About a year ago, I read one of the best collection of thoughts on speed and strength training I can remember. This post was featured on www.bretcontreras.com and written by Greg Potter, a sprints coach from the UK. Greg is a guy who is really linking science and research with the practice of speed training. I sent him a few questions about training sprinters, as well as a few general questions about training speed, strength and power.
Here are his answers, enjoy!
Just Fly Sports: I found your comparison of blocked vs. varied practice very interesting. What are your thoughts on the utilization of complex training in power development for athletes? What are some of your favorite complexes for sprinters? At what point in the training year would you being complex training work over blocked sets?Â
Greg: First of all, I just want to say thanks for the opportunity and keep up the good work; it’s great to see someone working hard to put out useful information on a regular basis. As a quick disclaimer, I don’t for one moment claim to be an expert on this stuff. It is still early in my coaching career, so make what you want of what I say!Â
I think that the complex method is very useful if the facility permits. While many people use the method with a view towards capitalising on any residual post-tetanic potentiation from the higher load exercise, I really see it as a benefit to motor learning primarily as the literature on any potential acute ergogenic effects is a little unclear. As alluded to in the article you mentioned, alternating different exercises (e.g. in a varied practice format) can encourage superior learning of new skills. The complex method is a winner from a training density perspective too. My athletes have a limited time to dedicate to training, so efficiency in programming is always a priority.
 Greg sees complex training primarily as a benefit to motor learning, as the acute potentiation effects of this method are a little unclear
In terms of complexes for sprinters, I generally save them for the Specific Preparatory Periods in which circa-maximal loads are incorporated. If coaching an athlete with less lifting experience, I may use a blocked approach during preparation for the indoor season and the complex method during preparation for the outdoor season after they are more technically adept at the exercises. I feel that these minor modifications to the programme structure are important to ensuring continued progress over a prolonged period; a simple change in the sequence of the exercise may be enough to spark new progress. I always try to consider how to modify minor details of the training stimulus to achieve a given outcome so that there are numerous options that could be pursued in the event of a plateau in a selected exercise.
With respect to complexes for sprinters, I don’t really feel there are right or wrong approaches. One point that I think is worth mentioning is the long-term development of the athlete. That is to say that I try to leave room for future intensification of the training stimulus. This might be achieved by adding more technically demanding exercise variations within a complex. For example, perhaps an individual might perform a hang power clean in a complex during their preparation one season and then a hang split power clean during their preparation in a subsequent season.
In general, I implement exercises with common directions of force applications. For example, a Trap bar deadlift could be alternated with a Trap bar jump shrug. Exercises with different force-velocity profiles are included. Perhaps the most obvious and specific option in the preparation of a sprinter is using short sled sprints and short unloaded sprints in a complex fashion. For example, a sprinter might perform a sled sprint to 20 metres from a half-kneeling start with the forward foot being the opposite foot forward to that which is forward in blocks. After a short rest, he may then do a block start to 20 metres and repeat this sequence for a given number of repetitions. I try to ensure that the left and right muscles receive as similar loading as possible, hence the selection of the kneeling start in this instance – an exercise that quite closely mimics a block start.
Other options for start development include sprints alternated with loaded or unloaded jumping exercises or medicine ball throws such as a diving throw variation. For example, a novice may perform a 20 metre sprint from a prone start alternated with a diving throw, whereas a more advanced athlete might perform a more specific complex comprised of a 30 metre block start alternated with a diving throw preceded with a jump from a staggered stance.
As per the track, the options for complexes in the weight room are endless and limited only by equipment and imagination. I’ll describe a couple of sequences that begin with exercises emphasising the force side of the force-velocity spectrum from which exercises could be selected; a coach might select two of these, for example. These exercises could be performed with or without a countermovement depending on the targeted strength quality. If starting strength development for transfer to the block start was intended, one or all exercises might be performed without a countermovement, for example. Three simple ones that come to mind include:
Alternate leg reverse lunge – Alternating split squat jump
*Romanian deadlift (can include bands or chains) – Hang jump shrug – Hang power clean – Hang snatch (Clean grip) – Medicine ball overhead toss
Step up – Jumping step up
*Romanian deadlift is selected over the conventional Deadlift due to hip extensor emphasis and a tendency for athletes to perform it with better techniqueÂ
What do you think about squat depth for sprinters?
Forgive me for being difficult, but I think that this question can only be answered if the coach feels that squatting is appropriate in the first place; I’m not convinced that any exercise other than the competitive event itself is a prerequisite for any athlete. I don’t want to suggest that I don’t think that bilateral squatting variations can be useful, but one of the changes that I’ve made to my athletes’ programmes this year is the removal of circa-maximal bilateral squatting. There are several reasons for this.
Are squats completely necessary for training sprinters considering the other options?
Firstly, I’d contend that bilateral squatting tends to produce the greatest relative hypertrophy of the distal thighs. For example, in experienced junior weightlifters followed during 18 months of training, knee extensor anatomical cross sectional increased by 31% at 30% of femur length from the knee but did not increase significantly in more proximal measurements (Kanehisa et al., 2003). Now, these athletes were not only performing squatting exercises, and the squats they did perform were likely generally high-bar, Olympic-style back squats or front squats. It’s important to bear these considerations in mind. However, if this regional hypertrophy is in fact typical, observations of superior sprinters would suggest it may not be ideal.
Kumagai and colleagues (2000) looked at skeletal muscle architectural differences between sprinters with personal bests between 10 and 10.9 seconds versus sprinters with bests between 11 and 11.7 seconds. While arguably the most significant finding was a negative association between fascicle length and personal best time, the authors also found that the faster sprinters had a greater mean muscle thickness of the upper thigh despite no significant differences in vastus lateralis thickness. This observation supports a contention that coaches like Charlie Francis have had for some time: elite sprinters are characterised by distinctive muscle morphology. While it is not possible to infer any causality from these observations, I believe that trying to target the development of specific areas in the weight room (e.g. the proximal posterior thighs) is unlikely to hurt! 
Elite sprinters are characterized by a distinct muscle morphology: greater muscle thickness in the upper thigh, rather than in the vastus lateralis/lower thigh region
Another reason behind my elimination circa-maximal bilateral squatting is that I feel that it is difficult to get the hip extensors and knee flexors too strong relative to the hip flexors and knee extensors. While the hamstring: quadriceps ratio divides many and is subject to numerous methodological issues (e.g. appropriate joint angles, muscle work regimes, velocities, etc.), I think that the body of evidence generally supports the importance of this relationship in minimising musculo-skeletal injuries. For example, Croisier and colleagues (2002) observed that nearly 70% of athletes with recurrent hamstring injuries had bilateral deficits in yielding (lengthening) hamstring strength, as determined by the ratio of eccentric hamstring strength at 30° per second relative to overcoming (shortening) knee extensor strength at 240° per second. Following a training programme emphasising yielding exercises, individuals recovered full hamstring strength, returned to pre-injury level of play and remained injury-free during the subsequent 12 months, indicating a protective effect of an improved ratio. Therefore, while quantification of training loads is nigh-on impossible, my sprinters do significantly more work for the muscles of the posterior thigh than the anterior thigh with a view towards injury minimisation; athletes probably won’t be getting faster if they’re nursing niggles.
Does this mean that I’m anti-squatting? Absolutely not. My athletes still generally perform some squatting variations in their General Preparatory Period (e.g. isometric dumbbell goblet squats) mostly in order to prepare them for Olympic lift derivatives. Moreover, they indirectly include squatting motions during the catch portion of power cleans, for example.
I don’t think that we can really say for sure what type of squatting would be best for sprinters; the most appropriate squat probably varies in light of the athlete’s needs (including anthropometric and orthopaedic considerations) and equipment availability. Were I to include bilateral squatting, I’d probably generally opt for a relatively wide stance squat in shoes without a heel lift (or bare feet) with the athlete focusing on pushing the hips posteriorly and squatting as deeply as is possible while minimising lumbar spine flexion so as to maximise hip extensor work. The overcoming (lifting) portion of the exercise would be performed as explosively as possible while maintaining correct technique; accommodating resistance in the form of bands, chains and/or weight releasers could be used in some instances to encourage maximal neural drive to the musculature throughout the lift. As an aside, I frequently see athletes in the gym performing exercises such as Romanian deadlifts in weightlifting shoes which still perplexes me. Why do this when you’re trying to target the hip extensors specifically?
One last thing that I’ll mention is a couple of thoughts on the ongoing discussion between those in favour of bilateral squatting and those opposed to it. Many are proponents of exercises like the rear foot-elevated split squat and use the bilateral deficit as a key point in favour of exercises like the Rear-foot elevated split squat; however, this exercise is not unilateral, it is just less symmetrical. Granted, the legs do not contribute equally, but they must both work and the relative contribution by each varies with factors such as relative exercise intensity. Furthermore, athletes may experience bilateral facilitation with increased experience in the weight room. There are other considerations too that seem to be often overlooked. For example, Rear-foot elevated split squat proponents might claim this exercise’s superiority on account of reduced spinal loading, but the perhaps an exercise like a Rear-foot elevated split squat would also be contra-indicated for those with dysfunction at joints like the sacro-iliac joint.Â
What are your thoughts on overspeed training?Â
To be honest, it’s not something that I’ve looked at in depth as it would not be practical in the environment in which I coach. More specifically, while I coach in a world-class facility, there’s not exactly a perfectly flat surface at a small downhill gradient on which to implement over-speed training! The closest that I come to implementing over-speed training is having sprinters run with the wind if they’re feeling and looking sharp. This is preferably done during warm weather that would facilitate higher body temperatures. The higher temperatures may leave athletes less prone to injury as, among other things, higher body temperatures may permit faster nerve conduction velocities and higher muscle enzyme activities and therefore energy provision.
Do I think that over-speed training could have its place in the right conditions? Quite possibly if there was access to a track in which the gradient could be manipulated in small increments. Even then, I’d probably only include this in the training of the elite. We can all dream!
If you enjoyed this interview, check out “Greg Potter Interview Part II: Intensive Tempo, Short to Long vs. Long to Short, and CNS Strength and Individual Differences”
About the Author: Greg is a coach, personal trainer, and sports massage therapist in the U.K. Check out his blog at gdmpotter.blogspot.co.uk and find him on Twitter @GDMPotterÂ
ReferencesÂ
Croisier JL, Forthomme B, Namurois MH, Vanderthommen M, Crielaard JM. Hamstring muscle strain recurrence and strength performance disorders. Am J Sports Med 2002; 30: 199–203.
Kanehisa H, Funato K, Kuno S, et al. Growth trend of the quadriceps femoris muscle in junior Olympic weight lifters: an 18-month follow-up survey. Eur J Appl Physiol 2003; 89: 238-42.
Kumagai K, Abe T, Brechue WF, et al. Sprint performance is related to muscle fascicle length in male 100-m sprinters. J Appl Physiol 2000; 88: 811-6.
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