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The University of Oregon Ducks football team has seen a major resurgence lately. How has a program that once went 37 years—from 1957 to 1994—without winning even a share of a conference title suddenly become a perennial national title contender?

The logical answer would be great players and great coaches, which the Ducks have had in droves. Joey Harrington, Dennis Dixon, LaMichael James, Kenjon Barner, and Marcus Mariota all finished in the Top Ten of the Heisman Trophy voting. Mike Bellotti, Chip Kelly, and Mark Helfrich are all proven winners as head coaches. Jimmy Radcliffe might be the best strength and conditioning coach in the country.

Facilities is another potential answer. Although Autzen Stadium is certainly above average for big-time college football, it is not nearly as hallowed or historic as Michigan’s “Big House,” Ohio State’s “Horseshoe,” Florida’s “Swamp,” or USC’s “Grand Old Lady.”

Perhaps it’s the uniforms? Now, I am not suggesting that Oregon somehow has a performance advantage based on their uniforms—though we will talk about performance apparel later in this article. I am suggesting that Oregon, whose uniforms were voted as the best in college football, has an advantage in recruiting based on their uniforms. While most longtime college football powerhouses like Alabama, Notre Dame, Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State, Florida, Texas, Nebraska, Auburn, USC, and Oklahoma keep the same uniforms for decades in order to stay branded in tradition, Oregon is appealing to our current generation by trotting out new uniforms every single game. Not many college football teams have 739 words on their Wikipedia page dedicated to their uniforms.

Figure 1: The University of Oregon football team appeals to today’s generation with their attractive, unique uniforms. Every game sees a new combination of helmets, jerseys, pants, socks, and shoes. Their uniforms, which have been voted as the best in college football, help attract top talent to Eugene and keep the Ducks winning. It certainly doesn’t hurt to also have marquee athletes such as Devon Allen, an Olympic finalist in the 110m High Hurdles, on the team as well.

At Oregon, the football resurgence started at the turn of the century with Pac-10 titles in 2000 and 2001. A seemingly innocuous change in the school logo preceded this resurgence, from the outdated overlapped UO logo to the now-famous stretched O logo you still see today.

That was just the beginning. In 2005, the Oregon Ducks wore nine different uniform combinations. The team was now a staple in the Top 25 college polls, but had yet to truly scare the regulars up top. Then, in 2009, they hired Chip Kelly, whose high-octane, fast-paced offense revolutionized the college game and brought the greatest success in the program’s history. In his four years, Kelly led the Ducks to three outright conference titles and four berths in BCS Bowl games, including an appearance in the 2011 BCS National Championship game. Mark Helfrich took over in 2013 and has kept the Ducks in the national spotlight, including another berth in the BCS National Championship game in 2014 and the program’s first Heisman Trophy winner in Marcus Mariota. Success garners headlines, and success in fresh new uniforms garners the attention needed from top recruits.

How important is looking good to football players? Apparently, more important than their long-term safety. Two NFL players in the late 1980s and early 1990s—Mark Kelso and Steve Wallace—wore oversized helmets during their playing days. The helmets made play safer for those wearing them and—because the outer shell was softer—for those getting hit by them. Both were made fun of quite often about the helmets, even by television announcers.

Kelso himself says, “Players thought the padding didn’t look cool, so they didn’t want it.” [1] You read that correctly: Players want to look cool, even at the risk of injury. Kelso added, “With football players, aesthetics wins out over safety every time.” [2] Oregon’s fancy, varied uniforms did not decrease their safety, of course, but they are winning the war of aesthetics over their competition.

Figure 2: Steve Wallace helped protect quarterback Steve Young on the San Francisco 49ers’ run to the Super Bowl XXIX title. Wallace himself was protected by an oversized helmet. Plagued by concussions early in his career, Wallace added a layer of foam around his helmet to protect his head. His dedication to safety earned him mockery and derision from players and announcers.

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There will mainly be two parts to this article—competition and practice—both focusing on how apparel can make your team better.

Competition Apparel

The function of your competition uniforms is obviously more important than their form. However, advances by apparel companies have taken the job of functionality out of your hand, for the most part. Nobody wears heavy cotton jerseys or big, baggy shorts in Track & Field anymore. Basically, all the outfits on the market are of high-quality fibers that are great for performance. Still, having a knowledge of the various uniforms can put your team at an advantage.

Options

Your uniform choices for Track & Field should be almost as varied as the events. Tight tops might be great for your sprint crew, but would you want to wear them if you were running the 3200m on a hot day? I am the head boys coach at Lake Forest High School (IL). Our varsity athletes are all issued the same jersey top, a Nike DQT Victory singlet. Their bottoms, however, are issued depending on their events. Sprinters, jumpers, hurdlers, and vaulters are given tight shorts; distance runners are given their typical “short shorts”; and throwers are given regular athletic shorts that hang down almost to their knees. If an athlete wants a different pair of shorts, that’s fine as long as we have enough in stock.

The variance in our uniform bottoms serves to accommodate function as well as form. Distance runners typically do not like tights because the tights often make them hotter during a race, as well as in between races. Running the mile leads to quite a sweat, and nobody wants to walk around at a meet with a tight, sweaty item stuck to them, especially with another event coming up. Distance runners have also generally embraced the short shorts. Wearing them is a source of pride because those tiny shorts are now unique to their discipline.

Some coaches have taken the issue of lower body apparel completely out of the picture and let their athletes wear whatever they choose on their bottom half, as long as it is a certain color (usually black). This saves the school money on apparel and also allows the athletes to individualize their look.

If you have the resources, variance in jersey tops is desirable as well, both for function and form. You may have noticed that the U.S. Olympic marathon runners wore jerseys with holes in them. The weather was predicted to be hot and the marathon is obviously quite long, so having light, thin uniforms with holes in them made a great deal of sense. Female distance runners at the professional level virtually never have their midriff covered, though this look is not allowed at the high school level.

While some athletes love the look and feel of speedsuits, others hate them. All speedsuits are not created equal, either. I loved our speedsuits my first two years in college, and hated the new ones we got my junior year. My personal advice for speedsuits at the high school level is to make them exclusive. We will cover exclusivity later in this article.

Compression

Swimming and Track & Field are often compared to each other, which is quite understandable. One area where they should not be compared, however, is apparel. Obviously, the medium for the sports is quite different. Nobody disputes the amazing effect of compression suits in swimming. Speedo claims that their Fastskin-3 suit reduces passive drag by 16.6% and improves oxygen economy by 11%. [3] Just getting into those suits takes 10-15 minutes, and they are generally only ideal to use for one competition. The benefits of compression suits are so obvious and undeniable that coaches and officials do not even expect the athletes to be in team apparel during the championship season! Athletes buy their own suits and caps, regardless of whether they match the school colors or not. In what other sport does this happen?

Can we apply those benefits to compression apparel in Track & Field? Certainly, an appropriately tighter uniform will keep you warmer and be slightly better for wind resistance. But, despite what the companies trying to sell you these items would like you to believe, those are essentially the only benefits. Multiple studies, including those by researchers at Indiana University [4] and many for the Journal of Sports Science & Medicine [5], have concluded that compression apparel in Track & Field has essentially no effect on running performance.

My suggestion here is not that speedsuits, compression shorts, and the like are worthless and have no place in Track & Field. However, their use as a performance enhancer is essentially a placebo effect. But you know what? Most of the time that is good enough. Athletes should feel faster in a speedsuit. They should feel faster in cool new clothing. Our coaching colleague Tony Holler points out speedsuits as one of his five speed enhancers. Loren Seagrave once told me, “When the athletes take off those warm-ups and reveal that jersey, it’s like Clark Kent going into the phone booth and coming out as Superman. You are faster than a speeding bullet.” That is the way your jersey should make you feel.

“Compression apparel may not affect performance, but if an athlete feels like it does, that’s enough.”

Appearance

In the early 1990s, the University of Michigan’s “Fab Five” entertained the world of college basketball with, not only their exuberant youth, brash play, and incredible talent, but also with their bald heads, black socks, and baggy shorts. [6] Most basketball jerseys in the 1980s and 1990s were awesome—we will talk about retro appeal later—but the Fab Five were pioneers of promoting the way they looked just as much as the way they played. Everybody wanted those baggy shorts. Their student union started selling the team shorts and could not keep them in stock.

At around the same time, the Lithuanian men’s basketball team was looking to make a splash in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. Lithuania’s independence was restored in 1990, but while they were thick on basketball talent, they were thin on funds. Thankfully, the Grateful Dead read a story about their plight in the San Francisco Chronicle and decided to donate $5,000 to one of Lithuania’s stars, Šarūnas Marčiulionis. Part of the donation went to their tie-dyed warm-up shirts, which featured a skeleton dunking a basketball. When their most famous athlete, Arvydas Sabonis, saw the shirts, he exclaimed, “Wow, this is really a free Lithuania.” [7] Lithuania, in shirts that reflected their attitude, won the Olympic bronze medal in 1992, 1996, and 2000.

Your apparel does not necessarily have to make such a bold statement. You do not need to change history with your uniforms, but your apparel should attract people to your team. Athletes in the school should see your team apparel, see pictures of your jerseys, and say, “I want to be a part of that.” You may argue that the type of kids who come out for the team just for the uniforms are not the type of kids you want on your team. But how do you know? Do the Oregon football coaches say to their recruits, “Don’t pick our school just because you like the uniforms”? I have never been on a recruiting visit with one of their coaches, but I guarantee the discussion is more along the lines of, “We have the best uniforms in the country.”

Appearance matters! The look of your uniform will never literally win you a race, but feeling good about your appearance has a great psychological effect. Remember when your aunt would buy you something embarrassing for Christmas and your mom would make you wear it to school? How much confidence did you have that day? Compare that to the day you got a haircut, new shoes, and new shirt. Imagine heading into every track meet with that sort of confidence.

Our appearance gives us confidence: Pride in their apparel could help athletes perform better. Share on X

Denis Sheeran was the coach who preceded me at Lake Forest High School, and we overlapped for three seasons there. He took a broken program that was lucky to have even one athlete at the State meet each year and turned them into a powerhouse team that won the North Suburban Conference championship in 2008 and 2009. His first book, Instant Relevance: Using Today’s Experiences to Teach Tomorrow’s Lessons, is the No. 1 new release on Amazon, and is about making learning relevant in order to increase students’ engagement and desire to learn.

Coach Sheeran, a brilliant math teacher, understands that making students interested in what they are doing is essential to progress. He used the same theories in his coaching; reasoning that athletes need a desire to come out for a program that had been sorely lacking in relevance. The speedsuits you see in Figure 5 were designed by Coach Sheeran.

Retro

Though there are many companies, such as First To The Finish and GTM Sportswear, that sell great jerseys at very low prices, many teams and athletic departments simply do not have the funds to purchase new uniforms very often. But most schools have some attractive apparel lying around collecting dust. Retro uniforms! Go into your school’s equipment room and see what you can find.

How many examples of popular retro uniforms in sports do you need before you will consider digging into your equipment room to see what gems you can unearth? NBA, NFL, and MLB teams are constantly bringing back old uniforms and highlighting their return. Many colleges are having similar events in almost every sport. Even video games are getting in on the trend. Every time that NBA Live is released, the new version seems to have more retro uniforms to choose from. When is the last time you turned down an invitation to an ’80s party?

This past season, our dual meet between Lake Forest High School and Antioch Community High School was a #RetroMeet. Given that it was the last time the two teams would be having a dual meet against each other—due to our conference splitting apart—Antioch coach Chris Bailey and I decided that throwing back the clock was a good idea. Thankfully, the kids loved it too. We actually had more athletes than retro uniforms at Lake Forest, so we had to limit it by only giving retro uniforms to those athletes who had not yet accumulated an unexcused absence. On a cold, blustery day in early April, the Scouts and Sequoits battled each other in a variety of short shorts and old nylon jerseys.

Accessorize

The fact that we call the outfits we assign to our teams, “uniforms,” is all you need to know about their individuality. The uniform is a way to get everybody to look the same. But, while we assign the athletes their jersey tops and bottoms, there are still plenty of ways that athletes individualize their look. They have their choice of socks, spikes, headbands, wristbands, shoelaces, jewelry, undershirts, tights, etc.

If you are not aware of what is popular among today’s athletes, my advice is to develop some awareness as soon as possible. I have never been cool or trendy in my entire life, so I ask my athletes what is in style. Thus, our team apparel handout in 2016 included “bro tanks,” Nike Elite socks, and 3/4 tights. These apparel order forms can be critical to your team. I have the athletes give me input on color schemes, materials, styles, designs, etc. What I want pales in comparison to what they want.

At our awards banquet in 2015, the athletes got fleece vests as their team gift. When I was in school, that vest would have been donated to Goodwill or buried at the bottom of a dresser drawer. At Lake Forest, I see athletes wearing those vests all of the time. This past year, the athletes got a tank top, since Lake Forest is right on Lake Michigan and many of our athletes spend their summers at the beach. They also get a spike bag every single year, because those bags are extremely functional and cheap. Find something that connects to the athletes at your school. Athletes wearing that apparel become a walking promotion of your team.

One of the best athletes I have ever coached, Brad Fortney, is now the head girls coach at Kenosha Bradford High School in Wisconsin. He swears by headbands, putting them on their apparel order form and getting matching headbands for his athletes at the championship meets. These headbands cost about $5 each, but the athletes clamor for them. Each of the four members of the USA’s gold medal men’s 4x400m Relay team at the IAAF World U20 Championships was wearing a headband. Headbands are in!

Figure 6: Kahmari Montgomery and Ari Cogdell both sport headbands at the IAAF World U20 Championships. Accessories like headbands, socks, and even shoelaces can help your athletes give a personal or meaningful touch to their appearance.

Spikes

Let us be completely honest here. The best part of track apparel is the shoes. No track coach in their right mind will have “team” shoes like the basketball team does. There are so many different kinds of shoes for so many different events, in so many brands, and so many colors. Every time I see a cheap pair of spikes, I buy them. Somewhere down the line, I will have an athlete without spikes who will need them. If you want to see a happy kid, watch one trying on a pair of spikes for the very first time.

Having a cache of spikes also helps athletes determine which type of spikes work best for them. Some like a rigid plate; others a more neutral feel. Some athletes like to be forced up on the balls of their feet while others prefer a flatter shoe. Some like a ten-spike plate; others a four-spike plate. While a baseball player can try out a dozen gloves in the store and catch a ball with each of them, there are very few options for athletes to truly get on track with spikes before they buy them. During the track season, my trunk is filled with extra spikes in all different sizes.

Spikes are also the most functional part of a track athlete’s apparel. Beginners may buy some “all-around” spikes—usually mid-distance spikes—while figuring out what events they are going to do. But your top athletes should have specialized spikes if at all possible. The actual implements should also be replaced often. As you head into the championships season, check the spikes in your athletes’ shoes and swap out the ones that need replacing.

Exclusivity

I remember wanting to play varsity basketball as a kid because they had awesome uniforms. Early on in basketball, you would just get a cotton T-shirt, then a reversible mesh jersey. As a high school freshman you would get last decade’s varsity uniforms—which, in 1994, meant your shorts made John Stockton’s look baggy. I abandoned basketball as a sophomore in order to join the swim team, where our Speedos were about the same size as the freshman basketball shorts. The fact that the varsity basketball jerseys were better and newer than the lower-level jerseys was important. They were exclusive. The best for the best. The CEO of a company certainly has a better office than an entry-level hire.

Youth sports are creeping toward that tradition now. Nine-year-old soccer players are issued high-tech jerseys, shorts, socks, and duffle bags. Names on the back of football uniforms used to be reserved just for varsity athletes, but now I see names on the back of middle school uniforms, team bumper stickers on their mom’s minivan, and signs on the front lawn declaring that “a middle school football player” lives there. I understand that the coaches of those programs want to make their athletes feel special, but what is left to discover in high school? I do not blame those lower-level coaches at all. They are taking ideas that worked at one level and applying them to their own program. They understand exclusivity.

Exclusivity in apparel—such as varsity-only jerseys—can give athletes something to strive for. Share on X

In Track & Field, many programs now have “championship” uniforms. We have speedsuits at Lake Forest that we break out during the Conference Championships. If you want the privilege to wear these speedsuits, you have to be good enough to make varsity at the end of the year. Even some of the distance runners on the team clamor for a speedsuit.

We also have an exclusive baton at Lake Forest: Baby Blue. Only our varsity sprint relays get to use Baby Blue, and only if the coaches believe those athletes have a chance to win or place very high. Using Baby Blue is an honor because we have made it an honor. You can see my athletes in Figure 5 holding Baby Blue. There is an aura around that baton. I once threatened to withhold Baby Blue from a team that was not taking their handoffs seriously in practice. They shaped up quickly, and their handoffs the rest of the practice were perfect.

Practice Apparel

Track & Field is an odd sport in that there is no standard practice apparel. As far as I can tell, coaches of the basketball, football, volleyball, and swim teams never really have to worry much about what their athletes wear to practice. Their practice apparel is set. Our sport is different.

Sometimes we are indoors; sometimes we are outdoors. Sometimes we need spikes; sometimes we do not. Some athletes need shorter shorts than others. Athletes also often have to shed layers during practice. Apparel that helps one part of practice may hinder another.

Functionality

What is the ideal practice outfit for a high school Track & Field athlete? That depends on the event group. Since I am primarily a sprint coach, I will start with the sprint crew. Ideally, I would like my athletes to wear a relatively tight T-shirt, light athletic shorts that are at least a couple inches above the knee, a non-hooded long-sleeve top, light athletic pants that are cuffed at the ankle, a hat or headband that covers the ears, light gloves, athletic socks, shoes, spikes, a digital watch, and either briefs, boxer briefs, or spandex.

The distance runners will basically have the same apparel, though their shorts are usually shorter and they will need more breathable apparel on hotter days. Throwers generally do more standing around in practice and build up less of a sweat while outside, so an emphasis on warmer clothes should be considered when they venture outdoors. Obviously, they will not need spikes and probably not a watch, either.

As you can see, we want our athletes in light, non-baggy clothing that does not impede their running ability. This clothing must also keep them cool in the heat and warm in the cold. Sweatpants may seem like a great idea when it is cold outside, but they are usually fairly heavy, and most sweatpants I see athletes wear are loose at the cuff. This means they flop around on the athlete’s legs and get wet on the bottom.

I have a rule that my athletes are not allowed to wear hoods or pull their sleeves over their hands while running. Both of these change the athlete’s form. If you do not want your head and hands cold at practice, bring a hat and gloves. Simple. At a meet, hooded sweatshirts are great. They keep the athletes warm between events. But at a practice, I prefer that the athletes do not wear hooded sweatshirts.

The gender of your athletes will obviously make a big difference, both in simple biology and in the popularity of certain apparel items. Girls’ coaches do not need to worry about boxers and boys’ coaches do not need to worry about sports bras. Brad Fortney, the coach I mentioned above, puts winter headbands with a ponytail hole on his apparel order form and sells a ton. If I tried that with my boys at Lake Forest, I might sell three or four. Girls are also much more likely to wear long tights and short running shorts; both very functional items that most boys are simply unwilling to wear.

Your apparel order forms are a great way to get your athletes to buy appropriate practice apparel. Put the items you want the athletes to wear at practice on there. Long-sleeve T-shirts, technical T-shirts, tank tops, gloves, hats, watches, tights, shorts of appropriate length, headbands, etc. Hand out a form to the parents at the beginning of the season with the expected practice apparel at the same time you hand them the apparel order form.

One great item I will be including on our apparel form this year is NIX ELITE zip-away tights. Designed by three-time World Champion track athlete Greg Nixon, they are running tights that zip all the way down from the hip to the ankle, allowing athletes to quickly remove them before a race. This very functional piece of apparel is also a head-turner. I dare your athletes to see a competitor zip off their pants that way before a race and not say, “I want those.”

Video 1: NIX ELITE track pants may revolutionize the market. They are cool, functional, and stylish, and were designed by Greg Nixon, a three-time World Champion track athlete.

Practice Shoes

The biggest battle I face with practice apparel is convincing the athletes not to wear Nike Free, Nike Flex, or any other similar shoe to practice. Unfortunately for track coaches, Nike has done an incredible job marketing such shoes, and they have become very popular. They are also terrible shoes for track practice. They flex too much and provide very little support. It’s fine if athletes want to buy them for walking around in, but I do not want to see them at practice. There is some consolation in the fact that the Nike Free is at least ranked in rigidity on a scale of 0-10 (with 0 being barefoot and 10 being a “normal” running shoe like the Nike Zoom Pegasus). [9] So, while I prefer that none of my athletes wear a Nike Free, I would rather they wear a 5.0 than a 3.0. Please do not get me started on Vibram FiveFingers and the like.

Be sure your athletes are not showing up to run in basketball shoes, skating shoes, cross trainers, or anything else. Thankfully, the market is flooded with running shoes. Nike, Adidas, Puma, Brooks, New Balance, Saucony, Asics, Mizuno, Under Armour, Pearl Izumi, Hoka One, and others all make great running shoes in a variety of types and colors. You can even look up how many medals were won in the Olympics by runners wearing each shoe brand. [8]

Because footwear is so important, an athlete showing up without their running shoes can derail their practice. Sometimes they can borrow shoes from another athlete, but what if they cannot? I suggest using long-forgotten lost-and-found shoes and worn shoes from your own personal collection to create a stockpile of available shoes. Find a place in the locker room or similar area to store them. This is also a good place to keep extra sweatshirts, athletic pants, and spikes, just in case somebody forgets those. You can even have athletes donate their shoes and spikes at the end of the season.

Most specialty running stores will have experts who can help fit your stride to a particular type of shoe. Three main types of running shoes are for those who over pronate, neutral pronate, or supinate. I personally prefer a lighter shoe, while many athletes love a little extra support. Recommend that your athletes go to a specialty running store to get fitted for proper shoes. The potential for reduced injuries should far outweigh any extra costs.

Apparel Days

Practice is important, but it can be a drag. Many coaches are using apparel days to break up the monotony of practice and keep their athletes interested. I know of teams that do Throwback Thursday, tight-tee tuck-in Tuesday, ’80s day, neon day, headband day, jersey day, and even a Halloween costume thrower’s competition. Coming to practice on those days is fun. Athletes will be taking pictures of their outfits and sharing them on social media.

Use fun apparel days to reduce practice monotony and give athletes something to look forward to. Share on X

We do a T-shirt relay where athletes wear crazy outfits and run a relay to “win” a choice from a stockpile of old tees donated by the coaches and the athletic department. Eric Kush, the center for the Los Angeles Rams, promotes “Fat Arm Friday,” where he encourages everybody to wear tanks. This was a highlight of the Rams’ appearance on “Hard Knocks.”

Team pictures are another way to creatively use apparel to promote your team. Let the athletes choose—within reason—what to wear for the pictures. The tradition at Lake Forest before I arrived was for the seniors to wear blue button-down dress shirts and everybody else to wear white button-down dress shirts. The rest of the outfit was the same: dress pants, dress shoes, and a tie. In 2013, we decided to make it more fun. The freshman, sophomores, and juniors still had to dress in the traditional outfit, but we gave the seniors the option to pick their own outfit. That year, the seniors picked blazers, bowties, and khaki shorts. In 2014, they went with robes and ascots. The 2015 seniors wore bowties, Chubbies, half-calf socks, and boat shoes. In 2016, the choice was blazers, turtlenecks, jorts, half-calf socks, boat shoes, and gold chains.

Apparel Impacts Performance

What have we learned from the example set forth by the University of Oregon’s football program? Attracting top athletes to your team can have a great impact on your success. Functional, eye-catching apparel may be the performance hack your team is missing. Athletes who look good and feel good are bound to perform well. Coaches who only focus on the “X’s and O’s” are consistently having less success than the innovators who coach the soul of the athlete, as well as the body and mind. Your apparel matters, from form down to function.

Last February, I gave a speech titled “Winning With Speed” at the WISTCA Clinic in Madison, Wisconsin. In that speech, I encouraged all of the coaches to attract the best athletes in their school to their track team. One suggestion was to get cool uniforms and team apparel. At least one coach who attended my session took the handout from my speech and used it to convince his athletic director to help his team purchase new uniforms. I am hoping this article will have the same impact. Please consider all the great effects that apparel can have for your program. If you have better suggestions or apparel items than I have mentioned here, please list them in the comments below.

Since you’re here…
…we have a small favor to ask. More people are reading SimpliFaster than ever, and each week we bring you compelling content from coaches, sport scientists, and physiotherapists who are devoted to building better athletes. Please take a moment to share the articles on social media, engage the authors with questions and comments below, and link to articles when appropriate if you have a blog or participate on forums of related topics. — SF

References

1. Easterbrook, Gregg. “Change in helmets needed for 2011.” ESPN.com, 26 October, 2010.
2. Kleps, Kevin. “Mark Kelso, mocked and shunned for his padded helmet in the 1990s, is still fighting to reduce concussions.” Crain’s Cleveland Business, 30 April 2014.
3. Morrison, Jim. “Spanx on Steroid: How Speedo Created the New Record-Breaking Swimsuit.” Smithsonian.com, 26 June, 2012.
4. Laymon, Abigail and Nathan Eckert. “Compression clothing and athletic performance – functional or fad?” EurekAlert!, 3 June 2010.
5. Beliard, Samuel, et al. “Compression Garments and Exercise: No Influence of Pressure Applied.” Journal of Sports Science & Medicine. 14 March, 2015. 14(1), 75-83.
6. Albom, Mitch. The Fab Five: Basketball, Trash Talk, and the American Dream. Warner Books, 1993, pp 71-73.
7. Hoekstra, Dave. “Lithuania finds Glory in ‘The Other Dream Team.’” Chicago Sun-Times, 10/11.
8. Hanratty, Mathew. “How Did the Sponsors Do in Rio?” Track Stats, 23 August 2015.
9. Click, Calvy. “The Complete Performance History of the Nike Free.” Complex.com, 23 March 2013.

 

Performance programs in rugby should center on the game’s physiological, psychological, and logistical demands.

While a periodized training plan might look perfect, rugby is far from perfect regarding movement. Set plays happen at high speed, and defensive players must decide how to best tackle the oncoming attackers. Predictable drills certainly have a part to play in practice, but it’s important to progress toward more random drills.

During agility training, I advocate using medicine balls as a constant stimulus. Coaches often believe athletes need to understand exactly what’s going on. Naturally they need a basic understanding, but when focusing on agility, keep an unpredictable element up your sleeve to further challenge your players’ biomotor capacities.

Rugby has the advantage of a clear and definite schedule that allows training sessions to be designed around the annual fixture list. Rugby is also a sport in which the likelihood of players being in optimal condition all season is extremely unlikely. This makes the role of support staff all the more interesting.

In this article, I’ll describe numerous contributing factors that influence the outcome of individual games and overall seasons.

 

Rugby is a contact sport played over two 40-minute halves where high levels of force are both generated and absorbed upon impact. Teams are made of fifteen members, and players are divided into forwards and backs.

The stereotype, with limited truth, is that forwards tend to be immobile and thrive on physicality. Their primary role is to secure possession of the ball. That’s not to say, however, that attack is strictly off limits.

In a game analysis conducted by the International Rugby Board, forwards completed an average 42% of passes at the 2011 Rugby World Cup. This shows that forwards are integral to an effective attack.

Conversely, if athletes have speed, power, and skill, they are often placed as backs. As rugby becomes increasingly dynamic, however, every player will need to be comfortable with the ball in hand and with making active defensive tackles.

Factors That Influence Performance and Game Outcomes

Injuries

A Northern Hemisphere season begins in September and will continue until the end of May. On the professional level, this is eight months of competition, not including international duties. Almost every year, international rugby will add an additional two months to the playing calendar.

As a result, several team members will have sustained injuries preventing them from playing for their clubs. In a competition such as the Six Nations, which begins in mid-February and usually finishes in late March, a player carrying an injury adds the risk of missing the remainder of the season or, perhaps more noticeably, limiting their work capacity during pre-season.

Ball in Play

Rugby places unique and extreme physiological demands on the body. The average mass of England’s forwards, for example, at the 2015 Rugby World Cup was 108kg, and the average height was 6’1”. The backs had an average mass of 91kg.

An important element of needs analysis for the game is total time spent on the field. Ultimately, some players are unlikely to play for the whole 80 minutes. Considering the size of modern day rugby players, it’s remarkable they have the ability to perform for at least sixty minutes.

At the 2011 Rugby World Cup, the average number of close contact situations, in rugby terms rucks and mauls, was 162. The average ball-in-play time was 35 minutes 25 seconds, the lowest time was 29 minutes 34 seconds, and the highest time was 43 minutes 54 seconds. Although the amount of time seems relatively low, it’s a significant increase from the times recorded at the 1991 World Cup.

Psychology

The importance of psychology’s role in rugby is growing. It’s always existed even though some traditional coaches try to avoid it.

It’s a team sport with cohesion at its core. When players are injured, they’re likely to be excluded from team training, or they may perceive themselves as being excluded. This offers a challenge for support staff because exclusion can hinder progress in the gym.

External stimuli in professional rugby, the crowd, is often a source of psychological fatigue. Making decisions under pressure during a game situation is essential as it’s often those decisions that determine the game’s outcome. It’s very important to incorporate skill-based drills into a conditioning program.

Logistics

The impact of game logistics, particularly in Southern Hemisphere rugby, is overlooked; traveling does not promote optimal performance. I’ll refer to English Premiership rugby, purely because I know the distances.

When Exeter (South West) competes against Leicester (East Midlands), one of the teams must travel for at least four hours on a coach. I’m not suggesting that a four-hour journey will have disastrous effects, but it’s not ideal, and coaches should account for it. In any sport, logistics will affect recovery, performance, and overall preparation during the training week.

Team Dynamics

The final element of performance is team dynamics. It’s an area that I follow with interest because it’s incredibly important in a sport as physical as rugby. With the risk of sounding trite, each player has to understand they are part of a group. The last thing any coach wants to see is a rift among teammates.

Team dynamics should be at the top of the list before writing a program. Without a buy-in from every player, a program won’t be effective.

If possible, get the team in the gym at the same time. This will add a bit of competition while building team cohesion. It’s essential to keep competition in the weight room under control at all times, however, because players will inevitably want to push themselves toward excessive overload. The goal is preparation, not demolition.

Considerations for Training

Energy System Development

Energy system development is integral in rugby performance because all three energy systems are used (Bompa and Claro, 2009). In their simplest forms, ATP-PCr depletes within seconds, the glycolytic system degrades within 20-30 seconds, and the aerobic system supplies energy during periods of lower intensities (Morton and Close, 2016).

While an aerobic base is necessary for rugby players to maintain a homeostatic environment, the majority of play is anaerobic. There are numerous rest periods during a game, and a set of plays will usually last no longer than one minute, making the two anaerobic energy systems the key drivers.

Rugby is plagued with ineffective training protocols. The idea that “to be fit, you have to do an hour of vomit-inducing work,” still loiters at the amateur level. Occasionally, that method is beneficial but, as total volume, intensity, and external stressors increase, it should be kept to a minimum.

Rugby is plagued with ineffective training protocols. Share on X

Of course, a rugby coach could argue that athletes need to be overloaded, and they’d be correct. But running around the pitch, which is typically 340 meters in circumference, is training for the wrong event. Unless Forrest Gump is on the team, the chances of a player running around the pitch during a game are very slim.

I experienced this as a player and now realize how time was misused during our weekly training sessions. The coaches had us run around the pitch, do a few static stretches and then, after appropriately cooling us down during what was meant to be a warm-up, they proceeded to ask us to run into one another. That’s not the coaches’ fault. At amateur clubs, they usually coach voluntarily, and it’s unfair to expect them to be clued in on training methodology.

It also likely that junior rugby coaches played during a generation when continuous training was the norm.

As sports science information continues to become increasingly accessible, it would be beneficial to develop standards for all levels leading up to the professional level.

Physical Demands of Rugby

Video 1. This video clip depicts rugby’s physical demands. This phase of play occurred in the 70th minute of the game which makes the physicality all the more noticeable.

To build upon the video, it’s worth recognizing the conditions of the pitch surface. It’s often an uncontrollable and unavoidable factor in rugby, particularly for the visiting teams. And it would be unrealistic to assume the pitch won’t influence the overall performance. While players’ physical conditioning will cover every aspect of a game, a boggy pitch will, in most cases, slow them down and increase the onset of fatigue.

A boggy rugby pitch will, in most cases, slow players down and increase the onset of fatigue. Share on X

Rugby is predominantly a speed and power sport. To generate force, there must be a foundation of strength; strength is a prerequisite for speed and power generation (P = FV). Still, a physically competent player with foundational strength does not guarantee high performance. Regardless of how strong a player is, if they are unable to generate and apply force efficiently, they will not be very effective.

In my experience, the players who can apply large amounts of force will successfully evade or defeat defenders upon contact. This is not to say that size does not benefit a player. That would be naive. What’s important to remember is that size is not, and should not be viewed as, the determining factor.

I’ve heard stories of young players who are not selected for academies because of their size. If a player shows technical competence with “rugby intelligence,” they should be given every chance to progress. Far too often, size potentially excels or diminishes a young player’s career.

Strength and Conditioning

It might not sound glamorous, but strength and conditioning in rugby should focus on the fundamentals. As in most field sports, players are sprinting, jumping, cutting, and decelerating. Without these skills, chances of progressing as a player are small.

Unique to rugby is the need for players to be able to grapple effectively, which is why Mixed Martial Arts has gradually been introduced to training. To grapple and win, core strength and postural integrity are essential.

To grapple and win, core strength and postural integrity are essential. Share on X

By core strength, I refer to the ability to rotate, flex, and extend efficiently. In my eyes, core strength is an umbrella term that people often mistake for having visible abdominals. The core is more than just the abdominals. Barr and Lewindon (2014) refer to the core as the musculature of the hips, the three sections of the spine, the gluteals, and the trunk.

In rugby, the focal point of most strength programs is developing a strong posterior chain, where the large majority of force is generated. Most movements occur through the frontal plane, which lends itself to dominance in the anterior chain. That is by no means a negative, but it has to be balanced with posterior chain strength.

During the season, the number of gym sessions per week is almost always reduced purely because of the schedule. Unless there is a break in the fixture list, which is becoming increasingly rare, there will be a game every weekend. For this reason, making time for accessory work is redundant. In rugby, the saying “we are training movement” could not be more true.

As strength and conditioning become increasingly popular, there is a self-imposed pressure on some coaches to be innovative. The principle of specificity is exhausted to a point where sessions might look good, but they won’t give players the desired stimulus.

When looking at specificity, we typically look at energy system demand or timing. What often goes unnoticed is the biomechanical relativeness. Not many movements performed in the weight room are biomechanically specific to rugby but, as with most things, there are subtle adjustments that we can make.

Not many weight room movements are biomechanically specific to rugby until we make small adjustments.

Exercise variety has reached the max mark, and there are very few opportunities to develop a completely new training system. Strength and conditioning coaches provide the ingredients for high performance and then it’s then up to the technical coaches to make the athletes better players. A strength and conditioning program isn’t the sole factor in developing world class players.

I mentioned that not many exercises are biomechanically specific to rugby. If specificity is the goal, Olympic lifts cannot be overlooked. While there are some remarkably mobile rugby players, many players are not sufficiently mobile. Sometimes injury has reduced a player’s range of movement, and some of the players are just extraordinarily large humans.

To use Olympic lifts in a program, coaches can regress the complete movement to keep force generation and velocity high. That’s the goal, isn’t it? If we’re training power, producing high force and velocity is the way to do it.

If a 6’4”, 115 kg Second Row player is performing power cleans, for example, but not demonstrating movement proficiency, what would be the regression? Go back to hang cleans or move into clean high pulls.

There are also the proven movements of squats, deadlifts, pushing actions, and all of their respective variations. Squats can be changed to jump squats, ¼ squats, box squats, and front squats.

I’ve excluded overhead squats because they’re rather difficult. If the player is competent then, yes, consider including them. However, during the season, the time and effort required to display overhead competence are not an effective use of resources.

Deadlifts have several variations. Stiff leg deadlifts are popular for good reason. If eccentric strength is developed, connective tissue strength improves and, significantly, maximum force output should rise.

I added pushing movements as a general category because an endless number of strength exercises are available.

For performance, we need to move away from isolation exercises and focus on dynamic efforts.

Since you’re here…
…we have a small favor to ask. More people are reading SimpliFaster than ever, and each week we bring you compelling content from coaches, sport scientists, and physiotherapists who are devoted to building better athletes. Please take a moment to share the articles on social media, engage the authors with questions and comments below, and link to articles when appropriate if you have a blog or participate on forums of related topics. — SF

 

References

1. IRB Rugby World Cup 2011: Statistical Review and Match Analysis.
2. Bompa, T., and Claro, F. 2009. Periodization in Rugby. 1st ed. Maidenhead: Meyer & Meyer.
3. Morton, J., and Close, G. 2016. “The Bioenergetics of Sports Performance.” In Strength and Conditioning for Sports Performance, edited by Ian Jeffreys and Jeremy Moody. Routledge: Abingdon.
4. Barr, A., and Lewindon, D. 2014. “Stabilising and Strengthening the Core.” In High-Performance Training for Sports, edited by David Joyce and Dan Lewindon. 1st ed. Champaign: Human Kinetics.

Before you can run fast in the sprint hurdles, you must learn to 3-step. Sometimes athletes can 3-step without having to learn, but you will most likely work with beginners who need to be taught how to do so at full speed and full race distance.

Whether you are a 12-year-old sprinting over 30-inch hurdles to 80 meters, or a 24-year-old sprinting over 42-inch hurdles to 110 meters, the race is absolutely the same. Learning technique is very important as a hurdler, but it is good for nothing if you cannot run full speed over the hurdles in rhythm. Three steps are all you get to create as much speed as possible, and the athlete who can do so without crashing wins.

The key to helping hurdlers 3-step as soon as possible is to get them running and sprinting over the hurdles with only three steps, at whatever distance necessary.

• Phase 1 – Ingrain Rhythm
• Phase 2 – Push Rhythm to Max
• Phase 3 – Adapt to Race Distance

These are the three phases to learning to 3-step. In this article, I am going to show you how keeping the hurdles close is the key to building the good habits and confidence your athletes need to 3-step in races.

First, though, I need to answer the question: “What height should the hurdles be placed at?” The hurdles should be at their lowest height year round. Just as I never allow my beginners to run over race-distance hurdles in practice, I also never allow them to practice over race-height hurdles. This goes back to allowing them to progress properly before advancing.

Advanced hurdlers (who can already 3-step) will work for most of the season with the hurdles placed one notch lower than race height (36 inches for my high school boys, 30 inches for my high school girls). But, once again, they will rarely—if ever—run full speed with the hurdles at 39 (or 33) inches in practice.

Phase 1: Learn the Rhythm

All of my hurdlers, no matter if they’re youth or advanced, begin the season performing three hurdle drills:

1. The One-Step Drill
2. The Cycle Drill
3. The Cycle Ladder Drill

These drills help ingrain a good 3-step rhythm before putting the spikes on and running full speed. With about two solid weeks of nothing but these three drills, all hurdlers should establish a good rhythm and execute sound fundamental technique. It is with these three drills that beginners will begin to feel comfortable clearing the hurdles in rhythm, so they should perform the drills as long as it takes to establish a good rhythm.

Hurdlers learn to establish a rhythm by practicing the one-step, cycle and cycle ladder drills. Share on X

Many coaches will want to rush straight into running full speed over the hurdles on Day One, or at least Week One, but I caution against this. The faster hurdlers go, the quicker it sinks in and becomes automatic to the nervous system. If you begin with sprinting at full speed on Day One with bad rhythm and form, you will ingrain bad hurdling and it will have to be undone somewhere down the line in the future.

The One-Step Drill

The one-step drill should start at 6-7 feet apart with the hurdles as low as possible. Move over the hurdles and work to establish consistency and rhythm. You will know when an athlete has learned the one-step drill when they display rhythm over the hurdles.

Begin with five hurdles and, as they learn to clear them faster, advance to seven and 10 hurdles. They will eventually find that “automatic” movement over the hurdles—that is rhythm. This is what you will work to get them to feel over the hurdles at full speed. Although the journey will be long, this early experience with rhythm will make it that much easier because you will now know exactly what to chase.

Coaching Cues:

1. Stay Forward
2. Swing the Arms
3. Heels-to-Hips

Video 1: Clint performs the one-step drill for the first time. As he progresses, his movements become “automatic,” which is precisely what you want to happen for your hurdlers. A successful one-step drill results in an obvious rhythm displayed when moving over the hurdles.

The Cycle Drill

All athletes over 11 years old will be able to 3-step between hurdles spaced 15 feet apart, which is why this is the perfect starting distance for the cycle drill. Again, the key is to watch for rhythm over the hurdles. Simply moving over them without having to stop is a good start, but there must eventually be an automatic reaction to the hurdles with an emphasis on moving forward.

Coaching Cues:

1. Stay Forward
2. Swing the Arms
3. Heels-to-Hips

The drill should start at 15 feet apart, but your hurdlers should be able to progress fairly quickly from there. Once they can perform the drill with all hurdles at 17-18 feet apart, they can progress to the cycle ladder drill.

Video 2: In the cycle drill, the hurdler focuses on pumping their arms and bringing their heels straight up and straight down, with their body leaning forward. The lead leg should not come out towards the hurdle and the trail leg should not go wide.

The Cycle Ladder Drill

The cycle ladder drill will challenge hurdlers to clear increasing hurdle distances without shocking the system with full-speed running. The drill should be executed exactly like the cycle drill, but there must now be an emphasis on driving the trail leg down to the track off the hurdles. The trail leg should land close to the lead leg and it should give a noticeable push forward.

Coaching Cues:

1. Stay Forward
2. Swing the Arms
3. Heels-to-Hips

The drill should begin with the first two hurdles spaced 11 feet apart and increase by 2 feet every hurdle.

• 5 Hurdles
• 11-13-15-17 feet

After they can move through these hurdles in rhythm, I replace the last hurdle with the first and add 2 feet. The progression would be:

• 5 Hurdles
• 13-15-17-19 feet

Once the hurdlers can perform this drill in rhythm through about 20 feet, they will be ready to begin taking full-speed runs over the hurdles.

Video 3: Hurdlers doing the cycle ladder drill should pump their arms and cycle their legs from their hips to the ground, keeping their body leaning forward. The trail leg should feel like it’s landing next to the lead leg as it drives down to the track, and that action from the trail leg should push the hurdler to the next hurdle. Hurdles are moved as per the detailed progression above.

Phase 2: Push the Rhythm

Your athletes very likely did not master hurdle drills in two weeks, but they should have found rhythm and be comfortable clearing the hurdles. Now it’s time to introduce some speed.

Since there are meets to be run and championships to be won, you must advance to the next phase of training. If, however, you have a few months to train before your first competition, you could certainly take as long as you needed to truly master the three drills above.

After a few weeks of solid hurdle drills, athletes will have good form and rhythm, but will not be ready for full speed at race distance. The cycle ladder drill finishes at 19-20 feet (23-24 for advanced hurdlers) but the race distance is (approximately) 27 feet (28-30 for 100/110h) in between hurdles. That is a 7-foot difference for youth hurdlers and one that simply would not be covered in a 3-steps sprint yet. Forcing them to attempt the distance at full speed would only destroy the weeks (or months) of drilling and ultimately slow their progress.
The very first full-speed workout you should perform with hurdlers of all ages is Jammed Hurdling.

For youth hurdlers, jammed hurdling is 4 feet closer than race distance. So, where the race distance for youth is (approximately) 27 feet, the hurdles in practice should be set up at 23 feet apart. This may seem like an exaggeration, but, believe me, it is not when you are working with beginners. Remember: You want to get them to run between hurdles in order to develop good habits and instill confidence. Therefore, you should always keep the hurdles as close as necessary to ensure they are running.

Train hurdlers for speed with jammed and bunched hurdling before attempting full race distance. Share on X

Advanced hurdlers would start the hurdles at the jammed distance as well, but since they already 3-step without thinking about it, they can begin with the hurdles 27 feet apart (3 feet closer).

Bunched Hurdling is the next progression for learning to 3-step, and it is simply taking the hurdles and moving them 1 foot closer to the race mark. For youth hurdlers, this would be 3 feet closer than race distance, or (approximately) 24 feet apart. Advanced hurdlers would be the same, with bunched being around 2 feet closer (28 feet apart).

Video 4: Here is a look at one of my youth hurdlers this past summer, performing full-speed hurdling at the jammed and bunched distances. You can see that she was not running in between the hurdles on the first rep. However, as she progressed and developed the habit, I moved her out to bunched spacings and she continued to adapt quickly.

You must have patience. Don’t assume that hurdlers who performed drills well during Phase 1 will instantly be able to hurdle at full speed. They are beginners and you must allow them to develop at their own pace.

Phase 3: Adapt to Race Distance

The last phase for learning to 3-step is over-speed hurdling, aka 5-stepping.

To 5-step, simply remove a hurdle from the track.

• 1-2-3-4-5

becomes

• 1-2-3-removed-5

Many hurdlers will “bail out” on their first or second attempt, but in my experience they can usually complete the repetition by the third try. If not, move the fifth hurdle 1 foot closer (moving them closer is always the answer).

At the end of the 5-step run, there will be a sixth hurdle with only enough space for three steps, but slightly farther than what they’ve been running over. This will allow them to adapt to a farther hurdle distance, without allowing their doubts to creep in.
Here is the way to set up the workout in order to have your hurdler learn to cover the distance at 25 feet, by 5-stepping between the third and fifth hurdles.

• 1-2-3-4-5-6
• Hurdles 1-5 are bunched (24 feet apart)
• Hurdles 6 is bunched +1 (25 feet apart)

Now remove the fourth hurdle, so that there is room to 5-step between the third and fifth hurdles.

This setup will allow them to move through the first three hurdles at the distance they were last training at, build extra speed through the 5-step zone, and clear the sixth hurdle at a distance they had not previously covered before (bunched+1).

In the example with my youth hurdlers this summer (Video 4), we began full-speed hurdling with the hurdles jammed (23 feet apart), and then bunched (24 feet apart), and finally performed the first 5-step workout with the sixth hurdle at the 25-foot distance.

Here is an example of how the progression would help hurdlers clear greater distances with the 5-step workout:

• Hurdles 1-5 at 24 feet apart
• Hurdle 6, 25 feet from the fifth hurdle (this is the new distance)
• Now remove the fourth hurdle for the 5-step zone (between the third and fifth hurdles)

In this example, the hurdler would 3-step over the first three hurdles, 5-step to the fifth hurdle, and clear the sixth hurdle at the new distance of 25 feet.

When it looks good at 25 feet, you can increase the distance between hurdles 5 and 6 to 26 feet, and so on and so forth until they are within 1-2 feet of race distance.

If they do not 3-step their first race, you simply continue on with the over-speed hurdling, and gradually get them closer to race distance.

Successful Accomplishment of the 3-Step

These are the only three phases necessary to get athletes 3-stepping. The accomplishment usually comes early in the season, which gives you enough time to get Hurdle Volume and Rhythm-Endurance work in before the championship season begins.

When they follow this progression, most of your hurdlers will learn to 3-step before the season starts, and the full progression will allow them to not only 3-step, but continue setting personal best times all the way through the end of the championship season.

I hope this has been informative and you have learned how to successfully help your beginners learn to 3-step. If you would like to learn more, join my Hurdle Rhythm Training Series to learn all of the drills and workouts in detail, and how to prepare for championship season with hurdle endurance and rhythm endurance workouts.

Run Fast. Make Them Chase You. — Coach Cotto

Since you’re here…
…we have a small favor to ask. More people are reading SimpliFaster than ever, and each week we bring you compelling content from coaches, sport scientists, and physiotherapists who are devoted to building better athletes. Please take a moment to share the articles on social media, engage the authors with questions and comments below, and link to articles when appropriate if you have a blog or participate on forums of related topics. — SF

 

 

Every coach looks for the panacea of workouts to make athletes faster. The Holy Grail of workouts. I am not talking about a program that works for the first couple years of training. Fly 10’s can help that athlete. I am talking about a program that works when the basics no longer do. I know the perfect plan does not exist. There are too many factors in play when creating a workout. Designing a program for an advanced athlete is especially difficult.

There is the art of coaching. What is the coach’s feel for what’s going on with their athlete? Where does the flow of the moment lead? There is raw data from a myriad of tests available, ranging from Omegawave to a quick vertical jump or even the basic tap test on an iPhone. There are external factors, like the weather.

Last summer in Chicago, it rained most days, and the temperatures were cool. On top of that, the street where I live, which serves as my 70m training track, was filled with heavy machinery as a builder tore down and rebuilt three houses. My house was in the middle of the construction. For four weeks, there was dirt, mud, and pebbles everywhere. The surface was not prime for sprinting, to say the least.

I experienced a perfect storm that summer with the construction plus five veteran athletes who trained as a group. By veteran, I mean more than three years of training experience with me. They are very accomplished athletes in their sport. Most of them worked with Dr. Kerry Heitkotter due to her ability to design programs for their cellular health and to oversee how they dealt with the stresses of training. Also, Dr. Kerry Egan was playing with light, color, and sound to make sure the systems were optimal.

I stayed on top of the athletes physically with Douglas Heel’s Be Activated work. And I had the newest and coolest of the latest and greatest toys. I had two Exxentric kBoxes and a 1080 Sprint. They have elaborate monitoring systems, and the 1080 Sprint tracks every step in a run.

My ankle rocker circuit was a constant in all the workouts. We started with various ankle jumps cycled with velocity based training on my Hammer Strength Deadlift machine. We used the GymAware to monitor the speed of the lift. We added weight as long as an athlete could keep the bar speed over 1.5 m/s. The bar speed limited the number of reps. We also performed single leg jumps on the Shuttle MVP, focusing on ankle rocker from the jump. The last part of this French Contrast (thanks to Cal Dietz at XLAthlete.com) were rubber band supported jumps (to do this, hang the bands from the ceiling to assist the jump). We performed two sets of half squats on the kBox before we left my basement and went out.

Once outside, I rotated three blocks. Block 1 was our acceleration block. This consisted of 40m runs with the 1080 Sprint which waved between variable resistance runs and regular pulls, the heaviest being 12 kg of resistance. The athletes next performed a single leg squat on the kBox. Again, we waved the sets; one on their own and one where I pulled up, and they had to catch and go up on their own. They usually made it through four sets before they experienced a substantial drop in output on the kBox and 1080 Sprint.

Block 2 was an overspeed session. We started with mini-hurdle work. With the more advanced athlete, I normally use longer distances. This summer, however, I felt like keeping the hurdles short at 1.5m. I found that, by keeping the hurdles short and having the athletes run at a higher speed, they trained to get their feet off the ground faster. Two of them experienced a dramatic improvement in form.

To train the feet to get off the ground faster, keep hurdles short and run at higher speed. Share on X

I measured their max velocity on their first free run and added 3% to that speed. This became the speed at which the 1080 Spring towed them for whatever distance I set. In this case 30m. They worked in a 30m fly before the 1080 Sprint started to tow. After three reps, they were toast. Following these workouts, everyone’s numbers in the basement work, power output, and jump heights had big increases. Three guys vertically jumped 37 inches. I want to look into this more in the future.

Block 3 was our fly day. We ran fly 10’s on the slick dirty street, pairing them with kBox assisted RDL’s. I pulled up with them, and they would stop it and bring it back up. We usually stayed on both legs, although I do like the single leg version.

In the end, all the guys broke 1.0 in the fly 10. I had a girl go 1.07. I had three guys run .96 and one ran .98. For three of the athletes, this was a .05 improvement in four weeks. The day they ran, Peter Holmertz at Motion 1080 filmed one of the .96’s. The all-time best on the street is .947.

The surface, however, does change over time. Eight years ago, the village had just repaved the street, and it had good traction. Now the street is slick. I try to run fly on days when the temp is over 85 degrees so the records will not be temperature dependent. That made it hard last summer in Chicago. We had two days over that temperature in July. And we ran our fly 10’s on both of those days.

Can I replicate this? I don’t know. I have to wait until July. The equipment will be there. Hopefully, the docs will be there as well. But weather changes quickly here. It will be in the 40-70 degree range in September, and it is difficult to run fast when it’s cool. When it’s cold outside, the track I use is not as long as the one in my yard, and I’ll need to be creative to do overspeed. Even in April and May it stays cool, and I don’t know the impact cold has on overspeed training, or spikes for that matter.

Like everything else in life, I savor the moment. It will probably never happen the same way again. Galahad only saw the Holy Grail. He never touched it. Also, I don’t know if I want to find the Holy Grail of sprint workouts. Galahad died after finding his.

Since you’re here…
…we have a small favor to ask. More people are reading SimpliFaster than ever, and each week we bring you compelling content from coaches, sport scientists, and physiotherapists who are devoted to building better athletes. Please take a moment to share the articles on social media, engage the authors with questions and comments below, and link to articles when appropriate if you have a blog or participate on forums of related topics. — SF

 

 

While electrical muscle stimulation (EMS) training has been around for decades, its benefits on the human body were first discovered in ancient times. Patients in Egypt and Rome were treated with electric fish, rays, and eels put in their bathing pools. Because each gives off a different electric discharge, they were used to treat a range of illnesses. The discovery of electricity in the 1800s led to further experiments on electricity’s applications in medicine.

In the 1970s, electricity became the answer to a new problem: muscle atrophy in astronauts. The absence of gravity meant no conventional ground exercises could be performed, and muscle tone regression was countered with EMS. The technology was later introduced in professional sports, where it first appeared in the rehabilitation of injured athletes. Then, as EMS research proved that it led to significant increases in an athlete’s endurance, stamina, and fitness levels, it started to be used as a training method as well.

EMS research was proven to significantly increase an athlete’s endurance, stamina, fitness levels. Share on X

The next milestone for EMS occurred in the 1990s, when a new generation of EMS equipment was developed, not for professional athletes, but for “regular” people trying to get into shape. The new devices stimulated the entire body when paired with active exercises. A pair of electrodes were placed on all main muscle groups—including thighs, gluteus, abdomen, back, and arm muscles—and the simultaneous stimulation, along with exercises focused on these muscle groups, provided outstanding efficiency.

Muscles contracted then relaxed due to the low-frequency electrical stimulation. The aerobic muscular metabolism was increased and fat burn began. During these workouts, muscles had an increased development rate and the effect of calorie burning could be felt for several days afterward. This immediately positioned EMS as a perfect exercise form for people with weight management issues, cellulite, or back posture problems, or who just wanted to improve their overall health.

Unfortunately, some EMS devices that appeared on the market during that time period had a questionable impact. For instance, the “weight loss” Slendertone-style slimming belt that was advertised on late-night TV, promising to give a person six-pack abs while they simply sat on the sofa. Customers were deceived by the false advertising, which used young models with perfectly toned bodies as well as computer-generated images, and the U.S. Federal Trade Commission banned their sale. While it should seem obvious that there’s no substitute for real exercise and a nutritious diet, this kind of deceit positioned EMS devices as a fad, instead of the viable training aids that they are.

EMS training devices started to become a worldwide phenomenon in the early 2010s, with their biggest market in Europe—particularly Germany and Western Europe. Technology has advanced since the first EMS machines were created and so has the way they are used to work out. Today, one of the most efficient ways to utilize EMS is with an E-Fit 1280US device, the first EMS full-body system cleared by the FDA.

E-Fit, or Electro Fitness, was founded by Dr. Janos Papp in 2010 in Hungary to increase the effectiveness of EMS and advance EMS training. The company created a suit made of a special type of material with electrodes running throughout to contract the wearer’s muscles. E-Fit also developed a program of quick, very intense workouts with personal trainers and technology to support the regimen (and created an app for it). They researched, performed tests, and marketed the high-tech machine all over Europe. Full-body EMS training means working the body at its maximum efficiency. Athletes, bodybuilders, and fitness models loved it and E-Fit became a huge hit.

Embracing the E-Fit Program

As the owner and founder of 4U Fitness, I watched E-Fit’s successful launch and saw that it had staying power in Europe. In 2012, I introduced E-Fit to the U.S., and incorporated the full-body EF-1280US EMS workout system into my 4U Fitness studio franchise in Tampa, Florida. By doing so, I created a high-tech, hybrid fitness studio franchise—the only one of its kind offering EMS in the U.S. We also have a line of equipment and supplements.

4U Fitness and E-Fit developed an app to make it easy to schedule appointments and send out reminders. The app also controls the EF-1280 machine and records data for each client. (For example, what exercises were done, the strength of the current during each exercise, how many reps were completed, etc.) This allows them to review their progress and see the improvements along the way.

Our 4U Fitness clients enjoy the high-tech system. Users can view themselves on the screen in 3D, and actually see what they are doing to their bodies—how their muscles react to their movements by contracting and relaxing. It’s like watching a scientific movie.

 

After going through the process with the FDA for nearly three years, the EF-1280 earned an FDA clearance in October 2014. It is the only full-body EMS training device with this status. This past spring, fitness model Erin Stern became the face of the 4U Fitness brand. Erin is a two-time Ms. Figure Olympia champion, former Jr. All-American high jumper, and published author. She has been using E-Fit and working out at 4U Fitness to prepare for photo shoots and fitness competitions.

 

E-Fit is the foundation of 4U Fitness and almost everyone can use it—people who want to lose weight, lose inches, get rid of cellulite, and/or tone their bodies, as well as athletes and others who want to switch up their workout routine. E-Fit can help everybody achieve these goals. However, it is important to note that a few groups of people should not use E-Fit, including pregnant and breastfeeding women, and people with pacemakers or heart problems.

How E-Fit Training Works

As noted, the scientifically based E-Fit workout program is designed to crank up the intensity of traditional workouts, and is customized to each client’s needs. Electrodes throughout the suit target the major muscle groups simultaneously, including: pectoral muscles, latissimus dorsi muscles, bicep and tricep muscles, lower back section of abdominal muscles, gluteal muscles and quadriceps femoris muscles, hamstrings, and calf muscles. The suit stimulates the entire body, making the muscles repeatedly contract and relax during the entire workout. This stimulation of 350 muscles, combined with active exercising, makes the workout as intense as possible and the results as outstanding as possible.

Every E-Fit session is 20 minutes long, and guided by a personal trainer, who controls and adjusts the intensity of the electrical currents. While wearing the suit, the user performs sets of exercises determined by the trainer, including pushups, lunges, squats, etc. Trainers can add more electrodes, depending on the user’s needs, and also increase the strength of the electrical current to make the muscles work to their maximum capability. They can also decrease the amount of stimulation during each exercise, making E-Fit a low-impact, easy-on-the-joints workout, no weights required. (For more advanced users, a workout with weights is more common.)

The trainer uses the app to control the session, which records data from the workout. These records then help the trainer decide how to adjust the user’s sessions from week to week.

Because the workout is so intense, the recommended frequency is just two 20-minute sessions per week. Advanced athletes can withstand three 20-minute sessions in a week. Even with a necessary 48-hour rest period between E-Fit sessions, the regimen can easily fit into most users’ schedules—especially when you compare it to the traditional training period of 90 minutes daily. E-Fit provides intense, efficient, high-tech workouts that are great for almost everyone.

A lot of users with back pain notice a reduction in pain after working out with E-Fit. The user still works the muscles, but without the heavy lifting. Fat burning is an indirect benefit of EMS training. The expedited process allows the fat-burning process to begin sooner in the workout because the muscles are working harder than in a traditional workout. A low setting on the E-Fit machine increases the blood circulation and stimulates the tissue holding the fat, burning the cellulite.

Why Use E-Fit?

The full-body EMS EF-1280 workout system is highly efficient, enabling users to reach their fitness goals in a safe and timely manner. The EMS technology provides the equivalent of an hour’s workout in 20 minutes. During the training session, the device works 350 different muscles, contracting them a total of 36,000 times—that alone tells you how intense a workout it is. While it takes, on average, four sessions to see results, research has proven that working out with E-Fit is 18 times more effective than traditional training.

In a 20-minute E-Fit training session, 350 different muscles are worked, contracting 36,000 times. Share on X

A study at German Sport University Cologne compared traditional strength training methods to full-body EMS training in order to assess the impact on an athlete’s strength and speed. The researchers concluded that: “Dynamic full body EMS training… proved to be a highly effective means of increasing strength and speed as compared to other training methods” [1].

J. Vatter at Universität Bayreuth conducted a field study on the impact of full-body EMS training on a group of 134 people, both male and female. The subjects performed a full-body EMS workout twice a week for 12 weeks, dropping their body fat by an average of 1.4 percent. Eighty-two percent of participants noted that they’d gained relief from back pain as well [2].

Research by Mohd Faridz Ahmad and Amirul Hakim Hasbullah from the Universiti Teknologi MARA in Malaysia focused on using EMS to build male skeletal muscle mass. The results of the study found that “[Using an EMS to increase skeletal muscle mass is] beneficial to all human beings that in searched [sic] for healthy lifestyle and also good for athletes” [3].

As I’ve noted, there are multiple benefits of E-Fit training, including:

• Quick workouts
• Builds muscles
• Trains large muscle groups simultaneously
• Protects joints
• Burns fat
• Improves the appearance of cellulite
• Reduces back pain
• Features personal training
• Suitable for all ages, regardless of fitness level

In general, E-Fit training is not significantly more expensive than the combined cost of a regular gym membership and a good-quality personal trainer. The results more than pay for themselves.

Since you’re here…
…we have a small favor to ask. More people are reading SimpliFaster than ever, and each week we bring you compelling content from coaches, sport scientists, and physiotherapists who are devoted to building better athletes. Please take a moment to share the articles on social media, engage the authors with questions and comments below, and link to articles when appropriate if you have a blog or participate on forums of related topics. — SF

 

References

• Speicher, U, Nowak, S, Schmithüsen, J, Kleinöder, H, Mester. Long- and short- term training results through mechanical and Electro Muscle Stimulation (EMS) based on strength parameters. German Sport University Cologne 2008; published inter alia in BISp yearbook– research publication 2008/09.
• Vatter, J. Electro Muscle Stimulation (EMS) as a full body training – Multi-fitness centre study. Universität Bayreuth, 2003; Publication AVM-Verlag München 2010.
• Ahmad, MF, and Hasbullah, AH. The Effects of Electrical Muscle Stimulation (EMS) towards Male Skeletal Muscle Mass. International Journal of Medical, Health, Biomedical, Bioengineering and Pharmaceutical Engineering. 2015; 9(12):860-869.

 

Designing a well-structured training program is vital for coaching track and field, and a big dilemma for coaches is how to accomplish event work for athletes who compete in more than one discipline. This is especially true for combined-event athletes, but also for sprinters/hurdlers, hurdler/high jumpers, and pole vault/long jumpers on both the high school and collegiate levels.

There are many options for programming and sequencing event work. I don’t believe any single methodology of compatibility is unequivocally better than another, but I do believe every coach needs to understand the overlap, differences, and interplay among the various approaches.

In this article, I will discuss different methodologies to sequence and pair event-specific work, and I’ll provide recommendations for best practices in the scholastic setting.

The importance of speed and power development cannot be stressed enough. Optimum development occurs when these two qualities are trained concurrently. Speed and power training improves neuromuscular integration by accelerating speed, strength, and coordination acquisition. It also improves muscle fiber recruitment, rate coding capabilities, and motor unit synchronization. When we organize training by high neural demand, we elicit an optimal and specific adaptation at the cellular level.

Due to the varying technical and physical demands of training for multiple events, however, programming can present numerous challenges. For example, the excessive density of high neural demand days will compromise the athlete’s central nervous system (CNS). An insufficient number of high-intensity days, though, will not induce any positive adaptations.

A too-heavy focus on event-specific technique work will stump long terms gains. But athletes need to be technically proficient (or at least competent) in an event to capitalize on their talent. During the mesocycle before a competition, it’s recommended that athletes practice at high intensity for consecutive days. Alternating high and low-intensity days, however, allows the nervous system to recover while work is still accomplished on the low-intensity, general days.

The interplay of these considerations determines the program’s success.

What should athletes do, for example, on high jump days? They could pair high jump work with acceleration development because the two have similar time programs. They could high jump on days they do max velocity work because both employ vertical firing patterns. They could also high jump before a special endurance workout, modeling a decathlete who races the 400m after high jumping.

Background

First, it’s important to understand each event’s requirements through a simple needs analysis. Speed and power capabilities are the dominant determinants of success for sprinters, hurdlers, and jumpers (400m runners come with a bit of a caveat, but they’re still clearly speed and power athletes). Training for combined-event athletes should also center on developing speed and power. For decathletes, nine out of ten of their events qualify as speed or power. For heptathletes, 6.5 out of their 7 events qualify.

For combined-event athletes, work capacity capabilities are more important than aerobic “fitness.” Share on X

There is a misguided notion that combined-event athletes need an aerobic base to be “fit” enough to withstand the rigors of competition. Work capacity capabilities are more important than an aerobic base because combined-event athletes must perform speed and power events at full intensity on two consecutive days. Developing these qualities with sprints, hurdles, jumps, and throws should be a top priority for coaches and athletes.

Pairing Philosophies

Pair by Time Programs

It’s common to pair event work by exercises that have similar time programs. A time program is a movement-specific innervation pattern. It’s determined by the neuromuscular impulse sequence of muscle activation as well as the duration and behavior of bioelectrical activity.

The ground contact time of a drop jump, for example, is a time program; it’s a quantitative expression of the fundamental movement program. Structurally similar movements are steered by the same time program, and time programs of varying lengths must be distinguished.

We can consider time programs for track and field movements in terms of ground contact times. Generally, shorter ground contact times lead to a more effective time program. Think of an athlete’s dorsiflexed ankle while at top speed, pretensioning before ground contact. By pairing similar time programs, we can send direct and concise messages to the CNS and a transfer among structurally similar movements becomes possible1.

Why pay attention to ground contact time (GCT) at all? The key to jumping far or running fast is generating a high amount of ground reaction force within the very short time period the foot is on the ground.

Everything comes back to power, which has both force and velocity components. Exercises such as squats are great for developing the force component of power, but very high-speed movements (i.e., GCT < 200ms) are needed to develop power’s velocity component.

Stratifying by GCT can also help frame the session’s goal. In jumps training, there is explosive strength and elastic strength, with a GCT threshold of about 200ms serving as the dividing line.2 Exercises such as box jumps, jump squats, and the Olympic lifts train the former while exercises such as hurdle hops, sprinting, and bounding train the latter.

The table below shows observed ground contact times in various events:

 

From this, we can draw a few observations about which events naturally pair well. If working on acceleration, it makes sense to also work on high jump takeoffs since they have similar time programs.

If working on max velocity or short speed endurance, it makes sense to work on long jump takeoffs. While there aren’t many pole vault triple-jump combo athletes, coaches could plan bounding work with pole vault sessions.

Pair by Time of Force Application

Pairing event work according to the duration of power output will overlap with time programs. The idea is to work on events that have a similar force application. Think of this as a subgroup created by separating neuromuscular demands. For example, performing between-the-legs forward medicine ball throws helps potentiate for block starts.

Performing between-the-legs forward medicine ball throws helps potentiate for block starts. Share on X

In fact, we can build from a time programming pairing and prescribe the session’s workout based on the time of force application. If max velocity is the stressed quality of the day, then the weight room exercises of that day should complement the max velocity work performed on the track. Since max velocity running emphasizes high vertical ground forces and low GCTs, a natural weight room exercise following that session would be assisted jumps. We prescribe the day’s plan using similarities in the duration of force application.

Coaches can prescribe a day’s plan using exercises with similar duration of force application. Share on X

Within the track session, the athlete may perform 3-6 reps sprinting through a 20m zone at max velocity. Let’s call that 6-8 ground contacts per repetition. Executing an exercise like 4 sets of 8 reps of assisted jumps gives a similar time of force application. Linking these two exercises through similar power output durations reinforces the goals of the day.

This philosophy also makes the coach more conscious of total power output duration. This is critical because extended times of high power activities need to be carefully monitored to avoid overtraining and increasing the likelihood of injury.

To allow for the compensatory effects of high demand days and to minimize neural fatigue, low power output days should be included in an appropriate ratio.

Pair by Metabolic Demands

Pairing by metabolic demands resembles the time of force applications groupings, such as max velocity sprinting and assisted jumps. However, the differences between these two philosophies lead to important dividing lines when programming. For example, even though acceleration and max velocity work have different times of force application, they have essentially the same metabolic demands.

Organizing sessions according to energy system demands partitions workouts into one of three areas: activities that draw upon the alactic, glycolytic, or aerobic energy systems.

The alactic anaerobic (i.e., phosphate) system is the first energy system we use. It’s the muscles’ dominant energy source for roughly the first 10 seconds of high-intensity exertion. Next, the glycolytic (i.e., lactic) energy system takes over. This contributes most of the energy for as long as 90 seconds of activity. After a sustained bout of high-intensity exercise beyond 1.5-2 minutes, the aerobic system contributes the most energy. I’ve listed below example workouts grouped by metabolic demands:

• Alactic: 3x3x30m starts (3’/8’) + heavy cleans and squats
• Glycolytic: 5×45” runs at 85% (4’) + a general bodyweight strength circuit (3:1 work:rest)
• Aerobic: 8x200m at 65% (2’) + a general bodyweight strength circuit (1:1 work:rest)

Pair by Technical Similarities

Organizing event work by technical similarities can be broken down into two important subgroups; we can pair exercises by the orientation of firing patterns (horizontal vs. vertical) or by rhythm. Each subgroup offers an approach we can use to link events.

Longer sprints (between 50m and 300m) feature high vertical ground forces and emphasize the elasticity of the athlete’s musculature and pairs naturally with high jump work. Building from that, the high jump and the javelin also have similar approach rhythms (similar penultimate steps and body posture).

A logical sequence of events for a session would be javelin work, followed by high jump work, followed by a speed endurance workout. Even though the high jump is paired with two different events for two different reasons, the sequence of these three provides a natural practice flow based on technical similarities.

Pair Using Meet Modeling

While it’s impossible to truly simulate meet conditions in practice, sequencing event work according to the meet schedule can pay dividends in an athlete’s preparedness to compete. In addition to the combined events, this practice can be useful for specific meets.

Sequencing event work according to the meet schedule can pay dividends in performance. Share on X

At a championship meet, for example, are the 110m high hurdles before or after the 400m intermediate hurdles? This helps dictate practice set-up. Likewise, many invitational meets will start field events one to two hours before track events. If the athlete might long jump before running the 60m dash, it makes sense to work long jump approaches before technical acceleration work.

For the combined-event athlete, this is particularly important since every multi-meet will follow the same schedule. Heptathletes always hurdle in their first event and then high jump. Because we know this, it makes sense to practice hurdles followed by high jumps in the same practice session.

Also, since high jumps require a relatively long GCT for a jumping event, an athlete could practice hurdle starts (working on acceleration, which has a relatively long GCT compared to max velocity running or speed endurance work) and then work high jump takeoffs.

Decathletes always high jump first and then run the 400m. As discussed earlier, pairing high jump work with longer sprint work can be successful because the firing patterns are similar. In each of these cases, high jump is paired with another event according to the meet schedule.

This can create a logistical challenge when a team includes both males and females. Since decathletes high jump in their first event and heptathletes high jump in their second event, this can create an extremely long practice for the coach.

To combat this, the coach must pick and choose event pairings to fit logistics. In this example, if the coach is intent on having the decathletes simulate running a 400m after high jumping, the coach can change the heptathletes’ practice so they also high jump first followed by speed endurance. This specific example works out well because heptathletes will high jump and run a 200m dash on the same day. The coach will plan a meet-specific day for the heptathletes for another time.

When planning based on meet preparation, coaches should realize that a combined-event athlete specifically needs to practice execution on back-to-back high neural days. Although I usually like following high-intensity CNS days with low-intensity general days, it’s important to have subsequent high-intensity days to prepare athletes for their two-day competitions.

During the general prep and specific prep phases, I like to alternate high and low days. This takes advantage of an alternating system’s benefits to build the best athlete possible, in the purest sense of the word.

Next, it’s vital to include back-to-back high-intensity days in the pre-competition and competition phases to help transition the athlete into the best combined-event athlete possible.

For decathletes, this includes working long jump and max velocity on the first day and then hurdles and vault work on the second day. For heptathletes, this includes working hurdles and high jump together on one day, followed by javelin and aerobic power work the next day.

For all combined-event athletes, it’s important they practice a technical event (hurdles or vault for men, long jump or javelin for women) the day after finishing a practice with speed endurance work. The more acclimated they are to executing events with high technical, speed, and power demands under neural fatigue from the previous day, the better they will perform in the meet.

Additional Thoughts, Guidelines, and Recommendations

• During general and specific prep periods, begin sessions with technical work when the athlete is not fatigued. This is especially important for developing athletes. Regarding the microcycle, do more technical work at the beginning of the week when the athlete is fresher.
• Use lower intensity days to emphasize a lot of technical work.
  • This provides the added benefit of increased motor unit recruitment and targets any residual muscle fibers not fully activated from the prior day’s session.
  • As high-intensity days become more intense, the lower intensity days require a shift in focus from building work capacity to recovery.
  • Complementary training can be used. The athlete, for example, would complete a hard long jump day on Monday followed by reinforcement through easy long jump drills on Tuesday, or javelin throws one day followed by javelin-specific medicine ball throws the next day.
• When using a high-low scheme, do accelerations on Monday (Day 1 of the microcycle) to potentiate for max velocity work on Wednesday (Day 3 of the microcycle).
• You don’t need to address every event every week, especially in the scholastic environment. Yes, in a professional environment, it’s common for decathletes to throw every day, but it’s not practical for students dealing with 15-18 credits and other extracurricular activities.
  • Keep in mind that each athlete has his or her own strengths and weaknesses that need to be addressed at varying levels. Many younger college decathletes may need to spend more time pole vaulting since it’s a difficult event to practice in high school.
• You can use long jump approach work either as acceleration or max velocity fly work, depending on the length and rhythm of the athlete’s approach.
• It’s important to use all of the philosophies I’ve mentioned to develop a multilateral approach to training.
• Pair weight room exercises and plyometrics accordingly, not just event work. For example:
  • Deep box squats and broad jumps on acceleration days (overcoming inertia).
  • Clean-grip snatches and explosive hurdle hops on max velocity days (explosive lift with a large amplitude).
• Don’t forget the importance of general days.

Sample Programs

Here are two sample programs that employ these ideas. First is a brief, two-microcycle layout for a decathlete during his specific prep phase using a reverse step loading pattern:

 

As you can see, the event work is paired at various points according to time program, power output, metabolic demands, rhythm, and meet specificity.

In Week One, the athlete will high jump fresh on Day 1 and then work long jump takeoffs while sore on Day 2. In Week Two, he will long jump fresh on Day 1 and then work high jump while sore on Day 2. He gets practice pole vaulting while fatigued to simulate meet conditions (Week 1, Day 6). Day 3 of both weeks is a very high-intensity max velocity day on the track paired with assisted jumps and clean-grip snatches in the weight room. Each of these days is followed by a very easy general day to allow the athlete to recover.

Next, I’ve included a sample microcycle for a high school athlete in her pre-competition phase. She trains only four sessions per week and competes in the hurdles and long jump. She has very limited weightlifting experience, and in this case, the coach is using a forward step loading pattern:

 

I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I did writing it and please leave any comments or questions you have below. Special thanks to Nick Newman for his immense support and guidance throughout the past few months and for the years to come.

Since you’re here…
…we have a small favor to ask. More people are reading SimpliFaster than ever, and each week we bring you compelling content from coaches, sport scientists, and physiotherapists who are devoted to building better athletes. Please take a moment to share the articles on social media, engage the authors with questions and comments below, and link to articles when appropriate if you have a blog or participate on forums of related topics. — SF

 

References

1. Elliott, Bruce, and J. Mester, eds. Training in Sport: Applying Sport Science. Chichester: J. Wiley & Sons, 1998.
2. Smith, Joel. “Why is Ground Contact Time Important in Plyometrics.” verticaljumping.com. 2014. Accessed July 12, 2016.
3. Newman, Nick, and Dr. Phil Graham-Smith. “Beyond the Force Velocity Curve with Assisted Jumps Training.” SimpliFaster (blog). July 13, 2016. Accessed July 31, 2016.
4. Lefever, Dan. “Considerations in Coaching the Combined Events.” U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association. Dec 19, 2012. Accessed July 18, 2016.
5. Broadbent, Eric. “Multi-Events Training Part 1.” Speed Endurance. Jan 6, 2014. Accessed July 14, 2016.
6. Broadbent, Eric. “Multi-Events Training Part 2.” Speed Endurance. Jan 14, 2014. Accessed July 14, 2016.
7. Broadbent, Eric. “Multi-Events Training Part 3.” Speed Endurance. Jan 21, 2014. Accessed July 14, 2016.
8. Rovelto, Cliff. “Three C’s of Combined Event Training.” USA Track & Field. July 1, 2016.
9. “Report from the Combined-Events Committees (Decathalon & Heptathalon).” USTFCCA. USA Track & Field. Dec 13, 2006. Accessed July 2, 2016.
10. Hierholzer, Kyle W. “Coaching the Multi-event Athlete.” Colorado High School Coaches Association. Accessed July 12, 2016.
11. Sunquist, Eli. “Combined Events Training for the High School Athlete.” Elite Track and Field Training. Accessed July 8, 2016.
12. Schexnayder, Boo. “Periodization Models for Speed Development Support.” National Strength and Conditioning Association. July 6, 2016. Accessed July 16, 2016.
13. Burnett, Angus. “The Biomechanics of Jumping.” ELITETRACK Sport Training & Conditioning. Accessed July 1, 2016.
14. Veney, Tony. “Sprints: Training the Energy Systems.” Coaches Education. Accessed July 24, 2016.

 

As a high school coach, I’m often asked questions about strength training. This includes the question: “Have I evolved beyond the deadlifting protocol that Barry Ross outlined in his book, Underground Secrets to Faster Running?” The answer is “No.” I’m still using his program because it’s a time-saving and efficient way to get my population of athletes stronger.

Another question I’m asked is: “Can I really say that a steady diet of deadlifting is making my athletes faster?” My answer to this is, “Yes,” and I have evidence from the “Barry Project” that I conducted back in 2005, and then detailed in a series of posts over at Mel Siff’s Supertraining group on Yahoo. Ross actually flew out from the West Coast to meet with the “test subject,” observe his training, and assess his progress.

 

A Decade-Old Training Protocol

Before the program started, my hypothesis was that a two-month program of a very specific strength protocol (the one outlined in Ross’s book), would not impact the ability of a high school athlete to achieve significant gains in speed over essentially the same amount of time.

The project had only one test subject—a respectable senior distance runner (10:03 in the 3200) who had no background in any strength training, and had shown no improvement in short speed tests (fly 30’s up to fly 75’s) in the previous three years.

The program began on December 12, 2005. In the first trial, even after preparatory instruction on the mechanics of the lift, the athlete struggled to pull his own body weight (127 pounds), rolled forward on the balls of his feet, and generally revealed what not to do in the deadlift. Seeing this, Ross acknowledged that I had not given him an “easy” subject for this experiment.

 

However, the athlete progressed quite dramatically. By January 26, 2006, he was deadlifting four sets of three reps at 280 pounds.

His perception of effort was “good” for each lift. He followed each deadlift set with plyos—falling from a 20-inch box and jumping over two 8-inch boxes. He did five repeats of these jumps, and then took a full five-minute recovery until his next set of deadlifts.

 

Our test athlete also did his push-ups and core exercises as per Ross’s protocol. We then went to the track and set up to run our fly 75’s. We generally don’t do these runs until we are outdoors in late March. However, we caught a 50-degree day, and the test subject was anxious to see what he could run, especially since his efforts in his plyos (surprisingly low contact times) indicated that he might be able to deliver on some of the strength gains he had achieved in the previous six weeks.

Before this, his best fly 75 was 9.56, which he ran in April of his junior year. For his fly 75’s on the day of the testing, he accelerated for 20 meters before the beginning of the timing zone. His first run was 9.26; an improvement from 7.8 m/s to 8.1 m/s. We timed all efforts through infrared beams, and the wind was +2.6 m/s.

He ran a second trial, and his time was 9.46 ( after a five-minute recovery). He was less aggressive in his acceleration to the first beam, and he felt that he would have been even faster if he’d approached the fly-in zone more aggressively. I confirmed his self-analysis, since I filmed a fixed 15-meter segment during each trial (10 meters prior to the second beam).

Video 1: Slow motion video of Steve that shows his stride length.

What is most interesting is that he hadn’t put in any mileage since mid-November (the end of cross country). He typically began training with the distance runners in late February, and his best race performances over 1600 and 3200 meters usually occurred in May.

His top five marks in the 3200 in his sophomore and junior years were: 10:03.16 (5/20/05), 10:07.01 (5/13/04), 10:08.17 (5/07/05), 10:09.00 (4/30/04), and 10:09.62 (05/15/05).

As a sophomore, he recorded his best fly 75 of 9.57 in March 2004. The speed change from his sophomore to his junior year showed no substantial improvement in time (9.57 to 9.56), and off-season mileage and in-season training were exactly the same. Incidentally, the fastest fly 75 in our program over the past two years has been an 8.53, and that was recorded by our top sprinter.

A performance jump this early is quite substantial. I would have normally waited at least another four or five weeks before attempting a speed trial, but he felt very good. He was also anxious to see if this strength protocol alone could have an impact on his short speed even after just five weeks of training, with no base conditioning or sprint work.

His confidence was based upon how well he was executing his plyos. Historically, my best single-leg bounders have been my fastest sprinters, and his elastic response was quite impressive for someone who seldom races below 1600 meters.

He was very pleased, and felt that this minimal investment in time (the entire strength workout takes less than 45 minutes per session, and most of that is in recovery) had a huge upside.

How strong did he get during the protocol? He topped out at an amazing 340. He hit that in the last week of March, before we moved outside.

 

Despite a pulmonary infection during the outdoor track season, he ran 2:08.87 in the 800 and earned a spot on our state qualifying 4×800 relay. His previous season’s best was 2:18.75.

So, can I draw the conclusion that this approach to strength gain is the best way to help athletes achieve faster speeds?

No. Many factors could have come into play for this impressive success story. Maybe it had something to do with giving our test subject a variation in training from logging all the heavy winter mileage he had done in his previous two years. Maybe it was not having any strength training “bias” from some other strength gain protocol (which I thought was important for this test). Maybe it was the Hawthorne Effect—knowing that he was being filmed and closely observed throughout each day of training. Even the wind that test day might have influenced his performance.

Since that first experiment, I have used Ross’s program with all of my cross country and track athletes. As much as I like the gains that athletes have made over the years in terms of the weight they pulled from the beginning to the end of each season, as with the “Barry Project” itself, so many other variables could have accounted for the speed gains they experienced.

Though I’ve been satisfied that I may be doing something positive for all athletes in the program, I need to answer one overarching question: How does the amount of force produced via heavy strength training relate to the amount of force produced during high speed running?

Disputing the ‘Holy Grail’ of Sprinting

This was the question that Dr. Mike Young, Carl Valle, and Vern Gambetta brought up years ago, and they were right to pose it. Each of them noted that many runners who can pull a lot of weight are not very fast, and many top sprinters are very fast without ever touching a weight

Frans Bosch, whose contemporary insights on strength training have generated considerable interest in the coaching community, said something very similar:

“The strongest athletes are by no means always the fastest sprinters, and evaluation of training always shows that, in somewhat technically complex sports, increased force production does not automatically lead to improved performance.”

There is no disputing what any of them are suggesting. The issue that coaches must acknowledge is something that Bosch often points out: Peak force production in sprinting is larger than what athletes can achieve through maximal voluntary contractions via strength training.

So, how do I respond to the next point that Bosch brings up in his recent book, Strength Training and Coordination: An Integrated Approach?

“If the maximal force that can be produced during strength training is less than what is encountered during high speed running, then strength straining provided no purpose when it comes to overloading.”

If this is the case, how do I explain the impressive gains in speed from my senior distance runner when following the program that Ross carefully outlined?

Bosch seems to have an answer for this.

“Highly trained endurance athletes reach a ceiling in their oxygen uptake. Great mileage will not improve it. However, athletes who wish to increase their V02 max still further can consider maximal strength training as a means of doing so, for improved recruitment will bring more muscles into play.”

When asked about strength work and its relation to the program outlined in his presentation on Critical Velocity Training for distance runners, Tom “Tinman” Schwartz said the following “It’s less important the faster you are.”

I really like that insight because it relates to something Bosch acknowledged in his book: “In beginners, strength training does have a positive impact on some aspects of rate of force development.”

Maybe this has something to do with the simple fact that younger, less-experienced athletes can make big gains through strength training. The more advanced they are in terms of training age and development, the more they need the kind of variation in training that Bosch advocates.

After hearing Bosch speak on two different occasions, and listening to his insights on conventional strength training as a “dead end street,” I have come to understand why he believes that, “overload has to mean more than just ‘more and heavier.’”

Avoid trying to find one set of exercises that contains the secret to running success. Share on X

Perhaps he is right. Coaches might be wise to avoid trying to find that one set of exercises that contains the secret to success. As he notes, “There are no Holy Grails in training.” Ironically, Underground Secrets was the title of Ross’s book and, in an article for Dragon Door, Ross refers to the balance between strength gain and changes in body weight as the “Holy Grail of sprinting.”

Current Views on Strength Training

What I have done in recent years is incorporate some exercises that Bosch believes are “particularly good for standardizing and proving this fundamental cooperation between hamstrings and back muscles.”

I now do some single leg deadlifts, which I call SLEDS, and some bench step-ups. I like his analysis of the hang clean, because it does engage the hamstrings isometrically and, unlike a high pull, has what he refers to as an “outcome and intention.” These do provide training variation, which he believes is the “key to efficient coaching.”

 

Bosch’s book has certainly generated some interest from a training community still somewhat skeptical about such a radical departure from the conventional views on strength training. As Peter Ward noted, “If we have general resistance training for sport on one end of the spectrum… and we have highly specific exercises in the gym that are supposed to get the largest amount of transfer to sports skill on the other end of the spectrum, I would have to say that Bosch is all the way on the highly specific end of the spectrum. I tend to be a more middle-of-the-road type of guy.”

Others offer support for not abandoning these conventional approaches. Jay Dicharry notes that peak forces in running are a product of body mass and running speed. “The faster you go,” he says, “the more strength you need to counter these high forces.”

Steve Magness makes a similar case: “Since we know that force requirement is what determines muscle recruitment, it only makes sense that heavy lifting or high force activities will maximize fiber recruitment.”

Carl Valle commented on one of his blogs that Bosch’s exercises, “seem to only add more complexity to exercises that need less complexity.” But Carl does suggest that coaches buy Bosch’s book and read it for themselves. Challenging his concepts first requires knowing what those concepts are.

Vern Gambetta, who has carefully studied the material, takes a favorable view of Bosch’s insights, and appreciates how they have stimulated his own thought process on the relationship between strength and performance. He noted in his blog that, “My frustration starting with my time as an athlete and extending deep into my coaching career was [not seeing] a commensurate return in performance from the time I invested in strength training. In many respects this is an endless search, but thinking of strength training as coordination training with appropriate resistance is a giant step forward. If nothing else, it will make us more efficient in utilization of time, along with a greater chance of transfer. We need to challenge ourselves in the area of strength training, to break away from conventional wisdom, and seek out new possibilities for improvement. This approach has challenged me.”

So, what conclusion might we draw from the various perspectives that highly respected coaches and trainers have taken on this issue? Perhaps it is to keep an open mind, and experiment for ourselves. As the legendary coach, Joe Vigil, noted in his recent presentation at the Midwest Distance Running Summit, “There are many roads that lead to Rome.”

In terms of how we train our athletes, if we choose the road less traveled, perhaps it will make all the difference in the world.

Since you’re here…
…we have a small favor to ask. More people are reading SimpliFaster than ever, and each week we bring you compelling content from coaches, sport scientists, and physiotherapists who are devoted to building better athletes. Please take a moment to share the articles on social media, engage the authors with questions and comments below, and link to articles when appropriate if you have a blog or participate on forums of related topics. — SF

 

References

1. Bosch, Frans. Strength Training and Coordination: An Integrative Approach. Rotterdam: 2010 Publishers, 2015.
2. Dicharry, Jay. Anatomy for Runners: Unlocking Your Athletic Potential for Health, Speed, and Injury Prevention. New York: Skyhorse Publishing, 2012.
3. Jakalski, Ken. “Progress of Distance Runner,” on Mel Siff’s Supertraining Yahoo Group. January 27, 2006.
4. Magness, Steve. The Science of Running: How to Find Your Limit and Train to Maximize Your Performance. San Rafael: Origin Press, 2014.
5. Ross, Barry. Underground Secrets to Faster Running: Breakthrough Training for Breakaway Running. Raleigh: Lulu Press, 2005.
6. Schwartz , Tom. “Critical Velocity.” Lecture presented at The Running Summit Midwest 2016, Benedictine University, Lisle, Illinois, June 25-26, 2016.
7. Vigil, Joe. “Effective Tapering.” Lecture presented at The Running Summit Midwest 2016, Benedictine University, Lisle, Illinois, June 25-26, 2016.

It’s important for coaches and athletes in high-intensity sports to consider exercises for strength, power, RFD, and impulse when planning a training regimen.

It’s also important to have a guiding philosophy. To begin developing a philosophy, a logical set of questions to ask are:

• What am I trying to do?
• How am I going to do it?
• Why am I doing it this way?

Keep the philosophy simple, so the training plan does not become overly complicated and ineffective.

During any discussion regarding resistance training for sports performance, it’s important to bear in mind the SAID principle (Specific Adaptation to Imposed Demands). While coaches often use the term, not all think critically about what qualifies as specific and what does not.
We may have a conceptual idea of one method, position, speed, or movement sequence as being specific, but in reality, we may be wrong. Still, it’s important to push the boundaries of thought and strive toward sport specific training. A lot of research shows that the way in which we train has a direct and specific effect on training outcomes.

This is what we mean by specificity:

• How fast or slow we actually lift a load
• How fast or slow we intend to lift a load
• The force vectors in which we direct training loads
• How we move throughout the duration of an exercise
• Eccentric, isometric, and concentric demands
• Joint positions and muscle activation sequences

Because training adaptations are specific, it’s wise to consider both the context of training transfer as well as the need for variation. Avoid getting hooked on one specific exercise or one way of performing an exercise. Instead, use a variety of exercises or exercise subsets that contribute to the sports performance outcome. Use different bars, stances, tempos, and loads to create a holistically developed athlete. Our goal as athletes and coaches is to prepare for sport, not to prepare for a single lift in the weight room.

Use different bars, stances, tempos, and loads to create a holistically developed athlete. Share on X

Terms

Before we dive any deeper, here are terms you ought to know.

• Force: defined as mass multiplied by acceleration. Any time we attempt to move ourselves or an object, we exert some amount of muscular force.
• Strength: the skill and ability to produce force.
• Rate of Force Development (RFD): the rate at which we produce increasing amounts of force during an effort. RFD is measured in Newtons per second.
• Ground Reaction Force (GRF): the exchange of forces that occurs when an object is in contact with the ground. The direction and magnitude of force that goes into the ground and is then exerted back onto the athlete is the GRF.
• Impulse: the application of force over a period of time which causes a change in momentum. Force multiplied by time is equal to its impulse.

As enthusiasts and professionals in the world of sport, we want to develop the high-intensity qualities of strength, power, RFD, and impulse. Why are these factors important?

• Strength is the underlying quality of all movement. An explosive athlete must have a requisite level of strength to be competitive and avoid injury.
• Power is the quality that determines how much work we can do in how little time. Running fast and jumping high require a large amount of work in a small amount of time, and developing power is a logical practice to undertake.
• RFD capabilities allow us to produce more force at an earlier point in a muscle contraction. Our power output is related to RFD because producing more force at an earlier point in time allows us to do more work in less time.
• Impulse directly causes the amount of movement we produce in an explosive action. It can be manipulated by changing either the force exerted or the amount of time in which to exert it. In the blocks, impulse can be adjusted by block placement. If we create a more flexed hip position on the front leg of the blocks, we can push on the front block for a longer time and create a larger impulse and starting velocity upon block clearance.

Knowing these qualities is great, but how do we develop them? As is the case in other areas of life, there are many ways to do this and even more opinions on which are best. It’s important to optimize training by looking at these qualities and determining how they reflect the demands of the athlete’s given sport. Develop programs with these factors in mind.

The following section will give ideas of where to begin and how to structure a training program to develop high-intensity capabilities.

Strength Development

From a programming perspective, building basic levels of strength is not complicated. Until we reach the elite levels of lifting, the basic approach to getting strong is to lift heavy objects with proper form while targeting joint movements and muscle groups that are used in sport. While nearly any challenging lift will make us stronger in some regard, we must always try to get the best bang for our buck.

When selecting exercises for strength development, I prefer movements that activate large amounts of tissue and don’t require the athlete to move around or leave the ground in a very significant way.

For the sake of this article, I’ll refer to these movements as being static. The athlete stays in place while doing the movement and does not leave the ground or move across the ground for the duration of the set.

Why? If we truly challenge ourselves in an exercise such as the squat or deadlift, the load used to produce strength gains should be heavy enough to prevent dynamic movement. From a safety perspective, it’s safer to lift heavy with static movements than to try and overload a dynamic movement.

Useful exercises for strength development:

• Squat Variations: Back squat, front squat, box squat, goblet squat, safety bar squat, cambered bar squat, dumbbell front squat, rear leg elevated split squat, and hex bar squat.
• Deadlift Variations: Straight bar deadlift, hex bar deadlift, block pull, rack pull, and heavy kettlebell deadlift.
• Hip Thrust Variations: Barbell hip thrust, single leg hip thrust, standing band hip thrust, heavy band hip thrust, and heavy band pull through.
• Press Variations: Straight bar bench, floor press, dumbbell bench press, bench with a block, incline bench press, and shoulder press.
• Hyper/Extension Variations: 45-degree hyper, reverse hyper, bent leg hyper, and semi-bent leg hyper.

These exercises recruit large amounts of tissue over various regions of the body. Given that the body responds proportionally to the stress applied, large movements that activate large amounts of tissue will lead to a proportionally large response from the body. This response includes acute and chronic hormonal, structural, and neural changes.

Less experienced and weaker athletes will see improvements with lower intensities, such as lifting 60-70% of their 1-rep maximum with slightly higher rep ranges (such as 5-8 reps). As athletes become stronger and more proficient in their lifting skills, intensities can increase and the reps can decrease, allowing for long-term development through intensification over time.

A 14-year-old kid who weighs 140 pounds doesn’t need to max out to get stronger but a 300-pound rookie in the NFL might. At a certain point in an athlete’s career, it may be wise to shift toward maintaining absolute strength levels. In this case, intensities or volumes of absolute strength work can be reduced to prevent fatigue and risk of injury.

A 140-lb teen doesn't need to max out to get stronger but a 300-lb NFL rookie might. Share on X

Power Development

Developing power should be high on the priority list for athletes who need to run fast, jump high, jump far, or hit hard.

From a physics standpoint, power = work/time. In sports, a more understandable definition is power = force x velocity. Therefore, training for power requires two basic components: large forces and relatively high velocities. Many people instantly think of bar velocity, but we also need to consider limb and whole body velocities when programming for power development.

When programming for power development, coaches should consider limb and whole body velocities. Share on X

As with strength, we want to use exercises that stimulate large amounts of tissue. In contrast to strength development, power development requires exercises that are more dynamic where athletes move through space as they complete a movement. These movements include leaving the ground vertically, translocation horizontally, or otherwise.

While we can develop power with a static lift like a squat or bench press, basing a power development program on static lifts will sell our athletes short in the long run. The same goes for solely using Olympic lifts for maximal strength development; this won’t optimize an athlete’s strength development.

Depending on the individual, loads for power development should be chosen based on their scientifically proven efficacy, their relation to the demands of the athlete’s sport, and the athlete’s level of strength and power development (Stone et al. 2003).

For example, when using the back squat for power development, studies have shown that loads in the 40-60% range produce power outputs similar to loads around 90%. The take-home point is that speed athletes can use the lower loads, while load bearing athletes, such as offensive linemen, can use the higher loads. Both are working in power production zones that are optimized for the demands of their sport.

Useful exercises for power development:

• Olympic Lifts: Power clean, power snatch, hang clean, and mid-thigh clean pull.
• Load the hang cleans at 70-90% to emphasize force characteristics of power (Bevan et al. 2010).
• Load the mid-thigh clean pulls at 40% of 1-RM power clean to emphasize velocity components of power (Comfort et al. 2012).
• Jump Squats
• 42% back squat 1-RM to maximize hip power, 0% to maximize knee and ankle power (Moir et al. 2012).
• Slightly lighter loads emphasize force while slightly heavier loads emphasize velocity.
• Weaker athletes should use loads that are relatively lighter while stronger athletes can use loads which are relatively heavier (Stone et al. 2003).
• Kettlebell swings
• Kettlebell swings from 16kg-32kg and jump squats from 0-60% of 1-RM can outperform back squats in peak power and mean power outputs (Lake, Lauder 2012).
• I prefer to add a band, encouraging a faster eccentric movement and a greater need for creating a large horizontal impulse.
• Squats at either 40-60% or at 90% of 1-RM (Zink et al. 2006).
• Speed athletes can benefit from the 40-60% range due to the same power output at a higher velocity; load bearing athletes, such as a football lineman, will benefit from the 90% load due to their need to express power in a loaded situation.
• Jumps
• Unilateral horizontal drop jump distance is the best predictor of sprint distances up to 20m, except for 5m sprint time which is best predicted by unilateral vertical drop jump rebound height (Schuster, Jones 2016).
• A short-term program of hurdle hops & depth drops increases absolute power, relative power, and maximal pedaling velocity (Chelly et al. 2010).
• Horizontal jump tests have stronger correlations with acceleration performance due to the horizontally oriented force application of sprint acceleration.
• Vertical jump tests correlate to maximal velocity sprint performance, likely due to the vertical nature of force application at top speed.

Rate of Force Development

As an athletic quality, RFD determines how quickly we can produce a given amount of force. Two athletes may be able to apply the same amount of absolute force to an object (such as a bar), but the athlete who reaches that level of force production sooner (for example, at 250ms vs. 500ms) is the more explosive athlete.

Faster athletes will spend less time on the ground compared to slower athletes. Share on X

In a race involving athletes with a range of skill levels, the faster athletes will spend less time on the ground compared to the slower athletes. This is due to their superior RFD capabilities (as well as their ground contact mechanics). Training enhanced RFD can result from shifts in fiber type, changes in muscle-tendon unit stiffness, increased early phase neural drive (50ms into an explosive effort), and changes in muscle fascicle length (Shoenfeld 2016).

When training to enhance RFD, it’s good to start with heavy loads and relatively fast velocities. Also, have the intent to go from zero force production to maximal force production in the shortest time possible. If an athlete lifts in a very controlled manner, they won’t spur much development in their RFD. In fact, they might experience negative effects on their RFD capabilities.

If athletes lift in a very controlled manner, they won’t spur much development in their RFD. Share on X

Useful exercises for training RFD:

• Mid-thigh clean pulls done at 120-140% of 1-RM power clean load (Comfort et al. 2012).
• Mid-thigh hang cleans between 30-90% (Suchomel et al. 2014); some studies report peak numbers at 30%, 60%, and 90%. Keep in mind the demands of each athlete when determining load.
• Sled pulls weighted on the heavier end of the spectrum will have a sprint specific impact on RFD, noted in one study as 20% of body mass (Martínez-Valencia et al. 2015).
• As a side note, heavier sled loads have more effect on early acceleration where force characteristics are more important. Lighter sled loads have a greater impact on late acceleration due to the speed demands of late acceleration.

Impulse

Impulse causes the change in an object’s momentum; for example, when a shot put is launched or when an athlete’s body is projected with each step of an acceleration sprint.

Expressed mathematically as force x time, impulse is influenced by the amount of force produced as well as the time over which that force is exerted. The reason quick athletes with high frequencies during early acceleration are not very fast is that they don’t produce enough impulse. They raise their foot off the ground without applying force for a long enough time period.

Sprint acceleration performance and mean speed over 40m is strongly correlated with horizontal propulsive impulse while vertical propulsive impulse is not. Athletes and coaches in sports that rely on acceleration need to bear this connection in mind because improving horizontal propulsive impulse will likely improve acceleration sprint times.

Improving horizontal propulsive impulse will improve acceleration sprint times. Share on X

Though sparse, there is some research available regarding various exercises and impulse. Horizontal propulsive impulse should be of particular interest to sprint athletes and coaches.

Useful exercises for developing impulse capabilities:

• Sled sprints, depending upon the harness placement.
• Attaching the harness at the waist produces greater net horizontal impulse, net horizontal mean force, propulsive impulse, and propulsive force compared to using a shoulder harness (Bentley et al. 2016).
• 20% body mass loads have greater ground reaction impulse compared to 10% load conditions (Cottle et al. 2014).
• Kettlebell swings produce a greater impulse than back squats and jump squats (Lake, Lauder 2012).
• Hip hinge kettlebell swings can develop horizontal impulses.
• Attaching a band at a certain height can shift the force vector according to preference because the angle of the band influences the force vector throughout the movement.

Conclusion

There are many considerations when it comes to exercise selection for high-intensity training.

Consider force vectors, which are the direction and magnitude in which a load is directed. Does the athlete need to develop axial qualities or anteroposterior qualities?

Consider the demands of an athlete’s sport, and choose relative loads accordingly. If a sprinter produces the same power output using a 40% load and a 90% load, maybe they should stick to the lighter, faster loads.

By optimizing training to the needs of the athlete, time and energy can be directed and utilized in an optimal fashion.

Since you’re here…
…we have a small favor to ask. More people are reading SimpliFaster than ever, and each week we bring you compelling content from coaches, sport scientists, and physiotherapists who are devoted to building better athletes. Please take a moment to share the articles on social media, engage the authors with questions and comments below, and link to articles when appropriate if you have a blog or participate on forums of related topics. — SF

References

1. Bentley, I., Atkins, S. J., Edmundson, C. J., Metcalfe, J., & Sinclair, J. K. (2016). Impact of Harness Attachment Point on Kinetics and Kinematics During Sled Towing. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 30(3), 768-776. doi:10.1519/jsc.0000000000001155
2. Bevan, H. R., Bunce, P. J., Owen, N. J., Bennett, M. A., Cook, C. J., Cunningham, D. J., Newton, R.U., & Kilduff, L. P. (2010). Optimal Loading for the Development of Peak Power Output in Professional Rugby Players.Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 24(1), 43-47. doi:10.1519/jsc.0b013e3181c63c64
3. Chelly, M. S., Ghenem, M. A., Abid, K., Hermassi, S., Tabka, Z., & Shephard, R. J. (2010). Effects of In-Season Short-Term Plyometric Training Program on Leg Power, Jump- and Sprint Performance of Soccer Players. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 24(10), 2670-2676. doi:10.1519/jsc.0b013e3181e2728f
4. Comfort, P., Udall, R., & Jones, P. A. (2012). The Effect of Loading on Kinematic and Kinetic Variables During the Midthigh Clean Pull. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 26(5), 1208-1214. doi:10.1519/jsc.0b013e3182510827n
5. Contreras, B., Vigotsky, A. D., Schoenfeld, B. J., Beardsley, C., Mcmaster, D. T., Reyneke, J., & Cronin, J. (2016). Effects of a six-week hip thrust versus front squat resistance training program on performance in adolescent males. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, (ahead of print). doi:10.1519/jsc.0000000000001510
6. Cottle, C. A., Carlson, L. A., & Lawrence, M. A. (2014). Effects of Sled Towing on Sprint Starts. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 28(5), 1241-1245. doi:10.1519/jsc.0000000000000396
7. Higashihara, A., Ono, T., Kubota, J., Okuwaki, T., & Fukubayashi, T. (2010). Functional differences in the activity of the hamstring muscles with increasing running speed. Journal of Sports Sciences, 28(10), 1085-1092. doi:10.1080/02640414.2010.494308
8. Kawamori, N., Rossi, S. J., Justice, B. D., Haff, E. E., Pistilli, E. E., OʼBryant, H. S., Stone, M.H., & Haff, G. G. (2006). Peak Force and Rate of Force Development During Isometric and Dynamic Mid-Thigh Clean Pulls Performed at Various Intensities. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 20(3), 483-491.
9. Kawamori, N., Nosaka, K., & Newton, R. U. (2013). Relationships Between Ground Reaction Impulse and Sprint Acceleration Performance in Team Sport Athletes. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 27(3), 568-573. doi: 10.1519/jsc.0b013e318257805a
10. Lake, J. P., & Lauder, M. A. (2012). Mechanical Demands of Kettlebell Swing Exercise. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 26(12), 3209-3216. doi:10.1519/jsc.0b013e3182474280
11. Makaruk, H., Winchester, J. B., Sadowski, J., Czaplicki, A., & Sacewicz, T. (2011). Effects of Unilateral and Bilateral Plyometric Training on Power and Jumping Ability in Women. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 25(12), 3311-3318. doi:10.1519/jsc.0b013e318215fa33
12. Martínez-Valencia, M. A., Romero-Arenas, S., Elvira, J. L., González-Ravé, J. M., Navarro-Valdivielso, F., & Alcaraz, P. E. (2015). Effects of Sled Towing on Peak Force, the Rate of Force Development and Sprint Performance During the Acceleration Phase. Journal of Human Kinetics, 46(1), 139-148. doi:10.1515/hukin-2015-0042
13. Moir, G. L., Gollie, J. M., Davis, S. E., Guers, J. J., & Witmer, C. A. (2012). The effects of load on system and lower-body joint kinetics during jump squats. Sports Biomechanics, 11(4), 492-506. doi:10.1080/14763141.2012.725426
14. Morin, J., Slawinski, J., Dorel, S., Villareal, E. S., Couturier, A., Samozino, P., Brughelli, M., & Rabita, G. (2015). Acceleration capability in elite sprinters and ground impulse: Push more, brake less? Journal of Biomechanics, 48(12), 3149-3154. doi:10.1016/j.jbiomech.2015.07.009
15. Schuster, D., & Jones, P. A. (2016). Relationships between unilateral horizontal and vertical drop jumps and 20 m sprint performance. Physical Therapy in Sport, 21, 20-25. doi:10.1016/j.ptsp.2016.02.007
16. Shoenfeld, B. Rate of Force Development. Accessed July 31, 2016. https://www.strengthandconditioningresearch.com/rate-of-force-development-rfd/.
17. Speirs, D. E., Bennett, M. A., Finn, C. V., & Turner, A. P. (2016). Unilateral vs. Bilateral Squat Training for Strength, Sprints, and Agility in Academy Rugby Players. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 30(2), 386-392. doi:10.1519/jsc.0000000000001096
18. Stone, M. H., O’Bryant, H. S., McCoy, L., Coglianese, R., Lehmkuhl, M., & Schilling, B. (2003). Power and Maximum Strength Relationships During Performance of Dynamic and Static Weighted Jumps. The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 17(1), 140-147.
19. Suchomel, T. J., Beckham, G. K., & Wright, G. A. (2014). The impact of load on lower body performance variables during the hang power clean. Sports Biomechanics, 13(1), 87-95. doi:10.1080/14763141.2013.861012
20. Zebis, M. K., Skotte, J., Andersen, C. H., Mortensen, P., Petersen, H. H., Viskær, T. C., Jensen, T.L., Bencke, J., & Andersen, L. L. (2013). Kettlebell swing targets semitendinosus and supine leg curl targets biceps femoris: An EMG study with rehabilitation implications. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 47(18), 1192-1198. doi:10.1136/bjsports-2011-090281
21. Zink, A. J., Perry, A. C., Robertson, B. L., Roach, K. E., & Signorile, J. F. (2006). Peak Power, Ground Reaction Forces, and Velocity During the Squat Exercise Performed at Different Loads. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 20(3), 658-664.

Gluten-free dieting has been all the rage in recent years, with an explosion of self-diagnosed gluten sensitivities sparking an interest in the gluten-free food market. Whether the motivation is soundly based in clinical diagnosis or purely an attempt at weight loss, the relief of common symptoms associated with the sensitivity has been attributed to the removal of gluten from the diet. Unfortunately, the information surrounding this complex molecule is largely misconstrued.

While gluten is often labeled as the culprit, there are other factors that can play a role in this sensitivity present in foods that contain gluten. Adopting a gluten-free diet inadvertently eliminates all of the potential culprits, and therefore provides relief. However, many important nutrients are stripped in the processing of these foods, and are often replaced with not-so-healthy substitutions and additives. The bottom line is that the research surrounding gluten sensitivity has been largely inconclusive and, although much of the media and books surrounding this topic can make a seemingly strong case, there is simply not enough evidence to support the assumptions made against gluten in the diet.

There are several related disorders that can cause nearly identical symptom presentations revolving around the irritation of the bowel. Celiac disease is an autoimmune disorder in which antibodies are made against particular proteins of the gluten molecule, resulting in an attack on the intestinal lining each time that gluten-containing foods are ingested. The prevalence of celiac disease is approximately 1% of the population, and can be confirmed with serological diagnostic testing for the causative antibodies. Endoscopic examination can also reveal villous atrophy along the small intestinal lining, as well as crypt hyperplasia, an overgrowth of the lining as a result of inflammation. Both of these presentations result in decreased nutrient absorption and can cause the well-known symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), including bloating, irregular bowel movements, gas, and indigestion (Vazquez-Roque & Oxentenko, 2015).

A second similar reaction of the bowel occurs with a wheat allergy: an allergic reaction to the wheat component of foods, which often accompanies gluten. This is similar to how the body reacts to other food allergies such as peanut or soy, in that IgE antibodies make an acute attack on the “foreign invaders,” with the resulting IBS-like symptoms. Wheat is the most heavily cultivated agricultural product in the world and, with the amplification of turnover rate, increased pest-resistance, and nutrient-depletion of the soil, the structure of the wheat protein has altered over the last few decades. This has changed its macronutrient profile and immunogenic peptides, which may be causing the increasing prevalence of celiac disease and other sensitivities in our population (Fasano, Sapone, Zavallos, & Schuppan, 2015). The prevalence of wheat allergy is known to be quite low, accounting for only 0.1% of Western populations (Gaesser & Angadi, 2012).

The third disorder in this category is termed nonceliac gluten sensitivity, or NCGS. It has become the mainstream self-diagnosed form of IBS, by a largely unwarranted proportion of the general population. NCGS is somewhat ambiguous in scientific literature and clinical settings. It is, in fact, a sensitivity, as the name imparts. It is not a food intolerance, which is an entirely separate physical entity in which digestive enzymes are lacking for the support of proper digestion. As a result of a food intolerance, gut microbiota cause a fermentation of sugar in the colon, and the subsequent symptoms of indigestion follow.

NCGS develops as a result of the body’s innate immune response, which is a first-line defense mechanism against foreign molecules in the body, as opposed to the long-term adaptive immune response that occurs in celiac disease. When a foreign particle is ingested, the body reacts within hours to days with IBS-like symptoms. The good news is that innate immune responses are not long-lasting in the body, so with a short-term elimination diet and then a strategic introduction of the protein, a normal diet may potentially be resumed. However, there is not enough long-term research to confirm this with certainty.

Gluten has been labeled as the causative agent of NCGS; however, other dietary triggers such as fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides, and polyols (FODMAPs), wheat, and amalase-trypsin inhibitors (natural-occurring wheat pesticides) have been implicated as potential suspects (Vazquez-Roque & Oxentenko, 2015). An elimination study was performed where participants with IBS-like symptoms were placed on a FODMAP-reduced diet for two weeks and then exposed to a randomized high-gluten, low-gluten, or no-gluten (control group) diet for one week, in order to delineate whether or not it was gluten or FODMAPs contributing to the symptomology (Vazquez-Roque & Oxentenko, 2015).

Gluten is often labelled the cause of nonceliac gluten sensitivity when FODMAPs are really to blame.

Gastrointestinal symptoms improved in all patients on the FODMAP-reduced diet and no symptoms returned upon exposure to gluten. In the large majority of gluten-free foods on the market, FODMAPs are also eliminated with the processing of gluten, and therefore the relief of symptoms is attributed to being “gluten”-free. Unfortunately, not all of the symptoms may completely disappear, since FODMAPs can appear in other foods. A thorough list of high- and low-FODMAP foods can be found here.

A review by El-Salhy, Hatlebakk, Gilja, & Hausken (2015) reported that, in a study on adults believing they suffered from NCGS, 24% had uncontrolled symptoms even after switching to a strictly gluten-free diet. In another double-blind, randomized study on females with IBS-like abdominal pain, symptoms subsided after the withdrawal of wheat products, not gluten itself (El-Salhy et al., 2015). When gluten-free diets are attempted without dietetic supervision, important nutrients such as fiber, vitamin A, magnesium, iron, and calcium can become deficient without supplementation (El-Salhy et al., 2015).

While gluten-free diets have been suggested for the treatment of autism spectrum disorders, there is no conclusive evidence supporting this claim, and the American Academy of Pediatrics does not support the use of gluten-free diets in these patients (Gaesser & Angadi, 2012). Celebrity endorsements of gluten-free dieting for weight loss have led to the overarching belief that these foods provide a healthier nutritional profile than traditional foods. The only population subset where BMI has improved following a gluten-free diet is in patients with clinically diagnosed celiac disease (Gaesser & Angadi, 2012). However, even in this population, individuals who started in the overweight or obese category actually gained weight as a result of this dietary change, potentially due to the increase in nutrient absorption as a result of the gluten-free diet (Gaesser & Angadi, 2012).

Many gluten-free foods possess higher caloric values and sugar content than their gluten-containing counterparts, and their lack of whole grains and fiber (both of which are inversely related to BMI) may negligibly or negatively impact attempts at weight loss (Gaesser & Angadi, 2012). Moreover, increasing whole-grain wheat intake has been shown to be beneficial for increasing healthy gut bacteria; so, if wheat and gluten can be tolerated, they should not be eliminated on the assumption of it being “healthier” when, in fact, there is no basis for this claim.

In individuals without celiac disease or true NCGS, gluten itself has been shown to improve lipid profiles in individuals with hyperlipidemia, reducing serum triglycerides by 13% after only two weeks of ingesting 60g/day (Gaesser & Angadi, 2012). High levels of wheat fiber and bran did not produce the same beneficial effect when gluten levels were kept the same (Gaesser & Angadi, 2012). Another study demonstrated the positive effect that gluten may have on reducing high blood pressure in affected adults. One of the target proteins of NCGS, gliadin, was reported to inhibit angiotensin I-converting enzyme (ACE), the common property of many synthetic hypertensive medications on the market (Gaesser & Angadi, 2012).

On another positive note, the immune-boosting potential of gluten has been attributed to the high glutamine content present in the protein (Gaesser & Angadi, 2012). In a study involving patients following surgery, subjects receiving wheat gluten hydrosylate for six days post-operation experienced a significant increase in natural killer cell activity from 6% to 57%. Natural killer cells are important in the monitoring of tumor development and viral infections, the latter of which is of high concern following a surgical operation (Gaesser & Angadi, 2012).

Gluten has some health benefits and shouldn’t be eliminated from a diet without medical guidance. Share on X

True NCGS is a diagnosis of exclusion, after celiac disease and wheat allergy have been ruled out, and only with the elimination test followed by a gluten challenge for symptom recurrence. If no IBS-like symptoms appear with a gluten-free diet, even with the continuation of a FODMAP ingestion, then NCGS can be properly diagnosed and attributed to gluten. Statistics show that roughly 82% of individuals adopting a gluten-free diet do so without first seeking medical advice (Vazquez-Roque & Oxentenko, 2015). This can result in serious negative implications from both a physical and mental health capacity, due to the potential for malnutrition and insufficient adherence without professional medical guidance. Some clinical scientists are considering the possibility that NCGS is celiac disease in its earliest inchoate, clinical form, but much research is yet to be performed in this area. Clearly there are physiological and nutritional benefits to consuming gluten for otherwise healthy individuals, and so it would be negligent to eliminate this powerful protein without first acquiring the medical basis to do so.

Since you’re here…
…we have a small favor to ask. More people are reading SimpliFaster than ever, and each week we bring you compelling content from coaches, sport scientists, and physiotherapists who are devoted to building better athletes. Please take a moment to share the articles on social media, engage the authors with questions and comments below, and link to articles when appropriate if you have a blog or participate on forums of related topics. — SF

References

1. El-Salhy, M., Hatlebakk, J. G., Gilja, O. H., & Hausken, T. (2015). The relation between celiac disease, nonceliac gluten sensitivity and irritable bowel syndrome. Nutrition Journal, 14(1), 1-8.
2. Fasano, A., Sapone, A., Zevallos, V., & Schuppan, D. (2015). Nonceliac gluten and wheat sensitivity. Gasteroenterology, 148, 1195-1204.
3. Gaesser, G. A. & Angadi, S. S. (2012). Gluten-free diet: Imprudent dietary advice for the general population? Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, 112, 1330-1333.
4. Vazquez-Roque, M. & Oxentenko, A. S. (2015). Nonceliac gluten sensitivity. Mayo Clinic Proc, 90(9), 1272-1277.

Like many other health professionals, as well as lay people, I used to believe that pain only comes from an injury or is caused by locked joints, joint misalignment, weak or tight muscles, ruptured disks, poor posture, and degenerative changes.

Many people also believe that pain means something is wrong in their body, in the location where they have the pain. This belief is based on what is popularly called the “Cartesian” model of pain, put forward by the philosopher Descartes nearly 350 years ago. Descartes wrote in his book, Treatise of Man: “The flame particle jumps from the fire, touches the toe, moves up the spinal cord until a little bell goes off in the brain and says, ‘Ouch. It hurt.”

This is closely related to what we learn throughout our childhood; namely, that pain always has a clear cause. We bump our toe, and the result is a painful toe. We fall and hurt our knee, and we get pain in our knee. This is a natural response, and it’s a good thing too, because it causes us to protect the injured area and try to avoid hurting it more. It causes us to act, and it promotes healing through rest (1).

This leads people to draw the conclusion that, if they have pain, it is because they have tissue damage in their muscles, tendons, or joints. Unfortunately, this conclusion is sometimes wrong, especially when pain lasts longer than the normal healing time. Both pain and neuroscience research show us that, when you have pain, it has less to do with the actual state of your tissue, and more to do with your brain and nervous system (2).

Pain has more to do with your brain and nervous system than with your muscles, tendons, and joints. Share on X

Quite frankly, pain is not as simple as most people, and even some health professionals, think. Pain is a multifaceted experience that is produced by multiple influences and factors (1). Pain is not simply a sensation caused by an injury, inflammation in the body, or tissue pathology (1).

Injuries often hurt because they activate specific receptors in the body called nociceptors. Nociceptors are specialized neurons that alert us to potentially damaging stimuli; they detect extremes in temperature, pressure, and compounds produced by an injury. A non-technical name for them is danger receptors.

Recent research has shown us that you actually can have pain in the body without anything being wrong in the area of that pain. You can also have “damage” and so called degenerative changes in the body without any pain.

As I see it, there are four possibilities:

• Having tissue damage and pain
• Having no tissue damage and no pain
• Having pain but no tissue damage
• Having tissue damage but no pain

The first two possibilities are the ones that almost everyone takes for granted, while the last two possibilities are often forgotten. However, these last two are very important to keep in mind. If you have pain for three to six months, it is usually classified as chronic pain. This type of pain often has more to do with your brain and nervous system than with the actual condition of the tissue.

In this article, we will look into the last possibility—having tissue damage without pain. There are many people who walk around with knee, back, or shoulder pain that drastically limits their ability to be active or live a normal life. Interestingly, there are also many people who have some significant “damage” in their body, also known as degenerative changes, but without any symptoms or pain.

Some examples from research include:

• Researchers looking at the MRIs of participants’ lumbar spine area found that 80% of the participants without any symptoms or pain could be diagnosed with one mild disc protrusion or a disc herniation in the lumbar spine, and 38% of participants had two or more of these degenerative changes (3).
• MRIs taken of the shoulders of participants who had neither symptoms nor pain showed that 34% of them had rotator cuff tears. This increased to 54% when researchers only looked at people above 60 years old (4).
• Researchers found that 37% of patients in an emergency clinic (that were alert, rational, and coherent) did not feel pain at the time of their injury. Most of these patients reported pain within an hour of injury, but some patients reported delays of as long as nine hours or even more. In patients with lacerations, cuts, abrasions, and burns, 53% had a period of time without pain and, even in the group of patients with fractures, sprains, bruises, amputation of a finger, stab wounds, and crushes, 28% went through a period without pain (5).
• Of a group of participants in another study, 20% to 57% had different types of degenerative changes, like disc herniation or spinal stenosis, varying by age. The incidence was also shown to increase with age (6).
• In a study of people with clinical symptoms of knee osteoarthritis, 76% were found to have meniscal tears without any symptoms or pain (7).
• In a new systematic review of spinal degradation, the researchers determined that degenerative changes could be viewed as a normal part of aging, and that they are common in individuals without pain (8).
• When the shoulders of subjects in one study were imaged by ultrasound, researchers found “abnormalities” in 96% of them; again without any symptoms or pain (9).
• In an editorial published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, a professor of sport medicine stated that degenerative meniscus tears (in the knee) should be looked upon as “wrinkles with age” (10).
• A cross-sectional study of MRIs done on the cervical spines of 1,211 participants ages 20-70 found that 87.6% of them had a bulging disc. For participants in their 20s, 73.3% of the males and 78.0% of the females had bulging discs; again without any pain (11).

If we look closer at the data from the “Systematic Literature Review of Imaging Features of Spinal Degeneration in Asymptomatic Populations” (8), it shows that 60% of the people that are 40 years old have disc degeneration, 50% have a bulging disc, 33% have disc protrusions, 18% have facet degeneration, and 8% have spondylolisthesis. However, none of them have symptoms or pain.

The incidence increases dramatically when we look at data for people 80 years old. Here, the data shows that 96% have disc degeneration, 84% have a bulging disc, 43% have disc protrusions, 83% have facet degeneration, and 50% have spondylolisthesis. Still, none of this group has symptoms or pain.

All of the participants and patients in the studies I highlighted earlier—with the exception of the paper on patients in the emergency clinic (5) —had all sorts of things “wrong” in their body, but none of them felt pain.

How can that be? Why does your uncle’s shoulder hurt when his rotator cuff is torn, while people in these studies had no pain? And why do you get back pain when working in the garden, while all of these people can have degenerative changes without feeling any pain? What about the old man who has arthritis in both knees, but only the left one hurts? The answer is that pain is nowhere near as simple as we believe.

A wide range of scientific studies show the concept of pain is not as simple as we believe. Share on X

What does modern pain research say about pain, and what can we learn from the last 30 years of research on the experience of pain? A statement made by world-leading pain researcher, Professor Lorimer Moseley, serves as a gateway to this new research. Moseley is a professor of Clinical Neurosciences and Chair in Physiotherapy, School of Health Sciences at the University of South Australia, and is at the forefront of pain research. His numerous scientific studies have extensively increased our understanding of what pain is, and what it is not. Moseley said that, “pain is an unpleasant conscious experience that emerges from the brain when the sum of all the available information suggests that you need to protect a particular part of your body.”

Pain is, therefore, the sum of your environmental context (i.e., a calm or stressed environment; a battlefield, hospital, home), the degree of danger signal (nociception), your beliefs, your expectations, and your past experiences, as well as many other factors. You will experience pain only when your body perceives a large-enough threat in relation to the context (12,13). In layman’s terms, you could reconceptualize pain as the body’s alarm system, which reacts to threat, danger, and injury. The alarm (pain) is often activated when we get an injury, but the alarm system is highly intelligent and has the ability to warn us before we get an injury, thereby increasing the probability that we avoid the injury.

The legendary Danish doctor and anatomy professor, Dr. Finn Bojsen-Møller, stated: “It is fundamental to the body’s self-protection ability that pain begins before reaching the breaking point. Without the painful experience, there is no possibility of keeping the body and tissue intact and whole (14).”

This scientific research, and its implications, are both good news and bad news. The good news is that, through advances in pain science research, we have a much more complete understanding of what pain is. The bad news that emerges from this research, however, is that pain is a complex experience influenced by multiple factors. This means that there are no quick fixes to the complex problem that is pain, and this is a big challenge for the health professionals who are trying to sell quick fixes. But it also gives hope for new advances in pain treatments that integrate the complexity and multifactorial nature of pain.

Since you’re here…
…we have a small favor to ask. More people are reading SimpliFaster than ever, and each week we bring you compelling content from coaches, sport scientists, and physiotherapists who are devoted to building better athletes. Please take a moment to share the articles on social media, engage the authors with questions and comments below, and link to articles when appropriate if you have a blog or participate on forums of related topics. — SF

References

1. Melzack R, Katz J. Pain. WIREs Cogn Sci. 2013; 4(1):1-15.
2. Moseley GL. Reconceptualising pain according to modern pain science. Physical Therapy Reviews. 2007; 12(3):169-178.
3. Jensen MC, Brant-Zawadzki MN, Obuchowski N, Modic MT, Malkasian D, Ross JS. Magnetic resonance imaging of the lumbar spine in people without back pain. N Engl J Med. 1994 Jul 14; 331(2):69-73X.
4. Sher JS et al. Abnormal findings on magnetic resonance images of asymptomatic shoulders. J Bone Joint Surg Am. 1995 Jan; 77(1):10-5.
5. Melzack R, Wall PD, Ty TC. Acute pain in an emergency clinic: latency of onset and descriptor patterns related to different injuries. Pain. 1982 Sep; 14(1):33-43.
6. Boden SD, Davis DO, Dina TS, Patronas NJ, Wiesel SW. Abnormal magnetic-resonance scans of the lumbar spine in asymptomatic subjects. A prospective investigation. J Bone Joint Surg Am. 1990 Mar; 72(3):403-8.
7. Bhattacharyya T, Gale D, Dewire P, Totterman S, Gale ME, McLaughlin S, Einhorn TA, Felson DT. The clinical importance of meniscal tears demonstrated by magnetic resonance imaging in osteoarthritis of the knee. J Bone Joint Surg Am. 2003 Jan; 85-A(1):4-9.
8. Brinjikji W, Luetmer PH, Comstock B, Bresnahan BW, Chen LE, Deyo RA, Halabi S, Turner JA, Avins AL, James K, et al. Systematic Literature Review of Imaging Features of Spinal Degeneration in Asymptomatic Populations. AJNR Am J Neuroradiol. 2014 Nov 27. [Epub ahead of print].
9. Girish G, Lobo LG, Jacobson JA, Morag Y, Miller B, Jamadar DA. Ultrasound of the shoulder: asymptomatic findings in men. AJR Am J Roentgenol. 2011 Oct; 197(4):W713-9.
10. Risberg MA. Degenerative meniscus tears should be looked upon as wrinkles with age–and should be treated accordingly. Br J Sports Med. 2014 May; 48(9):741.
11. Nakashima H, Yukawa Y, Suda K, Yamagata M, Ueta T, Kato F. Abnormal findings on magnetic resonance images of the cervical spines in 1211 asymptomatic subjects. Spine (Phila Pa 1976). 2015 Mar 15; 40(6):392-8.
12. Moseley GL. A pain neuromatrix approach to patients with chronic pain. Man Ther. 2003 Aug; 8(3):130-40.
13. Legrain V, Iannetti GD, Plaghki L, Mouraux A. The pain matrix reloaded: a salience detection system for the body. Prog Neurobiol. 2011 Jan; 93(1):111-24. Epub 2010 Oct 30.
14. Bojsen-Møller, F. 2001. Bevægeapparatets anatomi. 12th ed., Denmark: Munksgaard.