Building Speed
I just got back from the Combine in Los Angeles, CA, and let me tell you: we had some fast kids. I had two kids in the 4.4’s for their 40 yard dash and several kids were in the 4.5’s. And that is with multiple stop watches on them.
Just days before that, I was out on the football field with a Division I College tight-end at a large Big 12 school who was training with one of my NFL tight ends, Kellen Winslow. While there is an obvious difference between a young, college athlete and a gifted, hard-working TE in the NFL, I couldn’t help but notice the difference in speed and explosive power between this Pro-Bowl TE and the young TE.
When I was done working with them, I encouraged the collegiate TE to never sacrifice speed for strength or size. While it is important to be strong and big, it is imperative that is fast, explosive, and athletic. The young TE agreed. He spends 90% of his training time in the weight room and not running. And while he’s strong as a mule, his feet aren’t up to snuff.
The moral of the story:
Whether you are a young athlete in high school or college, never stop running and working on your speed. Yes, strength training will help your speed….if you are running. Get on the field and start running in the off-season. Stay in shape, work on foot quickness drills, and get as fast as you can.
Some of my favorite basic foot quickness and speed & running drills include:
• Jumping rope
• Agility ladder
• Cone drills
• Tag drills
• Running bleachers
• Run 400’s, 200’s, 100’s, 40’s
• Run gassers
• Run routes on the football field
The bottom line is that you are running. And if for some reason your off-season training program doesn’t have a running portion to it, be sure to get out on the field at least 2-3 days per week EXTRA on top of your weight training sessions. There is no way you can bust a 4.4 or 4.5 without running. Likewise, you can’t maximize your overall athleticism if you are not running. So regardless of your 40 yard time, if you want to be a great athlete, you need to be in shape and you need to be fast and quick.
Train hard, train smart, and RUN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Todd
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Being away from football, and I assume heavy training, will certainly take it's toll on your athletic performance. And gaining 50 lbs during this period will certainly slow you down a bit! With only 40 days until your competition, you'r going to have to get on a thorough, systematic program to reduce your bodyfat, while continueing to aggressively train to reaquaint your body for maximal sprint performance.
Your approach here needs to begin in the weight room where you need to incorporate the appropriate leg strength and power training exercises to build your foundation for speed. I would also suggest finding a nice steep hill of 20-25 yards that you can utilize for dynamic leg strength and power as well.
Can you outline the exact TNP speed program that you've been following for the past two weeks?
I've been mostly focusing on the things I can do solo after practice and conditioning are over, so plate pushes, pullups, arm swings, etc. on top of suicide drills (100,60,40,100), bleachers (2 sets snaking), and a daily 2 mile run. With Squats (with and w/o box), SLDL's, Single leg leg extensions, and a regular football training schedule at least 3 days a week.