This is my review of Weights for Speed (Part 2); I’m a little late in getting this done and I apologize; I’m recovering from my first kidney stone (BRUTAL)! Anyway, on with the review…
In Part 2 of the new Weights for Speed video series, Charlie begins with an overview of General Strength Development options and their advantages and disadvanatages for beginner, intermediate, and top level athletes:
Med Ball:
Pro’s- easy to learn and use, low-cost, portable, great learning tool to teach acceleration with low stress (no paralyis by analysis) etc…
con’s- no pulling actions, mostly “pushing” actions.
Circuit Weights
Pro’s- fast to get through, can be used by groups, etc…
Con’s- Cannot always optimize the order of exercises; not much of a problem for beginners however.
Stage Weights
Pro’s- can optimize oder of lifts
Con’s- slower to get through, hard to get large # of athletes to use.
Sequence of General Strength Options
How long an athlete will spend using each of the general strength options depends on multiple factors such as whether using a long to short progression versus a short to long progression.
As a rule of thumb: more explosive athletes will favor a short to long program whereas, long and lanky athletes may beneft more from a long to short program.
Charlies then goes on to explain some pretty detailed graphs of the relative capacity of athletes to tolerate higher (A workouts) and lower intensity (B workout; i.e. tempo sessions) sprint sessions within a training week for beginner, intermediate, and high-level sprinters. He then ties this in to how your weight sessions must integrate in with the speed work to ensure you don’t overload your CNS capacity levels.
Take-home points of this section:
- workouts must be tailored to respect the CNS and bodily effect of the higher intensity (A workouts) speed sessions. If speed work is spectacular on any given day, don’t be afraid to back off the volume of strength work or even occasionally skip it all together. This section if really the “nitty gritty” of this video and should be watched a few times to fully grasp what Charlie is saying.
The next section has Charlie explaining how to integrate a handful of key “general” lifts into a top-level/elite athlete’s strength program without overloading the already burdened CNS. The key when dealing with a sprinter at this level is the managing of CNS stress throughout the week so that optimal recovery occurs between high intensity sessions. As an example, the highest CNS sessions may now be 96 hours apart (i.e. Mon and Fri) with a less intense session on Wed. The strength exercises to be included will also be varied to coincide with the stress response of the day. As an example, Incline press will be used on Wednesday instead of bench press since less weight can be used on inclines. Squat sets/reps will also be varied throughout the week to respect the CNS. This section is full of great info and must be watched a few times to digest it all.
Bottom line from the section= Sprinting is always #1, Weights is #2……therefore, don’t hesitate to eliminate weights on a given day when CNS reserve was drained with very high-quality sprinting (of course he’s talking about elite level sprinters here). Most beginners can’t max out their CNS so can training both sprints and weights on the same day without the risk of a high-level competitor.
The next section has Charlie explaining examples of “Annual Strength Progressions” for beginners through elite level sprinters.
- Obviously, beginners and intermediate will make more progress as they are further away from their genetic limit or ceiling.
*He also talks about various periodization strategies in a given year (double or triple periodization) as well as strength progressions for a long to short program versus a short to long.
- Short speed work (short-to-long program) is more conducive to max strength development than longer, endurance type of work (long-to-short program).
The final section in the video has to do with Charlie’s view on the actual sets/reps of the strength work. He talks about most programs not going over 6 reps but that he occasionally liked to go up to 10 reps; especially with more novice sprinters or early on in the GPP phase of the year. He then goes on to talk about the Golden Rule of strength development which is the proverbial 5 x 5 program that has been around for ages.
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Not all sessions where 5 x 5 is desired will take place however, as CNS might be too drained from actual sprint work. Therefore, 1-3 x 5 might happen instead or no lifting at all. It all depends on what state the athlete is in after the sprint session.
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Don’t be paranoid about losing strength from the occasional missed strength session; strength will go up anyway due to high power output on the track. Again, sprinting is the priority, weights are secondary.
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The higher level of the athlete, the lower the # of the sets due to the heavier weights being used. Sometimes only 2 work sets is enough; especially in an exercise like the squat (Ben Johnson could squat 600 pounds).
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When desired strength levels are achieved, strength maintenance becomes the goal.
This video was a little more involved for me and required multiple playbacks of certain sections to fully grasp the concepts. All in all however, the time spent studying and re-studying what Charlie is saying is time well spent. Along with the first video, this is a great addition to the collection!
Keats Snideman
Chandler, AZ