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 

Strength Training: For Hammer Throwing V Powerlifitng by Scott Thompson former GB International Hammer Thrower.

Scott practising the Hammer Throw

I have been asked to write an article by my good friend Andrew Richardson for his blog. The subject to show the differences between how I trained when I was a Great Britain International hammer thrower, and how I train now as a powerlifter.

A bit of background first. I represented Great Britain at hammer throwing when I was 18. I was training 6 times per week, how that was comprised varied depending upon the time of year and whether we were peaking for a major championship or not. I was regarded as very strong amongst hammer throwers of my age and size. In the gym my 1RM’s were as follows.

Squat 280kg/Deadlift 280kg/Snatch 125kg/Clean and Jerk 145kg at a bodyweight of 95kg.

Outside of the gym other notable statistics were.

30m sprint 3.79seconds/standing longjump 2.95m/Overhead Shot putt 18.96m

Shot Putt 14.75m/Discus 42.74/Hammer 60.62m

Its fair to say that whilst I train very hard for powerlifting, training for hammer throwing was much more intense. It was more all encompassing. Whilst powerlifting is in my opinion the single greatest test of pure strength, hammer throwing required many different attributes, chiefly, speed, timing, rhythm, technical ability and power. Anyone who has competed in or trained for a power based sport will be well aware that one of the basic principles of increasing power output is to increase base strength. With that in mind, the weight training we did was a mixture of powerlifting and weightlifting with a whole host of weird and wonderful assistance lifting thrown into the mix for event specific strength.

I won’t go into peaking cycles and variations as I would be here all week. What I will do is present a standard 4 phase cycle that we would work from and this is what would be adjusted in order to achieve a peak performance at a given competition. One of the main differences between powerlifting and athletics is the season. In athletics the season pretty much lasts 4 to 4 ½ months (Mid April-End August). Powerlifting presents a different challenge in that competitions are spread throughout the year meaning a number of peaking cycles would be needed often quite close together.

The other big differences between the training for both sports are as follows.

Need for Speed. Hammer throwing is a very fast and dynamic event. The basic laws of physics dictate that the faster your hammer head speed at the greatest radius will result in the greatest distances thrown. In powerlifting however, there is no requirement for speed. There are no extra marks for completing the lift quickly.

Power. To achieve increased speed in the hammer circle you have to generate more power. As you increase that power output the centripetal forces on the body increase. To be able to handle these increased forces requires greater base strength. Ironically powerlifting is curiously misnamed. Power is not the primary requirement of powerlifting. Gross strength is.

Training variation. I’m a big believer that to get better at powerlifting, you should powerlift. Yes there will be carry over from other activity but predominantly a better squat will come from squatting. With hammer throwing, you will improve simply by throwing as that will improve technique, timing, rhythm and so on, but that improvement will very quickly reach a plateau unless you incorporate other training methods.

So what did a standard training year look like in hammer throwing terms?

When the season finished at the end of August we would have a month of active rest. This could mean a months of different sports played recreationally, things like badminton, rugby, squash, swimming etc. Basically anything that kept the body active but was a complete departure from our regular training. October heralded the start of winter training. The first 2 months revolved largely around basic conditioning work. A typical week would look something like this

Monday/Wednesday/ Weights                                All at 60-70%1RM 5x8

Squat/Snatch/C&J/Deadlift/Military Press/Squat Stepup

Tuesday/Thursday Circuits          30 seconds per station, 15 stations x5 completed circuits

Pressup/Situp/Shuttle run/Bench straddle jumps/Burpees/Back Hyperextension/leg raises/Russian twist/high box jumps/Med ball overhead throws/med ball football throws/med ball hammer deliveries/med ball discus/med ball push pass/bear walks

Friday Rest

Saturday Throwing drills and track work (200m at 70% speed x 10 with walk back recovery x3 sets)

Sunday Throwing up to 50 throws with standard weight hammer.

At the beginning of December we would move into a gross strength phase. Circuits were ditched from training. They were replaced with lots of throwing heavy implements. Throwing sessions comprised of throwing overweight hammers. Typically training would look like this.

Monday Weights             5x3@90%1RM

Squat/Snatch/C&J/Deadlift/Military Press

Tuesday/Thursday Heavy Implement Throws    All x20

56lb for height/56lb for distance/56lb hammer deliveries to each side

Wednesday Weights     10x1@95%1RM

Squat/Snatch/C&J/Deadlift/Military Press

Friday Rest

Saturday Throwing Drills

Sunday Heavy Implement Throws (9kg and 10kg Hammers)

This phase lasted until the end of January, before moving into a power phase which would take us up to the end of March. For power acquisition sprints and plyometric exercises were introduced, hammer throwing sessions returned to standard weight implements (7.26kg Hammer) and one session of weights was reduced in intensity. It would generally comprise the following.

Monday Weights             3x5@80%1RM

Squat/Snatch/Powercleans/Deadlift/Jump Squat

Tuesday Plyometrics

3ft Hurdle bounds (3 hurdles)/Standing Longjump 3x6/Standing triple jump 3x6/30m sprints (walkback recovery) 3x6

Wednesday Weights     5x3@90%1RM

Squat/Snatch/C&J/Deadlift/Military Press

Thursday Plyometrics

High Hurdle Bound 3’6” x20 singles/Depth Jumps x20 singles/30m sprints/Med Ball catchpass (start the action of throwing back with a chest push as you catch it from being thrown at you) 3x10/Med ball twisting catchpass 3x10

Friday Rest

Saturday/Sunday Throwing x40 throws standard implement.

In the middle and end of this phase we would complete a test quadrathlon. This is a simple test of power output. It involves four events (30m sprint/Standing Longjump/Standing 3long jumps/overhead shot putt) standardised score sheets were used and your performance in each discipline was recorded for each of 3 attempts and the best effort converted into a points score. This gave an easy reference point to see how you were improving in terms of power output. There were ranking lists of athletes from all events in Britain and it was interesting to note that throwing athletes were often the highest performing in this test.

With the first competitions of the season now rapidly approaching we would introduce a speed phase. This would last up to a month. It was fundamentally aimed at sharpening up and improving timing at higher rotational speeds. Weights remained at 2 sessions per week but reverted to lighter loads and moderate reps with the emphasis on performing each repetition as fast as possible. Plyometrics and sprints were retained and underweight hammers were incorporated into throwing sessions. Standard weight hammers were also used but the light implements started and finished each session. It would look like this.

Monday/Wednesday Weights  5x5@75-80%

Squat/Snatch/Powerclean/Deadlift/High Pulls

Tuesday Plyometrics

3ft Hurdle bounds (3 hurdles)x5/Standing Longjump 3x3/Standing triple jump 3x3/30m sprints (walkback recovery) 3x5

Thursday Plyometrics

High Hurdle Bound 3’6” x10 singles/Depth Jumps x10 singles/30m sprints 3x5/Med Ball catchpass 3x5/Med ball twisting catchpass 3x5

Friday Rest

Saturday Throwing          x10@5kg Hammer          x20 7.26kg Hammer        x10 5kg Hammer

Sunday Throwing             x10@4kg Hammer          x20@7.26kg Hammer    x10@5kg Hammer

Following this phase we would move into a maintenance phase. Sessions dropped to 5x per week or 4 if I was competing on a weekend. The competition being regarded as the 5^th session. Maintenance largely reverted back to the power phase. The only difference being one of the plyometrics sessions was dropped in favour of a further throwing session but 30metre sprints and 10metre sprint starts would complete that throwing session. On approach to a major competition of which there were really maybe 2 in a season. We would incorporate some more speed work in the two weeks leading up to it. This would carry on through to the end of the season and once more break during September for active rest.

There were a number of variations within the training I have outlined above, things such as circuit training sessions could be mixed up to include less stations but performed in given rep ranges. Its worth mentioning that crossfitters will be familiar with the rep range 21/15/9. Not wanting to upset anyone but this is not a new invention. We regularly performed this rep range as far back as 1989.

When it comes to powerlifting, I have to be completely honest and say that I incorporate no speed specific work in my programmes. I see no real need for it. Instead I work on performing each lift at the same speed, whether it is higher volume conditioning work or higher intensity strength acquisition training. It is my belief that performing every lift at the same tempo has greater relevance. I feel that the body responds better to maintaining that one familiar aspect of the lift when the weight being lifted is variable.

2 years ago when I started my powerlifting journey I tested my 1RM’s and they were frankly pitiful (when considering what I had lifted in my youth). Squat 150kg, bench press 90kg and Deadlift 170kg at a bodyweight of 119kg. I hadn’t set foot in a weights room for almost 18 years so I really shouldn’t have been surprised by this but I was. My first programme was to embark on a basic 5x5 linear progression programme. This worked very well and 6 months later my 1RM’s stood at Squat 215kg Bench Press 130kg and Deadlift 235kg (a bit more respectable). I then tried a number of programmes such as The Cube, 5,3,1 etc. These had very little impact on my 1RM’s and whilst squat and bench press were ticking over I tried out Smolov Jr for deadlifts. I was advised this was not a particularly smart idea for deadlifts but being the stubborn sort I went ahead. 3 weeks later, 717 reps and 115,000kgs total load lifted I was a broken man. I needed 2 weeks rest to recover but my Deadlift 1RM had increased to 275kg a frankly ridiculous increase. Following this I suffered a degenerative shoulder problem that required surgery. This sidelined me for 6 months in total. I was able to get back in the gym and really only Deadlift. Decreased shoulder mobility hampered getting under the bar on squat and atrophy of my shoulder meant bench press was back to 60kg. As a result of this I elected to concentrate on Deadlift and competing in Deadlift only competitions within the WDFPF. Earlier this month I won the WDFPF world singlelifts world championships for Deadlift in the M1 145kg Class with a world record lift of 280kg. I have now started to concentrate on full power. I firmly believe my neglect of squats has slowed my progress on Deadlift. My bench is back up to 120kg squat stands at 200kg and Deadlift 280kg as stated.

One of the main problems I have had slowing my progression is the fact that since getting back to training following my surgery I have had to run peaking cycles repeatedly as there has not been enough time in between competitions to schedule any other type of cycle and expect to perform well in competition. Now that World champs has passes I have a good amount of time to build some good strength gains before my next peaking cycle. I have elected to break this up into 2 phases. A base or conditioning phase lasting 4 weeks followed by a strength acquisition phase of 8 weeks. Following this I will then go into a 7 week peaking cycle up to YNE Masters in November. I have outlined these phases below.

Base/Conditioning          

Main lifts all 5x8@65%1RM Assistance 5x8 (failure would occur on 9^th rep)

Monday Squat and assistance

Tuesday Bench and assistance

Wednesday Assistance work (Kettlebell complex and HIIT)

Thursday Bench and Assistance (this bench session is ultrahigh volume 100 reps at a given weight in as few sets as possible).

Friday Deadlift and assistance

Saturday/Sunday Rest

One thing I’ve become acutely aware of in the 2 years since starting powerlifting is how much recovery I need between different types of session. I can only squat and Deadlift once a week each, bench however I can do twice a week and still make progress. Regarding assistance lifts, I concentrate on exercises relevant to the main lift of that particular session. I will typically include 6 assistance lifts per session and always finish a session with a core based movement.

Once the base phase is complete I move into the strength acquisition phase. This will last 8 weeks and as it progresses, reps drop as percentages increase but number of sets remains unchanged, The layout will remain the same with squats, bench and Deadlift on the same days as the base phase. Assistance lifts will remain the same and always working to failure on the plus1 rep, so it will look like this.

Week 1                 Main Lifts 5x5@80%        Assistance 6x6

Week 2                 Main lifts 5x5@80%         Assistance 6x6

Week 3                 Main lifts 5x5@85%         Assistance 6x6

Week 4                 Main lifts 5x5@85%         Assistance 6x6

Week 5                 Main lifts 5x3@90%         Assistance 6x6

Week 6                 Main lifts 5x3@90%         Assistance 6x6

Week 7                 Main lifts 5x2@95%         Assistance 6x6

Week 8                 Main lifts 5x2@95%         Assistance 6x6

Following this I will be lifting at the European single lifts championship in Italy. This gives a nice deload following this phase before I move into a pure peaking cycle. The peaking cycle starts with relatively low loads and moderate volume but ramps up as the competition approaches so by the final week I will be working up to one set of a heavy double on each lift.

As I mentioned at the beginning. The type of training I undertook for athletics was in my view much more intense, but then I feel it had to be given all of the elements that were required to be brought together for optimum performance. Whereas today I train powerlifting purely for powerlifting, as a hammer thrower, powerlifting was a small but vitally important aspect of a broader training system. Its interesting to note that with the exception of Deadlift, my strength levels today haven’t yet approached the levels I was at back then (bench press doesn’t count as we never trained it). But I have to accept Iam older and cannot train the same way and expect to recover.

I know a number of lifters who incorporate speed training into their schedules, and this can be beneficial in some cases. Possibly to help break through a plateau by increasing speed in a given part of a lift meaning you are past a sticking point before it sticks. I reserve judgement on that, however I will say that introducing speed and power based training into a powerlifting programme would not in my view be detrimental in any way. I can only comment on my own experience and it doesn’t benefit my lifts to the same extent as consistent tempo at any load does.

So to summarise, both methods of training would appear to be equally effective in gaining gross strength if you can gloss over the obvious age difference between times each system was employed. Other factors that must be considered are physical condition. I was all round much fitter and capable of undertaking a wider variety of sports with ease during my athletics days. I played rugby to a good standard, cricket, Brazilian jiu jitsu among others. Nowadays my training being very powerlifting specific means I am much less dynamic and would fair much worse if I was to attempt the sports I have just mentioned. It is my assertion that the development of power and speed will enable someone to be more effective at a range of sports/activities but not necessarily powerlifting specifically. However, one of the great benefits of powerlifting is the acquisition of gross strength, it is much easier to build up a level of power when you have a developed strength base than it is when you are weak. So it’s reasonable to assume that if I was to alter my training to include more dynamic movements and speed phases my power output would increase fairly rapidly.

Scott Thompson

Thank you Scott for an enjoyable read

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