I think star61 is correct. If we were only training powerlifters. Elitetrack.com not elitefts.com
Truth is always relevent. If you reread the thread, you will see that the context was not ‘what’s best for sprinters’. Others, and now apparently Carl, want to rename this site elitesprinters.com and confine all discussion to sprint related training. Not all track and field athletes sprint. Shotputters don’t train the same as a 400m sprinter. Each has to have a program tailored specifically to their event. But where do you start? With an inferior system, and then work from there?
Some proclaim that lifting low loads for higher reps is the best in ALL cases. Ed Coan has been cited, incorrectly, as an example in powerlifting. The question that started this thread was a general question about what method works best IN GENERAL. It just simply isn’t true that lifting lower loads for higher reps is as effective as lifting that includes an adequate amount of higher load reps. I can give you 50 powerlifters that include a fairly high number of near maximal reps for every lifter you give me that doesn’t, and Mike can give you several Olympic gold medal winners that include more than a fair number of near maximal reps for every gold medal winner that doesn’t. Confining the discussion to sprinting lends a few more arguments to avoiding near maximal reps during some training phases, but the truth is if you don’t know what method works best when max strength IS actually the goal of training, how can you program an optimal training means to fit your sport when max strength is an important factor in your performance? Do you really want to start by making compromises on an already compromised system, or do you want to start out with the best system, and then modify it to suit your sports demands?
So, if you want to talk about what optimal strength training for a sprinter looks like, that’s fine. But first understand what works optimally when strength IS the ultimate goal. Until you understand that, there is no way you can program optimal strength training means for any event.