1. Sprinting and Speed Training Chapter 13

2. Learning Objectives Know the primary factors that contribute to the intrinsic speed of a muscle contraction. Know the relationships among strength, flexibility, and speed of movement. Understand differences among the start, acceleration, and high velocity phases of a sprinting event. Be knowledgeable of sprint-resisted and sprint- assisted training methods. Know the contributions of various factors to sprint running, swimming, bicycling, and speed skating performance.

3. Speed The result of applying force to a mass Movement at a constant rate, with sufficient driving force to overcome resisting forces Balance of positive and negative forces  Running: Positive force developed by muscles is counterbalanced by gravity, velocity changes, acceleration and deceleration of limbs, and air resistance.

4. Intrinsic Speed of Muscle Contraction A muscle fiber’s contraction speed reflects differences in proportions of fast-twitch (FT) and slow-twitch (ST) fibers.

5. Specificity of Speed Speed is not a general characteristic A person may have fast arm movements but slow leg movements

6. Your Perspective Imagine that you are the coach of a Little League team. What implications does specificity of speed have for you and your players?

7. Strength and Speed The strongest person is not always the fastest. Strength gains often translate into improved sprinting performance, particularly for the acceleration phase of a race.

8. Flexibility and Speed Lack of flexibility at specific joints may limit sprinting performance. Increased flexibility may improve performance. Combination of flexibility and resistance training may be helpful for sprinting performance.

9. Factors Affecting Sprint Performance Length of activity:  Sprints require maximal or near maximal efforts from start to finish. Other factors—depend on the sport:  Strength, flexibility, and skill have different relative importance in different events.  Some factors may be more important at the beginning of a sprint event than at the end.

10. Your Perspective If you’re a runner, have you ever trained by running downhill or uphill? Did this make a difference to your sprint performance on a flat surface? What do you think of the study described in the text that questions the effectiveness of such training?

11. Phases of a Sprint Event 1. The start 2. The acceleration phase 3. The high velocity phase

12. Improving Sprint Running Performance During start and acceleration:  Develop muscles of lower extremities through resistance training During high velocity phase:  Increase length of stride  Shorten ground contact time Methods for improving sprint running performance: Sprint-resisted and sprint-assisted training.

13. Sprint-Assisted Training

14. Sprint-Resisted Training

15. Your Perspective In your opinion, why are some people good sprinters while others are better suited for distance running? Is it because of different training methods? Or because of their genetics? If you had been a long-distance runner throughout high school, do you think you could now become a sprinter (with enough training)?

16. Improving Sprint Swimming Performance Practice swimming with slow stroke rates to develop greater distance per stroke. Improve distance per stroke early in season. Work on power and efficiency at race speeds later in the season.

17. Improving Speed Bicycling Performance Improvements generally result from: Conditioning of the rider Changes in equipment

18. Improving Speed Skating Performance Increase strength of lower body extensor muscles and plantar flexors, to aid in start and maintenance of speed. Reduce inertia caused by weight of skates. Improve technique to reduce air and ice friction. Perfect new starting techniques.

19. Where to Learn More Speed training:  www.brianmac.demon.co.uk/speed.htm www.brianmac.demon.co.uk/speed.htm USA Track and Field:  www.usatf.org www.usatf.org Sprint training for developing athletes:  www.oztrack.com/devsp.html www.oztrack.com/devsp.html President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports:  www.fitness.gov www.fitness.gov