© National Strength & Conditioning Association Volum Volume e 23, 23, Numbe Numberr 2, 2, pages pages 7–13 7–13
Resistance Training for Short Sprints and Maximum-speed Sprints Warren Warren Young, PhD, Dean Benton, Benton, BAppSci, BAppSci, and Grant Duthie, BAppSci School of Human Movement and Sport Sciences University of Ballarat Victoria, Victoria, Australia Australia John Pryor, Pryor, MHSci MHSci School of Human Movement and Sport Sciences University of Ballarat Victoria, Victoria, Australia Australia Human Performance Laboratory Sydney Academy of Sport Sydney, Australia Keywords: sprinting; maximum speed; short sprints; specificity; resistance training.
SPRINTING AT MAXIMUM OR near maximum effort over various distances is important for many sports. Therefore, strength and conditioning professionals have given considerable attention to the use of interval training and resistance-training exercises in order to enhance sprint performance. Track coaches have believed and research has supported the concept that the performance in short sprints (e.g., 10 m) and longer sprints allowing the attainment of maximum or near-maximum speed (e.g., 50 m) are separate and specific qualities (6, 9). This means that an athlete may excel in short sprints but not in maximum-speed sprints, or vice versa. Therefore, Therefore, it it is important important to know know the relative importance of various sprint qualities in sports to determine the training emphasis that should be given to each. The purpose of this article is to present an
analysis of the sprint qualities that are important in sports, highlight the differences between short sprints (e.g., 10 m) and maximumspeed sprinting, and to indicate the implications for the selection of resistance-training exercises to develop sprinting performance.
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Needs Analysis of Speed Requirements in Sports
Based on data from 22 male 100m sprint finalists and semifinalists at the 1988 Olympic Games (4), maximum speed (mean = 11.49 m/s) was attained between 50 and 60 m. The percentages of maximum speed after 10, 20, 30, and 40 m were 45%, 84%, 93%, and 97%, respectively. These results indicate that after 10 m of rapidly accelerating from a stationary position, a relatively small portion of maximum speed is developed. However, by 20 m more than 80% of maximum speed is achieved as
running posture becomes more upright. Since sprint performance over 10 m is not related to maximum-speed performance (6), athletes in sports such as tennis or squash who are restricted to short sprints do not need to be concerned with training for maximum speed. Although this seems rather obvious, many team sports such as the various football codes require some combination of short (e.g., 5–10 m) and more sustained sprints (e.g., 20–40 m). The analysis of sprinting needs becomes more difficult when it is understood that in a team sport such as soccer, a 10-m sprint may be initiated from a jogging start, rather than a standing start. This means that a relatively high percentage of maximum speed could be reached when short sprints are initiated from a moving start. Therefore, careful consideration should be given to 7
Tabl e 1 Comparison of Short and Maximum-speed Sprints in Relation to General Biomechanical Characteristics
Running posture Stride length Stride frequency Minimum knee angle near midsupport Hyperextension at hip Ground contact time
the speed requirements of each sport (e.g., by using videotape analysis of games). In many cases it is likely that some attention will need to be given to the development of both short sprints requiring acceleration and maximumspeed sprinting. However, the focus of this article is on the differences between and requirements of short sprints from a stationary start and maximum-speed maximum-speed running.
Biomechanical Differences Between Short and Maximum Speed Sprints
Maximum speed can be improved by increasing either stride length or the number of strides performed in a second (stride frequency), and both of these factors increase as running speed increases (16, 17, 19). Although top speed running mechanics have been well research researched, ed, relative relatively ly little analysis has been conducted on short sprints. Nevertheless, Table 1 and Figure 1 indicate some general biomechanical characteristics of the 2 sprint phases. These differences have implications for the muscle groups and strength qualities that are important for performance in each phase. 8
Short sp sprint (e.g., 10 m)
Maximum speed
Forward lean Shorter Submaximum Smaller Smaller Longer
Upright Longer Maximum Larger Larger Shorter
Muscle Groups
One way to identify the important muscle groups for sprinting is to examine research that used electromyographic (EMG) recordings of muscle activity during sprinting. One study (8) found that knee extensor activity was very high in the first 5 m but diminished as the sprint progressed to 30 m. The hip extensors (gluteals and hamstrings) were also active at the start, and their contribution increased slightly as running speed increased. These findings suggest that the quadriceps are relatively more important for short sprints and the hip extensors are relatively more important for faster sprints. This may partly be because of the relatively greater range of motion at the knee in short sprints and greater hyperextension at the hip in maximumspeed sprinting. Vonstein (27) suggested that of the hip extensors, the hamstrings are more important than the gluteal muscle group for horizontal propulsion at maximum speed. The plantar flexors of the ankle (calf muscles) are very active in both types of sprints (8, 24). Another Another lower-body lower-body muscle muscle group important for sprinting is the hip flexors. This muscle group assists Strength and Conditioning Journal
Figure 1.
Body positions indicating one leg at the instants of touchdown and takeoff.
in pulling the leg forward in preparation for the next stride. A faster flexion at the hip and leg recovery is an advantage for maximum-speed running because it allows for a shorter stride time and, in turn, a higher stride frequency. Therefore, it is possible that powerful hip flexors are especially important for maximumspeed sprints. Another Another way to determine determine the the relative importance of various muscle groups is by examining correlations (relationships) between muscle strength/power— as determined by single-joint strength tests—with sprint performance. Although some studies have reported significant correlations between lower-body muscle strength measures with sprint performance (1, 23), others have not (1, 15). This conflict of results might be because sprinting in volves volves multip multiple-jo le-joint int motions motions with a precise coordination between various muscle groups, which is not assessed by single-joint tests that isolate muscles. Therefore, the relative importance of various lower-body muscle groups to sprinting performance is not totally clear, especially when short and maximum-speed sprints are considered separately. Although the importance of April 2001
Tabl e 2 Proposed Relative Importance of Muscle Groups to Sprint Performance
Figure 2.
The vertical vertical “lift” “lift” proproduced by the arm drive has a horizontal propulsive component when the body has a significant forward lean. Solid arrow indicates “lift” from arm drive; dotted arrow indicates horizontal component of the arm drive.
the leg muscles is generally well accepted, much less is known about the relative importance of other muscles, such as those that stabilize the pelvis, or the muscles that drive the arms. Evidence from EMG recordings has shown upper-body muscles to be activated to 60% of maximum when running at submaximum speeds (11). Although the the forward motion of 1 arm is countered by the backward movement of the other, the arm action contributes about 5–10% of the total vertical propulsion, or lift, during running, which is an ad vantage because it allows the leg drive to be directed more horizontally (12). A significant correlation between bench press power and 36.6-m sprint performance also supports the importance of the upper-body muscles (17). When the body has a pronounced forward lean, such as during a short sprint, the upward lift generated by the arms has a forward component, which can directly contribute to horizontal propulsion (12). This would suggest that the muscles that drive the arms may be relatively more April April 200 2001 1
Quadriceps Gluteals Hamstrings Calves Hip flexors Upper body Postural/stabilizing muscles
Short sprint (e.g., 10 m)
Maximum speed
**** **** ** *** **? ***? **?
** *** **** *** ***? **? **?
**** = Very important; *** = quite important; ** = important; * = minor importance; ? = unclear.
important for short sprints (Figure 2). In relation to pelvic and trunk stability, many muscles in this region must be strong enough to allow the large propulsive forces of the legs to be transmitted to the whole body body effectively effectively and to prepre vent excessi excessive ve spinal/pe spinal/pelvic lvic movemovements that could cause injury, but the amount of strength required is not known. The relative importance of various muscle groups to sprint performance is summarized in Table 2. Strength Qualities
Strength qualities are any qualities that contain a significant strength component and include maximum strength, speed strength, and strength endurance (30). Maximum strength refers to the capacity to exert force with no consideration for the rate of force production or the ability to sustain it. Speed strength has been defined many ways but is generally any quality possessing significant force and speed components. This explosive force production may be produced in concentric muscle actions (where the muscle shortens), or under eccentric-coneccentric-conStren Strengt gth h and Cond Condit itio ioni ning ng Journ Journal al
centric actions known as a stretch-shortening cycle (SSC). The ability to quickly quickly switch from an eccentric to a concentric muscle action in an SSC has been described as reactive strength (25, 26) and is believed to be a relatively specific quality (33). In a short sprint when forward lean is significant, the support leg drives backward in a “pushing” action. The leg extensors (gluteals, quadriceps, hamstrings, and calves) produce concentric actions as the body is propelled forward and upward. Although these actions are preceded by muscle stretching (eccentric actions), the eccentric loading is relatively low. When sprinting at top speed, stride length is greater, greater, and therefore an increased load may be expected on ground contact (16). In fact, it has been shown that eccentric forces increase with increasing running speeds (19). Further, maximum speed correlates significantly with performance in a drop jump test, which which is considered considered to be a measure measure of reactive reactive strength strength (22, 31), and the correlation increases with longer sprints (31). Therefore, Therefore, reactive reactive strength strength would would 9
Table Tabl e3 Proposed Relative Importance of Maximum Leg Strength and Speed Strength Qualities for Sprint Performance Short sprint (e.g., 10 m)
Maximum speed
* ** **** *
** * **** ***
Maximum strength Absolute Absolute Relative General speed strength Reactive strength
**** = Very important; *** = quite important; ** = important; * = minor importance.
seem to be relatively more important for maximum-speed sprinting than for short sprints. Generally explosive force qualities are important for all type of sprints, but it has been found that various tests of power correlate higher with longer sprints or maximum speed than with short sprints (2, 15, 32). Perhaps this is because because contact contact times times are are shorte shorter r (and therefore contraction speeds are faster) in maximum-speed sprints. The same same reasoni reasoning ng may suggest that maximum strength is relatively more important in short sprints, although this has not been found found (2, 32). Absolute Absolute maximum strength has been found to
correlate more with maximum speed than short sprinting speed (32), whereas maximum strength relative to body weight correlated more highly with sprint time to 2.5 m than absolute maximum strength (21). This seems logical since the first few strides in a sprint from a stationary position requires the need to overcome the inertia of the body, which demands higher levels of relative strength (strength divided by body weight). weight). Once Once the need to to acceleraccelerate diminishes, absolute strength may be more important. Despite some exceptions (5, 9), research generally supports a significant relationship between some measure of maximum leg strength and
sprinting speed (2, 7, 18, 22). Although the relationships between strength qualities and performance are not totally clear, Table 3 is an attempt to indicate the relative importance of maximum leg strength and speed strength for short and maximum speed sprints.
Implications for Selection of Resistance-training Exercises
The above needs analysis indicates that short sprints and maximum speed sprints have some what different requirements, which should should be reflec reflected ted in exerexercise selection. An exercise that is highly specific to short sprints may not be as specific for maximum-speed sprinting. For example, exercises that target the quadriceps more than the hip extensors (e.g., back squat to a 90° knee angle) would be more specific to short sprints than maximumspeed sprints. Conversely, exercises that strongly activate the gluteal and hamstring muscle groups (e.g., Romanian deadlift) would be more specific to maximum-speed sprinting. In relation to the development of strength qualities, plyometrics are particularly effective for the development of reactive strength (3, 10, 28, 33). Since reactive
Tabl e 4 Use of Specificity of Training During a Periodized Program
Training Training phase phase General preparation Specific preparation
Low (general) Medium
Precompetition Competition
High Very high
Transition Transition
10
Level of specificity emphasize emphasized d
Low
Major Major object objective ive of resist resistance ance training training ↑ Neuromuscular capacity, injury prevention ↑ Neuromuscular capacity, develop base qualities (e.g., maximum
strength) Convert base qualities to most important qualities (e.g., power) Refine and maintain most important qualities (e.g., simulate sprinting motion) Recovery, Recovery, rehabil rehabilitatio itation n
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Table Tabl e5 Nonspecific (General) Exercises for Both Short and Maximum-speed Sprinting Short sprint (e.g., 10 m)
Maximum speed
Parallel squats Deadlifts Machine hip extension/flexion Bench press Trunk stability stability exercises exercises
strength appears to be more important in maximum-speed sprints, plyometric training can be expected to be more beneficial for this type of sprinting. The only research to investigate this (6) did not demonstrate significant gains in maximum speed from plyometric training. It is difficult to explain this, but it could be related to many program variables, such as volume volume and intensity, intensity, rather rather than the ineffectiveness of the plyometric mode of training. One plyometric exercise that was not not used used in this this research research but that may be potentially useful for sprinting is speed bounding. This exercise requires the athlete to bound bound for both distance distance and speed speed and is relatively specific to the mechanics of maximum-speed sprinting (20, 29). Mero and Komi (20) conducted a biomechanical analysis on sprinting, speed bounding, bounding for distance, and hopping for distance. It was found that in speed bounding, the nature of the foot contact, ground contact times, horizontal velocity, stride length, and rate and power production were more similar to maximum sprinting than the other training exercises. Therefore, speed bounding is recom April April 200 2001 1
mended as a specific exercise for maximum-speed maximum-speed sprinting. Another exercise exercise that would appear to be potentially effective for the development of reactive strength specific to maximumspeed running is sprinting with a weighted weighted vest vest or belt. By adding adding a small amount of weight to the body, body, an increas increased ed ecce eccentri ntric c loadloading can be expected immediately after ground contact, thereby overloading the muscles that are required to quickly reverse the downward motion of the body. A potential training effect is a reduced ground contact time, which would would decreas decrease e stride stride time and increase stride frequency. Other popular training methods using a sled, parachute, or ropes to resist sprinting all oppose the horizontal component of the leg drive, rather than resisting the vertical movement. Therefore, these may be excellent for training general leg power, power, but a weighted vest/belt is recommended to specifically target reactive strength development for maximum-speed sprinting. Coaches should should experim experiment ent with the amount of resistance used with all of these methods, but it should not n ot be excessive excessive (13) because muscle muscle activation patterns have been found to differ more from sprinting as the load increases (14).
Specificity of Training
The training training principle principle of specificit specificity y is well accepted and suggests that for training to be effective, it should be similar to the demands of the sport. Generally, the more specific the training, the better the transfer to sports performance (33). However, in a periodized program, general or nonspecific training is also required to provide a base from which to attain higher levels of the most important qualities and for injury prevention, and the level of specificity of training should generally increase as the competitive peak approaches (Table 4). Based on the above, Ta bles 5, 6, and 7 indicate indicate some suggested exercises for training for short sprints and maximum speed according to exercise specificity. These are only examples examples that are based on the demands of sprinting. Coaches are advised to continually develop their repertoire of relevant exercises to use in the physical preparation for sprinting.
Conclusions
Differences in running mechanics and muscle involvement between short sprints and maximumspeed sprints have been identified. Although the quadriceps muscle group and relative strength appear
Tabl e 6 Medium Specificity Exercises for Sprinting Short sprint (e.g., 10 m) Half squats Single-leg sq squats/lunges Power clean/snatch from floor Push press Bench press throws
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Maximum speed Quarter squats High-speed hi hip fle flexion ma machine Romanian deadlift Single-leg squats/lunges Power clean/snatch from blocks Drop jumps/hurdle jumps (double leg) Bounding/hopping for distance Bench press throws
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Table Tabl e7 High and Very High Specificity Exercises for Sprinting Short sprint (e.g., 10 m) Sled sprints (standing start with medium load) Inclined sprints (stan tanding st start wi with me medium incline)
to be important for short sprints from a stationary start, the hamstring muscles and reactive strength are relatively more important for maximum-speed sprinting. This means that certain exercises and training methods can be selectively prescribed to improve sprinting performance, depending on the sprinting needs of the athlete.
References
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Young
Benton
Duthie
Pryor
Warren Warren You Young, ng, PhD, is Senior Lect Lectur urer er with with the the Scho School ol of Human Movement and Sport Sciences at the University of Ballarat in Victoria, Australia. Dean Benton, BAppSci, is with the School of Human Movement and Sport Sciences at the University of Ballarat in Victoria, Australia. Grant Duthie, BAppSci, is with the School of Human Movement and Sport Sciences at the University of Ballarat in Victoria, Australia. John Pryor, Pryor, MHSci, is with the School of Human Movement and Sport Sciences at the University of Ballarat in Victoria, Australia; and the Human Performance Laboratory at the Sydney Academy of Sport in Sydney, Australia.
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