Need for speed

scoopmine

Hi Lads

I am 24 and have recently returned to GAA after more than a year out. I trained in the gym 3 to 4 times a week and have build myself up but on the pitch I have found my legs feel heavy and my speed is just not there anymore. I understand that gym fit is different than GAA fit. I would be a forward player. I would love the opportunity to play senior football. Does anyone know if there are any drills that would help improve my speed and general GAA fitness?

nice_guy80

this one will help

ecoli

I put up a few speed development sessions last night here which should help;

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=83038538&postcount=2

The sessions are designed for both maxium velocity development and aerobic power.

Plyometrics are a good approach also for building explosive power and increasing muscle elasticity but given given you absence from sport and the need for supervision to ensure you are doing these correctly I would say avoid as they present too much of an injury risk

Another good one to do is after an run do 6-8 x 8 sec hills at maxium effort to work on fast twitch fiber muscle recruitment

scoopmine

Thanks Lads

Would you say stay out of the gym? I am only home from Friday till Sunday. During the week I have been working on a strength programme that involves Squats, Clean pulls, deadlifts, split squats and shoulder work. I do this twice a week with a bit of kickboxing and astro turf. Thanks for your help. If it helps my diet is something like.

Morning = Porriage or eggs and tea.
Lunch = Beans on toast or a ceaser salad with tea
Afternoon Soup and bread
Workout shake after workout
Dinner= Usually a stir fry or spud veg and meat.

With 2 litres of water. Snack is usually nuts or a nutigrain bar. I do have the cheat meals like a chicken fillet roll and the odd hangover day where diet goes out the window but max twice a month.

Oregano_State

I don't think you need to stay out of the gym, but you need to be fresh enough to do at least two quality speed sessions a week if you want to improve at the most efficient rate.

The exercises you're doing are beneficial for improving leg-strength and power, but you need to practice using those qualities for running faster.

BlueIsland

What weight are you? dropping excess bodyfat a sure fire way to get faster I reckon!

CM24

I think most people overlook the importance of heavy strength training when looking to increase speed. I'v been to quite a few Strength and Conditioning Seminars and often hear that elite sprinters are expected to squat 3x their body weight and bench 2x their bodyweight. Also, lat strength plays an important role in running and many S&C coaches find a direct correlation between athletes' pull-up strength and their sprinting speed. I think pull-ups with an extra 50% of your bw attached is a good benchmark to aim for.

Oregano_State

CM24 wrote: »

I think most people overlook the importance of heavy strength training when looking to increase speed. I'v been to quite a few Strength and Conditioning Seminars and often hear that elite sprinters are expected to squat 3x their body weight and bench 2x their bodyweight. Also, lat strength plays an important role in running and many S&C coaches find a direct correlation between athletes' pull-up strength and their sprinting speed. I think pull-ups with an extra 50% of your bw attached is a good benchmark to aim for.

Yes that's true. I don't the the OP wants to be an elite sprinter though. To get the best return in improved speed for time spent, he'd be better off doing some speed work for a 8-12 weeks, than spending 2 years trying to get a 3xBW squat.

nice_guy80

running dynamics have a lot to do with it. they are the easiest things to improve.

leg drive
speed of feet
body position


that's why I recommended the above drill in the video.

ecoli

CM24 wrote: »

I think most people overlook the importance of heavy strength training when looking to increase speed. I'v been to quite a few Strength and Conditioning Seminars and often hear that elite sprinters are expected to squat 3x their body weight and bench 2x their bodyweight. Also, lat strength plays an important role in running and many S&C coaches find a direct correlation between athletes' pull-up strength and their sprinting speed. I think pull-ups with an extra 50% of your bw attached is a good benchmark to aim for.

This is true however I was at a seminar with Mickey Ruben last year (Usain Bolts S&C coach) and he felt the biggest difference between many Jamaican sprinters and the Rest of the World is that many dont do enough running

Glute and Hamstring power are crucial no doubt about it however all they are doing is providing you with the tools to develop your skill. Ultimately sprinting is like any other skill it needs to be developed through practice

CM24

Oregano_State wrote: »

Yes that's true. I don't the the OP wants to be an elite sprinter though. To get the best return in improved speed for time spent, he'd be better off doing some speed work for a 8-12 weeks, than spending 2 years trying to get a 3xBW squat.

He should do both IMO. He doesn't necessarily have to get his squat to that level, most people aren't born with enough fast-twitch muscle fibers to get there. I think most people could get to a 1.5x bodyweight squat within about 6 months though. That, along with speed/agility training would give him the most bang for his buck IMO.

I don't know how to do the multi-quote thing, but to the others who replied. I would argue that working on proper sprinting mechanics on the track is going to be of limited benefit to a GAA player, as they are never really running in a straight line. I'm not an authority on the subject or anything, I'm just speaking from my experience of playing sports. I feel that the biggest improvement I made in my rugby career was from spending 3 months off training during the summer and just adding plenty of weight to all my big lifts. I came back and felt much quicker on the pitch even though I had done no form of running or playing over the summer.


I'm sure Will Heffernan has commented on this in the past on this forum. It's a common enough question and he'd be able to give the best answers.

nice_guy80

I disagree.

If you get the basic running fundamentals better, then your speed and acceleration will improve before doing any weight training

then focus on single leg work - single squats, single deadlifts. After all you run by pushing off one leg, not two.

add in some plyo box jump work and you'll be flying.

CM24

http://www.defrancostraining.com/ask-joe-test/42-speedplyometricsconditioning/269-qform-runningq-for-non-track-athletes-important-or-waste-of-time.html relevant

ecoli

nice_guy80 wrote: »

add in some plyo box jump work and you'll be flying.

Unless you know what you are doing or have someone who does supervising I wouldn't recommend this due to the high injury risk involved in plyometric training.

nice_guy80

ecoli wrote: »

Unless you know what you are doing or have someone who does supervising I wouldn't recommend this due to the high injury risk involved in plyometric training.

agreed

but, power can be developed using the 'jump up' on the box only (with a soft landing and then stepping off)
develops power and improves hip, quad and glute recruitment

scoopmine

Thanks for all the replies lads. A fair bit to think about!