Athletes- has anyone increased their speed?

[Thick dog]

Just curious if anyone has improved their running ability through training. I naturally had sprinter's speed ever since I was in high school, but never was really able to increase it much. I was able to maintain my speed while gaining weight, which is a positive, but my times were almost the same when I was 16 as opposed to 24. I trained really hard and increased my leaping ability through plyometrics, but it is hard to actually be able to run faster. Has anyone made dramatic improvements?

 

[The Shadow]

SSme and Fro have inproved their time by getting a pack of sled dogs to drag a life-sized mold of Ron Jeremy's torso in front of them.

 

[HappyScrappy]

speed in what? sprinting? and if so, what distance and in what format? a running start, dead stop start, blocks, track, football?

I ran track and have only seen sprint speed increase with weight training, but it tends to hurt distance training once you add weight due to the way your VO2 max works (the more you weigh, the lower your VO2 max just due to the formula - and distance is all about VO2 max).

if you give more specifics, then maybe we can see why you aren't making huge improvements (could just be you have maxed out your genetic potential in it)

 

[Thick dog]

Yeah, I was referring to football speed. I ran the 100 meters in high school. I think everyone has a built in genetic limit and I reached mine early. I finished college a few years ago, but am starting to get back into running sprints as I would like to play recreationally, but don't want to go out there if I don't have at least close to my old football speed. Strength training has a lot to do with it, you have to at least have functional strength to reach your full potential, but there is a lot of genetics involved. One of my track coaches told me that in order to reach your maximum potential you should be able to squat at least 1.5 times your bodyweight. Of course, that being said, that in no way implies that someone who can squat 3 times their weigh can outrun someone who can squat 1.5 times their weight. Muscle fiber type is key...

 

[HappyScrappy]

the biggest thing, if you obviously have the strength is building up the explosive side of it (again, like you said, depends on what the desity of fast twitch you have and all), and then a huge part would be improving your turnover.

silly drills, but they work:
quick steps
high knees
butt kicks
goose steps
running backwards

that and... well, sprinting
working from a dead start, but more importantly for football, starting from movement that is not 100% and trying to accelerate as long as possible and then holding that.

sprinting is nice b/c you can treat it the same way you would a leg workout in teh weightroom so you know the types of sets and the amount of rest.

 

[Citruscide]

Yes, I was in Track and Field... I did the high jump... but I did lower my 40 speed from a 4.65 to a 4.56 ... doesn't seem like much, but it is... and it helped me get off the ground better when I jumped ... or for the rare times I was in sprinting events.

C

 

[Citruscide]

Oh, sorry... I did so through ... PM Me damnit... I cna't think now!

C

 

[The Shadow]

Look Susan - this thread was directed at athletes, not some fat out-of-work rent-a-dick lawyer.


btw - idea for next photo session. George when he saw the results of the triple threat testing.