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What I've Read/Listened To In 2016

12/29/2016

I've done this in the past, and after reading Stuart McMillian's list, I thought it would be nice to jot down some of the books, podcasts, research I've really enjoyed in 2016.
Hope you enjoy!
Books

Planned For 2017
I have the following books laying around and haven't gotten around to them yet or they are on my Amazon wishlist.

Podcasts

Elite Performance Podcast - Us at BBA! (Selfish Plug :)
Perception & Action Podcast - Rob Gray
The EntrelLeadership Podcast - Ken Coleman
Historic Performance Podcast - James Darly
Ted Radio Hour
Tell Me Something I Don't Know - Stephen Dubner

Top Research

Van Hooren, B., & Bosch, F. (2016). Influence of Muscle Slack on High-Intensity Sport Performance: A Review. Strength & Conditioning Journal, 38(5), 75-87.
Nimphius, S., Callaghan, S. J., Sptieri, T., & Lockie, R. G. (2016). Change of direction deficit: A more isolated measure of change of direction performance than total 505 time. J. Strength Cond. Res.
Rumpf, M. C., Lockie, R. G., Cronin, J. B., & Jalilvand, F. (2016). Effect of Different Sprint Training Methods on Sprint Performance Over Various Distances: A Brief Review. The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research, 30(6), 1767-1785.
Petrakos, G., Morin, J. B., & Egan, B. (2016). Resisted Sled Sprint Training to Improve Sprint Performance: A Systematic Review. Sports Medicine, 46(3), 381-400.
Morin, J. B., & Samozino, P. (2016). Interpreting Power-Force-Velocity Profiles for Individualized and Specific Training. International Journal of Sports Physiology & Performance, 11(2).
Gabbett, T. J. (2016). The training—injury prevention paradox: should athletes be training smarter and harder?. British journal of sports medicine,50(5), 273-280.
Rhea, M. R., Kenn, J. G., Peterson, M. D., Massey, D., Simão, R., Marin, P. J., ... & Krein, D. (2016). Joint-Angle Specific Strength Adaptations Influence Improvements in Power in Highly Trained Athletes. Human Movement, 17(1), 43-49.
de Hoyo, M., Sañudo, B., Carrasco, L., Mateo-Cortes, J., Domínguez-Cobo, S., Fernandes, O., ... & Gonzalo-Skok, O. (2016). Effects of 10-week eccentric overload training on kinetic parameters during change of direction in football players. Journal of sports sciences, 34(14), 1380-1387.
de Hoyo, M., Gonzalo-Skok, O., Sañudo, B., Carrascal, C., Plaza-Armas, J. R., Camacho-Candil, F., & Otero-Esquina, C. (2016). Comparative Effects of In-Season Full-Back Squat, Resisted Sprint Training, and Plyometric Training on Explosive Performance in U-19 Elite Soccer Players. The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research, 30(2), 368-377.
Van Hooren, B., & Bosch, F. (2016). Is there really an eccentric action of the hamstrings during the swing phase of high-speed running? part I: A critical review of the literature. Journal of Sports Sciences, 1-9.
Van Hooren, B., & Bosch, F. (2016). Is there really an eccentric action of the hamstrings during the swing phase of high-speed running? Part II: Implications for exercise. Journal of Sports Sciences, 1-12.
Hausler, J., Halaki, M., & Orr, R. (2016). Application of Global Positioning System and Microsensor Technology in Competitive Rugby League Match-Play: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. Sports Medicine, 46(4), 559-588.
Lamela, D., Sachandani, K., Hubble, K., & Keenan, K. (2015). MEASUREMENT OF LEVEL OF BRANCHED CHAIN AMINO ACIDS IN NUTRITIONAL SUPPLEMENTS. The FASEB Journal, 29(1 Supplement), 559-25.

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Owning A Gym: Things You Should Know

12/12/2016

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Within 20-miles of my gym, there are 4 Colleges with exercise science programs. Every semester we go to 3-4 of these schools and talk to students about the S&C profession. Add in every 4-months we bring in a batch of new interns, and this all equals to us working and talking with a ton of ambitious college kids looking to get into the field of S&C.

One of the first questions I always ask when talking with the young professionals is what is your dream job?

A common response is to own my own gym.

When I hear this I can't help but think - NO…NO You Don't!
We are closing in on 4-years total in business.

It's been a hell of a ride, and owning your own facility definitely has it's perks, but let this be clear - IT'S NOT FOR EVERYONE. Being even more honest - It's not of most.

I think people want to own their own gym because it sounds cool and or because they love to train.

These are both poor reasons and probably a reason most of the gyms fail within the first 2-3 years. People make emotional and irrational decisions to open a gym rather than educated and dedicated ones. Let this be clear, if you want to own a gym, your own personal fitness will DECREASE! Your training will suffer, so please PLEASE don't try to open a gym because it will allow you to have your own personal space to train.

Owning a gym, to put it simply, is a pain in the ass! There are so many hidden or small things that go into a business that you'll never be prepared for. All of these things add up, and if you're in it for the wrong reasons, it will eat you up.

If you're not in it for the love of coaching, a passion for the intricacies of S&C, and because you truly/deeply care about the athletes - then you're in it for the wrong reasons. If you think you're going to get rich or because you get your own personal training space or because you get to be your own boss - you're in for a rude awakening.

After sitting down and thinking back on these past years, here are some things that came to mind - in no specific order.

1. A Gym Is EXPENSIVE

If you're en employee or work in the public sector (HS/College/Pro), if something breaks, no big deal, they'll order another one. Well when you own your own gym and something breaks, guess who pays for it - that's right, YOU do.
Sometimes at the end of the month it comes down to paying yourself or buying a piece of equipment. Which do you choose?

While you've probably gone most of your life enjoying the benefits of having a HS or college gym to train in - Did you know a quality bar and set of bumper plates can be a thousand dollars! Yup, a bar and 230lbs of weight, which is enough for just 1-ATHLETE can cost about 3/4 of my monthly rent.

Let's look at some other "small" expenses

You want 1000sq/ft of rubber matting? There goes roughly 2-4k
You want 3 quality squat racks? Chalk up another 3-5k
Dumbbells from 0-100lbs? Dig deep for 2-3k
Liability Insurance? An annual rate of 1-2k a year
Credit Cards? Most credit card outlets take a 1-3% cut. If you take in 50k in credit card charges a year, that's $500-1500 LOST just by accepting credit cards.
Typical steel plates cost about $1/lb
How about a nice sign outside the gym? - Don't worry it's only about 1-3k and as I suggest to many - IT'S WORTHLESS!

This doesn't even include what rent, utilities, and internet costs. So when you bitch about a gym not having some sort of equipment - just know the owner has sacrificed beyond belief to just keep the lights on and them taking $500 out of their own pocket wasn't worth your much needed piece of equipment.

Oh and on that note - don't expect to make money the 1st month, or 1st 3-months, or even 1st year. Everyone thinks you'll open your doors and people will come poring in… sorry it doesn't happen like that. You'll have to hustle for every client, every dime, and use every waking hour to improve some aspect of your business in order to survive. Which leads to #2

2. How Much Do You Value Your Social Life?

When your the sole proprioter, you are the business and every waking second is spent working or thinking about your business. Here is a small list of things I had to give up or at least heavily reduce when I opened my gym

Going out on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights - I either have work early the next morning or I'm just too tired to go out. I know people who could NEVER sacrifice a Saturday night for doing 2-hours worth of programming instead of downing beers downtown.

Football on Sundays … Nope work from 1-6pm. And this isn't just NFL, but any sporting event. I'm usually working during these hours while most others are at home enjoying the game

Buddies going golfing or hanging out on a random afternoon or night - My busy hours are from 2-9pm - so while others are getting off work and getting to do things, I'm in the midst of my busy time.

Saturday Morning Farmer's Market - One of the things I miss most is getting to go to the farmer's market on Saturday mornings. It's just one of the many small things I miss out on due to owning this business.

3. You'll Meet A Ton Of Great People

Over the past 3-years I've been fortunate to meet a ton of great people, athletes, and families who have bought into what we do. I've met people with amazing stories, personalities, and have had a ton of fun getting to know people of various ages and backgrounds.

That's the beauty of this job. I love my athletes and it's a joy seeing them get better each and everyday and seeing them grow and develop. They drive me nuts from time to time, but at the end of the day it's the people that make this job great!

4. Advice

People love to give you advice, especially when you're a young business owner.

"You should try this, you should buy that, have you thought about doing this, you would could do a lot of things if you did this"

While these are all well intentioned, it seems everybody has a better feel for what your business needs than you do. And this is without spending more than 10-minutes in your facility!

Don't get me wrong, sometimes there is a decent idea in there, but 99% of the suggestions you've already thought of, planned logistics, looked at your books/financials, and decided it wasn't a good business move. Learn to take these in stride and be respectful and thankful for their advice.

5. You'll Be Sleep Deprived & No Body Cares

For the past 3-years, my alarm is set at 4:45am every weekday morning, and I usually don't get home until 8:30-9pm every night - and guess what - NO BODY CARES!

One thing I tell my interns at the start of every internship is once you walk through our doors, you drop all your other baggage and don't let it carry over to the gym floor.
No one cares if you're only getting 5-hours of sleep. No one cares you work 7-days a week. No one cares if you're having relationship problems, illness in your family, social stresses, or anything else - when it's time to coach - you need to be on.

We're in the service industry - we provide a service to our athletes and everybody wants special service. Parents or athletes don't care you've already coached 8-sessions today or that you train 100+ other athletes - the only thing that matters is them.

They want special attention for their kid, extra work on nutrition, focused attention to develop mental toughness, help them with getting their school grades up, talk to them about weight management, address behavioral problems, etc.

Don't get me wrong, I am humbled that many ask these things from me and think highly enough of me to ask help in these things, but no one cares you get hundreds of other requests as well, they just need it to get done. As a S&C coach you're not just a coach, but also a nutritionist, psychologist, counselor, therapist, tutor, mentor, etc. I use all these terms loosely, but it's true in a sense.

I remember early on in this business, I missed a morning training session to host a camp. I had an assistant run my morning sessions, and I got a call from a parent asking why I wasn't there. Here I was out trying to expand and extend my business and I miss one morning and I get called asking where I'm at and why I'm not there. If you're the business, expect people to want YOU.

6. You're Not Just The Owner

It's awesome to say I own a business and hopefully down the road that will bring some added perks and freedoms. But as a young business owner - that's only a TINY fraction of my job.

Here's a list of other jobs that fall on my shoulders

Someone decides to hold in a huge dump all day just to unload it in your toilet - Guess who gets to unclog and clean the toilet - That's right, the owner!
Secretary - Answer and return anywhere from 5-10 emails/calls a day (This can take HOURS)
Keep spreadsheets of incomes vs expenses
Track receipts - I mean every receipt of everything you buy
Log miles on your car - Every mile you drive for business needs to be tracked - yes every mile!
Daily vacuuming, cleaning, maintenance - Approx. 30-60minutes a day
Living in the Midwest means winter, which means shoveling and salting at 4:30am before morning sessions.
Individual programming for hundreds of athletes - Each night I have around 2-10 programs to make. Each program probably takes around 15-minutes - you do the math.
Marketing, Advertising, Managing Social Media, Newsletter

Also when you are the owner in a service business - you ARE the business. No matter the issue, problem, or assignment - it's your job to address it.

When you own your own business, you don't have PTO, or built in vacation, or sick days, or weekends. You don't get a 401K or IRA's or health insurance or any other built-in programs that you normally get as an employee. It's been almost 3-years owing this business and I haven't missed more than 3-days in a row of work. I haven't taken a sick day or personal day. If I've missed a day at the gym, it's been to travel to a conference, speak at a conference, or attend a family function. It truly is a 7day/week job that never quits. Get used to being tired, sleep deprived, and worn down - or don't get into this.

7. Be Yourself and Stick To Your Principles

As a young coach, I wanted to be like some of the big names/coaches in the industry. I tried hard to emulate them, program like them, talk like them, etc. But I've now reached a point where I'm comfortable with myself and who I am.

I still pull things from coaches but at the end of the day - I'm still me and my coaching should emulate that. I like to have fun, I goof around, I allow my athletes freedom, and I know my strengths and I stick to them.

Is my programming perfect? No
Is my coaching perfect? No
But what I've created over the past 3-years is special and when I take a step back and look at what BBA means to many athletes or the environment we've created - it truly is a special place.

8. People Will Want A Piece of You

A month doesn't go by where I'm not being asked to donate to something, be willing to help with this, or sponsor that, or if I have a job available. In a given year, I donate between 3-6k to fundraisers, tournaments, charities, etc.

This is great and I'm all for giving back to the community in whatever manner possible, but as a small business, every cent matters. I'm not a big corporation where giving away a thousand dollars is pocket change. Like I said earlier, this very well may be a months income. I will continue to donate items to charities and fundraisers because they are usually for great causes and it's important to me to give back.

I will say this though, the one thing I've stop doing is donating to sponsor a tournament or club or game or event. Such as, "Donate $300 and we'll put your business on our t-shirts or in our program or on a banner".

Here's the brutal truth, rarely are any of these actually good business moves. I've never been to an event, looked at the t-shirt or a banner and thought, "I really need to check out that business". Again, I will donate memberships or consultations, but I've stopped giving actual money in return for a sign or name in a program. These are mostly financial losses. Which brings me to my next point...

9. Learn To Say No

Early on, I said yes to every opportunity I could get.

Extra sessions on Sunday? Yes!
Extra 5am Session? Yes!
Sponsor This Event? Yes!
Do 1-on-1 training during my only hour off during a 14-hour day? Yes!
Work this camp for dirt cheap, but it allows you to get in front of new athletes? Yes!
Do the S&C for a college team for a resume builder? Yes!

Now, I've learned to say no. Keeping my sanity and getting freedom is much more important than doing these little things to help the business.

After 2-years of working 7-days a week, I finally said no to Sundays. I've turned down 1-on-1 sessions, reduced sessions, and turned away opportunities that limit my time and freedom to relax, read, research, or spend time with my family.

10. I Get To Be My Own Boss

While I've stated all the hidden costs of being your own boss and on the outside it's a lot less glamorous than it sounds; at the same time it has it's perks.

I turn 29 in a couple of months, and for over 3-years I've been able to program for every single athlete I've come in contact with. THAT IS HUGE!

If I want to try this or that… I can do it. If I want to buy this or that… I can do it. If I want to change this or that… I can do it. If I don't want to do this or that… I don't have to.

If I want to experiment with a new program or exercise - I have the green light. If I want to drop that day's training and have a competition/game day - I'm going to do it. If I want to conduct a research project on my athletes - I don't have any hoops to jump through except for my own.

I have friends in the college setting who are full-time coaches and they don't get to do any programming and training structure - they just implement what the Head S&C programs. Not only exercise prescription but also warm-up, speed and agility work, recovery, rehab and return to training, youth, HS, college teams, professional, adults, males, females, every sport imaginable are all under this umbrella.

NO and I mean NO HS or College or Professional S&C coach has this kind of experience. Most public sector S&C coaches typically have 1-5 sports or specific genders or specific ages - while I get a little bit of everything. I can tell you this has made me a 100x better coach than if I was strictly say a College FB S&C coach.
I get to dress is sweats and a sweatshirt EVERY SINGLE DAY! If I had to dress up or wear slacks to work everyday, I would go insane!

I get rewarded for doing a great job! If I do a great job with an athlete or client, they'll usually tell someone and I get rewarded - financially. In the public sector S&C coaches are often underpaid or have set salaries that can be very hard to increase, no matter how well of a job you may be doing. I, on the other hand, have unlimited potential for growth and my salary is only dictated by the quality of my program. I'd venture to say I earn more than 80% of S&C coaches through BBA, online training, team contracts, and our products - but this comes with the fact that I also work more than 100% of public sector S&C coaches. I'm lucky not to have these restrictions while most public settings and/or if you're an employee DO have these restrictions.

All-In-All

There are plenty of pro's and con's to owning a gym, but understanding them before thinking about opening a gym will save a lot of headache and regreat in the long run.

Plus, one of my favorite parts of owning a gym???
I get bring this little boy to work everyday, which is a must! Everyday is bring your pet to work day = awesome!

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Random Business Thoughts

12/12/2016

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It's December as I write this, and here in Iowa we just got 6-inches of snow. That's means I was out at 4:45am shoveling and salting the parking lot before morning sessions

Every December and June - I write thank-you letters for all of our athletes. That's 100+ thank-you's - 2 times every year. This takes A LOT of time, but it's the small things that matter

Over the past 6-weeks - it's been sickness season. Athletes, assistant coaches, interns have all been sick and had to miss days. You want to own a business? Guess what - you CAN'T get sick; you CAN'T miss days; you have to tough it out and be there.

You wanna know one of the hardest things about owning a gym? MUSIC! You need clean versions. No one likes commercials. Half the group wants Rap and can't stand Country - the other half wants Country and can't stand Rap - You can't please everybody.

This year (2016) Christmas and New Years fell on Sundays, we have sessions on Monday - this meant the Holiday "break" consisted of just a weekend. It also meant on Christmas night - I was at the gym getting set-up for the following morning. It meant on New Years day - when most people were watching football - I had to be at the gym getting things set-up for the following morning.

This may be more related to coaching than owning a business - but the most disappointing thing is seeing someone waste talent and opportunity. Seeing an athlete who refuses to do the things needed to reach their potential. I go out of my way for athletes - individual sessions, individualized training program, specific nutritional write-ups, early mornings, late nights, Sunday sessions, film review/breakdown, soft-tissue work, etc - and it's so frustrating when an athlete can't show up on time for a session, or be mindful during a warm-up, or get to bed at a reasonable hour, or wake-up 5-minutes early and make themselves a quality breakfast. It reminds of something I was told a few years back - "You can't want it for the athlete - at the end of the day, they must want it for themselves". It's a hard reality of coaching/teaching/leadership roles.

Even during the winter, but even more so during the summer, at the end of every day we have towels to wash. Sometimes 50-70 towels a day! Just an added job that no one really thinks about

As a S&C coach, we often get caught up in exercise selection, reps and sets, rest periods, loads, accommodating resistance, etc. But you want to know what matters more and would have a much bigger influence on an athlete than any of our training sessions...
- Sleep - A consistent bed and wake time, a quality sleep environment, a bedtime routine, a wake time routine
- Sunlight - Getting outside, experiencing nature for 30-60 minutes a day
- Hobby - Having something else they're passionate about
- No TV in bedroom
- Nutrition - Get BW in grams of protein, 6-8 servings of veggies/fruits a day, adequate water consumption

Something that no undergraduate or graduate will teach you, but is extremely important to be a good coach
- Voice - How to command a group, often times over loud music
- Standing on your feet for 8-12 hours. My interns complain about 6-hours of being on their feet - sorry you're not cut out for it
- Movement - Some schools may actually teach you proper mechanics and technique of the compound movements; but what I know isn't taught is any kind of movement mechanics - linear acceleration and top-end speed, agility, jump/landing mechanics, basics of a dynamic warm-up, etc. Being able to demonstrate and understand these - to me - is a lot more important than knowing how to teach a squat or bench.
- Names - Remembering names is a skill - one that can and should be practiced
- Engagement and Motivation - Half the battle of a coach is dealing with many different types of people with different personalities, different backgrounds, different learning styles, and different goals. Meeting the athlete with where they are at and trying to connect them with thier goal/purpose is no small task. Now try this with 10-40 athletes in a given session. My schooling didn't provide a single opportunity to work/coach with a single person during my studies - again this is something programs NEED to start providing or students need to get out and find these opportunities.
- Excel - Excel is such an awesome tool with so many capabilities and presentation of a sharp looking program is important - not going to learn that in school

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Phases Of Sprinting

12/6/2016

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As we breakdown the phases of sprinting, we'll do so in 2 ways.

1) Acceleration Speed vs Top End Speed
2) Phases of the Sprinting Cycle

Each of these will present similarities, differences, and carryover that will clear up some ideas and discussion about training for enhancing speed.

Acceleration vs Top-End Speed

When talking about sport performance, especially pertaining to team sports, acceleration speed is king. Most team sports live in the 0-15-yard range, and for this reason, focusing the bulk of speed training on acceleration speed is a smart idea.

That being said, this doesn't mean top-end speed is unnecessary. In sports like football, soccer, rubgy, lacrosse, many of the big, game-breaking plays are a result of an athletes great top-end speed. So while it may occur less often than acceleration, when top-end speed is needed it's often for a big play.

Also, when we talk about top-end speed, we must realize these are not track and field athletes. What I mean by that is track and field take roughly 50-60m to reach top-end speed, and they do this on purpose.

Team sport athletes accelerate to top speed quicker out of neccesity and have been shown to reach top-end speed as quickly as 20-yards. Now with this information, when you look at many team sports, there will be many more instances when athletes will have to run 20-yards in a straight line. So while it occurs less frequently than acceleration, it does occur quite a bit and athletes adapt strategies to reach top-end speed more quickly.

All in all, the interplay of mechanics, timing, rhythm, high velocity muscular contractions and simultaneous muscular relaxation, elasticity, coordination, eccentric-isometric-concentric actions, etc make sprinting incredibly unique.

I often say if there was only one exercise to do for the rest of time - it would be sprinting.

When breaking down acceleration and top-end speed, there are different technical, mechanical, and coaching that make each unique. Knowing this will allow a coach to better communicate, cue, and evaluate each phase.

Acceleration - Characteristics

Ninety percent of sprints in soccer and 68% of sprints in rugby are 20m of shorter. Also in many sports, acceleration speed is preceded by movement. For example, a player is walking, jogging, shuffling - and all of a sudden they must shift gears and accelerate.

What does this mean?

Strictly performing acceleration drills from a standing start isn't accurate to what many sports actually experience. It's a different skill set to accelerate from a stand still, than it is from a moving start - so performing both is a must.

Let's look at some basic acceleration characteristics...

Ground Contact Times = ~.17-.22sec
Forward Body Lean = ~40-50-Degrees (depending on strength, level of athlete)
Low Heel Recovery
Foot Lands Behind COM (For first 1-3 steps for better sprinters. Foot may NOT land behind COM in low level sprinters)
Big Split in Hands

Acceleration - What To Look For

The biggest thing to look for during acceleration is if the athlete is getting a full push. We want a committed push, not a rushed, shortened turnover.
We tell our athletes all the time - don't be the cartoon character, the roadrunner - spinning your wheels but not going anywhere.

Each stride should be purposeful with the intent to put as much force into the ground as possible. As a coach you should look for...

Straight Line Heel to Head
Thigh Split - ~100-Degrees
Positive Shin Angles

The other unique aspect of acceleration is - no matter your sport, improving acceleration mechanics will help your performance. Take a look at these pictures... Every sport accelerates and knowing what to look for and HOW to improve these mechanics will improve performance.

Acceleration - What To Say

As the coaching world continues to grow and expand, it's becoming more and more evident that what we say, and how we say it matters! It's not just X's and O's, it's about communication and stimulating motor learning, and a lot of this is done by the words we use.

It's clear that external cueing is king and it's much more effective than internal cueing in improving performance and motor functioning. Porter el at (2015) showed that external cueing led to a decrease of .12sec in a 20m sprint.

Remember what we say and how we say it directly influences movement behavior. Here are some ideas on external cueing during acceleration.

PUSH, PUSH, PUSH
Push the Ground Behind You
Drive Out Like A Jet Plane Driving Down The Runway
Explode Off The Ground Like A Rocket
Pop Knee's Forward and Pop Off The Ground
Project Away From The Line Like Being Shot Out Of A Cannon

Top-End Characteristics

Top-end differs from acceleration in a few key ways, mainly body positioning and ground contact times. In fact, ground contact times are half of what is seen during acceleration phases.
This means less time on the ground to produce force and more need for elastic components and impulses. To maximize these things posture and mechanics are key, and as a coach here are some important characteristics of top-end speed...

Ground Contact Times = ~.07-.10sec
Upright Body Position
High Heel Recovery
Ground Reaction Forces = 5xBW

Top-End - What To Look For

The actions of top-end sprinting occur so quickly it is advisable to record and break it down frame by frame. Things happen just to fast for the un-trained eye, that video will give you a much better understanding of what's really happening.

When looking at sprinting, these things are a must...

Stacked Head, Spine, Hips
Neutral or Dorsiflexed Ankle
At Ground Contact
- Vertical Shin
- 100% of Height
- Swing Knee Even or In Front of Grounded Knee

Top-End - What To Say

As we touched upon earlier, the ground contact times during sprinting are under a tenth of a second. This is not enough time to actually consciously think about something or elicit change while on the ground.

This means our coaching needs to move away from words and cues that try create images of force production, and instead focus on being like a spring or pogo. Words like the following create the correct image and motor response needed for the demands of top-end sprinting.

Relax
Bounce
Push Yourself Tall
Be Light
Be Like A Whip
Snap Off The Ground

Phases of the Sprinting Cycle

To better understand what is happening during sprinting, it is important to understand the different phases of the sprint cycle. Now many people may classify the phases differently or assign them different names, but the important part is to understand, that during these times, certain actions needs to be occurring. If they are not, speed and efficiency will be limited.

1) Ground Preparation

Each phase is vitally important, but ground prep might be the most important as it dictates success during the other phases.

During ground prep, the leg is actively driving into the ground. THIS IS A MUST. An athlete cannot produce force once their foot is on the ground, there is simply not enough time. They must actively be extending and driving while the foot is still in the air.

The ankle/foot should ideally have some dorsiflexion and it cannot be plantarflexed. Dorsiflexion allows for greater stored elastic energy and shorter ground contact times.

2) Ground Contact

Ground contact occurs as the foot touches the ground. During this time, we see huge amounts of isometric strength in the whole leg as the goal is to become stiff and resist deformation.

Remember, at ground contact, the body experiences forces as much at 5xBW. The goal is to not collapse under these forces and instead act like a spring.
During initial acceleration, we want to see ground contact take place behind the COM and have a positive shin angle. During top-end sprinting, we want to see ground contact as close to under the COM as possible and have an upright shin.

At ground contact, the athlete should be 100% of their height, and their hips shouldn't overly sink or sag towards to grounded leg. As the athletes leaves the ground, they should maintain this height and actually look as though they are floating across the ground. Low, sinking runners are a sign of poor elastic abilities and lack the ability to create rigidness, and instead try to muscle through running which leads to loud steps and longer ground contact times.

3) Toe-Off

I actually classify the 2nd half of ground contact as toe-off. This is a different phase because during the 2nd half of the whole ground contact phase, the athlete needs to be actively preparing for flight.
The athlete should NOT be trying to push or continue to drive the foot behind the body. Instead they should already be dorsiflexing their ankle/foot to elicit the crossed extensor reflex and getting their leg preparing for the flight phase.

"Sprinters do not actually reach full extension because they are already actively
recovering the leg before the foot is actually off the ground"
- Ralph Mann

4) Flight
Flight phase occurs as the leg leaves the ground and gets back into position for ground preparation. During this phase we want as little backside mechanics as possible. The goal is to have the knee take the shortest path as possible to get back to the front side of the body.

As the opposite leg drives into the ground and reaches ground contact, we want to see the flight leg knee be even or in front of the grounded leg. I call this the figure 4 position.

If this position does not occur, we know the athlete is spending too much time on backside mechanics and losing valuable time.

Conclusion

Provided is some basic background on the phases of sprinting and some of the key characteristics of each. This information is important so understand HOW to address potential errors and develop a game plan to address training.

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