Sprint Training by Holly Clark

Sprint Training by Holly Clark

The 100m sprint is often referred to as the easiest most complicated event in sport. It requires a specific combination of power, speed, flexibility, efficiency and technique. You have to be both aggressive and relaxed at the same time. Getting the balance wrong can be the difference between being world champion and going no further than club representation.

The main aim is to have the best possible strength to weight ratio, allowing maximal force production without carrying too much mass which can reduce movement efficiency.  A lean body mass is desirable to achieve this.

Traditionally, sprinters were short and powerful, allowing for a rapid stride frequency and minimal ground contact time. However more recently sprinters have been becoming taller and increasing their stride length as depicted by Powell's size (190 cm (6 ft. 3) tall, weighing 88 kg (14 stone). He has a stride length of 2.6 meters which allowed him to break Maurice Greene’s WR in 2005 which had stood for 6 years. You can see from the table below how sprinters’ physiques have changed over the years.

Name	PB	Height (cm)	Weight (kg)
Jesse Owens	10.3, 20.7 (1934-1936)	180	75
Carl Lewis	9.86 19.75 (1981-1993)	188	81
Ben Johnson	10.00 (1982-1999)	177	77
Linford Christie	9.87 (1984-1999)	188	92
Michael Johnson	10.09, 19.32 (1991-2000)	185	77
Maurice Greene	9.79 (1997-2004)	176	75
Asafa Powell	9.72 (2002-2015)	190	87
Justin Gatlin	9.74 19.57 (2002-2015)	185	83
Tyson Gay	9.69 19.58 (2005-2015)	180	77
Usain Bolt	9.58 19.19 (2004-2015)	196	94
Jason Smyth T13/12	10.22 20.94 (2005-2015)	177	72
Jonnie Peacock T44	10.48 (2006-2015)	178	73

Technique

When Michael Johnson was competing he was as near to the full marks model of sprinting as you could possibly get. He was so efficient when competing that it allowed him to be the first man to win Olympic Gold and set world records in both the 200m and 400m. Now when he is commentating he always mentions an athlete’s form and how it could be improved.

The key points of good technique are outlined below:

•          Driving out at a 45⁰ angle is most effective to get to top speed quickly
•          Head – straight forward and no lateral movement to maintain balance and technique
•          Arms – should be driving hard. Hand should rise no higher than the shoulder elbow bent at less than 90⁰. They should have no lateral movement as this will affect legs. Hands should be relaxed if closed to avoid causing tension. Shoulders should be down and relaxed
•          Core - steady holding body straight and allowing the most efficient transfer of forces through the hips
•          Legs – straight leg drive and high knee lift with no lateral movement. Knees should come high to allow increased stride length. Commonly see knees coming across the body which takes more time. Driving the ankle up the side of calf then out allows more force
•          Ankle dorsi-flexed pre plantar flexion to increase propulsion     
•          Keeping the muscles relaxed and not tensing up will help maintain good technique and reduce likelihood of injuries

Stride length v cadence

There has been much debate about whether to improve your speed you should increase your stride length or stride frequency. A study conducted by A J Murphy et al (2003) on the key determinants on acceleration have found that for early acceleration, participants had quicker times with reduce foot contact time and higher stride frequency. Over shorter distances, and particularly for games sports, it is therefore desirable to have high cadence to achieve maximal acceleration. The table below shows that over the first 30m, during acceleration, Bolt’s split times are no faster than the other athletes. Beyond this point however, when reaching maximal speed, Bolt’s stride length gives him the advantage. It takes him 41 strides to run 100m compared to Dwaine Chambers who takes 43 or 44. Bolt’s stride length is on average 20cm longer than the rest of the field according to research conducted by Maćkała Krzysztof and Antti Mero (2013).

Therefore, it is advantages to have higher cadence in the early stages of a race to accelerate quickly but beyond this point a longer stride length is more advantageous.

	Ben ‘88	Carl ‘88	Asafa ‘05	Bolt ‘08
RT	0.132	0.136	0.104	0.165
0-10m	1.83	1.89	1.89	1.85
10-20m	1.04	1.07	1.02	1.02
20-30m	0.93	0.94	0.92	0.91
30-40m	0.86	0.89	0.86	0.87
40-50m	0.84	0.86	0.85	0.85
50-60m	0.83	0.83	0.85	0.82
60-70m	0.84	0.85	0.84	0.82
70-80m	0.85	0.85	0.84	0.82
80-90m	0.87	0.86	0.85	0.83
90-100m	0.9	0.88	0.85	0.9
Time	9.79	9.92	9.77	9.69

Warmup

Needed with every sport.

What you do should be kept consistent so that when you come to competition you know what you are doing and help reduce any anxiety. For most sprinters a warm up can take from 15-25 minutes depending on the weather conditions and how they are feeling.

You may follow standard RAMP (Raise, Activate, Mobilise, Prepare) procedure or be adapted to a Dynamic movement circuit completed over 20-30m.

You should focus on technique when completing the drills as they help to develop muscle memory through rewiring the CNS (Central nervous system) to make it fire faster and more effectively which benefits you in both training and races.  Drills may seem simple and boring but if done properly can really enhance your technique, posture and overall performance. 

Resisted Sprints

Hills and using sleds are forms of resisted sprint training. They are brilliant ways to develop muscular strength, drive phase, power and technique. They will also improve your resilience as they are hard work and often a stomach emptier!

A study conducted on Rugby players by Harrison, Andrew Burke and Gillian in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning found that using sleds significantly decreased the time taken to complete the first 5m of a 30m sprint, showing the benefits for a sprint start.

Having a good arm drive is extremely important for hill training, as the more you drive your arms, the more your knees are encouraged to lift, increasing stride length, which you need to get up the hill.

Using a trail hill where the surface underneath is unsteady will also provide additional strength to the muscles and tendons of the ankle and thus help reduce the likelihood of any injuries.

The length of the hill should be relative to the distance that you are training for.  For up to 200m the hill shouldn’t take you longer than 60seconds to complete depending on the gradient. The steeper the hill the more powerful you are required to be.

An example session would be 8x45s steep hill with a walk/jog down recovery. Controlling this recovery time is essential; 90seconds to 2minutes is more than adequate for this session.

To improve endurance you should reduce recovery time and ensure that you jog down. For more powerful sessions, rest for up to 4 minutes between each rep.

Intervals

Fast interval training is a signature part of any sprint program. Known by many as HIIT training, the benefits spread to all sports and those who just want to keep fit. The times and distances vary throughout the season. Winter training to develop speed endurance would include 8x60s:60s or 2x4x200m 2min rep recovery and 5 min set recovery. Pure speed work would be a lot shorter with longer recover such as 3x3x60m 3min rep recovery 5 min set recovery. Typically 2 sessions will be completed a week alongside 1 resisted sprint session and a circuit session.

Strength training

A good weights programme is needed to help optimise an athlete’s performance. For sprinters this will commonly include Olympic lifts such as cleans, squats, deadlifts, walking lunges and step-ups. Single leg work and exercises for foot strength are also necessary to help reduce the likelihood of injury.

A study conducted by U Wisloff et al in the British Journal of Sports Medicine (2004) has found strong correlation between maximal strength in half squats (90⁰ knee angle) and sprint performance and jump height and concluded that the maximal strength squat determined sprint performance. This therefore gives reason to be performing squats and developing maximal leg strength in the gym to improve 30m sprint time.

Upper body strength work should also be in the program to improve arm drive, however this must not be done in excess as this can give unnecessary muscle mass to carry. For example doing 30 second arm drive sprints holding light weights is a great way to build the dynamic strength needed to race.

Core strength is really important. Having a strong core allows forces to be transferred through the body most efficiently. It also avoids any unwanted rotations or movements which would both waste energy and reduce streamlines.

Key part is also plyometric training. These prepare the body for the powerful sprint start and for ground contact. Reducing ground contact time is important for speed. Care must be taken especially if you have a history of bad shins or ankles.

Circuit training

As part of my training I use individual load circuit training once a week, usually 3x30:10s W:R with 12-16 stations. The circuit is for general conditioning although I also use it focus on technique and areas that I find are weak.

Recovery

Very important and necessary for improvements in performance to occur! It is often said that “rest is not a four letter word” and as with many sports, people may find it requires more discipline to rest than to do their sessions due to their competitive nature. Rest must be specific! Water and nutrition intake must also be maintained.

Periodisation

The traditional Matveyev model for sprint training is a Long to short program where the athlete performs slower aerobic work and anaerobic work at the beginning of the training year to build endurance and strength and then progresses to faster anaerobic work towards competition.

The other model put forward by Coach Charlie Francis is the Short to long approach where you do more speed work in the winter and gradually increase the distance.

There is not a one size fits all, you need to find the training that works best for you. Personally I have found for myself that the long to short suits me better as the HIIT training involved offers more calorie burn and helps keep me lean. From speaking to other female athletes they have had a similar experience. The short to long method in my opinion is more suited to the highly trained and for those only competing in 60m and 100m sprints or is your first sprint training program.

Other sports

Michael Jonson has set up MJ Performance (MJP) which assists professionals and junior sports people improve their speed, strength, suppleness, stamina and skill which compliments the technical work they do in other sports. The Global Performance director has justified the use of their program saying that “98% of what happens on a football pitch is without the ball…it is very uncommon for any player to have the ball at their feet for more than two minutes”. This has been recognised by several clubs including Manchester United, Arsenal and FC Dallas.

Football:

Adam Gemili of GB competed in the 100m at the 2012 World Junior Championships in Athletics in Barcelona getting winning time of 10.05s: a new championship record. He is a former football player (defence) for league 2 side Dagenham & Redbridge having spent seven years in the youth academy at Chelsea from the age of 8. In 2012 he decided to focus fully on athletics.

Bolt spent his time as a child playing cricket and football and it was his high school cricket coach who noticed his speed on the pitch and urged him to try track and field events. He also did a training session with Cristiano Ronaldo in 2009 to help him with his sprinting technique.

American Football:

Gatlin reportedly planned to serve his four-year ban playing American football. ESPN reported in November 2006 that he had worked out with the Houston Texans, despite his little football experience. In May 2007 The Tampa Bay Buccaneers announced that Gatlin was one of 28 free agents taken to their 2007 rookie camp on tryout contracts. He tried out for the team as a wide receiver although was unsuccessful.

Rugby Union:

Carl Isles was ranked 36th fastest sprinter in the US in 2012 (10.24). He has since changed to rugby Union 7s and has since been dubbed “Fastest man in American Rugby” (Rugby Mag). He now plays for Glasgow Warriors. Similarly English Schools’ champion: sprinter Tyrese Johnson-Fisher has followed in a similar path reaching the NatWest Vase rugby final with his school, despite clocking 10.91 seconds for the 100m, the fastest ever time for a boy of his age in Britain (Sport 360).

Rugby League:

Studies conducted showed that the majority (67.5%) of sprints completed during a rugby league game were over <20m, and 78.7% of sprints were done without the ball. This suggests that players could benefit from doing technique work to improve their efficiency. Also they benefit more from acceleration work due to the nature of the distance usually sprinted. (Sprinting patterns of National Rugby League Competition Gabbat, Tim J)

  

Why you should sprint

Having innate speed and acceleration gives you a great advantage in many games sports. Sprint training helps to benefit this by improving technique and thus your efficiency.

Sprint training methods have also been recognised for their health benefits with the likes of HIIT training becoming a common method used by many now.

References

-          Gabbet, Tim J Sprinting Patterns of National Rugby league Competition 2012

-          U Wisloff, C Castagna, J Helgerud, R Jones, J Hoff Strong correlation of maximal squat strength with sprint performance and vertical jump height in elite soccer players 2004

-          Aron J Murphy, Robert G Lockie and Asron J Coutts Kinematic Determinants of early acceleration in field sport athletes 2003

-          Harrison, Andrew J; Bourke, Gillian The effect of resisted sprint training on speed and strength performance in male rugby players

-          Maćkała Krzysztof and Antti Mero A Kinematics Analysis Of Three Best 100 M Performances Ever 2013

If you wish to contact Holly about Sprint Training please use her email below;

hollyc.94@hotmail.co.uk

Andrew Richardson, Founder of Strength is Never a Weakness Blog

I have a BSc (Hons) in Applied Sport Science and a Merit in my MSc in Sport and Exercise Science and I passed my PGCE at Teesside University. 

Now I will be commencing my PhD into "Investigating Sedentary Lifestyles of the Tees Valley" this October 2019. 

I am employed by Teesside University Sport and WellBeing Department as a PT/Fitness Instructor.  

My long term goal is to become a Sport Science and/or Sport and Exercise Lecturer. I am also keen to contribute to academia via continued research in a quest for new knowledge.

My most recent publications: 

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1752928X19300216

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1752928X19301076 

My passion is for Sport Science which has led to additional interests incorporating Sports Psychology, Body Dysmorphia, AAS, Doping and Strength and Conditioning. 

Within these respective fields, I have a passion for Strength Training, Fitness Testing, Periodisation and Tapering. 

I write for numerous websites across the UK and Ireland including my own blog Strength is Never a Weakness. 

I had my own business for providing training plans for teams and athletes. 

I was one of the Irish National Coaches for Powerlifting, and have attained two 3rd places at the first World University Championships, 

in Belarus in July 2016.Feel free to email me or call me as I am always looking for the next challenge. 

Contact details below; 

Facebook: Andrew Richardson (search for)

Facebook Page: @StrengthisNeveraWeakness

Twitter: @arichie17 

Instagram: @arichiepowerlifting

Snapchat: @andypowerlifter 

Email: a.s.richardson@tees.ac.uk

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-richardson-b0039278 

Research Gate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Andrew_Richardson7