Improvement in Acceleration & Speed

kermitdfrog

I'm lookgin for advice on drills, excercises, weights, gym excercises, techniques etc. to help improve my speed and acceleartion.

I play rugby, not at a high level, but I like to take it seriously. After a full season, and now a summer of tagrugby to keep me occupied, my fitness levels are decent enough. However, as a winger, I could always do with more pace, and feel I've lost some, if anything, of late. Certainly I think my top sprinting speed could be better, and my acceleration off the mark or from a standing start could be vastly improved.

Can anyone point me in the right direction please? In particular I would appreciate any help in improving my acceleration and quickness of feet (for stepping and quick changes of direction). Any help/advice much appreciated...

because_I_can

www.charliefrancis.com/community
www.charliefrancis.com/store

the coach who created the fastest man the world will ever know. buy the gpp essentials dvd and read the forum from front to back.

Pherekydes

Francis was just a coaching embryo when Bob Hayes was in his pomp.

Work on your explosive leg power. Bounding, hopping, vertical jumps, power cleans. Work on your technique. Get your legs moving as quickly as possible. Many sprint novices try to cover as much ground with each stride. Shorten your initial strides to get your cadence going.

thirtyfoot

Slow coach wrote:

Work on your explosive leg power. Bounding, hopping, vertical jumps, power cleans. Work on your technique. Get your legs moving as quickly as possible. Many sprint novices try to cover as much ground with each stride. Shorten your initial strides to get your cadence going.

Thats good advice but just be careful if doing bounding hopping etc because done poorly or too early you are prone to injury. Article attached goes into plyometrics.

http://www.elitetrack.com/articles/gambettaplyos.pdf

SAQ is the business for quickness of foot, change of direction etc. Without knowing your sporting history or experience. personally I think it could be dangerous to launch into a Francis or Seagraves type program without the supervision of a coach. Depending how serious you are, you could join an athletic club, I know denis Hickie has worked with a sprint group in Dublin when recovering from injury, as did Christian Cullen in his sprinting prime. You wouldn't have to compete or train day in/day out but joining the sprinters group would bring your speed on loads, and you would learn loads too. Track coaches are generally ahead of most team sports coaches on the technical side of things and to get real benefits you need supervision. Having said that, Tag will do your acceleration and lateral movements no harm, its definitely one for the speed merchants!

daymobrew

kermitdfrog wrote:

I'm looking for advice on drills, excercises, weights, gym excercises, techniques etc. to help improve my speed and acceleartion.

Yesterday I got a Running Times email newsleter with an recommending hill runs to improve speed and improved recovery.

GreeBo

daymobrew wrote:

Yesterday I got a Running Times email newsleter with an to improve speed and improved recovery.

Thats in relation to running rather than sprinting.

shoutman

http://www.scrum.com/fitness/speed/acceleration/default.asp

poobum

jumping squats! but u need to be careful!! very careful!

kermitdfrog

Thanks all - plenty to read up on there and some good sites by the looks of things. Much appreciated, thank you.

kermitdfrog

Thanks all - some sound advice there, and some good links by the look of it. Much appreciated.

jumping squats! but u need to be careful!! very careful!

Why do you have to be so careful?

because_I_can

Slow coach wrote:

Francis was just a coaching embryo when Bob Hayes was in his pomp.

Work on your explosive leg power. Bounding, hopping, vertical jumps, power cleans. Work on your technique. Get your legs moving as quickly as possible. Many sprint novices try to cover as much ground with each stride. Shorten your initial strides to get your cadence going.

we'll never know but man would i have loved to have seen him in the flesh. surely in the top 3 of all time...

imo the gpp dvd and cfts are money in the bank. my own personal gains can vouch for it. 7 tenths off my 30m in as many months. nuff said for me personally anyway and its really well laid out

poobum

kermitdfrog wrote:

Thanks all - some sound advice there, and some good links by the look of it. Much appreciated.



Why do you have to be so careful?

depends how you do them! i do them with dumbells at my side but if you do it with a olympic bar and it comes off your shoulders and lands in a wrong area...it can be dangerous! but there is only so much weight u can hold at ur side! i used 40's but found it to difficult to use higher weights!