Indeed if you have been doing nearly zero squatting then there is certainly strong plausibility that the reintegration of hip/knee extension strengthening will manifest in your jumping. Particularly so if you have been doing no other hip/knee extension tonic strength work (ergo step ups, lunges, split squats…)
Similar to the Spanovic story, Dan told me that he saw Javier Sotomayor (world record holder in the high jump 2.45m) perform single leg barbell squats with 150kg (not sure the depth) the day before his world record jump.
The heavy single leg work, more than anything, increases durability and stiffness for the ground impact force of penultimate and take-off efforts as the muscle contraction velocities are fantastically slower than the jump contacts.
As for what I saw Greg doing, it was all on the track/field so all speed work (various sprints) and jump training (pop ups, short, medium, and long approach jumps…). I recall Dan telling me how he had Greg intentionally laterally displace his take-off contact farther out to the side in order to overcome some nagging issues Greg was having and Greg said it worked really well. Dan also told me that he believed Greg had the speed to compete in the open 100m.
As we know, runway velocity has the greatest implications on the long jump.
On this fine forum there were number of discussions about the topic.
One of the elements that stuck in my mind was what is stated in the paper posted by Pioneer “Morphology and anatomical variants” that says it all.
Some guys cannot squat deep and some shouldn’t be doing it in the first place.
The two videos posted previously on this website are:
I agree. What is best for the individual.
Just don’t forget that the load on the joints from certain lifts is so high and not forgetting everything you do as an athlete or coach must get added up and added into the equation. You need to save joint wear and tear for the force you create when OR more importantly IF you run fast. If you suck up all that buffer doing stupid lifts to show off in the weight room might be good for one season but proper planning has 4 years interval sections and that too needs to be added up and into that amount of time.
Debating is good regarding the lifting.
I will never forget Charlie telling me he could ‘make’ me faster in a shorter period of time but to be faster longer term it takes a different approach
Charlie provided a huge cross section of work to draw from.
You Tube screws big picture thinking if you are not careful.
Sprinters need never forget the game is to preserve themselves for the highest priority of running as fast as possible as often as they are able while getting as strong as possible in the more careful way.
I’ve been doing bilateral and single-leg quarter squats for a few weeks now. I’ve noticed that despite the added difficulty of having to balance on one foot during the single-leg squats, the weight I can move is relatively higher. If I use 180kg for 6 reps in the bilateral squat, for example, using 120kg on the single-leg squat is similarly challenging. Adding my body weight (71kg) to the weight on the bar I’m thus moving about 75% of the weight in a single-leg compared to a conventional squat.
Has anyone had similar experiences? I would have thought that it should be more like 50% or even less due to the added balancing component.
This suggests to me that the single-leg squat is the superior exercises and I should maybe just focus on it. It allows me to move much more weight per leg, puts less stress on my back/shoulders, trains proprioception/balance and is more similar to the movement patterns of running and jumping. There is also some research showing a strong positive effect of unilateral work on RFD.
You can’t establish a causal relationship with the study designed used. Randomised controlled trials provided better data. Whilst groups are randomly assigned, there is no control group. The overwhelming data from the literature indicates that greatest power gains are achieved through a combination method incorporating high velocity and high force movements. Working exclusively on one component won’t elicit optimum outcomes
According to how Charlie taught me and according to how I watched Ben squat we only ever used quarter and half squat. When Ben went really heavy I know he liked to have the Bench there to make sure there was never an issue of going deeper than the height of that flat bench meaning yes, not lower than 90 degrees ever. ( maybe it was just to feel it graze the back of his hamstrings)
I only ever did quarter squats as I had a large leg difference and had issues with my back at times if I was tight from speed work. I would not be the example of greatness but I did get strong and my best was 300lbs . I’ve read some saying don’t bother with quarter squats blah blah blah. Sprinters are sprinters not muscle heads that spend all day logging their lower body lifts. Most of what we did was speed work. If things were going really well on the track we would get to top off our MWF or MWSat speed sessions with some nice lifts of choice and usually it would be a few reps of arm pulls, a few reps and sets of squats of cleans but each session might be slightly different and very selective depending on time of season and what came before on the track…but a few of each nothing crazy.
Weights for Speed Bundle sold on the site needs to be called “Weights that feed Speed”… Or Speed for maximum weights. I was listening to someone talking about how when you run fast you can lift heavier and when you get faster you can lift more. It’s not necessarily true that if and when you lift heavy you will run fast. In fact, we know that lifting heavy as a priority will inhibit your max potential to be fast yet most athletes and coaches get it wrong all of the time.
I think lots of people are really confused about how to lift if you are a sprinter.
I have been on reddit a fair bit lately as the questions are surprising with regards how miss guided so many young kids are about how to train and how to sprint. All of the questions are so simple yet each person really does not know what they are doing.
I don’t fully understand why exactly but it’s horrible as it reminds me of life before meeting Charlie and watching some of the people I ran track with out there coaching now who still don’t understand anything about speed training. What the heck?
Sprinters need never forget the game is to preserve themselves for the highest priority of running as fast as possible as often as they are able while getting as strong as possible in the more careful way.
One of the main things I have in mind as I design my sprint program for next year…
Your ligaments at the ankle joint need more time than 48 yours to full recover and restore themselves to 100%. This is the only reason you need to know if you plan to Oly lift and sprint. If you can’t recover from the squat then you will NEVER be able to properly practice speed work that is worth repeating. It’s that simple.
WE NEVER did full squats and full squats are NOT compatible with elite sprinting, speed training and making the most of what you have. You have to live to fight another day to realize what your potential is.[/b]
This is a good test for you no matter who you are but ESP if you are sprinter or wish to be a sprinter or run fast and do speed training.
Are you able to do a standing squat to the ground with no weight.
Are you able to do this exercise and easily sit on the floor and get up from the floor without using your hands.
Are your heals flat to the floor the entire time.
Are you able to stay in the squat position and hold that position for 2, 3 4 or 5 minutes.
IF your knees and hips and ankle joints are hurting or tight and you are not able to perform this, you have circulation issues which are contributing to joint inflammation and likely system wide inflammation.
I started doing some research for a former client who wanted some exercises for performance for aging athletes. I came across various exercises including the standing squat and how to get up from the floor without using your hands. I had trouble doing this exercise and my joints were stiff.
I will be talking about how to make changes and how to ease yourself into great mobility in all your joints.
