so much harder than they think.”

   One anecdote Anderson related was of one of his athletes putting effort into a training run and exclaiming “I’m exhausted“! Well, the 100m is a maximal effort event: it should be tiring.

   He uses “Acceleration” and “pushing” interchangeably as part of his coaching vernacular. Whilst it is impossible to accelerate for the whole race, you can PUSH for the whole race.

   Anderson uses a visualisation technique of gently ascending lines, which then rise to vertical. The athlete thinks about this before training. He then places a cone at 30m and the athlete has to get to vertical at this point. By using a referential cue like this, the athlete gets used to doing things longer and harder.

   When they get upright they have to think “PUSH DOWN“.

   Coaching Cues for the 100 metre race

   Anderson has developed some very clear coaching cues he uses with athletes. The Intent is to develop consistency on 4 fronts:

   1. Maximum velocity mechanics (run tall).
   2. Acceleration (pushing the whole race).
   3. Completion runs (blending the two).
   4. Apply to every run (pattern development).

   Intent is everything in this race. “Any kid that can step down with extreme prejudice and get tall can run faster. It’s not a talent issue.”

   (I hope P.E. teachers out there are paying attention: ANY kid can run faster).

   The classic over reaching/ over striding that is seen is called “Casting” by Anderson. This leads to a longer ground contact time and therefore slower speed. Placing the foot down under the hip each time is the solution.

   A 400m runner or half miler still have the same running mechanics: they still step down. But, they step down less hard, so the thigh recovers lower.

   Things to avoid include:

   The step out, cast foot, cast and grab or a “small, choppy stride“. Part of the problem is that athletes (and coaches) misinterpret the classic A/B drills as technical drills instead of the strengthening drills which was their original purpose.

   Anderson called sprinting “The second worst culture in athletics, behind basketball“! Every element of the culture enables bad things to be done. It enables lack of modern thinking and “reinforces street mythology, ancient history and bad information.”

   As a result, athlete use context as “an excuse to stay in dysfunction“. It is the coaches job to fix this.

   “Good posture always wins”

   (Declaring confirmation bias here, as I always tell my athletes the importance of good posture: “Turn up, try hard, stand tall“).

   According to Anderson, running is:

   • A series of precisely intentional ground strikes.
   • The sworn enemy of landing or striding.
   • The opposite of striding.

   He uses a series of postural drills against a wall for his athletes to help develop. Anderson calls the position coming out of the start the “Post” as in “straight as a fence post“ (I refer to it as SLX: Straight Line Acceleration, adapted from Jack Blatherwick).

   (Frans Bosch had made similar points 2 years previously at GAIN about running posture).

   Getting out of the blocks

   Anderson trains his sprinters on Acceleration from Day 1(remember Accn= pushing) and he teaches them to apply this on every run. That way they are developing a pattern.

   Coming out of the blocks is like a “shock jump“; the harder you push from the blocks, the longer it takes to come up into an upright posture.

   This harder push causes a more acute post position (SLX) which is only effective if the athlete has the ability to maintain this posture throughout.

   The athlete should continue to “push through the post”. This requires concentration and keeping the shoulders up.

   If the shoulders are down and you push hard, you fall over. “Force can’t turn a corner” so if you bend at the hips, you limit force application.

   “Acceleration never, ever stumbles.”

   Anderson then spent some time looking at the start position and showed a great picture using an equilateral triangle superimposed over the correct position for an athlete to get into the set position. This is an inherently stable position from which to start.

   For field sports athletes, a 3 point stance can be used to achieve the same position. Jevon Kearse does this well (he is also a “super, foul tempered, aggresive athlete”).

   Many athletes that Anderson sees struggle with the start from the blocks. “The problem is NOT that we athletes that have too great a spatial awareness“.  Every decision he makes as a coach is designed to make it easier for the athlete to know where their body is.

   He sometimes starts athletes from a Post position with his hands on their shoulders, to eliminate the problem with the rise. Keeping the head in a neutral position is also a useful cue.

   “Try to avoid all stylistic tendencies. I use common sense.”

   Summary

   It was very refreshing to hear a coach of this standard say things like “our job is to make everyone better“, “coach without judgement” and “coach your ass off on their behalf“. 

   I have seen several track and field coaches “cherry pick” athletes from other schools or training groups who could already run fast. But, one of the joys of coaching is to be able to coach the process, rather than just get the result.

   Coach Anderson exemplifies a coach who is striving to get the best from ALL his athletes, and also himself. He turned up to Gary Winckler’s practical session in the gym the day before to learn: another sign of a great coach.

   I have already applied some of these coaching cues in my speed training sessions, with the athletes responding well.

   Recommended highly.

   Further Reading

   • Force, power and acceleration: thoughts from Jack Blatherwick.
   • How can I sprint quicker?: 7 key areas to work on.
   • Run Faster Book

3. Strength and Power in Rugby: Part 3

   13th May 2014 9:15 am 1 Comment

   The Rugby World Cup is in it’s knockout stages. National Fitness adviser Simon Worsnop looks at current strength and power measurements.

   Strength and Power Levels

   Since the onset of full time professionalism in both sports strength levels have increased so that today’s players possess higher strength levels than similar aged recreational players

   e.g.” the trained junior high school RL, senior high school RL College RL and NRL players are capable of lifting approximately 102, 115, 124 and 148% of their body mass, respectively, in the 1RM bench press” (1)

   Players also exhibit far higher levels of strength than in previous years e.g. 1RM bench press scores for Professional RL players in January 1993 were 113.1 for backs and 119 for forwards (2) and in 1996 O’Connor (3) reported scores of 106kg for backs, 100.1 for halves, 112.4 for back row, 123.4 for props and 99.7 for hookers; whereas Baker reported an average of 134.8 in 2001 (4) and 142.7 across all players in 2004 (5).

   Professional players also exhibit higher power levels e.g. NRL players were significantly more powerful in every variable measured (than student RL players) (6).

   The load at which the Pmax (maximum power) occurred was also significantly higher in the NRL players. This has particular relevance to the tackle area where the more experienced player is likely to be more powerful against the bodyweight of an opponent than is the novice player. Baker (7) also suggested that “results indicate that the difference in power output between teams of different playing levels may depend largely on differences in maximal
   strength.”

   As players become more experienced their strength training focus
   changes, as the players become stronger they have probably adopted the strategy of increasing power initially by increasing the absolute load while maintaining movement speed. However, once a base level of maximal strength has been attained and further large gains in strength are less likely to occur, it may be difficult to increase power by increasing the Pmax load; rather, power is increased by increasing the speed at which each load is lifted. (8)

   Benchmarks for younger players

   Players in the England U20 team can squat over 220kg, bench press approaching 200kg and power clean 160kg. Individual players at U18 level can bench press 135kg for 5 repetitions and one player can squat 200kg for this number. Now, this does not mean they are necessarily good rugby players, nor does it mean that they can transfer this force to the field- they may “train like Tarzan and play like Jane.”

   What this does show is how the strength levels of modern rugby players are escalating. This does not say that an eighteen year old player with poor strength levels cannot “make it” at top level; in fact if he is succeeding at age group rugby despite poor strength levels it could be argued that he has a greater chance. However in order to protect his body and compete in the collision in the modern game he would have to undergo a long term rigorous, planned strength development programme. 

   How can I get strong for Rugby?

   Strength levels are improved in the gym by the use of the major multi joint lifts used in Powerlifting and Olympic Weightlifting as well as other more rugby specific rotational and “Strongman” type lifts.

   For a player, and hence a team to be successful specific partner bodyweight exercises around the tackle, ruck, maul and play the ball must also be practised as well as the supporting exercises derived from wrestling and grapple sports; these type of exercises were thought to be significant by Baker in contributing to the increase in power for NRL players throughout a one year period (9).

   To be successful, all of these forms of strength training must form part of the practice week even for the recreational player. And young players should be following an age- specific long-term athletic development programme.

   Some of the rugby and grapple exercises will be practised “bone on bone”, others will involve players with tackle suits. Exercises using tackle shields, tackle bags and wrestling dummies can also be used.

   Conclusion

   Because the collision is such an important part of the game we now longer see the “cup upset”. In soccer, though a team is clearly better it does not necessarily win a game and a club from the “lower reaches” will occasionally pull off a “cup upset”.

   This used to happen in both codes of rugby on a yearly basis, but now this is almost unheard of. This is almost certainly due the greater intensity of the collision and the variation in strength levels between the two teams. Though TV commentators on such games between teams from different divisions often say, “the higher fitness levels prevailed in the end” they are missing the point as cardiovascular fitness levels will be similar.

   Skill and decision making levels will be different, but the major discriminators will be size and strength- the team that is weaker and 5-10kg a man lighter or significantly physically weaker will in the end succumb because of the importance of the collision

   See our Get Stronger programme here

   References

   1: Differences in Strength and Power among Junior-High,
   Senior-High, College, and Elite Professional Rugby League Players Daniel Baker JSCR 2002, 16 (4), 581-585.

   2:(Evaluating players fitness in Professional Rugby League Rudi Meir Strength & Conditioning Coach 1 (4) 1993

   3: (Strength & Conditioning Coach 4 (1) 1996)

   4: (Comparison of Upper Body Strength and Power between Professional and College-Aged Rugby League Players Baker JSCR 2001 15(1) 30 -35)

   5: (An analysis of the ratio and relationship between upper body pressing and pulling strength JSCR 2004 18(3), 594 – 598).

   6: Comparison of Upper Body Strength and Power between Professional and College-Aged Rugby League Players Baker JSCR 2001 15(1) 30
   -35.

   7: (A Series of Studies on the Training of High Intensity Muscle Power in Rugby League Football Players JSCR 2001 15(2) 198 – 209

   8: (Comparison of Upper Body Strength and Power between Professional and College-Aged Rugby League Players Baker JSCR 2001 15(1) 30 -35).

   9:(Comparison of Upper Body Strength and Power between Professional and College-Aged Rugby League Players Baker JSCR 2001 15(1) 30 -35)

4. Strength and Power Developments in Rugby over the last 10 years.

   9:05 am 7 Comments

   Strength and Power in Rugby

   Now that we have reached the knock out stages of the Rugby World Cup, I thought it would be a good time to review how the game has changed over the last 10 years.

   Simon Worsnop is the National Adviser with the England Under 20s team and has kindly written the following post.

   Both codes of rugby are defined as collision sports i.e. players purposely collide with each other. Other collision sports are American Football, Australian Rules Football, Ice Hockey and Gaelic Football. These sports are very different in their laws and therefore technical and physical demands.

   Rugby League and Rugby Union: the collision

   Rugby Union and Rugby League sit in between the extremes of Australian and American Football. Both sports require speed, agility, a high level of strength and power and also a moderate to high level of cardiovascular fitness.

   The two codes of rugby have common and different forms of collision. Both codes of rugby involve the ball carrier being stopped and sometimes put to ground by one or more opponents. In rugby league the tackled player retains the ball, in rugby union there can be a contest for the ball in either a ruck where the tackled player has gone to ground or a maul where the tackled player is on his feet.

   The different components of fitness have a bearing on the outcome of the collision/tackle area. A team that dominates the tackle area will normally win the game. The ball carrier needs to use good footwork (agility) to try to avoid a collision or to find the edge of an opponent and enter the collision on his own terms. The ball carrier needs power to break through the initial impact and acceleration to get away if he breaks the defender.

   When the tackle is made the defending and attacking players need strength to dominate the collision to finish it on their terms. For the defender this will involve leg strength to lift and drive his opponent and also upper body strength in order to twist and turn the ball carrier.

   To get a picture of the intense nature of the collision in modern rugby just watch “rugby big hits”  The characteristics of the collision have fundamentally altered rugby since the onset of professionalism.
   To subjectively observe this buy a game DVD from the 1960s or 70s of either code and compare it to today’s games.

   The collision has altered for a number of reasons; the players are bigger (particularly the backs), the laws of both games have changed e.g. in rugby league the 10m rule means the players are running a minimum of 10m before they collide. The players have got stronger and this generally translates into greater acceleration and therefore greater relative speed at the impact.

   Now, before old timers from both codes shout me down I am not saying that yesterday’s players were anything but skilful, aggressive and tough and I am not arguing that the games are better now than then.

   What I am saying is that the games that are played now are different and that is primarily due to full time professionalism and with it years of strength training.

   Can you repeat this power and strength throughout a match?

   The ability to express muscular power under game specific fatigue appears critical to preventing fatigue-induced decrements in tackling technique.
   Fatigue will result in progressive reductions in tackle technique; there being a significant association between estimated endurance (VO2 Max) and agility and fatigue-induced decrements in tackle technique (1)

   Therefore fitness levels have implications for the injury of players as the  majority of rugby league injuries occurred in the tackle (2)

   The tackle area as a site of injury was also found to be the case in International Rugby Union where “the incidence of match injuries at international level was found to be higher than previously reported. The tackle, ruck, and maul elements of match play presented the highest risk of injury for all players”. (3)

   Thus, there are specific minimum standards of cardiovascular endurance that players at any level of rugby should have as a defence against tackle-induced injury.

   Part 2 of this piece will appear tomorrow.

   See our Get Stronger programme here

    References

   1: (Influence of Fatigue on Tackling Technique in Rugby League Players Tim Gabbett Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research 22(2) 2008).

   2: (Rugby League Injuries and Playing Position Tim Gabbett Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research 19(4) 2005).

   3: (J H M Brooks, C W Fuller, S P T Kemp and D B Reddin A prospective study of injuries and training amongst the England 2003 Rugby World Cup squad Br. J. Sports Med. 2005;39;288-293).