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
Change of Direction Ability
The ability to minimize ground contact time as one changes direction
Perceptual-Cognitive Ability
- The mental component of agility
- Processing information in the field and acting on it in an effective and efficient way
Goals of agility performance
- Enhanced perceptual-cognitive ability in various situations and tactical scenarios
- Effective and rapid braking of one’s momentum
- Rapid reacceleration in the new direction of travel
Methods of developing speed
- Sprinting
- Strength training
- Mobility
Sprinting
- Strong case that no exercise improves max velocity than max sprinting
- Neurological adaptations from long-term training performing max strength and movement velocity improve RFD and impulse generation
Rate Coding
- What signal frequency reaches a threshold, skeletal muscle may not completely relax between stimulations
- Incomplete relaxation results in more forceful contractions and a greater RFD in later contractions
Strength Training
Weightlifting movements may enhance sprint performance through physiological adaptations such as muscular stiffness, enhanced RFD, and coactivation of the musculature surrounding the hips and knees
Mobility
The freedom of an athlete’s limb to move through a desired range of motion
Flexibility
A joint’s total range of motion
Methods for developing agility
- Strength
- Change-of-direction ability
- Perceptual-cognitive ability
Strength
Development of eccentric strength of the athlete should be considered (high braking forces)
Change-of-Direction Ability
Should progress from beginner to advanced so this ability progresses
Perceptual-Cognitive Ability
- Can train perceptual-cognitive ability in a manner similar to physical abilities through progressive overload
- Start with generic drills, then add sport-specific stimuli
Short-to-long method of sprint training
- Improve propulsive force through short sprints that maintain the biomechanics associated with the acceleration phase of a sprint
- Bridges this into longer sprint work aiming to enhance top speed through upright running mechanics
How should agility be developed?
- In a periodized program, starting with change-of-direction drills, increasing physical demands to progress the athlete
- Then add drills involving perceptual-cognitive stress, “agility drills”
