The use of treadmills for sprint training has been a topic of big debate. Here's a funny video for all you opponents of the motorized belt running:Last year, I did a mini-blog series on sprinting on treadmills. You can view it here:Part 1Part 2Part 3Part 4Part 5 [...]

I lost track a bit when I was in Abu Dhabi on the current stats in regard to hamstring pulls in MLB. On doing a little checking it appears that gravity is still undefeated. Just a tongue and cheek reminder to keep religiously doing those hamstring curls, supplemented by Ham/Glute raises and be sure to add a heavy dose of pre-game static stretching especially when it is cold. If you want to add a l [...]

Here's a great blog entry by Chris Sparling from thatsfit.com:Step in any gym in any city in any state in this entire country andyou're sure to find the same people. Of course not the exact samepeople, but the same types of people. Though their accents may differwhen they yell their rep count out loud and their music selection mayvary as it blares through their oversized headphones, these [...]

Some Closing Pros and Cons of Treadmill Running:Pros:Provides constant or controllable climate conditions.Can be instrumented with biomechanical analysis equipment potentially providing valuable kinetic or kinematic data.Shock dampening surface…softer surfaces should reduce the risk of injury. High speed treadmills permit an athlete to work top end speed independently of acceleration a [...]

I actually forgot about this series....shame on me. I had written it up and forgot to post it. Here's the fourth installment of this series. We'll start again with anoher question. Are there any scenarios when you would want or need to use a treadmill?I think they are. I know many would flame me for this but I think there can be situations where a treadmill can be a great training tool. He [...]

In the third installment of my blog series on the use of treadmills for sprint training, I'd like to address an issue that is often held as gospel by many on the anti-treadmill side of the aisle. Because the issue isn't super clear-cut we'll look at it in the form of a question. Does performing sprint training on a treadmill negatively affect sprint mechanics for overground running?I&r [...]

Yesterday I started a five-part blog series on treadmills. In the first installment I looked at whether there were mechanical differences between treadmill and overground running. If you haven’t read the blog, the answer is yes there are differences, and these differences are magnified at higher velocities. Now let’s look at the second question of the series:Given that there are differ [...]

I was recently asked to put together a blog on the pros and cons of treadmill running. This is a topic that receives much debate on the various track message boards and also in the scientific community. Proponents of treadmills, such as Athletic Republic (formerly Frappier Acceleration) believe it provides a safe means of training athletes for speed and can provide benefits that overground running [...]

If you want to pull hamstrings then spend a lot of time focused on training the hamstring muscles in isolation. Do hamstring curls at least twice a week and try to fit in another day if possible. Be sure to go as heavy as you can and really emphasize the eccentric phase by slowing down the lowering action. If you do not have one, go out and buy a $400 ham/glute machine and add that into the progra [...]

 To The Honorable Mike, Carl and the unknown but debating "West58"I have some questions and some concerns with the Weyland study being discussed.1. I understand that much of the information came from treadmill running...2. While I don't object to the premise:Faster Top Running Speeds are Achieved with Greater Ground Reaction Forces not More Rapid Leg Movements  I do have co [...]