The presentation I attended Saturday in Sweden made me rethink the use of plyometrics and weight training. At first I thought Jon Goodwin’s presentation on running mechanics contradicted Professor Bonomi’s development of the sprint stride but I realized that sprinting can’t be specific all the time. We run at various speeds and lift with various methods, but do we sprint with various loading patterns? One may not need to do bounding but I do think that the classic plyometric bounding protocols by Vittori help first overcome gravity and load the glute system specifically while creating stiffness specific for maximum speed. The frequency drills commonly criticized may not have the eccentric loading to transfer directly but the relaxation rates programming may be investing into better speeds later. Loading the stride will be an interesting variable that will be debated, but I am convinced that it has merit.
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