The Need for Speed Series: Part 1

You only get out, what you put in.

April 1, 2020 adminUncategorized

There has never been an athlete who thought they were too fast. Therefore, there is
always the need for speed.  Whether you are looking to steal a base, score a try or run
a marathon; running is a skill that can be taught and running faster is a quality that can
be developed.

The National Strength & Conditioning Association (NSCA)  identifies the acceleration

phase, the top speed phase and the deceleration phase as the primary phases of
sprinting. 

 The acceleration phase as when the body gradually straightens, strides

lengthen and front-side mechanics are stressed (e.g., leg action that occurs in
front of the body). 
 With appropriate positioning,  the top speed phase is characterised by an
upright trunk, level head, and maximal hip height-approximately perpendicular
to the torso during a maximal-effort run.
 The deceleration phase allows athletes to transition between acceleration or
maximal velocity to change direction, based on what the sport dictates.

To develop the quality of “Running

Faster”, we need to develop the 4 P’s :
(as described by Loren Landow)
 Posture: A 45 degree lean during acceleration or upright during top speed
 Placement: Foot contact must be under the hips & pelvis
 Position: Ball of the foot contact with the ground
 Patterning: The ability to repeat P1-3 consistently

Within each of the 4 P’s, there are multiple

aspects:
 First up is the  biomechanical aspect  which relates to the force/speed
component of sprinting, that can limit even perfect mechanics.
 Watch the video below for more detailed information on the biomechanical
aspect.
 The coordination aspect   relates to all of the 4 P’s:
 o Do you have enough mobility to move to the positions needed and do
your muscles have enough flexibility to allow movement through the
necessary range of motion?
o Can you do these things repeatedly?
 The energetic aspect  relates to neuromuscular endurance as well as the
cardio-vascular endurance to repeat the movement as many times as needed for
the demands of your sport, to both perform and avoid injury. This is when many
soft tissue injuries (such as hamstring strains) occur in team sports-the inability
to run fast properly (regarding the biomechanical and coordination aspects of
speed), but trying to do so anyway, under extreme fatigue, due to the demand of
the scenario.

Acceleration Phase
There are 4 keys to maximising acceleration:
 Trunk/Torso Position: Body forward Lean to approx. 45°
 Foot Contact: Ball of foot, in line with hip joints
 Shin Angle at Foot Contact: Similar to body angle (45°)
o Hip at 90° Knee at 90°
 Ankle Position: Neutral Position, 0° Dorsiflexion, foot perpendicular to shin
 To run fast you need to spend less time on the ground and more time in the air.
Imagine if you will, that the ground is lava like  here . This is especially important
during the top speed phase,  which is characterised by an upright trunk, level
head, and maximal hip height-approximately perpendicular to the torso during a
maximal-effort run. 
 At top speed you need to touch as vertical as possible, so you don’t lose the
acceleration you’ve already created, this is why you need to imagine  “the
ground is lava”.  It requires preactivation,which is where you produce tension in
your muscles before you hit the ground, in order to rebound away from it.
 You also need to get your knees high during the  top speed phase-the higher
the knee, the more you can attack the ground to produce backwards force,
leading to increased speed due to more time in the air.

The keys to top speed are:

 Trunk/Torso Position: Upright posture-between 80-90° and the muscles of the
head, neck, shoulders, and upper extremities should remain relaxed.
 Foot Contact: Ball of foot, in line with hip joints
 Shin Angle at Foot Contact: Similar to body angle (80-90°)
o Hip at 90° Knee at 90°
 Ankle Position: Neutral Position, 0° Dorsiflexion, foot perpendicular to shin.
You may have noticed that these keys are
similar to those of the acceleration phase
discussed in part 1
and you would be exactly right. The main difference between  the acceleration phase
& top speed  is the angle you attack the ground, this is why with field sports our main
focus will be on acceleration and deceleration.

Why you ask?

Because in sprinting, the acceleration phases lasts at least 40 meters. In field sports
such as baseball, rugby league/union, soccer or AFL, you rarely get the chance to run
further than this due to the nature of the game and when you change direction, you
don’t start running with top speed mechanics straight away. For this reason, we
believe you will get the biggest performance benefits from improving your acceleration
phase.

Whether you are looking to steal a base,

score a try or run a marathon; running is a
skill that can be taught and running faster is
a quality that can be practiced-and practice
makes perfect
But like many skills, it takes practice and there are a lot of detailed components of
sprinting to get good at. In earlier posts we discussed the acceleration phase, top
speed phase and deceleration. We talked about the biomechanical, coordination &
energetic aspects of each of these phases.

But we can also break it down even further into

the phases of each stride.
 The drive phase  is defined by the NSCA as beginning when the ball of the lead
foot creates forceful contact with the surface and ends when the foot leaves the
surface.
 Your contact with the ground should be underneath the line of your hip joint
using the ball of your foot and should be a very forceful contact characterised
by extension (or straightening) of the hip, knee and ankle-termed  “triple
extension”.
 The drive phase should be as short as possible and is completed when the ball
of the foot leaves the ground.
 The recovery phase  of each stride begins as the ball of the lead foot separates
from the ground and continues until the foot returns back to the ground.
 An ideal recovery stride requires a specific sequence-you first bend your knee
and pull your heel towards your backside as quickly as possible.
 You then drive the heel forwards with the intention of keeping your foot higher
than the opposite knee.