On a related note, I have not recieved the latest issue of T&FN yet but someone on that board said in that issue there is a comment or two from his coach in an article on WD.
Bob Braman, Dix’ coach, says he does not have him lift weights in order to avoid gaining excessive muscle mass/bodyweight.
No weights for Dix? I wonder if he does anything in place of weight training. I know they do plyo’s with their sprinters - so maybe that is enough to keep his strength levels up? I wonder if all sprint coaches adjust their “program” to fit the individul needs of an athlete? I would hope so - but i doubt it.
That’s the question some on that board are asking. Does he get his strength training in some other form, from some other modality?
I just find it interesting that some coaches believe that lifting weights is always synonymous with weight gain.
They lift. They do the same single leg step-up/squat that MVP use. Also the physioball knee tuck is a great exercise. Got this from another great site: Elitetrack
http://www.elitetrack.com/main/component/option,com_smf/Itemid,94/topic,4498.0
FSU’s men’s track team must have felt pretty good during championship week in Sacramento last spring. They racked up five top-two finishes—including Walter Dix’s and Garret Johnson’s first-place titles in the 200m and shot put, respectively—and took the NCAA National Championship trophy back to Tallahassee.
The catalyst for FSU’s success was strength and conditioning coach, Tyler Peacock, and his philosophy of building flawless athletes. “We’re big on any exercise that makes you more complete as an athlete,” Peacock says. “If you’re exceptional in one area but lacking in another, our goal is to work the weaker area until it’s just as strong as the other.”
It seems simple, but this approach can be difficult to pull off because of many athletes’ preexisting problems. “A lot of these guys did their own training before they got here, which usually means they were lifting too heavy with poor technique,” Peacock says. “One of the things that makes them good athletes is their competitiveness. But with that, they end up doing as much weight as they can every time they go into the gym. This creates strength imbalances and causes them to become muscle-bound and tight through their hips.”
To help athletes maintain their competitive spirit in the weight room without jeopardizing their athleticism, Peacock trains them at a high intensity, but in the right way. “If you train properly—through the right range of motion and with the right weight, you will remain functionally flexible and become more powerful,” he says. “With the Olympic lifts, you can go all the way to 100 percent of your max if your technique is right. However, the majority of your sets should be below 80 percent. Only a small portion of your volume should be above that.”
Use Peacock’s four problem-solving exercises to attack your weaknesses Seminole-style. Give yourself 2-3 minutes between sets to recover completely.
Power Snatch
Grip bar much wider than shoulder width and assume athletic stance, with bar touching shins
Get into deadlift position with back locked, shoulders up, and abs and chest flexed
Begin initial pull by extending hips and knees
When bar is just above knees, explode upward by forcefully shrugging with straight arms and fully extending hips, knees and ankles
Pull bar up, keeping it close to chest
Drop underneath bar and catch it overhead in athletic stance
Sets/Reps: 5x3; progress to sets of 2, then 1
Variation: For athletes in events longer than 400 meters, perform from hang position. Start with 5 reps and progress down from there
Problems Solved: Tight hips, poor coordination and athleticism
Peacock: Our program is based around the Olympic lifts, and the Snatch is my favorite. The movement is so much faster than the Clean, because the weight is lighter. To get into the starting position, your hips have be flexible, and everything has to work together. This improves body control and overall athleticism, because you have to jump with weight and maintain your center gravity.
Bar Step-Up
• Stand with bar on back and one foot elevated on box in front so that knee is in quarter-squat position
• Pushing only with elevated leg, step up onto box and drive rear knee up
• Slowly step down from box and repeat
Sets/Reps: 3x5-8 each leg
Advanced: Push off with front and back leg. Use a higher box so that front knee is at 90 degrees in starting position
Problem Solved: Lower-body strength imbalances
Peacock: Everyone has one leg weaker than the other. This single-leg exercise corrects that; it magnifies the weakness. You will know right away which leg is weaker, because you can’t compensate with the other leg. Once you correct the imbalance, perform the advanced dynamic version with a little more weight.
Physioball Knee Tuck
• Begin in push-up position with feet and shins on physioball and hands on ground
• Keeping body in straight line, roll ball toward hands by pulling knees toward chest
• Slowly straighten legs and repeat
Sets/Reps: 3x8; work up to 15 reps, then perform advanced variation
Advanced: One leg at a time
Problem Solved: Weak hip flexors and abdominals
Peacock: If a guy is having trouble getting his knees high while sprinting, we have him do these to build strength in his hip flexors and core.
Physioball Hamstring Curl
• Lie with back on ground and heels on physioball
• Raise body off ground so that only upper back touches floor
• Keeping body straight, roll ball towards you by pulling heels to butt
• Slowly straighten legs and repeat
Sets/Reps: 3x8; work up to 15 reps, then perform advanced variation
Advanced: One leg at a time
Problem Solved: Weak or frequently strained hamstrings
Peacock: Most people are flexible enough in their hamstrings, because they were taught to reach down and touch their toes when they were little. But you also need to work them functionally, with your glutes and low back.
I’m just reporting what his coach is quoted, by others, as saying.
I’ve not seen this particular issue of T&FN yet.
single leg work is key in speed development, I know some coaches just perform double leg lifts which is a mistake. im pretty sure Dix perform the ol’s.
single leg work is key in speed development
Why is that?
it also seems that the FSU sprinters, most notably Dix, ain’t afraid to run carrying a little extra muscle, ala Ben Johnson, Mo Greene, Leonard Scott, Jason Smoots. Dix looks to be 200lbs, maybe even slightly more, amazing he ran 19.69 with that build.
i thought he was a fb player when i first saw him run his fr year.
Perhaps not exactly what you had in mind initially. I’m still trying to piece some where better isolation may afford a better look. The top speed areas with Dix seemed too congested.
In addition, like this example, the camera angles are off.
It can also be the key to injuring yourself.
how can it be the key to injuring yourself? i believe you did single leg work (lunges 6x6) did you have any problems with injuries? any lift or drill can cause injuries if not taught correctly even double leg lifts like squats can cause back and knees injures along with many more.
how can it be the key to injuring yourself, tell this to some of the fastest men in the world right now. i believe you did single leg work (lunges 6x6) did you have any problems with injuries? any lift or drill can cause injuries if not taught correctly even double leg lifts like squats can cause back and knees injures along with many more.
Would everyone qualify lunges as single leg work? I never thought of them as such.
In the latest Track & Field news issue, there’s an article explaining that Dix doesn’t lifts because his coach doesn’t want him adding muscle weight.
Why is that?
Based on what PJ is telling us, it doesn’t appear that you know what Dix is doing. This is also not what the guys I know about are doing unless lunges fall into this catagory, and they are supplemental, not primary.
dont understand your post.
You stated that Dix was doing OLs and that single leg work was the key to all top sprinters success. it appears that you are misinformed on a number of fronts
i know for a fact that dix does ol’s not sure about other aspects of his training and i said many of the top sprinters now are doing single leg work, fsu, lsu, powell just to name a few and we all know how much dan p like single leg work for his athletes.