Good post X
CL said the year he did lift was his worst year!
There is more than one way to develop strength. The weight room may be the most convenient and effective, but many sprinters from the not-so-distant past did little or no weight work. Carl Lewis is a great example. You can develop strength through sprinting itself and through various plyometric drills. I understand that the East Germans did a lot of resisted sprinting to develop strength.
So the person who does sprint training is developing strength, RFD, speed intramuscular and intermuscular coordination specific to sprinting while the person who does only weights is developing just strength, RFD and intramuscular coordination as a more general capacity. It’s a no-brainer, the sprinter wins. However, the weight-lifter may have developed the motor capacities to sprint faster if he then incorporated sprint training into his program.
xlr8
YoU’rE aLl wRoNg I tEll YoU. WroNg. WEiTghlliFtiNg Is tHe ONLY wAy aghhhhhhhh :baddevil::
:D:D
I too have had good results using the olympic lifts and full squats, but let me put a different spin on this question. If you only had four weeks to prepare for a 60m race, which option would you choose?
Option A: Do weights by yourself for four weeks and do no sprinting.
or
Option B: Train in the sprints for four weeks with Charlie Francis or another proven sprint coach.
I know what I would choose B
charlie said it best…
once again…
SPECIFICITY!!
I agree with xlr8.
There are indeed many ways to develop strength, although weights are probably the best and easiest to monitor in terms of intensity.
I can give you numerous examples of top athletes acheiving good success without weights.
a)Andrew Murphy who had a similar personal Triple jump best as a teenager before he ever took weights serious, primarily through jumping.
b)Shane Naylor hardly did weights when training with a pro trainer but still won the Australian national championships running 10.3 at around 18 years of age.
c)Herschal Walker hardly did weights, but a lot of callisthenics and sprinting with a tire and with a shot put within.
d)Allan Wells who most would be familiar with.
Of course, many more athletes do weights and succeed. But hell, that does not mean that it is absolutely essential. What matters is that an athlete’s power improves and I am sure that there are many ways to achieve this.
From my experience all that matters is that one’s power improves. In my opinion, if this is power improvement is not indicated by a personal best in some power test such as a standing long or vertical or a 30m sprint, then hell who cares what you have done in the gym. You have been basically wasting your time although you may look better in the mirror.
On the other hand, if one can adopt other training that does improve essential power, then nothing needs to be said.
There are too many variables here -
but here is my point
if you took 2 identical people, both had perfect sprinting form, starts etc. both had the same baseline strength/power levels
then one did only sprinting for 3 months - just sprinting, and the other guy all weights for 3months - from squats, oly lifts, jumps squats, plyos, depth jumps, bench, band work etc.
The weight trainer would kill the sprinter trainer IMO!
The CoolColJ right now would blitz the CoolColJ 12months ago in 60m, who only did sprinting and BBall back then:shoot:
Far greater muscle mass, doubled the strength levels, and power output is considerble higher across the board.
From my experiance speedwork has increased my speed tremendously. I used to lift alot but lift once in awhile now since iv’e been sprinting. I’m alot faster now then I used to be. I’m going to try and lift weights more now that school is over and I have more time. I personally believe that im my case flexibilty work has benefited me more then weight training,as flexibilty used to be a huge weakness on my part. In my case sprinting and flexibilty stuff is superior to spriniting and weights but it all depends on the individual and his needs. Right now though I’m beggining to think Plyos are better then weights for me because for some reason I’m alot less stiff after plyos then weights and i feel bouncier when i do plyos,even though I have a mesomorphic more muscular build. It all depends on the individual but in most cases the guy who sprints will win.
Col,
this isnt a flame but you have mentioned that you havent run a 60 meter and are not a sprinter. 
The analogy doesnt make sense in your example comparing yourself pre weights to yourself after weights.
If you have two sprinters with great mechanics and decent speed the one who performs speed work will win versus the one who just lifts weights (OLY or anything else at 60 meters or farther)
The lifter would probably be faster over 20 meters if he was EXTREMELY strong in the powerclean, powersnatch etc. but would definitely tie up or worse possibly injure himself after 35 meters.
Cheers,
Chris
Well I have never injured myself sprinting flatout, and I have done that at quite a few times recently.
Well we will see I guess. I have never broken 12 secs in the 100m ever in my life.
But I seem to have gotten a lot more explosive and faster overall since I left school. Maybe I was a late bloomer
I figure I’d be under 8 secs in the 60m now, if I can crack 7 secs - ha :sing:
That would prove something about my training methods I think
Bottom line is that most track and field events (and sports) have two basic components that are equally important. They are skill and power.
Of course, an athete that improves both will be better than an athlete that just improves one aspect. Hence, both aspects need to be worked on even allowing for different stages of training.
My point is that power can be improved by a variety of methods, although I acknowledge and belive that weights are the best method. After all, they are used by the vast majority of athletes.
So if u had 2 twin boys that both run 10.20 and you use them as ginuea pigs and one only lifts and one only sprints 60 meters each day you think the one that lifts will win a 60 meter race after 3 months of training?
I’m a novice weightlifter and I don’t sprint, so take my opinion for what it’s worth…
In general I have to agree with Charlie and Quickaz and say that specificity rules. But in the case of twins who already run 10.2, I think we need some more info before we can decide if the weight trainer or sprint trainer wins.
We need to know which factors are limiting their performance. Maybe they have a great start and powerful acceleration but poor speed endurance (a young Ben?). In this case they need speed endurance work and would probably benefit from sprinting more than weights.
But maybe it’s the start and initial explosion phase of the sprint that’s poor. As Charlie points out, proper form out of the blocks requires a high level of strength. In this case, weights might be of more benefit than sprinting, especially with the reduced speed endurance requirements of a 60m. If these guys are running 10.2, maybe their form is so ingrained that it won’t deteriorate markedly over 3 months. On the other hand, I don’t even want to think about the risk of injury to a sprinter who doesn’t sprint at all for 3 months and then goes all out for 60m.
Originally posted by QUIKAZHELL
So if u had 2 twin boys that both run 10.20 and you use them as ginuea pigs and one only lifts and one only sprints 60 meters each day you think the one that lifts will win a 60 meter race after 3 months of training?
In my opinion it’s madness to keep a 10.20 sprinter off the track and in the weightroom for three months. He will be an injury-prone 10.80 sprinter when he comes out.
Originally posted by CoolColJ
if you took 2 identical people, both had perfect sprinting form, starts etc. both had the same baseline strength/power levels
then one did only sprinting for 3 months - just sprinting, and the other guy all weights for 3months - from squats, oly lifts, jumps squats, plyos, depth jumps, bench, band work etc.
The weight trainer would kill the sprinter trainer IMO!
The CoolColJ right now would blitz the CoolColJ 12months ago in 60m, who only did sprinting and BBall back then:shoot:
Far greater muscle mass, doubled the strength levels, and power output is considerble higher across the board.
Colin, I have a couple of remarks for you, none intended disrespectfully at all. I’ve seen you on a couple of boards, and you do not seem to have specific goals. You’re not a sprinter, you’re not a powerlifter, and you’re not an olympic weightlifter either, although you do employ training elements from each. Now there’s nothing wrong with this at all, because I get the impression you’re enjoying your training tremendously, which is great. But once you have set specific goals in a particular sport (be it running 11.0 in the 100m, benching 150kg, or snatching 100kg) there’s no way you can achieve these goals without actually engaging in that particular sport, and this is true the more technical the sport becomes.
This is a mistake I often see in the throws. Now and then a strong guy from the local gym with a 200kg bench will come to the track, and is stunned when he is beaten in the shotput by an experienced thrower with a mere 100kg bench. Powerlifters expect to be beaten in technical events like the javelin and discus, but they are surprised to find that even in a seemingly simple “brute force” event like the shotput, expressing that strength correctly takes a lot of training. Yes, improving your bench can improve your shotput, but unless you put in time in the ring as well, that extra strength will never be harnessed.
Likewise, improving your vertical jump will not make you a much better high jumper if your technique is lousy. I know a great number of people who have, or claim to have, world-class vertical jumps. Very few of these people can clear 2.00 meters, much less take a shot at the current world record of 2.45 meters. Improving your VJ from 70cm to 100cm may take your scissors-jump from 1.30m to 1.60m, but learning the flop will get you over 1.80m with no improvement in your VJ.
It’s the same with sprinting. Depending on where you start from, exclusively training weights may have an initial beneficial effect. But sooner or later, to improve your sprint, you’re going to have to sprint.
My goals? To be as strong, as explosive, as fast, jump as high as I am genetically able to be. Hows that?
Strength is a subset of power.
And since I’m laying down my foundation or GPP, this is what I’m concentrating on now.