FIT TO COMPETE: Increasing your speed

Some years back when ladders, hurdles, poles and all other manner of training equipment were in their infancy in GAA training sessions I attended a session run by Cavan GAA on speed, agility and quickness (SAQ training). This type of training is now commonplace but at the time was viewed as quite novel. As the coach was doing a demonstration putting a development squad of players through some drills I overheard two “gurus” behind me in the crowd from a large Cavan club, scoffing at the notion of actually using ladders back at their club as one said to the other “……ladders won’t make a lad go in for a 50-50 ball!”. Field sports such as Gaelic Football are actually ideally suited to and players can benefit greatly from this type of training as part of their speed training. For a moment let’s look at how the speed component of training changes from sport to sport. When training for a particular sport, the training must replicate the unique demands of the sport. This is true for the technical skills of the sport but also the physical fitness end of things. If your sport demands that you perform repeated sprints over short distances with constant changes in direction then there’s not much point spending most of your training time running long distances in a straight line. Even if speed is identified as a major component of your sport you then must ask what type of speed: is it acceleration, maximum speed or speed endurance (ability to perform repeated 50-80M sprints) that is most important. Also is the speed required straight line speed or is it there more agility and quickness involved. That is to say the ability to change direction, brake suddenly, accelerate and at the same time perform sport-specific skills with speed and dexterity. Only when these questions are asked by the coach can you build relevant speed training into a training program. Components of speed training Through this series of articles you will start to see the same topics popping up again and again. That is why in the early articles we concentrated on key components such as basic conditioning, flexibility and core stability. These form part of every training plan regardless of the sport and should be done before and alongside sports specific training. Not only for performance enhancement but also to avoid unnecessary injuries. Speed training will start out generic and as competition gets nearer will get more and more specific to suit the demands of the sport (as outlined earlier).The following areas need to be covered and roughly in the order listed: Flexibility: good flexibility, particularly in the hips, is essential when developing speed. Core stability: again good core strength is required for effective energy transfer through the middle of the body and also for good reaction speed. Strength and power training: both strength and power training are integral to improvement of speed. If an athlete can generate more power in a shorter timeframe then it stands to reason they are going to be able to move quicker. This training will involve general conditioning, resistance/weight training for the legs and arms and plyometrics. Basic speed training: to a certain degree we are all limited genetically as to how fast we can run. Each individual’s muscles are made up of fast and slow twitch fibers and this balance cannot be changed in favour of fast twitch. We can’t all be Usain Bolt but by doing speed training we can maximize the speed available to us. There are two variations of basic speed training: assisted (such as running downhill) and resisted (running uphill or against resistive bands). These will improve stride frequency, stride length and functional speed strength and in doing so will increase straight line speed. Sport specific speed: at this point the training becomes very specific to the athlete’s sport. If speed-endurance is the major component then repeated short sprints will be the order of the day. If the athlete is jumping hurdles or doing long jump then the speed must be made relevant to performing those actions. If agility and quickness is what your sport requires this is where drills with ladders, hurdles and poles will help an athlete to apply their speed to sport-specific scenarios. So remember: think your speed training through, make it more specific to your sport in order to see tangible results and to avoid wasting valuable training time. -------------------------------- Paul McCorry B.Sc MIAPT is a physical therapist based in Butlersbridge, Cavan. He has worked with the Ireland Ladies Cycling Road Racing team and is former coach to the Co.Cavan Minor team. Comments or questions to paulmccorry@gmail.com or 086-1705204.