Speed Training- Parents are you doing it right? MY RANT – Part 3

Part 3- can you start and stop quickly?

Ok if you are back reading then you really want your son/ daughter to get faster.

Before I get into what I believe very important for stop/ starting I ask these questions:

Does your son / daughter:

  1. Stand tall when changing directions
  2. Slow changing directions
  3. Takes extra steps when changing directions

If you are witnessing this then you are probably deficient in ECCENTRIC strength.  What the heck does this mean?  Eccentric contractions of a muscle is described as when the muscle lengths under tension.  A simple example is when you lower the weight on a bench press.  

So what does this mean in running or changing of direction? It means we can work on all the form drills you want (yes you get better to some degree) but BNAG for Buck you must strengthen your legs eccentrically.  One of my favorite two methods is:

  1. Eccentric squats- lower the weight for at least 6 seconds down and then explode up ad fast as you can (please do not under estimate how difficult this is) Please start with a lower weight than your regular squat.
  2. Trap bar on elevated box- 6 seconds down as well – the difficulty of this exercise is much greater than a regular trap bar we we increased the Range of motion.

Try one of these exercises for 3 weeks and you will certainly see some major improvement when combined with a great speed program If you like to discuss please contact me as I am offering a 20-minute complimentary speed consultation on the phone.

Just in case you missed them:

Click Here for – Part 1

Click Here for – Part 2

ALSO…. Click Here For Free eBook “SST Speed – How to run faster”