Reasonable Speed Goals?

Need some help in determining what are reasonable goals in increasing my speed. I am getting frustrated in that I cannot get below 5.1 seconds for 40 yards

As I stated on another thread I am a 19 year old junior hockey player. My goa this year was to get bigger/stronger and faster. Since April I have added close to 15 lbs of muscle and have developed a training programs based on Charlie’s book and also on Tudor Bompa’s book.

As for strength my max’s to date are
5’11 and 186
Bench = 7 @ 225 lbs
Deep Squat = approx 286 lbs
1/2 squat approx = 375
power clean = 245 lbs
chin-up with 35 lbs = 7

Since buying Charlies book I have been doing speed work and tempo days

I have also been doing plyo’s and agility drills

My question is : is 5.1 as fast as I will go? If you think I could get lower what are reasonable goals and timelines? Because I do not want to be frustrated

Thanks

Where are you in your training cycle? Your speed will improve dramatically once you lower the volume of weights and give your body a chance to supercompensate.

XLR8

On the other thread a member named carson said I should slow down also. This week my weight training drops from 4 days to 2 days and the number of lifts to 4 exercises. For example tonight I am doing squats, dead lift, 1 legged sqaut and glute raises.

In my tempo work I have been doing approx 2,400 meters and have been able to keep my 200’s around the 33 to 35 second range, 10 reps with 90 second rest in between.

As I said earlier last Thursday after warming up with 20’s and 30’s (all with 3 to 4 minute recovery) my 40’s clocked in at 5.1 with the 3rd one at 5.4 Was I ever down after that.

Based on this limited info is it possible for someone doing that to get under 5.0 and in what timeframe.

just thought i would bring it up. where is your body fat precentage at? also i agree with the idea that you may need to allow you body to supercompensate due to all the new training. also on your tempo and other training are you staying out of the zone that charlie dislike. (the precentage range) if you do alot of training in there i defeinitly will stunt your preformance. trust me
but dont get fustrated its all mental:cool:

F & B,

xlr8’s post makes alot of sense. You are probably tired and need to ensure that you go into camp fresh. Look again at xlr8’s thread as he prepared for the combines. You have made great progress, now your priority is to be ready for camp, not more progress, IMO.

Camp starts Aug 20 (?) - you now have two weeks.

xlr8 - you had a good solid program - from your experience maybe you can help F & B in his last two weeks. I am leaving cyberspace for a week in the Austrian Alps where I will be hiking and relaxing during the day, and sampling Austrian beer and schnapps in the evening.

I really believe F & B, that you now just need to maintain and relax. As your fatigue level drops, and your fitness level remains constant, your performance will go up. Some feel that performance is the difference between your specific fitness and you fatigue level. The trick is to decrease fatigue while maintaining fitness. Be confident as you have made great gains.

Originally posted by FasterandBigger
[b]XLR8

On the other thread a member named carson said I should slow down also. This week my weight training drops from 4 days to 2 days and the number of lifts to 4 exercises. For example tonight I am doing squats, dead lift, 1 legged sqaut and glute raises.[/b]

4 days of weight training sounds like a lot. Are you doing a split routine?

Why are your doing squats and deadlifts and 1-leg squats on the same day? They all use the same basic prime-movers. Where is the upper body movement in your lifting tonight?


In my tempo work I have been doing approx 2,400 meters and have been able to keep my 200’s around the 33 to 35 second range, 10 reps with 90 second rest in between.

What is that in terms of % of your PB? 33s for tempo means that your PB in the 200 should be around 25. Err on the side of too slow for tempo rather than too fast.

[b]
As I said earlier last Thursday after warming up with 20’s and 30’s (all with 3 to 4 minute recovery) my 40’s clocked in at 5.1 with the 3rd one at 5.4 Was I ever down after that.

Based on this limited info is it possible for someone doing that to get under 5.0 and in what timeframe. [/b]

Seems to me that sub 5 should be quite achievable for you with even a minimal taper. However, why is the 40 so important for a hockey player? What is your on-ice training like and how fast/quick are you on skates?

Originally posted by Carson
[b]F & B,

xlr8 - you had a good solid program - from your experience maybe you can help F & B in his last two weeks. I am leaving cyberspace for a week in the Austrian Alps where I will be hiking and relaxing during the day, and sampling Austrian beer and schnapps in the evening.
[/b]

Thanks Carson. Enjoy your break sounds like some good active rest to get ready for next season!


I really believe F & B, that you now just need to maintain and relax. As your fatigue level drops, and your fitness level remains constant, your performance will go up. Some feel that performance is the difference between your specific fitness and you fatigue level. The trick is to decrease fatigue while maintaining fitness. Be confident as you have made great gains.

Good advice! I like the equation: performance = specific fitness - fatigue. I’ll have to remember that.

Some answers to your questions.

Prior to this week I was lifting 4x per week. 2x for lower and 2x for upper. The last three weeks have been low reps 2/3/4 at 85% to 95% of 1RM. I was doing my speed work on the mornings of my lower body evening weight workout. (note: re-reading Charlie’s book last night I saw where he said not to do speed work in the morning)

Now I am just lifting 2x per week. Last night was a lower body workout. On Wednesday I will do the upper which will be power clean, bench press, weighted chin-ups, weighted dips followed by some grip exercises. I do my core (crunches, med ball throws on Saturday during agility & plyo’s)

I do not not know how fast I run 200 in as I have never done that at full speed and been timed. Same for the 100. The tempo times were just guessed at trying to figure out 70%. So I have been doing 33/34 for 200, 18 for 100’s.

The 40 is the only thing I read about in terms of trying to guage times. I have been doing some 20’s and 30’s. The day I did the 40’s last week I was timed at 2.9 (20 standing), 3.1 (20 from push-up), 4.0 (30 from standing), 4.1 (30 from pushup).

As for on ice speed I am above average in Jr A. But I believe and have benn told that I am not that quick off the start, i.e first 3 or 4 strides. Hopefully, that will change this year due to all the strenght work and the speed work. My buddy plays for Cornell and he told me the fastest skaters there all had the highest squat lifts.

On-ice/camp starts on August 20th. The season begins in mid-September and being my last year in junior I want an explosive start to the season. I had a very good year last year with 65 points in 40 games. This year I am bigger and stronger. As for the faster…I am not sure with the 5.1 40

Carson has been a great help both on this site and via email. In fact I would not even be close to where I am at this stage had I not discovered this site, bought Charlie’s and Bompa’s books and got a lot of insight from the various posts here. I have friends who are NHL draft picks who have not made 30% of the gains I have this off season as their trainers spend to much time on core and not enough on strength and speed.

I’d consider doing both upper and lower body weights on both weight days- obviously in a lesser amount. This should be easier to tolerate and will allow better work in the other areas. This training sounds like it’s a big escalation from previous training, so it will take longer to taper from. Expect to see the faster results once the workload begins to drop just prior to camp.