STRENGTH TRAINING TO GET FAST by CHRIS SCARBOROUGH

Wait, Chris, I thought you were a speed guy. What is with a strength program?

I get a question like that a lot. When I work with young athletes, many of the parents ask why I spend so much time getting them stronger when the parents are paying me to get them faster.

Well, the answer is simple – you must be strong to run fast and you must be flexible (to a point) to run fast. A young athlete often does not have the strength or flexibility to perform the running skills the way they should, thus they need to get stronger, in greater ranges of motion in order to get faster.

In short, strength is the foundation of speed. By the way, when I speak of strength, I do not just mean how much a young athlete can lift, but the range of motion they can display strength, the technique they can display, the tendon and muscle strength as well as strength-endurance.

I know some say you are “born slow” or whatever. While some athletes have less potential than others, they may develop their speed optimally and outrun athletes they thought they never could.

The one quality that all fast athletes have in common is that they have high relative body strength – or strength pound for pound.

This book describes how to develop just that.

Who am I and How Can I help You?

My name is Chris Scarborough and I am a Strength and Conditioning Coach in the Birmingham, Alabama area. I have worked primarily with high school athletes and have established a reputation more as a speed development specialist, rather than a strength coach over the past couple of years.

In fact, I have been introduced as a track coach, but I have never coached a track athlete for the sport of track. I have coached track athletes who took what I taught them and used it to get faster for track.

I had been coaching for several years, when I met a world class sprinter turned coach, Christy Opara. Christy taught me how to run properly, not just how to coach speed. As a result of my “hands on” education, I learned what it was like from the athlete’s perspective, not just the coaches.

At first, Christy joked with me saying that she needed a calendar to time me when we started (a whopping 14.4 seconds for 100 meters). After only 10 sessions, I reduced my 100 meter time by 2.6 seconds to 11.8 seconds. In other words, I obviously had potential, but up to that point, I never knew it.

I was not a “spring chicken” when I trained with her.

I was 34 years old.

I will likely never know how good I could have been if I had good coaching when I was young, but I did learn that I had a gift for coaching speed. I realized that I could see things that other coaches could not.

Once again, I was not technically a good sprinter when I trained with her, but I was STRONG!!

Because I was not exposed to a lot of “textbook” speed training, I learned from experience, and did not have to “unlearn” things about speed training. For example, it was common knowledge that the elbows were supposed to be held at around 90 degrees during top speed running.

I could tell you after working with a few athletes that this was a misconception. For example, any athlete that tries to lock in their elbows at 90 degrees** runs tight, not relaxed, and slow. Anyhow, this book is about strength training, but has a direct impact on speed and all other aspects of athletic development. For a beginner, the emphasis is not on how much they can lift -- this will go up significantly anyway.

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The Purpose Of This Book

The focus is on developing good techniques, emphasizing good technique over and over again, building a strength and general conditioning base, and strengthen weak areas. It also focuses on full ranges of motion, which greatly enhances flexibility.

This is a program that I had planned to write about a year ago. In fact, some of you who have been long time subscribers probably remember when I asked for some specific case studies so I could give specific responses and programs.

Well, I found myself repeating myself in that book many times over.

Oh sure, there were some differences from one athlete to another, but not as much as you may think.

For example, I actually wrote almost an identical program for an 8 year old male multi-sport athlete as I did a 16 year old female soccer player. The differences were in the rep range and weight used, but the general goal of the program was essentially the same.

For example, the template I use to develop training programs for young athletes changes very little despite the age of the athlete. Please do not be scared of the word “template”. By template, I do not mean “protocol”. In other words, I do not create a one program fits all.

However, with a template, you have the opportunity to also have flexibility with your programs.

Let me give you an example program and how the same program can be applied using two different groups of athletes:

Sample Program 1 -- Instructions Do exercises in a circuit -- do all exercises in order, rest 3 minutes then repeat circuits for prescribed number of sets. Perform circuit 3 times per week.

Exercise # Sets Reps per set Speed of movement Intensity (wt lifted) Rest Squat 2 to 4 12 to 20 moderate 50 to 60% 1 RM 30 seconds Push Up 2 to 4 8 to 20 moderate Body wt 30 seconds Reverse Lunge 2 to 4 8 to 15 per leg moderate 50 to 60% 1 RM 30 seconds Prone Superman 2 to 4 10 to 20 Moderate with 2 second hold in extension Body wt 30 seconds Single leg hip extension -- supine 2 to 4 12 to 20 per leg Moderate Body wt 30 seconds Russian Twist 2 to 4 10 to 20 rotations per side Fast rotation Body wt 30 seconds Modified V- Up 2 to 4 10 to 20 Moderate Body wt 30 seconds Front Plank with alternate hip extension 2 to 4 20 to 30 extension per leg Hold trunk/ hip moves moderate speed Body wt 30 seconds Side Plank 2 to 4 Hold 20 to 30 sec per side Isometric Body wt 30 seconds

The program above can be used successfully with a beginner or an elite high school football player with 5 years of training experience. The beginner can use it as his main strengthening program; the high school athlete can use it after returning from a short break from training -- for example after taking a week off following the end of the season.

The body weight exercises will increase intensity somewhat, due to the growth of the athlete, for the older athlete. However, the more mature athlete will likely have greater relative body strength, which makes the body weight exercises easier. Don’t get me wrong, body weight exercises are not the only thing that an inexperienced trainee can do. They can be shown how to lift weights as well. The workout above is just an example.

The exercises in the workout above, like squats, can be done with body weight or light added weight for a beginner or 50 to 60% of a tested 1 Rep max for a more advanced athlete. If an athlete squats 400 pounds, then they could use 200 pounds in the circuit. So the intensity listed is relative to the strength of the athlete using it.

Even template based programs can be altered to fit the fitness and strength level of the athlete.

The primary difference between the more advanced athletes and the beginner is that the beginner can make progress longer on the same program than the advanced athlete, and the advanced athlete will have to make more modifications in terms of sets and reps to continue making progress.

The more advanced athletes will have to change speeds to continue to make gains as well. For example, light squats can be done fast for low to moderate reps, while a beginner will have to master technique before worrying about speed.

The beginner, in a way, has an advantage. He can use the program, and will progress without having to be creative. In fact, it is better that he not get too cute with training parameters. Stick to basics, and you’ve got it. You can make gains by doing almost anything. But it won’t be like this forever.

By the way, here is my general strength template -- while all things are included in every program, they are not necessarily in order, nor are they included in every workout of every program. Fast leg movements may be the emphasis one workout and a repetition emphasis on upper body the next.

• A squat movement or dead lift type movement -- both require squat type movements and bending movements, but require slightly different levels of each • Single leg triple extension -- for example lunges, step ups, single leg squats • Hamstring and lower back specific exercises -- these are often isolation type exercises, and easy to perform from a technique standpoint, but are usually necessary to strengthen these areas that are often weak among young athletes • Upper body push -- like push up or bench press • Upper body pull -- like bent over row or pull up • Shoulder girdle training -- often the external rotators and scapular retractors are weak relative to the internal rotators and protractors. This is why postural exercises like the prone cobra and superman are in every program I write, regardless of athletic ability • Trunk rotation • Trunk side bend

Exercises 3 and 8 are there for strengthening areas that are generally weak and get under trained during most sports and conditioning programs. They help prevent muscle imbalances and protect against injury. They can even help improve performance in many cases.

I know of many athletes who have had their squat poundage go way up after doing back extension training for a period of time.

The other categories of exercises are there to specifically train movements. They strengthen movements we use in sport and in every day life.

Black Book of Training Secrets and Theory and Application of Modern Strength and Power Methods are two books written by Christian Thibaudeau. They are incredible is explaining all the different aspects of strength training, many different programs to implement them and how to progress without getting burned out.

One athlete that I worked with is worth noting. He was 13 years old, weak and tight as a drum. He was just starting a growth spurt and was going through the typical problems a 13 year old male goes through.

We met at a track with stadium stairs, a few hurdles, a few benches and nothing else. After working with him once per week for 6 weeks, primarily on full range of motion, body weight strength training, he improved his 100 Meter dash time by half a second (from 15.59 seconds to 15.03 seconds).

That’s right -- one time per week for 6 weeks and did very little running.

He had poor technique in his running and was too weak and tight to learn good technique. His strength and flexibility had to be trained first.

A world class sprinter would get slower on the same program.

My point is that often young athletes try to get better at certain sports by just playing or practicing the sport. This is a mistake. If you look at the example above, you will see that my athlete may have been told the correct way to do things, but would have been physically unable to do them because he was so tight.

Often times, young athletes are started on a strength training program that use the same parameters as much more mature athletes. The reasons for this are numerous, but the main reasons are:

• Their middle school and high school coaches go to college strength and conditioning coaches to learn their system -- while the college strength coaches are usually knowledgeable, they are seldom well versed in strength training parameters for younger, less experienced athletes. It is very common for high school coaches to copy the system from college coaches verbatim. • Little research done specifically for young athletes -- this is beginning to turn around, but there is still a lot to be learned from studying this group specifically. Perhaps the most information we currently have access to is from the former Soviet Union who developed athletes, and studied young athletes perhaps better than anyone.

This e-book is a guide to help young athletes, parents and coaches of young athletes apply what we currently know. You should consider this a dynamic document -- do not take it as law.

We will grow to know more about how young athletes develop, and as we do, you should update your training ability.

I also encourage you to be a keen observer of how you, or your athletes, respond to certain types of training. The best coaches are the best observers, and don’t always do things “by the book”. They observe their athletes, make changes, observe more, change more, and so on.

The top coaches also do not need a book to tell them they are right or wrong. They know because of what they see and experience, not because of what research says.

I say that methods that work consistently will eventually be validated by science.

Science does not start it all.

I remember reading a paragraph from Charlie Francis’ training book. He says that he always contended that an athlete’s arms drove the legs long before science validated that claim, and people thought he was nuts.

Now, that is standard knowledge among speed coaches.

This book will focus primarily on strength training methods and how to adjust the parameters to fit the young and beginning athlete. We will cover:

Exercise selection Number of sets and repetitions Speed of movement Intensity Rest Periods in the workout and Rest Periods between workouts Sample routines

Exercise Selection

Before we get into specifics, I break exercises down into 2 basic groups:

• Basic or Primary exercises which involve real movements or portions of the movements • Supplementary or Auxiliary exercises which train more specific areas, usually specific weak areas the athlete has.

Some exercises serve both purposes above.

As a general rule, the young athlete/beginner’s routine should be movement based, not machine based. By that, I mean the emphasis should be on strengthening movements that most likely transfer to sport (and life).

For example, body weight squats and lunges would be preferred (except in very rare circumstances) over leg extension and leg curls to strengthen the legs.

Push ups and barbell presses would be favored over machine presses.

Don’t buy into the idea that machine training is “safer” that free weight or movement based training. Proper technique is more difficult to master in many free weight training exercises.

Machine based training is taking the easy way out. If you have a coach that believes in prioritizing the machines in your strength training program, find a new coach. I can tell you right now -- they STINK and they are lazy.

If less than 25% of all your training is done on machines (generally only on the supplementary and assistance type exercises) then you are OK.

The only machines my athletes (and myself) use, are a few benches (no weight stacks) and free cables -- which are actually more like free weight because there is no artificial stability.

Number of Sets and Reps

This is a pretty simple section. The answer is between 1 and 12 sets, 10 to 30 reps per set.

OK -- OK so it is not so simple after all.

The number of sets depends a lot on just how much of a beginner you are -- or your athletes are, and what your goals are. For example, in teaching a beginning lifter how to do a basic squat, I know many coaches would have the athlete do 3 sets of 10 to 20 reps using body weight or very light barbell.

Generally the number of reps is well below what the athlete could have performed with a given weight. The experienced coach realizes that a beginner often loses proper technique simply due to the fact that they get a little tired or lose mental focus.

They must stop any set in which the technique is failing.

Technique must be the main goal when training a beginner, especially in movements that are more difficult to learn like squats, front squats, power cleans, dead lifts, etc.

The technique of a beginner will usually begin to falter well before the athlete’s muscles fatigue substantially. Don’t worry, as the athlete gets more experience, they will be able to train with much higher levels of fatigue and still maintain good technique.

If an athlete can not learn proper technique in a movement even with light weight, then even doing partial movements may be necessary. This is often the case with exercises such as the power clean.

One idea that I have used recently is a modified use of Westside Barbell’s training which is where an athlete does many sets of very low reps. For example, 10 sets of 2 reps.

While most of the athletes at Westside will use very heavy weight or focus on high speed, the same idea can be used to help an athlete get good technique on a difficult movement.

For example, lets say you have an athlete that is learning how to do squats. Instead of doing 2 to 4 sets of 15 to 20 reps, how about 15 to 20 sets of 2 to 4 reps. Have the athlete rest only about 15 seconds between sets.

Use the same weight as you would have them lift for 20 reps.

This will allow the athlete to focus on 2 GOOD REPS at a time, rather than risking fatigue to cause the last few reps of the sets to get bad due to fatigue.

This will allow the same general conditioning effect as the low set/ high rep exercises but will allow the athlete to learn difficult exercises using proper form. Don’t get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with 2 to 4 sets of 15 to 20 reps if the athlete is able to do all the reps properly. The high set/ low rep scheme is just another option.

Either way, the volume is high, intensity is fairly low, which helps the athlete develop good connective tissue strength, tendon and ligament strength and joint stability in the early part of training.

Another benefit of this type of training is that it still allows the athlete to build strength. Because of the neuromuscular inefficiency of a young athlete/beginner, total volume can remain high, and intensity low and the athlete can still gain good strength.

A young athlete/beginner can only improve so much in any given period of time. Let’s call the optimal amount they can gain a “10”. They can get “10” by doing high volume and low intensity or low volume and high intensity, but the high volume type sets them up for future success much better because it:

Increases tissue and joint strength/stability Does not fatigue the Central nervous system, so any higher intensity training in the future will have a stimulating effect and thus allow the athlete to make gains even well into their training career when gains are harder to come by. Develops a good general conditioning base Allows the athlete to learn good technique with little unnecessary stress

Speed of movements

I have read about speeds of movement and some authors tell you down to the second how long a set should last.

While that may be fine for some advanced level athletes and trainees, it is overkill to focus on such things for younger athletes and beginners.

Some movements are fast by their very nature -- for example, Olympic lifts and their variations. Some are slow by nature -- like postural exercises for the upper back and stability exercises for the trunk.

The trick to speed is to do it at a pace that allows the athlete to perform proper form. Not to slow -- not too fast. If a movement looks out of control and jerky, it needs to be slowed.

If a movement appears as if it is boring the kid to death because of its slow pace -- speed it up.

Intensity

While there is certainly some data on how heavy an athlete should lift, you should always remember that intensity is relative to the athlete’s strength and is also technique dependent.

What?

Relative means that if a beginning trainee can squat 100 pounds, and the training program calls for 6 sets of 5 reps at 60% of max, then the athlete would lift 60 pounds for 6 sets of 5 reps (unless technique is not maintained).

However, if an athlete can only lift a 50 pound max, then he does not try to lift 60 pounds.

60% of his max is 30 pounds.

Keep in mind, this example assumes the athlete already knows how to squat. If not, then the athlete should use one of the techniques I mentioned in the “Set - Rep” section above. This will allow good technique to be mastered first before even concerning yourself or the athlete with intensity levels.

All sets of all exercises should be limited to what the athlete can do in good form. For beginners, that usually means two or three reps below their max number of reps with a given weight on a given exercise.

For example, if an athlete can lift 50 pounds on a bench press for a max number of 10 good reps, then the athlete might be able to do an exercise prescription that looks like this:

Set 1 -- 8 reps Set 2 -- 8 reps Set 3 -- 7 reps

The reason for this is because of the lack of mental focus a younger athlete often has. Technique often falls off unless the athlete is carefully watched and corrected for technique errors.

Again, as an athlete matures, they are able to hold good technique much better even as they get tired.

A more advanced athlete/trainee might even try to squeeze out a personal best of 11 reps and still maintain good technique, even if they fail.

REST Periods There are two types of rest periods to concern ourselves with when we are talking about young athletes (and all other athletes for that matter):

1. In between exercises and sets within the same workout, and 2. Recovery between workouts

Because beginners and young athletes are so inefficient in their nervous systems, they require little rest between exercises in the same workout. In fact, I find it better if you use circuits with them (Complete Speed Training has lots of GREAT information on strength training circuits as well as sample workouts). This keeps them moving and keeps them from being bored, and it strengthens their body all at the same time.

Just because it is a strength circuit, does not mean that they use machines. They still use movement based exercises, develop great work capacity and strengthen muscles and tendons. If you do use a rest break, keep the rest periods short – between 30 and 45 seconds between sets and exercises. The exception to this is if you are teaching the athlete how to do the exercises for the first time.

3 to 5 sessions of training per week with this age group is fine. More emphasis can be put on speed, running and jumping drills one day and resistance training the next. Once again, they have little efficiency in their nervous systems, so they are not likely to exhaust their bodies.

This is not the case with more advanced athletes.

Sample Routines

You have already seen one of the routines I am talking about a few minutes ago. These workouts are for beginners. You will see 5 example programs here.

I recommend that you choose one program, perform it for 2 to 4 week 3 times per week. Start with the smallest number of sets and reps recommended and gradually work your way to the highest numbers of sets and reps.

Go up in volume before going up significantly in intensity (weight). If this is the first time you have worked out, you may have to tinker a bit with just how much weight to use.

Just in case you forgot, here it is again:

Exercise # Sets Reps per set Speed of movement Intensity (wt lifted) Rest** Squat 2 to 4 12 to 20 moderate 50 to 60% 1 RM 30 seconds Push up 2 to 4 8 to 20 moderate Body wt 30 seconds Reverse Lunge 2 to 4 8 to 15 per leg moderate 50 to 60% 1 RM 30 seconds Prone Superman 2 to 4 10 to 20 Moderate with 2 second hold in extension Body wt 30 seconds Single leg hip extension -- supine 2 to 4 12 to 20 per leg Moderate Body wt 30 seconds Russian Twist 2 to 4 10 to 20 rotations per side Fast rotation Body wt 30 seconds Modified V- Up 2 to 4 10 to 20 Moderate Body wt 30 seconds Front Plank with alternate hip extension 2 to 4 20 to 30 extension per leg Hold trunk/ hip moves moderate speed Body wt 30 seconds Side Plank 2 to 4 Hold 20 to 30 sec per side Isometric Body wt 30 seconds

** Exercises may be done in a circuit rather than in a Straight format

We can use the same exercises to train a high school superstar by changing the sets, reps, speed and other variables. In other words, by adding weight, speed, or both, we can increase the training demand for a more advanced athlete without changing the exercises menu.

Exercise # Sets Reps per set Speed of movement Intensity (wt lifted) Rest** Squat *** 5 to 6 2 to 4 (use speed to determine how many reps) Fast on lifting motion control eccentric motion 80% 1 RM 90 to 120 seconds Reverse Lunge (Grasso Lunge) 3 to 4 6 to 10 per leg Fast lifting motion Heavy band around waist 45 to 60 seconds Push Up 3 to 4 8 to 15 per leg Fast lifting Light band around back 45 to 60 seconds Prone Superman 2 to 4 10 to 20 Moderate with 2 second hold in extension Body wt 30 seconds Single leg hip extension -- supine 2 to 4 12 to 20 per leg Moderate Body wt 30 seconds Russian Twist 2 to 4 10 to 20 rotations per side Fast rotation Body wt 30 seconds Modified V- Up 2 to 4 10 to 20 Moderate Body wt 30 seconds Front Plank with alternate hip extension 2 to 4 20 to 30 extension per leg Hold trunk/ hip moves moderate speed Body wt 30 seconds Side Plank 2 to 4 Hold 20 to 30 sec per side Isometric Body wt 30 seconds The first 2 exercises are done in a linear format, in other words do all the sets of these exercises before going on to others. The push/pull can be supersetted. The others can be done in a circuit if time is an issue. ***This is done for max speed with a given intensity, that does not mean the weight moves fast, but it is moved as fast as possible.

While the next two sample beginner programs are similar to the first, see if you can modify them to fit your level or the level of your athletes. If you would like your modifications critiqued, you can send them to me at Coach@YoungChamps.com

Exercise # Sets Reps per set Speed of movement Intensity (wt lifted) Rest** Power Style Squat 2 to 4 12 to 20 moderate 50 to 60% 1 RM 30 seconds Dumbell Incline Bench Press 2 to 4 8 to 20 moderate 50 to 70% 1 RM 30 seconds Split Squat 2 to 4 8 to 15 per leg moderate 50 to 60% 1 RM 30 seconds Bent Over Barbell Row 2 to 4 10 to 20 Moderate 50 to 70% 1 RM 30 seconds Prone Cobra 2 to 4 10 to 20 Moderate with 2 second hold in extension Body wt 30 seconds Front Plank with hip extension 2 to 4 12 to 20 per leg Moderate Body wt 30 seconds Lying Trunk rotation 2 to 4 10 to 20 rotations per side Moderate Body wt 30 seconds Crunch Over Swiss Ball 2 to 4 10 to 20 Moderate Body wt 30 seconds Cable Deadlift 2 to 4 10 to 20 Moderate 40% 1 RM 30 seconds Side crunch over swiss ball 2 to 4 20 to 30 each side Slow Body wt 30 seconds

Exercise # Sets Reps per set Speed of movement Intensity (wt lifted) Rest** Dumbell Dead Lift 2 to 4 12 to 20 moderate 50 to 60% 1 RM 30 seconds Dumbell Bench Press 2 to 4 8 to 20 moderate Body wt 30 seconds Step Up 2 to 4 8 to 15 per leg moderate 50 to 60% 1 RM 30 seconds Neutral Grip Bent Over Row w/ Dumbells 2 to 4 10 to 20 Moderate Body wt 30 seconds Prone Cobra 2 to 4 10 to 20 Moderate with 2 second hold in extension Body wt 30 seconds Fire Hydrant 2 to 4 12 to 20 per leg Moderate Body wt 30 seconds Lying Trunk rotation 2 to 4 10 to 20 rotations per side Fast rotation Body wt 30 seconds Crunch Over Swiss Ball 2 to 4 10 to 20 Moderate Body wt 30 seconds Swiss Ball Hamstring curl 2 to 4 10 to 20 Moderate Body wt 30 seconds Side Plank Lift 2 to 4 Lift, hold 2 seconds then lower Slow Body wt 30 seconds Use the principles I gave you earlier to modify the program. If you have any questions, please feel free to send me an e-mail at Coach@YoungChamps.com, I would be happy to critique your changes if you like.

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