ive been doing track since 6th grade. in junior high i was decently fast but once i got into high school my coaches werent really big on helping me get faster. as a result im only a little faster than i was in 8th grade (im a junior now). however this track season i want to be able to win a race again in a pure sprint. the main problem i have is the starts, i get burned out of the blocks. my top speed is slightly slower than i would like, but people dont really gain on me once ive reached top speed. right now im starting to focus on my lower body strength when i lift. the main exercises i use are the leg press, leg extension, and hamstring curl. i would like to strengthen my hip flexors as well, but im having a hard time thinking of an exercise for it (that i have the equipment to do). my question is mainly how i should train these muscles. should i be going for maximum strength, and how much running should i incorporate? i want to be able to get a mark of where im at by the time the indoor meets start over here (in january i think). i want to be able to start a general program. i realize that its likely change, but i want to get a good solid base first.
weight training and sprinting
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Participant
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KeymasterStart doing squats…..they are a relatively simple lift to learn and will provide far more benefits than the leg exercises you're currently doing. If you wanted to train the hip flexors you could either find a multi-hip machine or do hanging leg raises (progressing from bent leg–> straight leg–> weighted). Keep in mind though that hip extension strength is probably more important for sprinters than hip flexion strength.
ELITETRACK Founder
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Participant
well i mentioned hip flexion because i figured that so many extension exercises might leave my hip flexors weak, especially since i havent been running a lot. also, ive read around here that strength to weight ratio is really important to sprinters, but im wondering how much. what i mean is that what kind of a ratio should i aim for? i want to set some goals but i dont know necesarily know which ones are realistic or necesary.
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Member
You should get as much strength as your body can handle without working against you.
What I mean is…you should be strong enough to see gains from it, but if you're getting so strong that it is starting to work against you, as in you stop seeing gains, and actually begin seeing negative effects, then you're too strong.
There is no definite number, but rather, an indefinite level based on each individual organism.
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Participant
what about the upper body? how much strength do you need to have there?
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Keymaster
[i]Originally posted by cockysprinter[/i]
what about the upper body? how much strength do you need to have there?I differ from many, but I don't really think that upper body strength plays a huge role in sprinting performance. Upper body strength may have a small contribution to acceleration but I don't think it would ever really be a limiting factor for top end speed. Note that I am referring to the strength of the upper body and not the role of the arms themselves which I do think is quite important but not limited by strength. Also note that upper body endurance may become a factor in the longer sprints.
I'm interested to hear others thoughts…..
ELITETRACK Founder
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Participant
I'd like to know peoples thoughts on that too.
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Participant
Not sure, but what if you only do various crunches and not situps?
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Participant
i would think that stronger hip flexors would help with a faster stride and less injury.
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Member
Not faster stride, but longer stride because you'd be able to get the knee up higher for longer. However, both aspects of sprinting (length and frequency) are more affected by strength to bodyweight ratio and how much force is applied to the track. And then AGAIN, stride length has more to do with speed than stride frequency.
dev.cmshelplive.com/ellitetrack/weyand.pdf
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Participant
i would think that stronger hip flexors would allow you to get your knee up quicker too. ive heard that information too, but i think that should still try to max out stride frequency without sacrificing stride length. i think i was mostly concerned with muscle imbalance since im not running right now. anyways, i had a question about hypertrophy. ive read that there are two kinds of hypertrophy, sarcoplasmic and myofibrilar (dont know how to spell it). ive also read that in order to get sarcoplasmic that you do things similar to body builder workouts with high reps and low rests. but for some reason im under the impression that you use 70% of your 1RM for both sarcoplasmic and myofibralr (you know what i mean) hypertrophy. so do you just take longer rests to make the contractile portion grow? or have i missed something?
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Member
I'm not 100% sure, but I can tell you that you really shouldn't worry about either kind of hypertrophy training without making it functional.
Tip of the day – Try density training for hypertrophy. It's all functional and the workouts are awesome. Check the "hypertrophy" thread in this forum.
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