Whenever I have the opportunity to train athletes and teams, I always look for ways to help them understand why we are doing what we are doing. It is important from a results perspective to have athletes buy into your approach so that they will give their greatest effort and therefore reach their maximum potential during each session.
I tell the group of athletes I am working with that if they commit over the next 8-10 weeks to working hard with us in our strength & power program, they will see significant improvements in their body’s ability to generate power that will result in improved ground force causing them to become faster. That is the Physiology aspect of speed.
The exciting truth about training is that if they also pay attention, grasp, and apply the speed mechanics work we are teaching in our program over the next 8-10 weeks, they can experience significant improvements in the quality of their force application to the ground. This leads to real improvements in their speed and movement within that very same session! That is the Physics aspect of speed.
To make the greatest improvements in your sport-specific speed you need to improve not only the QUANTITY of force you can apply (physiology) through your strength & power development, but equally important the QUALITY of how you apply that force in terms of direction and timing (physics) through speed & agility mechanics work. In our experience, most athletes and programs attempt to tackle the physiology part of the equation while neglecting the physics of speed development. Our combined approach has allowed us to regularly see over .3 seconds reduction in 40 times over 8 weeks within our NFL Draft Prep training programs. High school and youth athletes can see even greater improvements.
At TCBOOST, we have a saying, FAST DOESN’T HAPPEN BY ACCIDENT! Be sure you have a plan that takes into account both the development of speed specific power and the improvement of your ability to apply that power efficiently and effectively to the ground.
By: Tommy Christian, Owner and Founder