No matter the sport, speed is one of the most important factors in performance. But in order to train speed you have to understand what speed is and the many forms it comes in. On this episode Vern discusses speed, tips on developing speed, the role of speed drills, and more.
This Episode’s Question: What is speed and how do we train it?
I started a new series last month called the Sports Science Monthly with the goal of translating the latest sports science research into information that coaches can use. In this month’s edition we take a look at five new topics ranging from sled pulls to sleep patterns. The full Sports Science Monthly is available exclusively to HMMR Plus Members, however we have included the first overview free to everyone below. Sign up now to read about all the research. To get an idea of what Sports Science Monthly is all about, our April 2016 edition is available in its entirety for free. Read more
Recently publisher Ultimate Athlete Concepts and Yosef Johnson put together a series of interviews with Dr. Anatoli Bondarchuk on a wide range of topics. UAC is the top publisher of Soviet training content. They have published four books by Bondarchuk, and have new titles coming out soon too including his next book which is now available for pre-order (all these books, as well as titles from other Soviet authors, are available for purchase in the HMMR Media Bookstore). I’ve put together some highlights of the recent interview below and categorized them into five topics: individualizing training, individualizing periodization, transfer of training, long-term development and implementing change in training. Please note that I have made some grammatical corrections in the quotes, but have kept the underlying message intact in all cases. You can also find the full video interviews at the end of the post. Enjoy! Read more
Separating out deceleration as a separate training component is a fantasy. You have to accelerate to decelerate. It is essential a closed loop as illustrated by the performance paradigm. Certainly deceleration is where most injuries and performance errors occur but to try to isolate it just creates another step that will just confuse the body. Read more
Gary Winckler is one of the top sprint and hurdle coaches in the world and also one of the most thoughtful and intelligent coaches out there. In 2008 Winckler retired after 23 years as a coach at the University of Illinois. During that time he coached over 300 All-Americans and more than a dozen Olympians. On this episode of the GAINcast Winckler explains the performance influences that led to his success as a coach. Read more
Words of wisdom on speed from Gennadi Touretski, although written for swimming this applies to all sports “Speed is everything. Read more
Last week the Rugby Strength Coach Podcast sat down with one of our contributors, Craig Pickering. Host Keir Wenham-Flatt from Argentina Rugby talked with Craig aboud the link between high performance and sports science, his experiences as an athlete, and his transition from one sport to another. You can listen to the whole episode here: Read more
Pat Connolly has been at the top of the sport both as an athlete and as the coach of top sprinters like Evelyn Ashford and Allyson Felix. On Wednesday I posted the first part of my interview with her, where we discussed her general philosophy, the importance of repetition, and specific training methods. In this part she continues to discuss mental training, the differences in coaching men and women. We finished by getting her thoughts on doping. Having been involved in the sport since steroids were first introduced, Pat was one of the first vocal anti-doping advocates, having even testified in front of Congress to lobby for support. But the sport has evolved and so have her thoughts on the issue, which she describes below. Read more
Readers of this site should know the name Harold Connolly. He was not just the last American to win gold in the hammer throw, but also a global celebrity in the 1950s as he overcame adversity to reach the top of his sport for more than a decade. After he retired from throwing he continued as a coach, mentor, and strong advocate for the hammer throw until his untimely death in 2010. What hammer throwers might not realize, however, was that despite all of Harold’s accomplishments was not even the most successful coach in his own household. That title belong to his wife: Pat Connolly. Read more
There has been an explosion of data in sport over the past few years, but if you look at it the data centers on two areas: what happens on the field and what happens in the weight room. These are areas where data has always been readily available, and new technologies often focus on acquiring even more detailed and tangential data in these areas. What is ignored in this whole process is the huge gap between the field and the weight room. Historically not much data has been available in that gap, but if data collection is about finding data that we can use to improve training, then why are we ignoring a crucial element of training like specific strength training? Read more
