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What Is the kBox 3?

I will begin by urging you to read the article, “What Every Coach Ought to Know About Flywheel Training” by Exxentric co-founder Fredrik Correa, M.D. Here are some highlights, and Fredrik’s article has more depth and citations to other articles and studies.

1. The kBox is a form of flywheel training (ISO-inertial). Its origins date back to the Gymnasticon, invented in 1796 by American researcher Francis Lowndes.
2. The technology recently reappeared to help stave off atrophy and bone loss in conditions of microgravity during space travel.
3. In essence, the kBox works by placing 1–4 flywheels onto a shaft connected to a strap. That strap connects to you and a harness or handle. When the flywheel turns it gathers the strap around the shaft. When you apply force to the strap, it spins the shaft, consequently spinning the flywheel. It catches the strap and pulls back down with equal energy.
4. Every rep is a max load rep if you give maximum effort every time, unlike a barbell where only the final rep is at maximum effort.
5. You get higher velocity eccentric overload, unlike slow heavy eccentric work or forced reps/negatives with free weights.
6. Studies show a higher degree of hypertrophy, muscle activation, and strength in all joint angles by use of ISO-inertial training.
7. Eccentric work shows increases in muscle length, fiber transformation into type IIA, and improved balance and stiffness in tendons.

What Is an ISO-inertial?

If you want an in-depth, well-written look at what an ISO-inertial machine is and how it works, I strongly suggest reading Marco Pozzo’s article, “Monitoring Performance in Strength Training: The SmartCoach System”. He did such a good job that I’d just be rephrasing his work.

The meathead in me would explain how the kBox 3 works by saying that it uses different diameter wheels with different mass (as the wheels get bigger, the mass increases). To rotate or move more mass, you need to apply more force. The same holds true for stopping that rotating mass. So the only thing that affects the forces and energy is the amount and size of the mass you need to rotate and the amount of force you apply. Gravity has no effect.

With the above example, hopefully, the difference between inertial training and barbell training is clearer. The fact of the matter is that not much will change the force required to spin a given flywheel, nor will much stop it from taking the concentric force you used to start the wheel spinning from coming right back at you with equal force. This causes high inertial force, which drives you back into an eccentric contraction. This is why it works in space and why—if you wanted to get strange—you could lie horizontally and strap yourself into the squat harness and effectively do leg presses, or hang the kBox from the ceiling and do pulldowns. I’m not suggesting you try, just making a point that gravity doesn’t affect the work.

Construction of the kBox 3

When I saw a video of the kBox 3 I loved the small footprint. Given that I work out of my 3-car garage, space is at a premium so larger items clearly don’t work well. I was immediately curious as to its composition and weight, so I reached out to Exxentric senior vice president Andreas Correa and set up a demo here in San Diego.

Andreas had me take the kBox out of his car. I was shocked by its light weight, just 27 pounds without a wheel attached to it. Andreas explained that the body is aluminum, the shaft is hardened steel, and the top surface is covered by boat material that essentially gets “stickier” as it gets wet. This may seem trivial. But if you plan on coming off grass onto the kBox or if you or your athletes tend to sweat a lot, the steel construction of the previous model could get slick. I’m happy with the change as safety always matters.

 

While there are numerous positives regarding the kBox (many of which I haven’t spoken of yet), a few minor issues—which haven’t yet posed a problem but do have the potential to complicate things—may be worth considering.

First, the shaft the strap connects to isn’t much wider than the strap itself (which may be for good reason as I could see the strap folding strangely with too much room). But if you are a bit off-center the strap can rub on the edges, causing fraying and premature changes. At some point, the strap will wear out and need to be changed. There is of course always a cost of doing business, and maintenance is required for almost everything. So you need to be aware that this small piece will need to be replaced at some point.

The second potential issue regards solo training. The configuration of the kBox may involve a bit of a struggle setting up exercises and getting into position while getting the wheel spinning. I have not yet had an issue with this matter, but could foresee it happening.

Quick recap: The model is small in a gym equipment sense but plenty big to squat on, sturdy as all heck, light, portable, has unlimited resistance and a great top surface that doesn’t slip. On the difficult side, you need to set up well so the strap tracks cleanly down onto the shaft, the strap will wear out so you will have to buy extras, and setup on some exercises can be a tad tricky while training alone.

Before I even finished this article, I discovered that the guys at Exxentric have already changed the strap material and are working on a new reel to minimize wear and friction on the strap, giving a better user experience and longer-lasting straps. This is something that as a customer you have to love. Like any new technology, things are moving quickly and when given feedback these guys act… and act fast. They want their product to be the best and they seem to work hard to continuously improve to help us out on the user end. I’m already looking forward to the new straps.

Kmeter

To quantify the load, the guys at Exxentric have a device they call the kMeter. It consists of a wireless Bluetooth transmitter costing 390 euros and a corresponding free app for data display. The kMeter will record measures including displacement, concentric and eccentric peak power, and eccentric overload as the user inputs the wheel size/amount and divides eccentric peak power with concentric peak power.

Like any monitoring tool, it will be great to have feedback to track progress and see exactly what is happening to power production and other metrics with wheel changes, but how you choose to use the information will generally be context- and person-specific.

By the time this is out the Kmeter should be announced as well. Again moving quick and adding value to their product as it will be included in the price of new purchases essentially adding a $500 value for no cost. Again, very cool and old users will be able to order at a “campaign price” and I can promise I will be on that list.

How Does It Feel?

Operation of the kBox is difficult to fully explain, though it’s somewhat like bands pulling you down. Instead of easing up at the bottom they just pull harder, though that’s not quite right. It also feels like a normal squat (or whatever exercise you perform) but over in the corner there is a little kid playing with a dimmer switch that controls gravity. The kid just turns that sucker up to Jupiter levels, which causes a feeling of being sucked to the floor by some unearthly force. If you really give some concentric juice and take the exercise through a full range of motion there is a feeling that you may just get sucked straight through the tiny little hole in the surface—luckily for us the guys at Exxentric put a stopper to keep this from happening.

Video 1. Up to four flywheels can be attached to the kBox shaft as shown in this video.

It has a unique feel, and certainly a small learning curve. I will use the squat as an example. You initially have to “milk” the start by manually spinning the wheel with your foot. The wheel will pick up a small amount of strap and cause a lowering into a partial/mini squat (try to keep the strap taut to limit slack and potential rubbing). You then give a little more aggressive concentric action, and the wheel will pick up more speed and consequently more strap.

Video 2. A squat using three large wheels and one medium wheel. Note the cycle time for each rep is longer than the video below that uses less flywheel mass.

 

Video 3. A squat using one medium wheel. Note the higher rotational speed of the flywheel compared to the previous video.

Once the wheel pulls you to full range and you give your first true effort concentrically, the subsequent eccentric pull can be shocking. I stand behind users because they may have a tendency to fall back a little. Though in my experience this only happens during the first attempt, with the initial set tending to oscillate between balance issues and not keeping the strap taut. Most people who have tried it will push up and just squat down, leaving a bucket of slack that causes the wheel to come around and jerk them when it finally catches up. I’ve had success coaching “smooth up, wait for the strap to pull you down.” Once they get the feel, it’s typically not a problem from then on.

Specific Reasons I Chose the kBox 3 For My Gym

I would be doing a disservice if I didn’t first mention a couple of articles to check out, “6 Sure-Fire Eccentric Exercises to Build (and Rebuild) Athletic Monsters” by Carl Valle and and “My Love Affair with the Bulgarian Split Squat” by Chris Korfist. These talk in some way about eccentric work and seeing how it may improve performance. Here are my additions to what has previously been talked about, and I’m sure even more will follow.

1. With our novice and general fitness folks, the kBox 3 is both orthopedically very safe (if cued correctly—I like “smooth up, smooth stop”) and really a novel, fun, and effective way to train. I have two clients, a husband (former Division 1 football player) and wife (former Division 1 tennis player). Both are highly successful, highly competitive, and highly messed up. Between the two of them they have had 7 surgeries. He has 2 bulging discs and no meniscus in either knee and has been told by multiple doctors not to load his spine. She has a torn medial meniscus that was never repaired and experiences shoulder pain when squatting (not to mention that she doesn’t enjoy barbells.).

But during their first day using the kBox 3 they both were able to squat with more effort/exertion than with a normal barbell or kettlebell and enjoyed it so much that they requested it in their next session. This has become commonplace: people who hesitate when presented with a barbell have no problems with the kBox harness. And while I have found it effective with my general fitness clients, I also see the potential for it to help break cultural biases in elite sports such as soccer, where some clubs are notorious for “fearing” the barbell. If safety is paramount, time to help an athlete learn a fairly complex movement is limited, or physical limitations are an issue, I think the kBox 3 is a great solution.

2. If we look at a full force-velocity curve with the eccentric-concentric portions of a lift, we see that unlike concentric muscle actions, eccentric force increases as muscle lengthening velocities increase (up to a point). So with this in mind, when we think of eccentric-type training we think slow tempo with heavy or light weight (depending on the goal and/or exercise), drops/landings with high velocity, or sprinting and multiple response jumps where again there is a very high velocity with very high forces potentially.

The difference with the kBox 3 is that it is a general exercise, where you can get higher velocities than typical eccentric barbell work with equally high or higher forces as well as greater times under tension when related to landings/jumps/sprints. The way I am looking at this information (thanks to a talk with Landon Evans, University of Iowa Olympic strength & conditioning coach) is a general way to prepare tissues and joints for high eccentric loads.

When in a GPP or SPP block, I think we can get unique benefits from the kBox 3 by imposing an eccentric contraction with higher velocities and force than standard barbell work with greater time under those loads, thus leading to better adaptations. It has the potential to be beneficial in-season with some athletes within the small distribution of SPE loads. I don’t think this replaces the specific work entirely, but it is a unique way to safely prepare for the more intensive specific work in blocks to come or maintain qualities throughout a season.

3. With what we know about muscle eccentric training being effective for hypertrophy, I plan on using this more regularly with general fitness clients who want added muscle mass. The increased muscle damage, soreness, and recovery time, though, are all things to keep in mind no matter who you’re dealing with, and especially when working with athletes during short off- seasons (As long as the hypertrophy is needed and recovery is in place).

Foolish or Selfish Addition. One selfish little thing I’d like to try (if I had 2 kBoxes) would be to attach them to a barbell similar to chains and see if the transfer to barbell lifting would increase. For example, in a squat hook a strap to each collar, weigh the boxes down so they don’t move, and perform standard squats. I’m a powerlifting junky myself so this truly is just a curiosity for me and nothing more. But I would think the carryover to a squat would be better as you could slowly cut flywheel resistance in place of weights loaded on the bar. This would not be for a novice lifter, and the setup would be the key to ensuring safety so no one is getting buried in the hole.

There are obviously a lot more training objectives to consider. A few that have been tossed around are length/tension relationships post-eccentric work and injury risk, hormonal changes (IGF-1), anterior chain stiffness (think a pullover for throwers), and even tempo-type training (maybe you’ve heard it called oxidative work) since you can set the strap to not allow lockout at any point. These will all depend on your program and athlete/client base.

Conclusion

When all is said and done, I think there are more than enough benefits to at least consider the kBox 3 as a viable option for anyone’s gym or training system. I know the price isn’t cheap but the value is huge. It offers a unique way of training certain qualities such as high force with high-velocity eccentrics, larger times under tension with these specific muscle contraction regimes, improved speed of hypertrophy gains, and orthopedic safety (especially for the squat)—all with one piece of equipment with a small footprint. Overall, I’m about a month in and extremely happy with the purchase. I strongly recommend it—or at least get in touch with someone to give it a try.

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

 

During my athletics career, I had a love-hate relationship with sleep. I was aware that sleep was an area that was to be prioritized, so I did. I spent many hours asleep, even though I would have much liked to do other things, such as read or play computer games. From time to time, something would go wrong with my sleep cycle, and I would end up with some mild grade of insomnia. Not being able to sleep is miserable; I have taken sleeping tablets a few times in my life as I had no other option. As per my personality, sleep became something I obsessed over early in my career, and I had to get as much as possible. A poor night’s sleep would leave me worried for days that it would affect my performance. As I got older, I found this wasn’t the case. I competed in the Olympic Games off two hours sleep and won major championship medals in sleep deprived states. As my career wore on, I also got more knowledgeable in the area of sleep. I found that I could improve the quality of my sleep, as well as remove some of the anxiety around it. In this article, I will examine the need for sleep, and how athletes can get the most out of the third of your life spent sleeping.

What is sleep?

Sleep is odd in as much as there isn’t really a scientific consensus as to why we need it. The Restorative Theory states that sleep helps replenish bodily resources that have been depleted in the time prior to sleeping. The evidence for this is that if we are more active in the day, we tend to need more sleep in the evening. Failure to get this sleep leads to decreased energy levels the next day. A competing theory is the Energy Conservation Theory, which states that sleep helps to conserve energy. It points to the fact that highly active mammals need more sleep, and if they didn’t get this sleep, they would use up too much energy. Regardless of the cause of needing to sleep, one thing is clear; without sufficient sleep, we are less healthy, and eventually lack of sufficient sleep will lead to death.

Once we fall asleep, there are multiple stages within sleep itself. We start off awake, and then as we drift off we enter stage 1 sleep. Here, the muscles are active, and the eyes open and close moderately. This stage lasts between two and five minutes before we enter stage 2 sleep. Our heart rate and body temperature both drop in this stage and full muscular relaxation occurs (including our throat, which is what causes snoring). Moving into a deeper sleep, we enter stages 3 and 4, which is where slow wave sleep (SWS) occurs. Here, we have very slow brain waves, and we are incredibly hard to wake up. This stage of sleep is vital to health; the hormones that enable us to grow and repair are released during this stage, and it is generally a highly anabolic environment. Important information from the day is also consolidated into memory during SWS.

After about 30 minutes of SWS, we quickly shift back to stage 2 sleep and then into REM sleep. REM stands for rapid eye movement, and it is in this stage that dreams occur. Our muscles are paralyzed (to stop us acting out our dreams), but our brain is highly active. REM sleep plays a large role in the creation of memories and problem solving. After a period of REM sleep, we will then have a brief micro awakening, of which we will have no memory of when we wake up for real. We then move back into stage 2, then into SWS. This cycle is repeated over the night; deep sleep tends to occur in a greater proportion earlier in the night, and REM sleep occurs in a greater proportion later in the night. In a typical night, 50 percent of the time is spent in a light sleep, 20 per cent in a deep sleep, 25 percent in REM, and 5 per cent awake. Each sleep cycle takes roughly 90 minutes.

The need to sleep is governed by a number of things, including circadian rhythm and homeostatic sleep propensity (the need for sleep increases the more time elapses from our previous sleep). Circadian rhythm refers to our internal body clock, which helps to determine when we want to sleep, wake up, eat, go to the toilet, etc. This internal clock can be thrown into disarray by travel across numerous time zones (jet lag), irregular bed and waking times, and disrupted daytime rhythms. Age also appears to have an effect of circadian rhythm, with teenagers suffering the most. Teenagers suffer a circadian shift of around three hours – generally they aren’t sleepy until late and night, and struggle with early mornings. This is at odds with the typical school day, and can lead to academic underperformance.

With regards to circadian rhythm, humans fall into one of two different chronotypes; “larks” and “owls”. Larks tend to fall asleep and wake up earlier than owls. Larks don’t like napping (owls do), do their best work between 9am and 4pm (compared to owls, which work best between 1pm and 10pm). In general, larks tend to be introverts, logical, and reliable. They tend to do better academically, although this is probably because their best working hours match up with the school day. By contrast, owls tend to be extroverted, and generally have four times as many partners in their lifetime. I am a lark, although I think that most sprinters are owls, especially if you consider their stereotypes and reputations!

What happens if we don’t get enough sleep?

The general recommendations are that adults should aim to sleep for between 7 and 9 hours per night. The lack of sleep is associated with a wide range of health and performance issues. From a health point of view, sleep deprivation is associated with an increased risk of all cause mortality. Lack of sleep can more than double the risk of death from cardiovascular disease. Short sleep is a risk factor for weight gain (it causes an increase is ghrelin, the hunger hormone, and a decrease in leptin, the hormone that makes you feel full), hypertension, and type II diabetes (sleep deficiency reduces insulin sensitivity). Disrupted circadian rhythms are also bad for your health; shift work is categorized as a carcinogen by the World Health Organisation. The mechanism for this is that melatonin, which causes you to feel sleepy, limits the production of hormones that associated with causing cancer.

From a performance perspective, long-term sleep deprivation is not ideal. Student athletes with an average sleep duration of less than eight hours are 1.7 times more likely to suffer a sporting injury over the course of a month than those sleeping for more than 8 hours (Milewski et al., 2014). Sargent et al. (2014) found that shorter sleep durations were significantly associated with higher levels of pre-training fatigue. Halson (2014) reports that long-term partial sleep deprivation (i.e. not sleeping enough per night over a long time period) increases the perception of pain, decreases the immune response (making us more likely to get ill), increases feelings of depression, tension, confusion, fatigue, anger, and reduces feelings of vigour. Overall, it should be obvious that these are not positive aspects.

Do athletes get enough sleep?

This is a tough question to answer, as there isn’t any real hard and fast rules available for the amount of sleep humans require, outside of the general 7-9 hour rule. It follows logical senses that if athletes are expending more energy and causing more muscular damage on a daily basis, then they would require more sleep. Trinder et al. (1988) reported that for trained athletes, aerobic training caused an increase in the need for SWS sleep, as well as a decrease in time to get to sleep. Faigenbaum et al. (2002) discovered that 94% of US student athletes believed they required more sleep than they were getting and that their median time asleep was 7.5 hours.

Other studies have examined the time athletes spend sleeping. Sargent et al. (2014) found that athletes obtained an average of 6.5 hours sleep per night, ranging from 5 hours to 8 hours. Lastella et al. mirrored these results. (2014), finding that average sleep duration for an elite athlete was 6.8 hours, ranging from 5.5 hours to 8 hours. It would appear from these results that athletes probably aren’t getting sufficient sleep.

Halson (2014) explored some of the reasons why athletes might not be getting sufficient sleep. These included:

• Early morning training sessions,
• Poor sleep habits and hygiene,
• Nocturnal waking to use the bathroom (athletes tend to be better hydrated than lay people, and as such going 8+hours without urination is tough!),
• Caffeine use, and
• Excessive thinking/worrying/planning.

From my experience, I am notoriously bad at waking up in the night to use the bathroom. As my career progressed, I worked hard at this aspect of my sleep hygiene, reducing my overnight toilet visits from 3-4 per night to a maximum of 1, with the target being zero. After competitions, which usually take place in the evenings, I would often struggle to sleep until 3-4am due to the high amount of caffeine I had taken pre-competition. One particularly memorable experience saw me racing at 9.30pm, not sleeping, leaving the hotel at 3.30am, and having three successive flights to catch in order to get to my next race.

The good news for athletes is that short-term sleep deprivation does not appear to affect performance. This is incredibly good news because athletes typically sleep very badly before competition; a mixture of nerves, excitement, and early starts contribute to this. I’ve already mentioned that I only got two hours sleep before racing in the 100m at the Beijing Olympics – the 4.45am wake up for my race certainly played a role here. Souissi et al. found that 24h without sleep had no effect on anaerobic power variables. Similarly, Blumert et al. found that 24h sleep deprivation had no effect on US Collegiate weightlifters in the weight they could lift for snatch, clean and jerk, and total training session weight. 2.5 hours sleep deprivation over a period of four nights had no effect on swimming performance in a group of elite swimmers. Knowing these facts, and becoming more experienced myself, lead to me feeling much less anxious about sleep the night before a competition, which in turn lead to me sleeping much better.

Is more sleep better?

So, we’ve examined whether sleep deprivation affects sporting performance. But can more sleep improve performance? Mah et al. looked at this. They asked a group of basketballers to sleep as much as they could over a two-week period. The results showed an improvement in both sprint and free-throw ability. Similarly, high-level swimmers sleeping for 10 hours per night for seven weeks see an increase in their 15m-sprint time, reaction time, turn time, and mood. Mah also reported the sleep times of some well-known sports people; Roger Federer sleeps for 11-12h per night; Usain Bolt for 8-10h, LeBron James for 12h, and Maria Sharapova for 8-10h.

Another factor to consider is that sleep is linked with skill learning; when we sleep, our brain consolidates the information it has picked up during the day. Ensuring optimal sleep should help improve skill acquisition, and hence is another factor as to why athletes should attempt to maximise their sleep.

So, what can we do?

Daily

It is important to practice good sleep hygiene on a daily basis:

• Blue light exposure from electrical screens reduces melatonin release, which can cause a decrease in sleep quality and increase the time to fall asleep. Try to avoid electrical screens for an hour before bed. If you have to use a computer screen, then try orange tinted glasses that filter out the blue light.
• We need to ensure we are comfortable in our rooms, which requires them to be quiet and dark. If you are consistently disturbed by noise, then earplugs are a good option. If you are woken up by outside light, consider an eye mask or black out curtains.
• Keep a to-do list to reduce anxiety. I have a to-do app on my phone; if anything pops into my head as I am trying to sleep I can just type it in there, and I no longer have to worry about it.
• It’s also a good idea to avoid stimulating activity immediately before bed. I used to have a three hour pre-bed routine that involved me progressively dimming the lights as the evening progressed (to simulate the natural darkening cycle) and then reading for 60-90 minutes pre-bed to limit my exposure to blue light from TV.
• Limit liquid intake in the few hours before you sleep, in order to prevent waking up in the night to go to the toilet. If you do have to get up, try to turn on as few lights as possible.
• Consider the use of a tryptophan supplement / food source to help melatonin production. 300g of turkey provides around 1g of tryptophan, which is a good dose. Don’t just add your tryptophan to a pre-bed protein shake, as I used to do, as the presence of other amino acids in the blood in high concentrations reduces the amount of tryptophan that can enter the brain. I wasted my money on that one.
• Consider tart cherry juice, which may increase melatonin production.
• Try to avoid caffeine after 2pm, as it may affect how long it takes you to get to sleep.
• Alcohol reduces sleep quality, and so should be avoided where possible.
• Have a regular sleep and wake time to ensure a strong circadian rhythm.
• Consider napping during the day, especially if you have early morning training sessions.
• If possible, try to sleep for 9 hours or more on a regular basis.

Competitions

66% of athletes report worse sleep than normal pre-competition (Halson 2014). This can be down to excitement/nerves, unusual sleep surroundings, and sharing with a roommate. To overcome these issues, here are my tips:

• Understand that one poor nights sleep will not affect your performance the next day.
• If you consistently struggle to sleep pre-competition, consider increasing your sleep in the days leading up to the competition. I used to do this; I knew it would make me less tired on the night before a big race, but it would offset the anxiety of not getting enough sleep.
• Try to pick a roommate that you have shared with before, and that you know won’t disturb you overnight. The amount of athletes that I have roomed with that either snore or stay up late watching TV (or both!) is ridiculous, which is why I settled on a regular roommate during my career. Having a consistent roommate also removes some of the anxiety about whether or not you will get a good nights sleep.
• Pack earplugs and an eye mask – if the hotel or your roommate is noisy, you can take care of this!
• When travelling across time zones, allow approximately one day per time zone for acclimatization.

Coaches

• Understand that early morning training sessions are probably affecting the sleep quality and duration of your athletes. You can offset these affects by allowing athletes to nap during the day. Early morning training sessions are especially hard on teenagers.
• Understand that individuals perform best at different times of day, and where possible schedule training to account for this.
• Promote good sleep hygiene habits.
• Try to schedule travel around competitions so that it does not affect your athlete’s sleep. An early morning return travel after a competition will severely hamper an athlete’s recovery, especially if the competition was late at night. Similarly, traveling to a competition and arriving late at night will have a knock on effect onto the athletes sleep.

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

Bulbulian, R; Heaney, J & Leake, C. (1996) The effect of sleep deprivation and exercise load on isokinetic leg strength and endurance. Eur J Appl Physiol 73: 272-7

Faigenbaum, A; Mediate, P & Rota, D. (2002) Sleep need in high school athletes. Strength and Conditioning Journal 24(4): 18-19

Halson, S. (2014) Sleep in elite athletes and nutritional interventions to enhance sleep. Sports Med 44(S1): S13-23.

Lastella, M; Roach, G; Halson, S & Sargent, C. (2014) Sleep / wake behaviours of elite athletes from individual and team sports. Eur J Sport Sci 4: 1-7.

Mah, C; Mah, K & Kezirian, E. (2011) The effects of sleep extension on the athletic performance of collegiate basketball players. Sleep 34(7): 943-50.

Mah, C. (2008) Extended sleep and the effects on mood and athletic performance in collegiate swimmers. Annual Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies.

Milewski, M; Skaggs, D; Bishop, G; Pace, J; Ibrahim, D; Wren, T & Barzdukas, A. (2014) Chronic lack of sleep is associated with increased sports injuries in adolescent athlete. J Pediatric Orthop 34(2): 129-33

Sargent, G; Lastella, M; Halson, S & Roach, G. (2014) The impact of training schedules on the sleep and fatigue of elite athletes. Chronobiol Int 15: 1-9

Souissi, N; Sesboue, B & Gauthier, A. (2003) Effects of one night’s sleep deprivation on anaerobic performance the following day. Eur J Appl Physiol 89 (3-4): 358-66

Trinder, J; Paxton, S; Montgomery, J & Fraser, G. (1988) Endurance as opposed to power training: Their effect on sleep. Psychophysiology 22(6): 668-73

Wiseman, R (2014). Night School: Wake up to the power of sleep. Macmillan.

21st August 2008. 8.20pm.

I am standing in the Bird’s Nest Stadium in Beijing, watching the first heat of the men’s 4 x 100 metre relay take place. I’ve been waiting for this moment for years: my chance to win an Olympic medal. By my reckoning, we have an incredibly good chance of getting the bronze. We are reigning Olympic champions, and the prior year, I was part of the team that won the bronze at the World Championships in Osaka. Jamaica was clearly going to win—any team that could field the new superstar of the sport, Usain Bolt, was going to be a clear favourite. The USA would also be tough to beat, but outside of that, I really fancied our chances.

I’m running 4th leg, which means I stand by the 100 m start, watching this heat. The gun goes, and it’s a pretty standard race. The USA and Trinidad & Tobago are locked in an interesting race, but the US has Tyson Gay on anchor, so I expect the team to pull clear. Something goes wrong (I can’t tell what), but there’s a baton on the floor, and Gay stops running. The US is out. This is good news for us.

I step out onto the track and measure out my check mark; once the incoming runner gets to this point, I have to start running. It’s an exact science, something we practiced in training. If I leave too early, the incoming athlete will struggle to catch me. If I leave too late, he will catch me too early, and our baton speed will drop. After I’ve measured the distance, I check and then recheck to make sure it’s in the right place. It is.

We take off our kit. My heart is beating, and I’m nervous. I’ve only run this leg once in the previous six years. Asafa Powell is in the lane next to mine. If I don’t run well, I’m going to look stupid. I’ll also probably get replaced for the final.

The gun goes. I can see our first leg runner, Simeon Williamson, run a good leg, and pass the baton to Tyrone Edgar on the second leg. It’s a good change, and we are there or thereabouts with Jamaica. About halfway through Tyrone’s leg, I glance down, checking my feet are in the right position. I look back; it’s a good change from Tyrone to Marlon Devonish, running third leg for us. I look away again and crouch down into my three-point stance. I check back and take my set position; Marlon is almost halfway round the bend. I watch him get closer and closer to the check mark, watching each step get closer and closer to the bit of white tape on the floor. Then I go.

I know straight away something is wrong. In the heat of the moment, my brain can’t decide what, but it doesn’t feel right. Playing it back in my head now, what I think I was aware of was a complete silence; I couldn’t hear anyone running. This is a bad sign; it means I’ve left early. Sensing something is wrong, I start to slow down. I see the midway point of the changeover box approaching, and I still can’t hear Marlon. I slow down some more and put my hand back to give him a target. My eyes are now locked on the end of the changeover box. Each stride I take is about two metres long, and in four steps, I will be outside the box. I’m slowing down as much as I can. The line is getting closer and closer. I’m trying to keep my hand still so Marlon has a good target to hit. I cross the end of the changeover box, and at the same time, the baton hits my hand. There’s a photo of this exact moment, and if you look at my face, you can tell I know. My eyes are closed, and I’m grimacing. I know this hasn’t gone well. I take the baton and chase after Asafa Powell, who, by now, is ten metres ahead of me. We cross the line second, in an automatic qualifying place. I feel numb. I know I’m responsible for a mistake, but I’m clinging to the hope that maybe, just maybe, I was inside the box.

Mistakes Worth Making

Those of you who know my story know that, of course, I wasn’t inside the box. We were disqualified, and as a result, my dream of an Olympic medal perished. Not only that, the dreams of my teammates, coaches, and support staff had perished as well. Worst of all, I was responsible for everything. I had made a huge error that cost me and my team a piece of history.

Let’s start at the beginning: what went wrong? I have never watched the footage of that day, as the memory is still far too painful. From a conversation with our biomechanist, who was filming the race for analysis, I learned I left about three metres early. This was absolutely criminal on my part; it’s a mistake that you cannot recover from. No one wants to make a mistake. I didn’t go into that race hoping or planning to leave early. I just wanted to do my best. Nevertheless, mistakes do happen, and since that race, the Great Britain relay team has been disqualified at four of the six major championships it has competed in. These weren’t deliberate acts by any of the athletes involved. Nevertheless, mistakes happen, and the first step towards recovery is to understand why.

I’ve obviously had a lot of time to think about why this mistake happened, especially in the days immediately after the race. I’ll precede my explanation of events by pointing out that I accept full responsibility for what happened—had I not left early, we wouldn’t have been disqualified. Why did I leave early? If I go back and look at the data from our pre-Olympic training camp, I can see that it was a disaster waiting to happen. In about 50% of all the changeovers in which I was an outgoing runner, I left early. On two occasions, I left two metres early. However, none of these changeovers were incomplete, and this led to a false sense of security. As a consequence, there was no pressure on me, either internally or from coaches, to rectify this problem. An additional factor is that it was only the second time in my professional athletics career that I had run fourth leg. This disrupted my whole process; running second leg (my usual and preferred leg), I would go into my three-point stance when the starter said “On Your Marks.” I would go into my set position when the gun went. I would follow the incoming runner all the way round the bend. I had built this process up over many low-profile, low-pressure relay races. Compare this to Beijing, where I had no ingrained process, no mental checklist to run through once I got onto the track to race. I had to learn during the most high pressure event of my career. Both of these issues, I feel, contribute to and potentially caused the mistake to occur.

Once a mistake has happened, it’s important to react to it positively. I was determined to learn from what happened, to prevent it happening in the future. Every relay training session after Beijing, I asked for and received immediate feedback on whether or not I left early or late. I was hard on myself to ensure that I left exactly on the check mark. The result of this was that I didn’t leave early in a relay race ever again; in fact, I left spot on the checkmark in both relay races at the 2011 World Championships in Daegu. Learning from your mistakes is a crucial aspect of bouncing back from them. Psychological recovery from errors is also important. Making a high profile mistake can eat away at you for months, even years. It’s a stressful experience, but I was determined to bounce back from it. The first step was to put it in perspective. Yes, I had messed up at the biggest competition of my life, but I was still alive. I still had things to look forward to. In the larger scheme of things, it didn’t matter. People would soon forget about it.

I’m a big believer that mistakes are an important part of the learning process. As I discussed earlier, I learned the importance of leaving at exactly the right time, and it contributed to my being a better relay athlete. I also learned valuable lessons about how to prevent future mistakes, something that I bring into my coaching now. Mistakes are important because they enable us to refine our process. It’s impossible to predict every eventuality, and so when things go wrong, you learn what you need to focus your energy on. Disastrous mistakes are also often a symptom of an underlying issue. For me, the underlying issue was leaving early in training. Competition just magnifies the errors you make, due in part to the large increases in adrenaline. Another issue is that the fear of mistakes is stifling. We need to have a culture where they are allowed to happen, so long as they are learned from with an end goal in mind. If an athlete goes into competition with the fear of making an error, then he or she is going to be mentally pre-occupied with not making it, and thus, under-perform. Going into the 2011 World Championships 4 x 100 metre final, I could have chosen to pre-occupy myself with not leaving early. This would have taken up mental capacity and caused me to second guess myself, in which case I would have left late. This is almost as bad as leaving early. Instead, it’s much better to focus on eliminating the mistake in practice so that competition is automatic. I knew that I wasn’t going to leave early, as I worked hard on it in training and low-pressure competitions, so I trusted my process. Correct, error-free training results in a correct, error free competition.

Fatal Errors

Whilst my mistake was painful and tough to accept, nobody died, and it only affected a few other people. This isn’t always the case. If we look at the 2003 Columbia Space Shuttle disaster, we can see examples of what I have already discussed. During the launch, a big bit of foam broke off from the main rocket, striking the space shuttle. This impact damaged The shuttle’s heat shield. As a result of this, the shuttle was not adequately protected from high temperatures, and upon re-entry to the Earth’s atmosphere it overheated and disintegrated. Amazingly, this wasn’t the first time that foam had dislodged during launch and struck the space shuttle. On at least four prior flights, NASA had footage of the same thing happening. However, because there had been no serious consequences from this, the management at NASA became accustomed to this happening. Instead of trying to fix a potentially deadly problem, the lack of serious consequence created a process error that lead to a major disaster. This mirrors (although at a much higher profile level) the mistakes that I was making in training prior to the Olympic Games.

Like me, NASA learned from the Columbia disaster. They implemented on-orbit inspections of the heat shield after each launch, so that any damage could be detected and dealt with. For subsequent shuttle launches, there was a designated rescue mission setup – an additional shuttle could be launched to rescue the astronauts, or they could dock with the International Space Station. NASA learned similar lessons in the wake of the Challenger disaster in 1986.

Conclusion

To conclude, I believe that mistakes are a symptom of an underlying cause. By correcting mistakes in training, the chances of them occurring in competition are lowered. However, mistakes can and do happen. When one occurs, it is crucial that lessons are learned from it, and these lessons are implemented to prevent future errors. Mistakes can also be useful in illustrating where part of the process is going wrong and needs to be corrected; lack of a negative outcome from an error does not mean that it should be ignored! Finally, we, as coaches, should promote a culture where the fear of mistakes is not prevalent and make sure our athletes are encouraged to learn from any that they do make and implement these learning processes to improve their future performance.

Further Reading

How Can We Learn From Fatal Mistakes In Surgery?

TED Talk – How To Learn From Mistakes

Article on Organisational Culture and Mistakes in NASA Leading Up To Columbia Disaster

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

I’m addicted to speed.  I love the transmutation of slow to fast.  This is why I am a track coach and a speed coach.

I have timed over 150 thousand 40’s since I began data-based speed training in 1998.  Run fast to get fast.  You don’t get fast by running slow.  You don’t get fast in the weight room.  You don’t get fast by running with a parachute on your back.  You don’t get fast by running up or down hills or pushing sleds or running stairs or wearing ankle weights.  Run fast to get fast.  It’s all so simple.

Before you get too excited, remember the immortal words of jazz musician Thelonius Monk, “Hey man, simple ain’t easy.”  In addition, this transformation will not happen overnight.

I’m excited to write this article because I’m going to use one of my track athletes to tell the story.  I met Alex Ruscitti in June of 2010 following his 7th grade school year.  Alex was an average white kid of average height and weight, just another kid attending Speed Camp.  His best time of 5.38 (and 1.30 in the 10-meter fly) would indicate that he had some running talent but was not one of those “gifts from the gods”.  At the same camp, my top varsity sprinter, Derick Suss ran 4.41 in 40 and 0.99 in the 10-meter fly.

Fast forward to 2014.  6’0″, 170-pound Alex Ruscitti has completed his junior year and is back at speed camp for the 5th consecutive year.  Alex ran 4.46 in the 40 and 1.05 in the 10m fly.  His personal records are 4.37 and 1.04.  Alex was not born genetically coded for track & field success.  Neither parent played a varsity sport in high school.  Alex’s strongest attributes are his work ethic and his intelligence (33 ACT).

Slow to fast.  5.38 to 4.37 makes me feel all tingly as a speed coach.  But wait … it took FOUR FREAKIN’ YEARS.  “Hey man, simple ain’t easy.”

I get so sick of those snake oil salesmen who advertise quick fixes to improve speed.  Speed training is a process.  Speed grows like a tree.  I am a teacher and a coach.  I don’t sell video.  I don’t sell gadgets.  I have no reason to sell you crap that doesn’t work.

“Hey, can you work with my son?  He wants to run a good 40 at a combine next week.” … “Why didn’t he go out for track?” … “He needed to get big.”

“Hey, can you work with my daughter?  She is the slowest girl on her soccer team.” … “Yeah, sure.  Speed Camp starts next week.”  … “Well, she doesn’t have time for that.  Can you just give me a few drills?.”

Everyone wants instant results.  Everyone wants the answers before they take the test.  Everyone wants a short cut.  If you fit in this group, please stop reading now.  Go back to your quick-fix life.  Take a pill.  Buy a lottery ticket.

If you want to make kids fast, read on.

As track coaches, we love those “gifts from the gods”.  We love panning for gold and finding that once-in-a-lifetime sprinter.  This year I have timed incoming freshmen at Plainfield North High School who have run 4.49, 4.62, 4.65, and 4.69 in the 40.  Those guys are not “gifts from the gods” but hey, my freshmen football team may not lose.

Once in a while you get a sprinter who is genetically destined for greatness.  If you are a track coach or a speed coach and you haven’t read “The Sports Gene” by David Epstein, you are a pretender.  Read.  Anyway, its obvious to me that we don’t “plant beans and grow corn”.   The elite sprinters are truly FOUND and not created.

If you want to get my take on coaching guys like Juawan Treadwell, you will have to wait till my next blog, “Coaching Elite Sprinters.”

It’s strange but when you go to a clinic, you see presentations by coaches who were blessed with a freaky sprinter or two.  We all want to know how coaches create such an athlete.  The presenter hides behind a sophisticated and complex PowerPoint that overwhelms the crowd and makes everyone feel inferior.  Remember, the presenter is the beneficiary of genetic talent and deep down, he knows it.  It’s like shuffling a deck of cards and playing solitaire.  Winning and losing is predetermined after the shuffling.   College coaches don’t create speed, they find speed. 

Take the training methods of the Jamaicans with a grain of salt.  Most of us are coaching normal everyday kids, not the one-in-a-million sprinter.  Most of us are coaching kids like Alex Ruscitti.  I’m going to teach you the training methods used in Plainfield, Illinois, not Kingston, Jamaica.  My focus is the speed transformation of a  generic white guy, not the freaky outliers of the sprint world.  Have you read “Outliers” by Malcom Gladwell?  Have you read “The Talent Code” by Daniel Coyle.  Read.

So here are the 3 simple (but not easy) ways to transform slow to fast.  The entire discussion will focus on getting fast in the 40 yard dash.  The NFL draft takes the best 500 college football players in the nation and puts then through several tests.  When the day is done, the most important quantifiers are height, weight, and 40-speed.  Even offensive linemen who run fast in the 40 are prized possessions. The top 3 offensive tackles taken in the NFL draft averaged 4.95 in the 40 despite averaging 6’6″ and 316 pounds.  Check out this incredible video of 6’7″, 309 pound Taylor Lewan from Michigan running the 40. Lewan was the fastest offensive tackle in the draft.

My off-season training relies on 40 training because the 40 requires work on the only two things that matter in sprinting, the DRIVE PHASE and MAX SPEED.  In addition, my focus on 40 yards keeps me in good standing with football players who will hopefully make up the majority of my track team in the spring.  The 10-meter fly is a better predictor of sprint success but my focus here will be the 40.

One more thing.  I need to explain my data.  I hand-time 40s.  I have the technology for automated timing but I have 15 years of data that will become obsolete when I switch.  The time I record is the average of the sprinter’s best two times of the day.  We always run in spikes.  All winter training is done on a rock-hard 180-meter indoor track and we wear spikes.  If you are timing 40s with an automated system in your hallways without spikes, your times will be much slower than mine.  You can’t compare apples to oranges.  My 10-meter fly times are automated using the Summit Timing System.  I’m in the process of switching over to Freelap.  I’m seriously considering taking the plunge and timing everything with Freelap starting next winter.  Freelap is one-tenth the size of Summit, wireless, weatherproof, and windproof.  In addition, I will be able to process hundreds of sprints in half the time.  I’m going to sell my Summit.  Everyone must evolve.

Running Mechanics

Damn, it’s easy to get lost in the complexities here.  For example, the single most important characteristic of speed is vertical force.  All world-class sprinters have ground contact times of close to 0.08 seconds … eight hundredths of a second. It takes an enormous colossal force to achieve ground contact times that are measured in hundredths of a second.  But even the experts can be mystified by vertical force.  “Put simply, fast people hit the ground more forcefully than slow people, relative to their body weight.  But we know very little about what contributes to that force, and we are terrible at predicting it based on a runner’s physique or movements.” -Dr. Peter Weyland   If you want to read more about vertical force, see a blog I wrote a few months ago, Vertical Force = The Holy Grail.

Let’s cut through sophisticated and complex science.  Let’s skip the PowerPoint presentations from people who make a living by keeping things complicated.  Let’s learn the simplicity of speed mechanics.  As Oprah would ask, “What do you know for sure?”

There are two phases to sprinting … the drive phase and max speed.  The 40-yard dash requires both.  Don’t argue with me that the entire 40 is a drive phase.  If it was, max speed would be a poor indicator of 40-speed.  The opposite is true.  The 10-meter fly is the best predictor of 40-speed.  The techniques of the drive phase are important but pure speed is still the key.

My son, Alec Holler, coaches at Edwardsville High School.  Alec is my proofreader.  When he read the unpublished version of my blog, this was his comment:  “I think you emphasize max velocity too much.  It’s all about the drive phase and start to me.  Yes you have to have the max velocity to run elite 40 times, but the start is one of the rare cases that a coach can make a difference in track.  You need to video, take pics, and give tons of feedback.  You need to have classroom sessions and pound drive phase into their heads all winter.  Acceleration should be the focus of winter workouts.”  Powerful statement.  I agree 100% percent.  Drive phase is mostly coaching.  Speed is mostly talent.

The drive phase is hard to teach.  Young runners want to stand up straight, spin their wheels, and start running.  If they start in a three-point or four-point stance, they still get to an upright position as soon as possible and start spinning those wheels.  Anyone who has taught sprinting knows exactly what I’m talking about.

The fundamentals of the drive phase will translate to block starts in track.  The drive phase starts at velocity zero.   The fundamentals do not change if you are leaning into the start from a 2-point stance, in a football-like 3-point stance, or in a 4-point track & field block start.

The bullet points of the drive phase:

• Push with the front foot, pull the back foot, dragging the toe
• Imagine the feet pushing the hips forward
• The feet stay behind the hips, the hips stay behind the shoulders (triple extension)
• Ground contact times are much longer in the ground phase (Ben Johnson, when he ran 9.83 in Seoul, had average ground contact time of 0.115 in the first 10 meters, 0.80 at top speed after 40 meters)

Verbal cues of the drive phase

• “Push & Pull”
• “Drag Your Toe”
• “See the Track”
• “Big & Strong”
• “Don’t Spin Your Wheels”
• “Split & Rip”
• “Push Push Push”
• “Run in a Lane Inside of a Lane”
• “Fewest Steps Wins”

Many athletes will try to stay in the drive phase too long.  Their body is upright but they keep their chin down trying to see the track.  The drive phase is over when the shoulders are on top of the hips.  You can’t extend your drive phase by running tall and looking down at the track.  Silly.  If your drive phase is over after five steps, get tall and sprint.

The drive phase may last between 5 and 35 yards based on the skill and speed of the runner.  A little kid may have a two step drive phase.  World class sprinters may not “get tall” until they are over 30 meters into their 100 meter dash. 30 meters is 33 yards.  I’ve never coached a high school sprinter who could maintain a drive phase for 30 meters.  Sorry for mixing yards and meters here.

The super-simplified boiled-down bullet points of Max Speed:

• Get tall … 5’10” sprinters look like they are 6’0″ when at max speed
• Legs … “get big in the front, short in the back”
• Arms … “hands must cross the hips” … must see lots of day light between butt and back hand
• Think “big & strong”, not short & quick … don’t spin your wheels
• Bounce off the ground … never “grab the track and throw is behind you”

If you want an expanded version of speed training, you can go to a blog I wrote last year,  The Nuts and Bolts of Speed Training.

I teach mechanics through speed drills.  I also take pictures.  We also video with an iPad.

As I said, I teach and train the “run tall” and “get big in the front” and “hands cross the hips” by using speed drills.

Sprinting and jumping are like electricity and magnetism.  One creates the other.  Sprinting improves jumping, jumping improves sprinting.  (For those of you who are not scientists … electricity can make a magnet and a magnet can make electricity).

I train “bounce” with plyometrics.  I’ve always defined plyometrics as “landing and jumping at the same time” … bounce.  Remember, a sprinter bounces off the track.  Ground contact times need to be almost non-existent. (as a song starts playing in my head … “Snap back to reality, Oh there goes gravity.” -Eminem)

We do low volume, high intensity plyometrics year-round.

Record, Rank, and Publish

“If want to improve something, you begin by measuring it.” –Freelap USA   Then you record it, rank it, and publish it.  I’ve done this for a long time.  My family makes fun of me for being a “Microsoft Excel Savant”.  I also use spreadsheets on Google Docs.   Back in 1998, I published rankings on a bulletin board in the main hallway of our high school.  Now I publish to seven billion people on the internet.

I teach Honors Chemistry five times a day.  When I simplify scientific method, I just tell my students that scientists measure things perfectly, then write it all down.  That’s what I do as a sprint coach.  I measure speed and write it down.  Then I take advantage of the ultra-competitive testosterone-ridden personalities of high school boys by ranking their times, publishing their times, and celebrating improvement.

Sprinters will not truly sprint unless they are being timed.  Quantified speed is the key to sprint training.

We have over 100 boys at Plainfield North who may not know their GPA but they definitely know their 40-time and their 10-meter fly time. #SpeedKills

Let’s study the speed numbers of Alex Ruscitti.  Alex is the white guy shown in the pictures above.

Improvement excites the athlete.  Alex Ruscitti was the 6th fastest guy at Plainfield North last year.  However, when Alex sees his measured progress, he can visualize what could happen his senior year.

Let’s look at all his trends …

• Speed Camp 40-yard dash, best time:  5.38 –> 5.09 –> 4.80 –> 4.70 –> 4.46
• Average 40-yard dash, winter training, Fr-Soph-Jr:  4.92 –> 4.61 –> 4.48
• Average 10-meter fly time, winter training, Fr-Soph-Jr:  1.18 –> 1.10 –> 1.08
• Best 4×1 relay time, Fr-Soph-Jr:  46.14 –> 44.06 –>  42.22
• Best 4×2 relay time, Fr-Soph-Jr:  1:35.14 –> 1:31.75 –> 1:28.61

More data:

• Speed Camp & Freshmen Football Speed Training
• Winter Training
• Track & Field

Consistency

I rant against coaches who enslave their athletes 12 months per year.  I hate off-season traveling teams and AAU.  When adults encourage kids to specialize, I want to throw up.  Youth sports were never meant to be scholarship factories.  If I could be king, I would eliminate NCAA athletic scholarships and cap the pay of college coaches.  Coaches are teachers, not celebrities.  Money made in athletics should be used to lower tuition.  Scholarships should be given to future engineers who have financial need.  God, I hate college sports. (But I can’t wait for college football season … I’m such a hypocrite.)

Having said that, I expect my sprinters to train every day year-round.  Just kidding.  Sprint training should never happen more than three or four days per week.  Sprinters need to play multiple sports.

I offer a two-week Speed Camp in early June.  It is coed with 10 year olds training next to Big Ten football players.  Some of my sprinters come, some don’t.  I encourage all my sprinters to play football.  I think football forces kids to get tougher, more manly.  (Is that politically correct?)  Those who play football don’t think about track from June to November, and that’s a good thing.

However … incoming freshmen football players speed train three days a week in the summer, because I’m the head freshmen football coach.  By the way, we’ve won 21 consecutive games.  See Speed Kills.

From November to February my sprinters train four days per week.  They train on the track and in the weight room.  I have a reciprocal relationship with our head football coach.  Perfect.  The football program runs the weight room, the track program runs the sprint training.  Our kids love it.  On the track we NEVER do anything for more than 5 seconds at a time.  We train at full speed and measure everything.

Winter speed training transitions into our indoor track season.  After a much-needed spring break, we transition into our outdoor season.  My sprinters have an opportunity to train nine months a year, year after year after year.  Consistency.

Most of my sprinters train at least half the year, but consistency means much more than that.  We SPRINT every time we train.  We measure speed as a part of our training program.  Quantification is not just diagnostic … it is motivational.  Alex Ruscitti has been given a steady dose of encouragement based on his improving speed measurements.

Periodization is bullsh*t … we sprint always.  We don’t have “general fitness” phases.  We don’t ever do aerobic training.  I guess, in a way we do have “periodization” … football, winter training, indoor season, and outdoor season.   Those are our four “periods”.  BUT WE NEVER RUN SLOW.

My program values rest and growth with the same enthusiasm as we value training.  Coaches who grind kids do not allow time for growth.

My program values enthusiasm and love of sprinting more than all other things.  I believe in lighting a fire, not filling a pail (from the William Butler Yeats quote).  If I was an English teacher, I would have my kids read what they love, not what is assigned.  Reading Stephen King with enthusiasm is better than trudging through Dickens with a bad attitude.  By the way, Common Core sucks and Arne Duncan should resign and Barack Obama needs to reassess all he believes about education.  Sorry for the rant.  I believe in enthusiastic students and enthusiastic athletes.

Speed grows like a tree … so plant early and train often.

“Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence.  Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent.  Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb.  Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts.  Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.”  – Calvin Coolidge

 “Eighty percent of success is showing up.” -Woody Allen

Teach mechanics, train at top speed, stick with it, and light a fire.

The word “speed” comes from the Dutch word “spoed”, the German word “spowan”, and the Old English word “spedan”.  All three origins mean the same things … prosper & succeed, … go with speed.

Maybe it’s alright to be addicted to speed.

Godspeed to all, thanks for reading.

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