Speed Training with Nick Sorensen

By James Walker CCS, STM, BioSig, Master Trainer

Nick Sorensen trained with AE most of his 10 year NFL career during his off seasons, beginning in June of 2002, after being drafted and released by the Miami Dolphins. That first year we worked with him for five and a half weeks prior to the pre-season camp.

After the initial assessment, we focused on improving his explosiveness, lean muscle mass, his lower core function, flexibility, sprint technique, and reminding him of the correlation between all of those things and his speed. In addition, we addressed his scar tissue needs, in the shoulders, rotator cuff, and lower legs, which inhibited muscle recruitment and performance, along with a few structural balance issues.

Nick never had an issue with body-fat ratios or fat composition, due to clean-healthy eating habits, even in the off season his body-fat was in the 6% and during the season 4%. When Nick began, his best forty-yard time was 4.41 seconds, when he left for camp his best time was 4.35 seconds.

In 2003 we wanted to make him completely healthy, muscular, and strong from the previous season's injuries. By camp with the Jaguars Nick was performing 135 lb dips, 50 lb close grip pull-ups, and 225 jerk presses, all for 3 reps. Likewise his sprinting technique was superb, with excellent angles, tempos, power, and limb placement. His best 40-yard times were 4.28 and 4.23 seconds.

In 2004 we started early as well, working around an elbow injury that he sustained at the end of the 2003 season. Although his time with us was limited due to team obligations and constraints but our goal was to increase his lean muscle mass, strength, explosiveness, over all flexibility, and muscle balance.

During the remainder of his career we worked with Nick through and around injuries to the elbow, shoulder, and lower leg, team off-season training restrictions, releases, transitions, and new team auditions. We would try and maintain all his performance qualities, muscle mass, strength, speed, power, range of motion, structural balance, scar tissue, and any minor injury concerns.

Through it all he learned to be proactive, disciplined, consistent, informed, healthier, and prepared in all phases of his self-care. Nick has been one of the fastest players on each of his teams, the Rams, Jaguars, Browns, and in the NFL. He maintained his 4.2s speed, until his retirement as a result of a neck injury in 2010.

‘Train Safe, Smart, & Results Driven’

Training Principles, Part Seven - Basic Sprint Mechanics

By James Walker CCS, STM, BioSig, Master Trainer

 If you’re not blessed to have a biomechanics coach or fortunate enough to work with a competent sprint coach, no one explains or teaches you correct sprint mechanics. Even having a speed & conditioning coach you may not receive the technical or biomechanical information necessary to improve sprinting. Instead you may get an over indulgence of volume running or gimmick training. I’m not suggesting that some devices can’t enhance your speed but they should be a supplement to proper mechanics, structural integrity, muscle fiber recruitment, and overall strength. Here are the basics of sprinting.

1. Sprint Running Mechanics – to run at a fast pace that requires a high or intense neuromuscular effort. The basics of sprinting can be summed up into three phases - start phase, drive phase, and acceleration phase.

a) Start Phase - may be from a two, three, or four point stance, requiring strength and power to over come inertia. Below is a checklist of proper mechanics:

·      Head position-should be down with chin near the collar and neck relaxed.

·      Torso position-(two & three point stances) should be achieved with the hips being higher than the head or hips raised with the shoulders slightly forward of the hands.

·      Arm & hand position-finger tips or hands should be on the line (in a four point stance) or the opposite side hand to the front foot (in a three point stance) with the other arm extended back slightly higher than the hips.

·      Leg & feet position-should be determined by the feet position close (bunched), medium, or elongated. The front foot should be approximately one foots length from the start line with a 90 degree knee angle, while the back foot should be positioned to allow a 120 degree knee angle (this is also the stronger and/or more coordinated leg. Both heels are raised with the front bearing the most weight.

b) Drive Phase - coming out of the start to over come inertia from the stationary position or stance to achieve a 45-degree body lean angle.

·      Head position-should be looking down at the ground but relaxed (the head position dictates the body or torso position).

·      Torso position-should be 45 degree lean angle.

·      Arm & hand position-should be relaxed with a 90 degree angle at the elbow and strong powerful alternating elbow drive to the rear on the backswing.

·      Leg & feet position-feet should be dorsiflexed (toes and ankles pulled up toward the shins) with the ball of the foot (forefoot) striking the ground behind the hips. The legs should drive down toward the ground in a powerful motion (like auto pistons or punching the heavy bag) after the heel is pulled up into the hamstring area (this actually precedes the leg drive). Tighter knee angle and knee lift equals greater striking force. The first few foot strike are critical, they must be powerful and explosive (importance of leg, hip, back, & core strength).

c) Acceleration Phase - post drive phase to reach the maximum running speedwith a 70 degree body lean angle.

·      Head position-should be neutral with the chin level to the ground but relaxed (the head position dictates the body or torso position).

·      Torso position-should be 70 degree lean angle.

·      Arm & hand position-should be relaxed with a 90 degree angle at the elbow and strong powerful alternating elbow drive to the rear on the backswing. The hand or fist should automatically return into the front-swing but only to shoulder level.

·      Leg & feet position-feet should be dorsiflexed (toes and ankles pulled up toward the shins) with the ball of the foot (forefoot) striking the ground under the hips. The legs should drive down toward the ground in a powerful drive motion (focus on striking the ground under the hips) after the heel is pulled up into the hamstring area, which facilitates knee lift or a tight knee angle (this actually precedes the leg drive). Tighter knee angle and knee lift equals greater striking force.

‘Train Safe, Smart, & Results Driven’

Training Principles, Part One - Types Of Strength

By James Walker CCS, STM, Biosig, Master Trainer

There is more than one type of strength, therefore there is more than one way to strength train. Below I’ve listed some of the basic types. If you’re not familiar review and think about how each one can be applied. Of course some seems similar and could potentially overlap in application. This article is also the part of my 'Training Principles' article series, part one of nine.

1. Absolute Strength-is the maximal amount of force an individual can produce, regardless of their bodyweight and time involved, as in the shot put and contact between football linemen.
2. Endurance Strength or Muscular Endurance-is the amount of force an individual can produce over a longer period of time while resisting fatigue as in rowing, swimming, distance running, and cross-country skiing.
3. Maximal Strength-is the maximal amount of force an individual can produce in a single maximal contraction or effort, regardless of the time involved as in weightlifting, shot putting, hammer throwing, caber tossing, etc.
4. Optimal Strength-is the maximal amount of strength that an individual needs to perform their sport optimally and will vary from sport to sport, as in power lifting or weightlifting vs. table tennis or squash.
5. Relative Strength-is the maximum amount of force an individual can produce at a given bodyweight or weight class (per lb or kg), regardless of the time involved as in skiing, gymnastics, bobsledding, figure sating, cycling and wrestling, boxing, weight lifting or weight class sports. Thus it is the relationship between maximal strength and body mass and is beneficial when increasing an athlete’s strength while maintaining their bodyweight.
6. Speed Strength or Power-is the ability to produce the most force in the shortest amount of time or to overcome the resistance in the shortest amount of time as in sprinting, kicking, sprint cycling, sprint rowing, ice-skating, kayaking, etc There are three components of speed strength-explosive, reactive, and starting strength.

• Explosive Strength-is the ability to increase force after a movement has been initiated or the rate at which an individual can achieve maximal force as in the shot put, hammer throw, judo throw, or wrestle take down.
• Reactive Strength-is the ability to quickly change from an eccentric contraction to a concentric contraction as in the high jump, long jump, triple jump, volleyball, and basketball.
• Starting Strength-is the ability to produce maximal force at the start of a muscular contraction or to overcome resistance when initiating movement as in sprint start, bat swing, paddle swing. It is especially a key determinant of performance in sports where the resistance to overcome is relatively light as in table tennis.

 ‘Train Safe, Smart, & Results Driven’

NBC Sports Bolt vs. Johnson?

By James Walker CCS, STM, BioSig, Master Trainer

A Rebuttal by Mike Florio

In response to Thursday’s comments from Titans running back Chris Johnson regarding an ongoing desire to race record-setting sprinter Usain Bolt, a source with knowledge of the situation tells us that Bolt’s representatives actively have been pushing the event.

Word of the race first emerged in early January, when ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that Bolt’s people and Johnson’s people were working toward setting up a race for charity.  (We suggest calling it the “Usain Bolt Chris Johnson Dunder Mifflin Sabre Scranton Meredith Palmer Memorial Celebrity Rabies Awareness Pro-Am Fun Run Race For the Cure.”)  Within hours, however, Bolt’s agent said “[t]here is no truth to the story,” and that Bolt “doesn’t follow the NFL too closely.”

So it was odd that Johnson said Thursday that he plans to race Bolt next year.  But, apparently, talks indeed have occurred and continue to occur, notwithstanding the denials of Bolt’s agent, whose word on the matter was accepted as Gospel truth, possibly because agents have an impeccable reputation for honesty.

Per our source, the two sides have not been able to agree on a distance.  Johnson presumably wants a shorter race, and Bolt wants a longer distance.  The folks at NBC Olympics previously have determined that Bolt’s 40-yard split from his world-record time in the 100-meter dash during the 2008 Summer Games in Beijing was “a hair slower” than Johnson’s 40-yard dash at the Scouting Combine. (end of article).

Bolt vs. Johnson- Absurd! By James Walker

Okay, Wlit Chamberlain (basketball great) vs. Muhammad Ali (boxing great) in boxing or  Larry Allen (NFL lineman great) vs. Hossein Rezazadeh (olympic weightlifting great)  in the clean and jerk or Javier Gomez (triathlon great) vs Lance Armstrong (cycling great) in the Tour De France, come on! And I do do not mean any disrespect to any of these great athletes but each talent is specific, especially on a world class level. By the way neither would I reverse the likelihood of the underdog beating the favorite in their respective sports. It’s absurd!

Back in the 1971 there was talk and negotiations for Chamberlain to box Ali. Many athletes considered Chamberlain to be one of the strongest most versatile athletes in the world at that time (basketball, arm wrestling, volleyball, track, weightlifting, et) but getting in the ring with Ali would have been a foolish thing for Chamberlain, and he was fortunate to have someone like his dad and Jim Brown (NFL legend and great all around athlete) to talk him out of it, preventing him from going down in athletic history as the man who got beat up, knocked out, or made a fool of in the ring instead of being a basketball legend. Jim Brown knew since he dad challenged Ali himself. One morning Ali met Brown during his morning roadwork and Brown attempted to hit Ali with a flurry of punches and couldn’t , while Ali hit him at will, which convinced Brown how absurd it was!

I think Larry Allen is a great and future Hall of Fame football player and exceptional power lifter but I don’t think that he could come close beating Hossein Rezazadeh in the clean and jerk at 263.5 kg. Like wise, Javier Gomez is a great world class triathlete but I am willing to bet that he wouldn’t beat Lance Armstrong in the Tour De France!  It’s fascinating to read and hear about sports writers and enthusiast who embellish such non-sense.

According to The IFFA’s biomechanical analysis of Bolt’s world record 100m sprint, the split times (st) are as follows: reaction time (rt)=.146, 20m st=2.89, 40m st=4.64, 60m st =6.31, 80m st=7.92, 100m=9.58 seconds. If Chris Johnson said he could beat Bolt then he needs to start running to beat these times. I think that Johnson’s best High school 100m time is 10.38s. I thnk that he’s faster now so he needs to enter a race to get accustomed to the blocks, spikes, track, pre race pressure, reaction time (rt), start phase, drive phase, maximal acceleration phase, etc. Chris needs to race against other top sprinters from that race such as, Tyson Gay (rt=.144, 20m st=2.92, 40m st=4.70, 60m st=6.39, 80m st=8.02, 100m=9.71s, now his best is 9.69s) or Asafa Powell (rt=.134, 20m st=2.91, 40m st=4.71, 60m st=6.42, 80m st=8.10 , 100m=9.84s ) and Richard  Thompson who had the best reaction time in that race at .119 and ended up with a  100m=9.93s. Chris could start with the USA Indoor Track and Field Championship series with the 60m, since that would give him a credible time.

Consider this, only 40 or so various sprinters have run sub 10 second 100m at meets  in recorded history, with some of them running sub 10’s several times during their careers, Chris Johnson has not yet broken the sub 10’s barrier, until then it’s an absurd discussion. It’s like Bolt saying that he could break Johnson’s NFL records, without putting in the time to have football skills…it’s absurd!

Marvin Lewis vs. AE-Combine Preparation!

By James Walker CCS, STM, BioSig, Master Trainer

Theredzone.org, Joe Reedy of the Cincinnati Enquirer reports when it comes to evaluating talent in the draft, Bengals coach Marvin Lewis is always quick to point out “the film doesn’t lie”.

On Friday on Dan Dakich’s show in Indianapolis, Lewis did chide those who go through unusual steps of preparing for the combine, saying that the way most go about it is “asinine”.
 The Bengals did show last year, with the selection of Andre Smith, that a disastrous combine won’t wreck their chances of being selected. And for that case, neither does the pro day.
 Among other things from the interview, courtesy of our friends at Sports Radio Interviews:

On players who leave school to workout and prepare for the Combine: “The other one that just kills me is that they spend three or four years with a strength coach on a college campus and as soon as the season’s over they go somewhere else to some guy who doesn’t know them from a hole in the wall and pay this guy a bunch of money. It doesn’t make any sense at all. It used to be that they had to pay for it and now it’s part of the agent deal. They’ve cultivated a whole industry out of it. It doesn’t make sense. It’s actually asinine that if I go to school in Florida, now I have to go to Arizona to train. If I go to school in Arizona, I have to go to Georgia to train. These guys have the best facilities and the best people working with them year round and now all the sudden they got to go somewhere else. You don’t need to go away. A football player is a football player.”

On how much stock he puts in workouts at the Combine: “The workout becomes a confirmation for a lot of players. It’s got to be judged individually with the player. The number one thing is what that guy has done on his college campus. So as these college players who are going to be underclassmen who may be listening to your show should know to take stock in what they do on the football field their – junior and senior – their last two seasons and not get all caught up in what this is.”

On what the NFL Scouting Combine is: “This is just a confirmation; that I can run. I weigh this much. I’m smart enough. I can carry on a conversation. I can learn. I can understand. And I’m a good person.”

AE Response By James Walker

I respect Marvin Lewis and agree with his opinion about the best current evaluation of a prospective football payer is their game film. Although you can always find exceptions to this with those players with little or no game film such as Willy Parker, Mike Lewis, and Ray Crittenden to name a few.

I also agree that many college strength programs are top notch and do a wonderful job at preparing athletes. Though I disagree with Marvin’s premise that athletes shouldn’t seek out additional help to increase their stock especially since with the current system there is so much money and opportunity involved.

First, most college football programs involve over a 100 athletes it’s difficult to address the specific needs of individual players or a select group each week while neglecting everyone else.

Second, those athletes may have specific needs involving strength, speed, power, mobility, flexibility, agility, nutrition, technique, structural integrity, soft tissue health, etc. From a logistical perspective most of these issues cannot get addressed per individual. Therefore a critical evaluation or assessment is vital.

Third, If any of these specific needs is not addressed the athlete will be at a disadvantage and unable to display their best performance on possibly their biggest stage. Unfortunately some of them go into the combine, pro-day, or camp ill prepared by innocently overlooking their specific needs and is released. Many do not receive a second chance.

Again most college strength coaches or programs by themselves do not have the resources or time to address this individually. So under the current system the athlete needs to do whatever is legally or ethically necessary to increase their opportunity.

In-Season Strength Training: Part Two

By James Walker CCS, STM, BioSig, Master Trainer

In Part One we defined in-season training and listed the first two objectives when designing a program including exercise selection and energy system needs of the athlete. In Part Two we are discussing the remaining components that determine an athletes program, including rep range, weight load-intensity, muscle fiber type, and  work volume consideration.

An intertwined objective to consider when determining the athlete’s program is choosing the correct rep range, weight load-intensity, and muscle fiber type that’s needed to improve their performance. A blocker or outside hitter in volleyball will need to develop and recruit their fast twitch fibers, so doing between 1-6 reps, with 95-80% of their one rep max (1RM), for their phasic muscles will accomplish this. Similarly, a running back in football will benefit from the same intensity and rep ranges. Now these values can vary depending on the age, maturity, health, and genetic make up of the athlete but explosive power is the important component.

On the other hand the cross-country runner may require 15-20 reps or more, at 60-70% of their 1RM to improve their muscle endurance but may benefit from the 1-10 rep range at 75-95% 1RM to help with 100-400 meter surges or sprint finishes. Several of the top Olympic middle distance runners employ this method in their training.

Either of these athletes may require a different rep range and intensity level to address their individual structural needs. In general if their tonic or postural muscles need work a rep range of 8-15, at an intensity of 80-70% of 1RM, may be required. The specific needs of the individual will always be the most beneficial to them.

The last proponent to consider is the appropriate volume of work needed to maintain and/or improve ability without over-training. The primary focus during the season should be the development of the necessary skills, ability, and strategy needed to perform the sport or position at the highest level. The secondary focus should be on maintaining and/or improving power, strength, and conditioning that was developed during the off-season. Usually most in-season practice is devoted to game preparation, sports skills, drills, strategy, tactics, plays, and related task. Therefore most of the repetition and conditioning will come from those activities, so strength related training only needs to occupy about 10-15% of the athletes total weekly time. That can be accomplished in one or two sessions, with consideration given to adequate recovery time before the day of the competition. Ideally the strength training should enhance practices, skills, abilities, and performance, while reducing the injury potential.

Likewise, practices shouldn’t injure the athlete or hinder their strength training but allow for mutual improvement, or a complete synergistic relationship. A big mistake often made is to abandon strength training during the season. This will usually start to gradually impact performance or increase injury potential after about 14 days. The athlete may start the season strong, fast, powerful, explosive, and energetic but within a few weeks will start to exhibit weakness, slowness, sluggishness, or tiredness.

Coincidently, the residual effects from strength training may last up to 10 days; so training a muscle group at least once a week or every 7 days will allow maximal recovery and strength gains. Often world-class sprinters require up to 7-10 days to fully recover, after running a personal record.

So a cheerleader who practices about 10 hours a week, excluding a 3-hour Friday evening game, at 10% of her weekly practice time the strength training would require about 1 hour to complete. Depending on equipment, facility, scheduling, etc, the 1-hour time could be divided into two 30-minute segments as to minimize time away from skills practice. This could be accomplished with a 30-minute strength training session on Saturday (the day after the game), followed by another 30-minute session on Monday or Tuesday, which would also give plenty of recovery time prior to the game. Each session would be comprised of 4 strength-power exercises for 4-8 reps, times 2 sets; and 2-4 structural exercises for 8-15+ reps, for 1-2 sets. The exercise selection could be different for each session to target various or specific muscle groups as well.

As you can see the exercise selection, energy system, rep range, weight load-intensity, muscle fiber type, and volume all comply with her in-season strength training needs. The exercise selection should depend on her individual needs and ability level. Likewise, considering the amount of impact and repetitive stress related injuries that cheerleaders accrue i.e., sprains, strains, twists, pulls, fractures, and soft-tissue adhesions, this would help to address those concerns. Not to mention the additional strength to help with the skills execution.

In conclusion, the benefits of the in-season strength training far out-way the time, cost, injury potential, and other factors involved.  The correct, safe, and scientific approach should consider exercise selection, energy system, rep range, weight load-intensity, muscle fiber type, and volume to best address the athletes in-season needs.

In-Season Strength Training: Part One

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Welcome back from a seemingly very short summer. I decided to take the summer off from writing but am always thinking of articles or topics to write about. Since it’s the start of the fall season of sports I thought in-season training would be a interesting topic to explore.

First of all, in-season strength training is the training that’s performed during the season, not prior or after the season. I get asked from athletes all the time “What should I do during the season”? I think many athletes and coaches struggle with how to determine the correct amount of work that’s necessary to maintain what the athlete has spent the entire off-season developing. Hopefully, the athlete prepared during the off or slow season! For athletes the off-season is the opportunity to really recover, regenerate, grow, develop, and mature. We live in an era were almost all sports have evolved into year round participation, so it‘s become difficult to balance and to avoid over-training.

Over-training should be a real concern for athletes and coaches alike. Over-training can lead to illness, repressed immune system, injury, muscle strains, pulls, and tears, decreases in performance, speed and strength, depression, inability to focus and concentrate, formation of soft tissue adhesions, tight & shortened muscle tissue, structural imbalance, insomnia, suppressed testosterone and growth hormone production, irritability, and mood swings. These are just some of the more apparent symptoms and conditions.

The objectives to consider for in-season strength training should be, what are the demands of the activity, sport, or position? The considerations should include the exercise selection, energy system, muscle fiber type, rep range, weight load-intensity, and work volume.

The first consideration is the exercise selection, what exercise does the athlete need to improve their performance, including structural needs?  Upon observation or assessment does the athlete have any postural, structural, muscle imbalance, or movement flaws? If so they need to be addressed. Next, does the athlete need muscle specific strength, power, or endurance to optimize their performance? Again, indentify and address those needs.

For example a lineman in football with issues of jamming their opponent off the line may benefit from rotator cuff and scapular strengthening exercises. A sprinter who has difficulty starting out of the blocks may benefit from deep squats or platform dead lifts. While a midfielder in soccer with stride issues might require split or single leg squats or lunges to best help their ability. Obviously there are exercises that all individuals may benefit from that enhance their athletic ability i.e., jumping, quickness, stopping, change of direction, which can be determined during the athlete’s tryout or assessment phase.

Another example, cheerleaders who are subjected to high levels of impact force from tumbling and landing need strength through their legs, spine torso, and arms to absorb and displace the stress, in order to prevent and reduce injury to those areas. The stronger the muscles the better the stress and energy displacement.

The second consideration might be, what energy system is used by the athlete in their particular sport or position?  So whether it’s anaerobic energy needing fast twitch muscle fibers or aerobic energy requiring slow twitch muscle fibers, the energy system determines how the athlete should train to enhance their ability. For example a volleyball player needs to react quickly and jump for short bursts, interspersed with periods of waiting. So their energy system is more anaerobic and requires high energy phosphate compounds like adenosine tri-phosphate (ATP), creatine phosphate (CP), and carbohydrate-sugar compounds i.e., glycogen, or a combination thereof for fuel. Whereas a cross-country runner will need more endurance with occasional surges of speed, requiring primarily oxygen, fats, and glycogen for fuel.

In Part Two we will examine the necessary rep range, weight load-intensity, muscle fiber type, and work volume requirements of the athlete.