Learning In Las Vegas

On the Road Again.....

I am heading to Las Vegas today for my Mastermind Meeting followed by the best Speaking and Marketing Bootcamp on the Planet. This will be my third time attending this bootcamp and it keeps getting better. I always walk away with so much knowledge and I have the opportunity to network with some great people and fantastic business minds.

Questions On Multi-Directional Speed Program Design

Some of my favorite questions to receive have to do with program design for multi-directional speed. Trainers and coaches often get caught up in progressions and increasing intensity that they forget about continual programming of efficient skill production. To me, most speed skills, regardless of if it is lateral, retreating, linear acceleration or change of direction, all needs to be performed at a high level of efficiency and correctness. If I want to make the athlete faster, then I need to do it in the weight room.

There is a technique I use termed the "Shock method". The purpose of this method is to periodically introduce resistance acceleration with a band or tubing. This not only increases power output through stimulating the nervous system but it changes what the athletes has been doing and therefore offers a new stimulus.

In my opinion and experience, you have to be careful to not over-use the resisted method when coaching multi-directional speed skills. Any time you add external resistance you are inevitably changing the fine mechanics of the skill. When resisted the athlete will change his or her technique just enough to counter the resistance. The ultimate goal is to program the movement pattern so efficiently in the athletes brain that they can recall it quickly and effectively all the time.

I beleive it is a powerful tool, but it must be used wisely and sparingly.

Let me give you a quick example, or rather a comparison, of this form of programming skill development. When a basketball player practices foul shots and becomes good at it, then he or she doesn't add 5lbs to the ball to progress. The goal is to continually grove the pattern so it becomes automatic- even under pressure, especially under pressure.

What does this tell you about program design for multi-directional speed development? Basically, you can set your skills up in such a way that each plane of movement is being trained on a given day with change of direction skills being included on non-consecutive days. Here is a basic example of a 4 day a week program:

Day 1- Linear Acceleration skills and linear force production

Day 2- Linear Deceleration skills and body control/change of direction

Day 3- Lateral/Angular force production and acceleration skills

Day 4- Lateral/Angular Deceleration skills and body control/change of direction

You could just as easy switch day 2 with 4 if you wanted to alternate linear and lateral days.

Personally, I don't like to do hard deceleration/change of direction days back to back.

This is just a little bit of information that will help you in designing speed programs. My Speed Insiders Members receive first hand how I train athletes to be faster. If you want to know more, become a Speed Insider... to give it a try http://www.speedinsiders.com/ and receive 2 months trial totally FREE.

As you may know by now, I am hosting my Athletic Speed Formula Seminar On May 16th-18th. I am not being self serving by saying this- but if you want to become a better coach of Multi-directional speed for sport, strength training for speed, and coaching techniques for athletic development, youth coaching, and physical education, then this is the best seminar for you. You simple can not afford to miss my Athletic Speed Formula Seminar. This year's seminar is going to have a tremendous amount of hands on learning and so much more. Log on to http://www.leetaftseminars.com/ and register now before it is too late. The early bird registration discount is over April 30th!

Yours in Speed,

Lee

PS: Become the "Go To Coach" in your community http://www.leetaftseminars.com/.