I thought we flushed the internet hype and nonsense and it seems that deadlifting for speed is lingering around and infecting messageboards like a “bear flu”. After finding out that one guru blew up an had an athlete deadlift 510 pounds with a snatch grip for combine prep and he was unable to attend the tryout I must stop the madness. I have seen world class performances (read faster than any fo
Watch video 2 and you hear Bolt talk about going to the gym and getting STRONGER which helped his performances dramitically after 2007.
Its not as simple as just getting stronger to run faster its how you are applying that strength towards the ground as RESEARCH has suggested. Deadlift, powerclean, squat, plyometrics do whatever you can to be the strongest you can be and then apply it to sprinting, simple.
I guarantee you there are at least 5 people on this forum who are stronger in the weightroom than Bolt or Powell at lighter bodyweights. They would probably toss around their maxes like it was a warm-up. They will also lose by a second or more to them in the 100m despite the fact that they train for sprinting.
It is a little more complicated than just “get as strong as you can.” There are numerous 11.0 guys that don’t do that much/that intense of lifting that have better maxes and they still get shit on by those guys.
I guarantee you there are at least 5 people on this forum who are stronger in the weightroom than Bolt or Powell at lighter bodyweights. They would probably toss around their maxes like it was a warm-up. They will also lose by a second or more to them in the 100m despite the fact that they train for sprinting.
It is a little more complicated than just “get as strong as you can.” There are numerous 11.0 guys that don’t do that much/that intense of lifting that have better maxes and they still get shit on by those guys.
Watch video 2 and you hear Bolt talk about going to the gym and getting STRONGER which helped his performances dramitically after 2007.
Its not as simple as just getting stronger to run faster its how you are applying that strength towards the ground as RESEARCH has suggested. Deadlift, powerclean, squat, plyometrics do whatever you can to be the strongest you can be and then apply it to sprinting, simple.
Comparing one athlete’s strength level to another is meaningless unless all things are equal, which they never are as has been pointed out in this thread. An analogy would be to say that all things being equal, a taller basketball player is usually better than a short one. But things are not equal. There are many, many, men over 6’7”, many in the NBA, that don’t compare to the likes of Michael, Sir Charles, etc. etc. But does anyone deny that being tall improves your chances in basketball? If not, explain why the average basketball player (about 6’7”) is about 10” taller than the average male (about 5’9”). Conversally, look at a player like Shaq. If he was a six footer instead of a seven footer, he would have never even played in college.
While not a direct analogy, something similar can be demonstrated for strength/power as it relates to acceleration/speed. You can’t compare strength BETWEEN individuals, but in general if you compare a single individuals acceleration/speed to his strength levels over time, they generally correlate fairly well…at least they move in the same direction. It’s not linear, because not all strength is converted to power/functional strength, but getting stronger definitely helps.
Having said that, I agree that using improper form simply to set a PR or a new RM is a stupid thing for a track athlete to do.
While not a direct analogy, something similar can be demonstrated for strength/power as it relates to acceleration/speed. You can’t compare strength BETWEEN individuals, but in general if you compare a single individuals acceleration/speed to his strength levels over time, they generally correlate fairly well…at least they move in the same direction. It’s not linear, because not all strength is converted to power/functional strength, but getting stronger definitely helps.
Nice post. This quoted part is pretty much exactly how I view things as well.
And all things never happen to be equal, so we are back to the starting point.
For sure you are right, just I said “if”. Improving a horsepower with a right exercises, without interfering with track sessions, without much increase in b/w is more or less an advantage. Not all are talented to run so fast, but it doesn’t mean that an athlete shouldn’t close the gap between actual and potential max strength. I’m not talking about bench press. What do you think the main reason is why women sprinters are slower than men? More flexible, better mechanics? Usually men are by 50% stronger than women and it’s an advantage for them and automatically better rate coding, neural efficiency. Why do you think such a Pit Bull type sprinter like Ben Johnson was able to beat such a fluent type sprinter like Carl Lewis?(forget drugs for now). If Ben had simmilar strength levels as Carl so no way he would have beaten him ever.
I guarantee you there are at least 5 people on this forum who are stronger in the weightroom than Bolt or Powell at lighter bodyweights. They would probably toss around their maxes like it was a warm-up. They will also lose by a second or more to them in the 100m despite the fact that they train for sprinting.
It is a little more complicated than just “get as strong as you can.” There are numerous 11.0 guys that don’t do that much/that intense of lifting that have better maxes and they still get shit on by those guys.
Yes, it is probably true there would be guys stronger yet slower than the elites. What seperates elites from the slower guys? Contact time and the amount of force they are applying through each contact(genetics):P
While not a direct analogy, something similar can be demonstrated for strength/power as it relates to acceleration/speed. You can’t compare strength BETWEEN individuals, but in general if you compare a single individuals acceleration/speed to his strength levels over time, they generally correlate fairly well…at least they move in the same direction. It’s not linear, because not all strength is converted to power/functional strength, but getting stronger definitely helps.
Nice post. This quoted part is pretty much exactly how I view things as well.
In a world where great coaches do it for next to nothing and the big money goes to those who sell, take your pick on what the angle of a guru will take. A man trying trying to sell something will take a stance on the side of the book no matter what the contrary evidence. A coach will base his rational with science and interviews, articles and papers by other great coaches.
While perhaps a little outdated, books like Dyson’s Mechanics of Athletics (1987) is a great starter for those wanting to understand the science of sprinting and hurdling. Yet, the basic principles in the book still hold true today and if you listen to Tom Tellez speak, the book and his words are synonomous at times. And if we look at the Tellez track family tree, its branches cover some of the greatest coaches in this country. BUT feel free to listen to whomever you want, it is a free country.
