Elitetrack: Sport Training & Conditioning

Wow. Tough gig this one! (did that smiley come out right?)
For those of us blessed with the ability to run fast, I’m jealous. Perhaps they are born with an abundance of fast twitch fibre, and an ability (skill) to be able to selectively recruit those fibres early or even simultaneously, or an ability to relax the antagonist muscle quickly. Therefore for them, faster running speed probably correlates with faster leg cycling. For those not so fortunate or skilled, we may need to practice moving our limbs faster in leg cycling (or leg kicking-Chu & Korchemny 1989)to refine the skill.
No doubt some of you are posing the question that strength training will result in faster backward acceleration of the thigh.
Here’s my question: which do you think is better for improving baseball pitching speed throwing a heavier baseball, throwing the correct weight baseball, or throwing an underweight baseball?

Sleep well.

Which method improves baseball pitching speed the most?
DeRenne et al. (2001) says that specific resistance training with light and heavyweighted baseballs may be the single best method to increase throwing velocity. Studies in 1985 and 1990 showed that greater improvements were seen when throwing a normal weighted baseball from training with the lighter weighted balls which realised greater movement velocities. Furthermore, the conclusion reached by DeRenne and colleagues is that peak force output of fast-contracting muscle fibres can be 4 times greater than that of slow fibres, and that highly specific fast movements could recruit and fire these high-threshold fast muscle fibres (Bloomfield 1990, Sherman 1981). Similar results in European handball were seen after training with underweighted handballs (Van Muijen 1991, Skoufas 2003).
In terms of sprinting (and leg cycling), training by “throwing” the leg backward in leg cycling could be described as a highly specific underweighted fast movement. In addition, training movements to facilitate this would not be limited to leg cycling. In fact, leg cycling was brought up only as one movement specific exercise similar to top speed sprinting and much like (underweighted) sprint bounding. Hopefully this has given you some understanding of where my theories originated. Furthermore, you can now double up as baseball pitching coaches.

Jeremy, I thought you might be interested to know that the Inno-Sport system has had this type of work incorporated into it for some time now in the form of RFI Trampoline Sprints. The ROM is similar to that seen at MaxV but the turnover is in excess of 6 strides per second.

The second exercise “RFI Upright Tramp Sprints” is what I’m referring to:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UsmYTFNxBEg

Great minds think alike! Scary really because those techniques are so close to the actual techniques used in my Rapid Dynamic Training protocol. I’m particularly interested in why you do the low trampoline sprints. Have you noticed any effect of this on any particular aspect related to sprinting because it is executed at the extreme end range of motion at the periphery of the forward swing and start of the down/back swing of the leg? Is the intention similar in concept to the article on Isometrics posted in this website somewhere?
Also what does RFI + RA stand for?

Cheers

RJ, further to the previous correspondence, the discussion on isometric training I’m referring to can be found in the forum on “isometrics for athletes” in the Strength and Conditioning section. The discussion is about a paper by WD Bandy.

Jeremy Richmond - 14 April 2008 02:58 PM

Great minds think alike! Scary really because those techniques are so close to the actual techniques used in my Rapid Dynamic Training protocol. I’m particularly interested in why you do the low trampoline sprints. Have you noticed any effect of this on any particular aspect related to sprinting because it is executed at the extreme end range of motion at the periphery of the forward swing and start of the down/back swing of the leg? Is the intention similar in concept to the article on Isometrics posted in this website somewhere?
Also what does RFI + RA stand for?

Cheers

The main purpose behind trampoline sprints of both kinds is actually to increase extensibility (the relaxation of antagonistic muscle groups at the correct moment) as well as contraction and relaxation rates in general. The ultra high speed and low loading allow both of these to be accomplished while producing relatively low levels of fatigue. The RFI low tramp sprint in particular is used to develop the aforementioned traits within the lower end of the ROM (acceleration specific).

The RFI+RI stands for the methods being applied in the session. RFI stands for reflexive firing isometrics. This is a method in which the body stays relatively stable (in the vertical plane) while the limbs move through a ROM. This would include line hops, dot drills, top speed sprinting, and the tramp sprints. RA stands for reactive acceleration. This method involves a reactive contraction followed by a thrusting of the hips and a displacement of the torso. This would include sprint accelerations, depth jumps, regular jumps of any kind, bounds, etc.

The Inno-Sport system uses an entirely different nomenclature that seems confusing at first, but once you learn it it actually makes discussing and assigning training 10 times easier and more precise than ever. 

And in regards to the “Isometrics for Athletes” article/thread, what specifically are you interested in discussing?

Actually it’s not that confusing to me. In reference to the low trampoline sprints and the article/thread on isometrics, I wondered if reflexive firing isometrics in the low trampoline sprint position transferred into glute strength over the entire range of motion of the glutes. Not to worry. If the exercise isn’t intended for that it would be difficult to determine such as effect.
As for the upright trampoline sprint being executed at 6 strides per second, it is very similar to the exercise undertaken in the article.

The aim of the RFI low tramp run is not strength, so I doubt much is built with them. Work in the realms of magnitude and duration (more Inno-Sport terms) are used to bring up strength/power.

Just a bit concerned that those trying to improve mid to top end speed via the practice of leg cycling may not be getting significant enough improvement. If anyone is interested, I suggest that the focus is not primarily in utilising the glutes to pull the leg backward, but involves the quadriceps in kicking the leg downward. I saw a drill by Asafa Powell that demonstrates the type of kicking action that will enable leg cycling to be carried out at faster rates, and improve mid to top end speed to a greater effect.

I really don’t think faster cycling work is going to work.  The comparison of unloaded baseball throws to a cyclic activity such as sprinting which involves building momentum is not really valid either.  There is evidence that throwing overweight shot puts increases initial performance, but would I use weighted vests or sled pulling as a regular training drill? No.  I don’t think unloaded sprinting helps develop speed without first developing acceleration to get to those velocities, such as assisted sprints by being pulled.  sled pulls and weighted vests will help develop acceleration capabilities, but even then such work must be limited.  Sprinting requires sprinting work.  You don’t have to go as far as Barry Ross suggests to only sprinting and deadlifting.  I truly believe most athletes who are sprinters and aren’t elite don’t have the accelerative capabilities to match the elastic strength/leg stiffness capabilities developed in their legs.

On another note, I would like to point out James Hay’s invited review in 2002 for the Journal of Applied Biomechanics and I would like point out that the faster someone runs for a particular distance is related to taking less steps in that race reducing the total amount of time on the ground, not significantly altering step rate.

Yes, increasing top end speed is more likely to be noticeable if you improve acceleration first. You suggest a combination of assisted sprints via pulling (sounds unloaded to me) in conjunction with resisted acceleration. Would this facilitate faster velocity training (assisted) and greater force training (resisted)? I’m all for varying velocity for resistance as a method to improve sprinting. Blazevich (2002,2003) uses both faster resistance training with slower heavier resistance training every 4th week or so to measureable effect.

As for faster leg cycling, one could say it follows the Specific Adaptation to Imposed Demands theorem. By moving the leg faster one should get adaptations in the connective tissue although the main purpose is to improve the recruitment rate of muscle fibre. Of course the sprinter must do some sort of strength training to ensure that any increase in speed of the leg prior to impact will not be completely wasted upon contact with the ground. Sprinting regularly itself may be the best way to adapt to any stimulus from the increase in leg velocity. As pointed out in the article, not many methods can be substantiated against the benefits of sprint training itself. That’s why I developed this a new method of which leg cycling is a small step at improving top end speed. I’m not complaining I’ve increased my acceleration by at least 10 extra metres before I flatten out in speed.

I was saying that assisted sprints would be unloading, and I mostly don’t like its use for developing athletes, because developing athletes seem to have better elastic and eccentric strength than more than concentric strength required during acceleration.  I think this can be seem with almost all middle distance and most sprint athletes in US high schools.  They don’t accelerate well thus perform on adequate long jumps, but if you put them in the triple jump they measure slightly longer than their long jump scores would indicate.  Maybe that’s anecdotal, but I believe there is some validity to it.   

I think the biggest thing your drill adds is what I would call specific strength work (work through a larger or similar ROM and mobility).  I don’t believe it will improve turnover directly, but it will improve the ROM the leg can work in which is big factor in helping a faster swing time to be expressed in a longer step pattern, but not necessarily a faster step rate.  Really, I think you just came up with another drill to put alongside Mach Drills, Seagrave Drills, and Hurdle Mobility, etc…  Which is drill work in a very general context that has some specific relations to the task/events at hand.

I actually like the article, and I believe that you should continue investigating “rapid dynamic” training.  I am big believer in drills to improve ROM and as a training season progresses so does the ROM of all joints which directly relates to speed.  I think you’ll find the more longitudinal your investigations are the larger the ROM, the longer the step length, and the faster the swing times will be and there will be a correlation to maximal velocity and sprint times assuming you also worked on acceleration previously.