Speed Kills

When people think of speed, they typically think of something that is linear in nature. Like a 40 yard dash.

How fast can you get from point A to point B?

Unfortunately, it's not quite that simple and some folks don't recognize that there are many distinct actions that must occur at the same time in order for you to travel from A to B as fast as possible. Let's break it down into the 2 most common stages.

Stage 1-Acceleration-This phase can be described as the initial push from your designated starting place to the point where your body begins to rise into a fully upright position. This phase is often neglected among young athletes who are in such a hurry to stand up tall. In the acceleration phase, your body is "pushing" against the ground in order to generate the required force to move forward. Your calves, glutes and quadriceps work in conjunction to push the ground away as fast and with as much force as possible. Having a good deal of lower body strength is crucial to be able to accelerate and is often overlooked when folks talk about running fast. In order to effectively push against the ground, the athlete must stay in a low position, relatively at a 45 degree angle to the ground. Remember, we are trying to run FORWARD, not UP. The steps that athletes take in this phase should be cued as "fast", not necessarily "big" or "small." We are trying to minimize the amount of time they spend on the ground. I teach my younger athletes to imagine that they are trying to get out of quicksand. Big, slow steps will only help them stay stuck in the mire.

Stage 2-Maximum Speed-This phase can be described as what the body does after it has fully lengthened and has achieved maximum acceleration. The visual of someone working towards maximum speed is what people mentally picture when they think about running fast. The body is fully upright, and because of gravity and physics, can no longer push against the ground. Instead, opposing muscle groups like the hamstrings and hip flexors are now "pulling" the body along the ground. My athletes are taught that they need to minimize the amount of steps they take (stride frequency) and maximize the distance they cover with each step (stride length). Skipping, bounding, and other plyometric activites are great movements that can aid with this phase's development.

While there are many other variables that could be mentioned in this post, I want to bring up one that is constantly overlooked by kids who are trying to get faster. I've noticed with that a large amount of the athletes I train, particularly soccer players, do not know how to use their arms when they run. Either they don't have the proper arm/leg coordination, move them across their body in opposition to the rest of their body, or simply don't move them at all. What these athletes are missing is a significantly large amount of speed potential that could be realized if they were able to synchronize their body. As the lower body moves through it's different phases, the arms should move through 1 basic pattern. One hand will travel down towards the "hip pocket" with a bent elbow at roughly 90 degrees, while the opposite arm moves forward and upward towards the "eye socket" with an equally bent elbow. And hopefully, the athletes will eventually develop the coordination that whenever 1 leg is forward, the opposite arm is as well. Whenever I run a speed session with any athletes, I make sure that they perform some type of proper arm mechanics and coordination-based exercise and that they are given the proper feedback when it is called for.

These simple concepts, when properly instructed and applied, could easily make the difference in them out-performing an opponent on game day.