After reading some blogs on the Morin study I wanted to respond to the requests of my opinion and the application process of using the information on this study. At the end of the day the job of the coach is to get people faster consistently. I say this because it takes a very special talent to have the athlete break 10 and 11 in the 100 meters (men and women). Having one do that doesn’t confirm greatness, but doing it consistently shows a pattern of responsibility and that the coach is doing something besides winning the athletic lottery. Coaching hurdlers and some jumpers from time to time, the secret is going to be able to train injury free with a progressive system over years to reap the training and teaching effects.
After reading Tip 313 from Charles Polquin and the application of Bret Contreras, it seems to be interpreted that maximal strength and power from the weight room and horizontal forces are factors to making faster athletes. What I get from the Morin study is that we need to get away from the convenience of treadmills and get into more precise and extensive field studies, complete with longitudinal research. Some good information exists from treadmills, but it would be good to see a 10m segment lit up with both optogait and force plates to get the key data points. I would use the BTS wireless EMG system and kinesio tape (for keeping the sensors!) and see what happens.
My bias is toward getting athletes faster, not with a specific agenda with special exercises or drills. When you are trying to get athletes faster in Track you don’t care so much about the methods as the safety and consistency of the application. I have tried all of the methods and systems and found that making decisions based on the environment is the only real way to get people faster. When I was in Tampa athletes in the low 10s were everywhere, including many gold medallists. When I came up to Massachusetts, they only showed up for the Boston Indoor Games!
What is the take home? See how the athletes train and draw your own conclusions. My blog is biased and influenced by my own personal experiences. Hence why I try to ask more questions now as I don’t’ have the secrets. What I do see across the board with great sprinters now is that weight training is more supportive than pushing the limits. If you are a strength coach and love maximum strength or packing on mass it’s not working with the super fast sprinters. Progressive and simple programs seem to be working the best now and this is the notion nobody wants to hear.
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