Acceleration Running Rules of Engagement

Acceleration Running Rules of Engagement

 

By now everyone knows when it comes to most field & court sports, acceleration is one of the most influential factors in athletic performance. Most sports are played at angles and require very short powerful bursts of what we call speed. Because of this, acceleration must be a major focus of any athletic training program. Here today we will discuss a few “rules of engagement” for approaching acceleration and how you can get the most out of your body to increase sports performance!

#1 – Acceleration requires strength & more importantly, dynamic power! Here’s a quick science lesson. Our bodies are constructed of a complex group of nerves muscles and bones ( as well as organs & other things.. etc). Our nerves are controlled by our brain. This brain sends signals to our nerve endings that, for the sake of time, communicate to our bones when movement is required. The speed at which are bones can move is affected by how strong our muscles are, because it is or muscles that move the bones. So…..if you have weak muscles, they wont be able to move your body faster. Therefore, getting stronger is the #1 thing most young athletes should do when they are trying to get faster. No amount of drill work will make an athletes’ movement skills faster. So, for kids, in-stead of whipping out the ladder and cones, try to incorporate body weight strength with low grade jumping/bounding exercises. For older kids who can handle resistance training, begin on a sound lifting program designed to teach  joint mobility/stability and get stronger. I guarantee you will see improvements in acceleration by this alone.

 

#2 – Acceleration requires joint stability & mobility of the spine, hips, knees and ankles! Mobility & flexibility are highly overlooked areas when it comes to performance and raw speed. For acceleration to be possible, there needs to be sound joint stability of the spine, hips knees and ankles. This simply means we cannot expect fast movements to come from loose wiggly joints that have not been built to handle the force associated with speed. Making sure you have joint stability will ensure a more sound run. In addition, one also needs sound joint mobility. The ability to take your joints through a broader range of motion (R.O.M.). Acceleration requires a great deal of hip, knee & ankle mobility. For a more detailed list of how to increase joint mobility & stability for running, check out a video done by excellent strength coach Jim Smith click here.

 

 

  

#3 - In order to learn how to properly accelerate, we must 1st learn how to assume the correct athletic posture. This comes by teaching the mechanics of the upright run form 1st. Many athletes and coaches like to teach acceleration 1st, but we have found that many athletes cannot assume the proper position for acceleration even from an upright position. If they cannot do it standing upright, chances are they will not be able to do it at a 45 degree angle. Basically this means we teach mechanics: A-marching/skipping and so on. We are not overly concerned with mechanical perfection. Mechicanical perfection is reserved for track athletes who need to have every limb scrutinized in order to maximize potential. We simply examine the current status of the athletes’ body and prescribe the correct drills that will help him/her maximize their ability to accelerate.

Simple drills that help athletes assume a better acceleration position are:

Wall Hold: Upright Run position – back and butt & legs against a wall, then simply lift 1 arm & opposite knee out in a 90 degree fashion (as if you were running). We stress upright torso, ankle dorsi-flexion and more importantly the neutral spine. We do not like to see anterior/posterior pelvic tilting. We do 2-3 holds of 10 seconds each or so.

A-march. Simply practicing upright marching with good posture, hip/knee/ankle flexion & extension. We teach athletes to synchronize their movements between hips & shoulders and help establish a ground base of good technique.

A-Skip. This is basically the same drill, just a bit more dynamic. Instead of marching we progress into a forward skip.

Once the upright posture has been established, we begin to focus on body angle and how to use that same exact posture for acceleration. At this point all the relevant progressions are integrated and if the strength and mobility work are all up to par, athletes should begin to feel a big difference in their ability to accelerate effectively.

#4 – Acceleration is only as good as ones ability to decelerate & re-accelerate at the required speed! This portion has been part of our progressive teaching all along, however not fully addressed until this stage. Teaching deceleration is about teaching force absorption and athletic posture. One of our very 1st teaching progressions even before squatting is learning how to decelerate the hips knees and ankles (or simply sit in what we call athletic base position). This is the base position all of our clients will achieve before progressing into movements like running, jumping and squatting. However, at this stage we’re ready to practice how to do it at speed. This means that the hip deceleration we have been practicing will be practiced from jumps and short runs. The video below will show an example:

The 1st half of the video addresses the deceleration work

#5 – Once the ground work is paved, we must teach the importance of the 1st step! This makes the difference in how well we improve performance on the field of play. Many sports are about beating your competition to a spot. It may be getting to a spot on the court for a quick jump shot, or getting to a ball on the back corner of a tennis court. Whatever it is, 1st step is of the utmost importance. With this in mind we spend time addressing the 1st step. In a matter of 1-3 steps you will either lose or win the battle to get to a spot. This can happen from all different angles and body positions. So we address this portion just after making sure strength, mobility & body angle are adequate. In addition the those areas we also address “athletic” based issues that highly affect 1st step quickness. We practice in from both linear and multi-directional stand points. We use both static & reactive steps to add to the real life aspect of training. We also add visual and verbal ques (in addition the the reactive steps). Lastly we add the element of the unknown so that the athlete can get as close to a real feel for how to better approach the 1st step.

 

One of the best drill to begin with for teaching 1st step explosiveness is the push-up sprint. This drill puts the athlete in a “push-up” position. The athlete must then explode forward from that stance out into a accelerated run. See video below.

Once this is established we can then work on more complex matters involving some of the reactive force we discussed earlier. This next video shows 2 athletes going through a series of multi-directional movements all designed to help focus on 1st step power and efficiency.

 

If you are following these simple and easy steps, you are at least on the right track for developing great acceleration ability. Remember, every athlete is different and must be programmed accordingly. Leg & torso length, mobility & strength or lack thereof will all be different per individual.  If you are looking for an individualized program that will address your specific needs as a athlete call 732-749-3093 or email Cornell Key @ key2sportsperformance@gmail.com.

 

As always Get Strong Be Explosive!

Cornell Key

Key 2 Sports Training