By Adam Johnson, Velocity SP (5/7/08)

When an athlete comes to Velocity Sports Performance to train we initially ask them for three goals they wish to accomplish.  It is almost guaranteed that one of those goals will be to run faster.  That can mean increasing their first step quickness so they can explode off the line or increasing their speed endurance so they are a scoring threat down the field. 

 It was once thought that you were either born fast or slow. At Velocity Sports Performance we know that speed is a skill and like any skill it can be taught.  However, it takes a highly trained coach, a proven curriculum and the right equipment to make gains in an athlete’s speed.

 At Velocity Sports Performance we adhere to four principles of speed training which we refer to simply as the “Big 4.”  They are:

1) Big Force
2) Short Amount of Time
3) Proper Direction
4) Optimal Range of Motion

If an athlete can apply any one of these four principles they will run faster; if they can apply all four of them we expect to see significant improvement in their speed.

 Big Force.  This principle refers to the amount of force an athlete puts into the ground while running.  The greater that force the further an athlete will be able to propel their center of gravity in the desired direction.  To increase the amount of force an athlete can apply to the ground they need to get stronger.  This is why we place a great emphasis on strength and power training along with movement training in our programs.

 Short Amount of Time.   The “short time” principle applies to two areas: how much time an athlete spends on the ground and how much time the athlete spends in the air with each stride.  If an athlete can decrease the amount of time their foot spends in contact with the ground and reduce the amount of time their foot spends in the air before striking the ground this will allow for more strides resulting in more speed.

Proper Direction.  The big force we talked about above needs to be put in the right direction.  Let’s take a straight ahead sprint as an example.  During the acceleration phase of the sprint the athlete should be directing the force behind their center of gravity to propel them forward.  Once the athlete achieves maximum velocity, the force should still propel them forward, but since they are now in a more upright position the foot should strike more under the center of gravity as opposed to behind it.

Optimal Range of Motion.  This refers to the action of the legs and arms while running.  An athlete wants to achieve the range of motion that will allow them the greatest force production while spending the least amount of time on the ground.  This will be different for each athlete based on factors such as limb length, strength to body weight ratios, etc.

Adam Johnson, MS, CSCS is the Sports Performance Director at Velocity Sports Performance whose 27,000 square-foot training center is located at 25461 Rye Canyon Road, Santa Clarita.  Their web site is www.velocitysp.com/scv.