Chapter 19: Program Design and Technique for Speed and Agility Training Flashcards
Speed
The skills and abilities needed to achieve high movement velocities
Change of direction
The skills and abilities needed to explosively change movement direction, velocities, or modes
Agility
The skills and abilities needed to change direction, velocity, or mode in response to a stimulus
Rate of Force Development (RFD)
The development of maximal force in minimal time, typically used as an index of explosive strength
Impulse
- The product of the generated force and the time required for its production
- Change in momentum
Force
- A push or a pull
- Represents the interaction of two physical objects
Acceleration
Changes in an objects velocity
Ground Contact Time
The length of time athletes are in the stance/plant phase of their stride
Momentum
Mass x Velocity
How does strength training impact sprint performance?
Increases neural drive
Neural Drive
The rate and amplitude of impulses being sent from the nervous system to the target muscles
How does plyometric training impact sprint performance?
Increases excitability of high-threshold motor neurons, which ultimately enhances neural drive
How does neural drive affect spring performance?
May contribute to increases in the athlete’s RFD and impulse generation
Stretch-Shortening Cycle (SSC)
An eccentric-concentric coupling phenomenon in which muscle-tendon complexes are rapidly and forcibly lengthened and immediately shortened in a reactive or elastic manner
What phenomena do stretch-shortening cycle actions exploit?
- Intrinsic muscle-tendon behavior
- Force and length reflex feedback to the nervous system
Acute effects of SSC actions on speed
They tend to increase mechanical efficiency and impulse via elastic energy recovery
Chronic effects of SSC actions on speed
They upregulate muscle stiffness and enhance neuromuscular action
Criteria for exercises aiming to improve SSC performance
- Involve skillful, multijoint movements
- Should be structure around brief work bouts or clusters separated by frequent rest pauses
Complex Training
- Postactivation potentiation
- Alternating SSC tasks with heavy resistance exercises within the same session enhances their working effect
Spring-Mass Model (SMM)
A mathematical model that depicts sprinting as a type of human locomotion in which the displacement of a body mass is the aftereffect from energy produced and is delivered through the collective coiling and extension of spring-like actions within muscle architecture
Sprinting
A series of coupled flight and support phases, orchestrated in an attempt to displace the athlete’s body at maximal velocity
How can sprint speed be increased?
- Increased stride length
- Increased stride frequency
Subtasks of sprinting
- Start
- Acceleration
- Top Speed
Training objective to emphasize in sprint training
- Emphasize brief ground support times as a means of achieving rapid stride rate
- Emphasize the further development of the SSC as a means to increase the amplitude of impulse for each step of the sprint