The Anterior Chain

[rj24]

@tamfb

Once again in spp the athlete will be performing a 3-1-3 max strength block and I wouldn’t recommend to be loading a single leg lift with maximum weight. If you think so highly of single leg lifts, I would do the following:

Mon:
Bs 3x5

Thur:
Bs 2x5
Single leg squat 2x5-6

Remember the reason for a max strength block is to increase maximum strength in the primary lifts (squat/bench) and most of all stay injury free.

In order to get to the bottom of this you’d have to ask yourself: what am I training to increase maximal strength? The answer is as follows.

1. Muscle Size (contractile element volume)
2. Central Neural Drive
3. Intramuscular Coordination
4. Intermuscular Coordination

Out of those things, only two transfer over from the weight room to the sprints: muscle size and intramuscular coordination. Central neural drive is best trained through sprinting and other plyos, while intermuscular coordination is specific to the task, meaning that raising it with squats won’t mean jack on the track.

So, with that, we’ve narrowed down the purpose of a max strength phase to increasing muscle size and intramuscular coordination. But why are back squats necessary? I don’t think they are.

Muscle hypertrophy is a result of the strain put on a muscle (and the volume of said strain). In movements like the back squat the load is limited not by the legs, but by the amount of weight the back can support. Similarly, the bilateral deficit ensures that you won’t be producing peak tension with either leg during a squat. Split squats don’t have this problem though.

During one leg movements the back is no longer a limiting factory, and neither is the bilateral deficit. The only factor limiting how much weight you can lift is the strength of the hip and leg being trained. Since the leg is no longer held back by the aforementioned factors, it will be able to create more force (in the local musculature) than it would have been able to during a squat, and therefore will be put under more strain. This will lead to higher gains in intramuscular coordination and muscle growth.

Of course, since there are less muscles involved per set, the stimulatory effect on the CNS won’t be as great, but neither will the drain.

So, like I said, you have to understand why you’re trying to get your 1RM up. It’s not just about the weight, but the effects getting stronger will have on the system. This is why you don’t need squats during a MaxS phase, nor do you need to work up to a 1RM or even close to it. The purpose of the phase is really to increase the intramuscular coordination of the working muscles and generate hypertrophy while momentarily putting speed work on the back burner.

EDIT: And I entirely forgot to mention the greater training effect on the adductors, abductors, and hip rotators that single leg work provides. Squatting can’t even come close.