Musculoskeletal and Nervous System primed from our Preparation Section, In Section 2 of our program, we focus speed. Because it kills. :)

The Section is divided into three sections, starting with the activities with the highest velocities and specificities, and transitioning into activities with greater resistances.

Acceleration:

This could also be referred to as a speed section, though in most non-track athletes, top-end speed never comes close to being reached. Instead, the ability to accelerate from a stop or following a change in direction is the quality we want to improve.

Ground contact times here are as low as they get during the workout and neurological demand is highest. Here we focus on short sprints (10-15 yards) in forward, backward (if needed) or multidirectional directions (??). On the days we are doing forward work we might first incorporate higher-speed running drills such as lean-fall-runs. 2-3 repetitions of each exercise per each leg (in front) or direction, rarely more than 8 repetitions total of all exercises.

Plyometrics:

Here we are beginning to increase the resistance provided, as we move in the direction of less neurologically and more muscularly demanding exercises. We’ll do upper body and lower body every workout, though if an athlete is training more than three days per week they should be split up directionally. Medicine Balls throws, pushups with a clap, fast chops, lifts or hip rotations on a selectorized cable machine for the upper body. 2-4 exercises of 2-3 sets each is a good starting point. Repetitions will depend on the goal, but anything in the 5-10 range is appropriate. Additionally, when using medicine balls, softer balls such as the Dynamax generally necessitate a lower number of repetitions than a ball with a greater amount of rebound. This can be attributed to the decreased ability to take advantage of the stretch reflex. This correlates nicely with differences in what is happening in many sports. In baseball or golf for example, the powerful rotational movement occurs only once, so lower reps would be more appropriate, and training the stretch reflex with a rebounding ball perhaps less so. In swimming or martial arts the action is much more reciprocal and the ability to take advantage of the prestretch will translate well to a combination. Imagine the rotating shoulders of a boxer throwing a combination: Left Jab--Right Cross--Left Hook--Right Hook.

Vern Gambetta said 'train speed every day' and so generally in the off-season we’ll do jumping, hopping or bounding every day as well, but because of this volume will be low. Repetitions will again depend on the goal, but movements requiring greater force production such as split squat jumps or weighted squat jumps, and/or emphasizing the eccentric elements (depth jumps or 2 leg takeoffs/1 leg landings) will be performed for fewer foot contacts per set (3-5) than less demanding exercises like repeated countermovement volleyball blocking jumps (4-8) or bounding (5-10). Total volume will be 20-25 foot contacts per day.

Olympic Lifts:

The Olympic Lifts provide a way for us to safely accelerate and control a good deal of resistance at a very high speed and for that reason they serve as the transition point from our Power section to our Strength section. If the Snatch and the Lift cannot be safely taught, jumps performed with a heavy weight vest or kettlebell are good substitutes. Hang clean/snatch pulls are also acceptable, mimicking triple extension well, and more weight can be used, but the speed of the bar will be considerably slower, decreasing power output. Set and rep ranges for the O-lifts have lots of variation. Sets can range from two work sets to as high as 6-8 sets of Submaximal Singles, but for athletes I think that for around 75% of the total workouts per macrocycle, staying around 3 sets of 3-5 repetitions works well. Going higher than 6 reps with the Olympic Lifts is contraindicated due to the highly technical nature of the lifts. If your goal is to create power endurance the Swing/Jump/Pull substitutions listed above should be used instead. Finally, remember that our goal with these lifts is to train Power. Going too heavy at the expense of bar speed, even if technique remains acceptable, is a poor trade-off.

Section 2: Power