That’s funny! 
Someone blowing their fuse is always funny. Enter Monty Phyton or Benny Hill 
OK Real Deal, I’m going to go back over the answers for you.
First of all, David did answer your question the first time when he said he’d develop endurance qualities on the track- not the weight room.
You then suggested that he hadn’t answered your question and went on to suggest that his weight program wasn’t for sprinters.
Perhaps David showed a tad of annoyance but your opinion of David’s weight theories would also apply to me as I operate the same way.
Lets try again.
1: Power/strength is a one-way street. Greater strength will reduce the percentage of fibres that must be involved in any given sub-maximal or sustained effort but sustained efforts in the weight room won’t yield greater performance/power.
2: There is risk inherent in weight training that requires skill or concentration as it approaches failure (non-machine training).
3: There is an almost unlimited number of options available for the development of endurance outside the weight room.
4: RFD is favourably affected by high strenght work (raising the ENTIRE force production curve also raises the curve at the start) but adversely affected by endurance work in the weight room (the force curve is lowered but prolonged).
Charlie:
Let me say that I appreciate your response.
Yes, David did answer the question. But, it was in one vague sentence that lead me to the conclusion that he believed weights had ZERO purpose for developing power endurance…My bad…
I get what you are saying. Which is that weights should be used to improve your “horse power” (AKA maximum strength capacity) which, in turn, supports RFD.
I agree with this…
I was just looking at other ways to develop power endurance, such as resistance running, and weights, etc.
Once again, thanks for your response…
I don’t know about anyone else, but I enjoyed this thread. Could it be that the answer to the question wasn’t seen simply because it wasn’t the answer that the questioner wanted to hear?
Or wasn’t listening?
Is this what is being said? ;
When the foot is on the ground u have time to apply force.
The faster u run u have less time to apply force. (0.1 sec.)
During the first 0 to 20/30 meters your foot is on the ground for longer.
Therefor greater strength seems more influencial over the pickup(early stages) of a sprint.
Still, even during the middle and later stages of the sprint there is still some time to apply force,
M.r X, has 150 watts of power in leg and great RDF.
M.r Y, has 100 watts of power and roughly proportional RDF.
M.r X can apply 50 watts of power in 0.1 seconds.
M.r Y can apply 43 watts of power in 0.1 seconds.
M.r X foot may be on ground for 0.96 seconds. (48 watts.)
M.r Y foot may be on ground for 1.01 seconds. (43.02 watts.)
(or something like that.)
Therefor, even for somebody who allready does sprints, will probably improve their sprinting (even during peak velocity stage) if they got quite a lot stronger without getting much heavier.
However, if u have an elite sprinter, who then starts lifting weights,
his improvement would be very small becuase his foot is already on the ground for a very short time.
Am I on track here?
I think power endurance training in the gym is not the optimal use of your time/resources given the alternatives.
I would rate:
-
sprint training. Interval runs, lactate, hills (short and long), pyramids, and certain track work as number one
-
circuits - triples are a good example using low rest times and high levels of lactic/strength work while not promoting DOMS or heavy CNS impact.
-
certain weight routines a distant third in comparision to what I have listed above. If you concentrate on weight “endurance” training you are going to invariably affect the max strength component of your workouts.
I am no expert but this has been my experience. Also it is important to realize that the stage of your program (GPP, SPP, Precomp, Comp) plays an important role in this as well.
The idea of having more strength (higher horsepower) is that one is able to have a higher power reserve.
This in turn should help you maintain and manifest power longer.
This does not automatically happen. Speaking from experience, lifting weights to get stronger does not always improve power/speed.
As David W stated in the article titled “Strength Training for Sprinters:”
Optimal Strength: When is an athlete too strong?
· When increases in strength fail to yield improvements on the track
· When strength increases are only achieved through an increase in body weight and hence do not increase power to weight ratio
· When training frequency required to yield a strength increase reduces recovery from track sessions
· If an athlete is too strong it might be a rare situation that warrants increased specificity in exercise selection, e.g. lunges/step ups rather than squats
Goose2, your statement assumes that there is a linear relationship between strength and power. This is not always the case.
Hope that helped?
Chris30, I would add that Olympic lifts are a great way to develop power. And IMO, superior to absolute strength in this department.
After all, when it comes to sprinting, power is FAR more important than strength. For example, Person A. Might be able to squat 1000lbs, yet only able to express 10% of that in the time it takes to take each step in sprinting (0.09-.11). Person B, on the other hand, can squat only 500lbs, yet able to express 25% of that strength in every step.
Do the math, B wins
RFD is determined, not just by selection of work to be done, but, also by the duration over which the particular element is stressed in the training period.
As for the definition that an athlete is too strong when: “Increases in strength fail to yield improvements on the track”. It should never come to that because track times are priority one and should always be monitored so that adjustments would be made BEFORE reaching that point.
I agree about the oly lifts I love them but I feel their use is strictly complementary to sprinting itself and not a main component. Actually I prefer derivatives of the oly lifts. power clean, snatch grip high pull etc to the full C&J or Snatch.
I would not think Oly lifts would be used as much in higher rep “power endurance weights” due to the CNS drain that would affect other sessions throughout the week.
Interesting! That’s where having a good understanding of training elements comes into place. It would seem difficult for someone to know when to make adjustment before reaching that point. I assume a plateau in time improvement is a good indicator?
Chris30, Good points! I agree!
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Can weight training (oly lifts & powerlifts)
improve the speed that you push against the ground during the peak velocity stage of sprinitng? -
“RealDeal” (thanx), responded to my earlier post by saying that weight training will improve the “power reserve”.
How does “power reserve” fair against spacific short sprint endurance
factors below ?
A) High peak velocity- de-acceleration from a higher point and closer to the finish line.
B) Relaxation - confidance
C) Muscle endurance qualities which if needed , could easily be trained
by over-distance and hill work.
IFIf weight training cannot improve the top end speed of a sprinter then I cannot find a good reason to include weight training,
My above 2 questions are the only 2 questions in sprinting that mystify me. 
The only reasons I lift weights (squats, chin ups, weighted dips,)
is becuase I do not know the answer to the above 2 questiions, and becuase other sprinters lift weights.
I think weights improve the start and acceleration phases the most which in turn affects top speed potential.
After that phase of top speed (distance in meters depending on athlete level) speed endurance comes into play. Speed endurance requirements are obviously event dependant as well with longer demands on that system evident in the 200/400m races
Lifting weights help tremendously in the strenght:bodyweight ratio which helps in increasing stride length and helping with block starts.
Chris30 - 200m/400m sprinters, like myself, can be helped a lot with weights. Increasing stride length more naturally will help with energy conservation during a race. Strengthening the core area (not with just traditional ab/lower back exercises) can help with the end of a race where form breaks down. That’s how I see it. I am a 200/400 specialist and I have benefited greatly from an increase in strength from traditional weightlifting with a combination of speed work. I have yet to do any real running yet because of an “interruption”, but when I was, combined with weights, I was running faster and better than at the end of last season.
Don’t get me wrong I think weights are great for a 200/400 meter runner. I am just saying that the primary advantage in my experience has been from increases in starting strength and acceleration ability. as far as mechanics, holding form and core strength you are definitely correct. These are very important in speed endurance as fatigue really sets in
Can improving strength via weights improve top speed? Absolutely!
How?
1:Think about the concept of intense CNS stimulation from weights and its effect on other training elements such as top speed work which are carried out later.
2: A diversity of training means/stimulae will prevent plateauing too soon.
3: With care, strengthening ANYWHERE on the force curve can yield improvement EVERYWHERE on the force curve. There is a place for weights, plyos, explosive med ball, as well as speed work in the pursuit of higher maximum speed.
Nice post Charlie.
Thanks for your answer.
I need to think a bit more clearly about the intense CNS stimulation and its effect on other training elements such as top speed.
Firstly, don’t powerlifts have a lower CNS stimulas than sprints,
but perhaps a higher peripheral/neuro muscular stimulas?
Olympic lifts may have both a higher CNS stimulas and peripheral stimulas?
Ben J ofcourse did not do Olylifts so his “local” muscular stimulas from the powerlifts are what carried over to his sprinting?(aswell as med-ball etc.)
Even though powerlifts may have lower CNS stimulas and less total watts of power(?), their effect on bodyparts will allow the sprinter to use more watts of power & CNS power when sprinting than if they didn’t do the lifts?