Alyson Felix's training secret

This is good stuff and a lot of people who've tossed out this idea without really considering what it is exactly is a loss.

This is just neuromuscular training. It is training the muscles to fire more completely. It will only cause minimal hypertrophy and none actually, if you've already done a fair amount of strength. The muscle fibers themselves are not what is being trained, it is the motor neurons to simply be more coordinated.

And it is not just for sprinters. A study was done almost 10 years ago on elite nordic ski racers and it was found that after this type of strength training it required LESS energy to maintain the same speed in distance tests.

I have done this type of training for a couple of years and without a doubt, it improved my sprinting ability, but it also had a equal affect on my technique composure towards the end of long races.

IMHO, this is worthwhile stuff but it obviously needs to be tested much more for distance runners. If I was a betting man though, I'd bet that in 10 years a significant proportion of world class distance runners will include some element of this type of strength training. Mark my words.

uacoach wrote:

I've read the threads on both charliefrancis and elitetrack, and no one has managed to lay a glove on Ross.

Are you kidding?

Did you see these:

Charlie Francis and Mike Young both lay the smack down on that fool. Hate him or not Charlie is regarded as one of the best sprint minds ever and Mike is a phd and USATF bio-mechanist.

Wow.....I work with ordinary people all the time in the gym and WE do that stuff......maybe one of them can be a world class sprinter some day!

speaking of bob kersee, whatever happened to his beautiful bride? does she still work with american track and field? she was of the drug generation glory days....kevin young, quincy watts, flojo, et al.

/bump

Think she still does this stuff?

coachkritter wrote:

a=acceleration?

Maybe acceleration is not what distance runners need? More interested in efficiency (maintaining speed) and fuel and energy utilization?

Sorry, but strictly from an honest physics perspective, the equation is applicable to each and every stride. Now breaking it down further, the efficiency is dramatically affected by the TIMING of force magnitude application through the stride, just as, via analogy, a tennis player develops maximum power through ball stike with proper timing mechanics, integrated over time (i.e., the full stroke).

Shoebacca wrote:

Think she still does this stuff?

This stuff?:

Here is the basic plan, based on strength training sessions on 3 consecutive days:

1). Dynamic stretch before each session, static stretch after each session

2). Deadlift every session, 2-3 sets of 2-3 reps @85-95% 1 rpm, TIMED

a). Plyometrics at the end of each set, within 1 minute of set completion

i). Usually box jumps from varying heights but occasionally used stand triple jump or long jump, generally 6 jumps or less. The focus is on delivering maximum strength in minimum time.

3). One of the following at each session, 2-3 sets of 2-3 reps, TIMED

a). Bench Press

b). Push-ups

4). Core exercise each session, 3-5 sets of 3-5 reps.

a). Always isometric and always timed

5). No Lifts To Failure!!

Yes why not?

What I don't agree with, is Weyand's analysis of stride rate. Faster runners have a larger range of motion, which doesn't seem to be allowed for in his hypothesis.

Magic ? NOT. Simple. Allyson is from the track & field capitol of the world, Los Angeles. South Central Los Angeles is The PLACE. There no place on earth with more medals at IAAF Outdoor WC & Olympics than South Central. 1,000s of MLB, NFL, NBA players and coaches are from South Central including new Raiders head coach, Hue Jackson.

Magic ? NOT. Simple. Allyson is from the track & field capitol of the world, Los Angeles. South Central Los Angeles is The PLACE. There no place on earth with more medals at IAAF Outdoor WC & Olympics than South Central. 1,000s of MLB, NFL, NBA players and coaches are from South Central including new Raiders head coach, Hue Jackson.