Coaching

Designing an effective speed-training program - Part 5

Patrick Beith continues his series of articles on designing an effective speed training programme with a review of the energy and body systems

In this article I will look at the energy and body systems that we are training when trying to develop speed. By understanding how these systems work and how a particular prescription of exercise develops that particular system, we can facilitate more effective adaptations.

Energy System

First, we will briefly look at the energy systems we are working with in our speed development. There are three that we have to be concerned with:

ATP/CP System (Adenosine TriPhoshate/Creatine Phosphate)
The Anaerobic Lactate (Glycolytic) System
Aerobic System

Ultimately these systems describe the metabolic pathways available to replace ATP concentrations. In the glycolytic system, as hydrogen ion concentrations increase, enzyme activity decreases and glucose or glycogen breaks down to pyruvate to provide energy.

To design an effective program, knowledge of your sport/event and how these energy systems affect success in that sport/event is critical to making improvements.

The next topic requiring some attention is that of understanding the 4 body systems that must be developed with your training.

The Neuromuscular System

This system consists of the elements of the Central Nervous System that control skeletal muscle activity as well as muscle tissue that is involved in creating force production during athletic performance. The degree of effectiveness of the Central Nervous System is the single greatest factor in performance. Developing the neuromuscular system should be the most important focus of your training. This system must be trained in the absence of fatigue in order to elicit the best results. Despite its importance, this system is widely underdeveloped in most programs.

The Neuroendocrine System

This system operates by releasing hormones into the blood stream during exercise. By having certain hormones in the blood stream, strength development, recovery from workouts and other metabolic functions are significantly enhanced. So certain types of exercise produce clear responses to the endocrine system where effectively designed training can result in marked improvement in performance.

The Musculoskeletal System

This system consists of the muscle tissue responsible for force production, connective tissue and the bones. It is important to note that force created and force applied are not the same. The musculoskeletal system facilitates the transformation of created force to applied force.

It is critical to develop postural stability as well as postural alignment in order to enable efficient movement patterns as well as prevent injuries.

The Proprioceptive System

This system's job is to sense and provide the body with information concerning body position, movement, and coordinative abilities. Many movements and actions in speed development, as well as in athletic performance as a whole, are considered reflexive. Thus they are reliant on proprioceptive function. Athletes who can quickly and easily respond to their body position and movement are at a decisive advantage in regards to overall skill development and therefore performance.

In order to effectively and efficiently develop this system, athletes must engage in activities that challenge their coordination and balance.

Conclusion

Because all 5 of these systems contribute to speed and performance all of them must be developed. There is a level of interconnectedness between all 5 systems. So in developing one system, you will likely be developing others at the same time. This does not change the fact that your speed development program must address all of these systems with some degree of planned balance. This balance in training is just as important to overall speed gains as the development of any one system in particular.

It is important to consider the demands of your sport/event, the age (training and otherwise) of your athletes, skill level, etc. in order to determine the most appropriate balance of activities.

About the Author

Patrick Beth is a co-owner of Athletes' Acceleration, Inc, a company devoted to performance enhancement whose mission is to improve the knowledge base of motivated coaches and athletes in order to improve athletic performance. He is a Performance Consultant certified by the National Strength and Conditioning Association (CSCS), the American Council of Sports Medicine (HFI), the National Academy of Sports Medicine (PES) and is a USA track and Field Level II Coach in the Sprints, Hurdles and Jumps. Patrick can be contacted through his website at www.AthletesAcceleration.com

Article Reference

Beth P. (2007), "Designing an effective speed-training program - Part 5", Brian Mackenzie's Successful Coaching (ISSN 1745-7513), Issue 43

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