The training session contradicts a previous website article on Usain’s training. On another website, it said he employed lunges with heavy dumbells, and “frog jumps” and “leap frogs”.
It has been said that his breakfast is:
Fried green bananas
Yam
Dumplings (meat with onions and other ingrediants.)
Perhaps the reason for using machines is because, being so tall, his coach doesn’t want the tall body contorting itself with deep barbell back squats, (which for very long legged person) could end up being “good mornings” lift, instead of squats.
In the machine however, he can change the technique.
Machines obviously don’t build more strength than barbells, but you recover quicker from machine work, because there is less stabilization involed. (neural and central neural recovery). This has been covered before in scientific research papers.
Darren Campbell also used the machine bench press, just less risky and less time consuming than setting up a barbell bench press. (Remember, Asafa Powell damaging his pecs with barbell bench press?).
There is a counter argument to heavy barbell work though… If some ones beating themselves up with barbells they might not have as much energy left for the more important track work. Remember, the mentality of most is to really push it on each gym training set. (Charlie used barbells, but it was often way below max anything, and there were usually reps to spare at the end of each set, so they rarely overtrained with weights.) A lot of athletes don’t have the patiance for this aproach and believe they have to go gung-ho, every time they step in the gym. They may be aware of the science, but still have the subconscious mentality of “no-pain, no gain”.
Putting such athletes on the comfortable machines might not be such a silly idea. In a machine, you can push it with the reps, but still not fry your neural system.
The above fact has been proven by simple tests, when weight trainers who have fatigued themselves with the barbell, are still able to push out a number of reps on the machine (with same weight) with no rest between the two sets. (not a training recomendation, merely a known experiment which proves the point.)