First off, let me apologize for not getting this out at its normal time.  Which I’m sure when Noon rolled past many of you were screaming, “where’s my email from Adam!!!”  Well, calm down, it’s right here.  It was just a busy weekend for me and I had absolutely no time to write this.

Friday, I was at my high school celebrating their Centennial and talking with a bunch of alumni I hadn’t seen in awhile.  Saturday, I had some great speed training sessions in the morning, along with training Catherine Adams, my super client who received sudden notoriety after being in The Columbus Dispatch with me back in May.  I had a party at my house for people to watch the Buckeyes play and celebrate my 40th (which btw there is still time to wish me a belated birthday at my Facebook fanpage, http://facebook.com/adamkesslerfanpage).  That night I went out to meet alumni….but, I’m sure you don’t want to hear anymore of my fun-filled life (insert sarcasm).  So let’s get to it.

First things first, I’ve been talking about my Active Recovery Program and I have everything up and ready to roll.  More details will be below in the side notes, but I like what I have put together.

Alright, so I stumbled upon some interesting new research about speed training and what really helps improve your speed.  This research was conducted by Dr. David Upton of Texas Christian University and will be shown in the October issue of the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, the official research journal of the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA).  I receive this journal, but I rarely look at it because the research is in “doctor speak” and puts me to sleep darn near every time.  Someone else brought it to my attention in a Linkedin group I am in.  Lucky for you, that person doesn’t nod off so easily.

If you recall awhile back I had a newsletter entry that discussed resisted and assisted sprint training.  Two popular methods to get athletes faster.  A simple example for both would be uphill running (resisted speed training) and downhill running (assisted speed training).  Both forms of running are great for improving your speed and this research said yes to that as well.  But, what the research did show was depending on the type of acceleration needed for your sport, will determine which method is really better for you.

Dr. Upton took some female soccer players and did speed training with them for four weeks, twelve sessions.  He split them up into three groups.  One group did just assistance speed training methods and another group did resistance speed training.  Both groups used a special harness to replicate the effects one would have running uphill or downhill.  A third group did traditional speed training that didn’t utilize assistance or resistance methods.

The third group had no change in their speed, while the first group (assistance) improved their 40 yard speed by 0.08 meters per second.  The resistance group improved that speed by 0.06 meters per second.  What was interesting though is the improvement in the split distances.

The assistance group really showed a significant increase in speed the first 5 – 15 yards while there was no change in the resistance group.  The resistance group showed improved speed during 25 – 40 yards while the assistance group showed no change.  Meaning, the assistance group improved their acceleration during the first 15 yards of a 40 yard sprint, while the resistance group improved that acceleration in the last 15 yards of a 40 yard sprint.

Alright, so how does that benefit you, the athlete?

Assistance training seems to help sports that need that “first-step” quickness.  A sport such as soccer is dependent on that first step to get to the ball quicker.  A position such as wide receiver needs to develop that separation after the catch, so resistance training might come in handy for him.  You just need to break down your sport/position, figure out the speed demands, and then apply the appropriate module.

Ultimately, a lot of sports require the use of both techniques, so developing a hybrid of the two would be very beneficial to an athlete.

I do caution younger athletes though with the use of assistance training.  Some of the drills that are used for assistance training will get an athlete going faster than what he/she has done before.  Consequently, they might not have the muscular control to keep up and could fall and hurt themselves.  Make sure you know your athletes and who can maintain proper running all the way through an assistance training workout.

The last thing I will say in regards to this type of training.  I love it.  I utilize it with my athletes, when they are ready.  Meaning, they have worked on the mechanics and they are strong enough to handle the stress this will put on their body.  I usually build up the strength in their body because a strong athlete is going to be a fast athlete.  When they are stronger, they will naturally get faster, but it will take some time.  Once they are stronger and ready to handle that type of training, you can apply it, but don’t rush it thinking it will do the trick.  As long as you have a proper progression and your athlete is following it, then and only then can you apply some of these types of training that will really take their speed development to that next level.

On another topic, I wanted to mention the article I wrote last week about NFL injuries and how they seem to be increasing over last year.  Did you notice another star receiver, Kenny Britt, blew his knee out and they fear he is done for the season.  Cris Carter, ESPN analyst and former Ohio State Buckeye, said exactly what I stated last week, “these injuries are a direct result of the sped up training camp and lack of off-season conditioning.”  So I reiterate, do not underestimate the value of a solid strength and speed program.  It will do much more than get you stronger and faster.  It will keep you on the field to utilize that new-found speed.