The Problems With Lifting For Speed

Today I’m going to talk about the problems with lifting for speed. Resistance training can be very useful if used correctly. However, if it’s done incorrectly it can create disappointing results. I’ll point out a few problems and how you can address them so that your training in the gym can create real speed on the field.

Specifically, I’m going to talk about

1. Bilateral Training

2. Muscle Fiber Types

3. Diminishing Returns

Let’s check now.

 Bilateral Training

Bilateral training is just a complicated way to describe exercises where you use both legs. For example, squats and deadlifts.

 These kinds of exercises can be useful for developing maximal strength however they have serious limitations.

Sprinting is a single-leg movement. Therefore it makes logical sense that many of the exercises you perform in the gym should also be on a single leg. This includes exercises for the calves, hamstrings, glutes and so much more.

 One of the last things you want is to spend months training in the gym and then realize one leg is much stronger when you get back to sprinting on the track. An example of a single-leg exercise is Bulgarian squats.

 They load up plenty of muscles that are critical for sprinting, including the glutes, and even hip flexors if you do them correctly.

Muscle Fiber Types

Research by Dr. Andy Galpin shows that how you train can significantly influence your muscle fiber types.

 If you often train slowly, you will typically have more slow twitch fibers. If you often train fast, you will typically have more fast twitch fibers. The problem is that sometimes you need to train slowly to build up your strength.

The solution is really simple. I got this tip from Su Bingtian’s strength coach personally when i had conversation with him.

Rolf Ohman told me that within Su Bingtian’s strength training session, every slow resistance movement is usually paired with a fast movement.

For example, let’s say they do some heavy and slow calf exercises, immediately they might do some plyometrics to add in a fast movement.

This way you are able to get the best of both worlds and train the fast twitch movements.

Diminishing Returns

Diminishing returns is a concept that means at a certain point there won’t be as many benefits as there once were.

A 17-year-old male athlete who runs 11.5 in the 100m weighs 68 kg and has a maximum squat of 52 kg can benefit from getting stronger.

As they get stronger they can put more force into the ground.

But let’s say that same 68kg athlete gets their squat to 165 kg and they drop their 100m time to 11.2. At that point they’ve gotten strong enough and continuing to chase a heavier squat might not bring as many benefits as it once did.

Instead, it might actually make them slower because they are spending so much doing slow movements. Don’t become that guy in the gym chasing numbers for ego instead of working on a different weak point in your performance.

That’s why 10-5 RSI tests, FVPs, a single-leg jump testing are so important.