Understanding and Improving Speed!
In lacrosse, speed kills! Being faster than your opponent is a huge competitive edge. Whether it’s being able to sprint by a defender with ease or being first to every ground ball speed can make you appear to be much more skilled and smarter than your opponents.
Speed has always been a quality that was thought to be God given, that you were either born with it or you weren’t. This is not true. Speed is a skill that can be taught and improved as I posted here last September.
Here is a great new article on Usain Bolt and the science of sprinting. Some of the key points from this article are:
- Since 2008 Bolt has taken .14 seconds of the WR 100M time, more than double what has been done by any other sprinter in history since electronic timing started. You would think he did it by moving his legs faster than everyone else, however he didn’t. In fact he turns his legs over at the same speed that a regular person would
- Running fast has more to do with the force one applies to the ground than how quickly one can move one’s legs.
- Speed is dependent upon two variables: The force with which one presses against the ground and how long one applies that force.
- The average person’s foot is on the ground for about .12 seconds, while an Olympic sprinter’s foot is on the ground for just .08 seconds — a 60-percent difference.
So what does this mean for a lacrosse player? It mean’s that you need to increase your strength and power so that you are able to apply more force into the ground. I’ve always stated that there is no such thing as a quick first step. What people are really seeing when an athlete can accelerate is a quick first push! Stand up and take a step and see if you think that is fast. Steps aren’t fast, they are what you take when you walk. The key to accelerating is developing a powerful push. Along with increasing your strength and power you must then learn how to better apply that force into the ground. I like to tell my athletes to think of crushing a pop can. You don’t put your foot on the can then press as hard as you can. You drive your foot right through the can. That is what you should be trying to do when you accelerate. Drive your foot through the ground to apply as much force as possible in as short a time as possible. And as the article pointed out, that is the key to improving your speed.
Here is a video of a drill you can use to help improve your acceleration running technique as well as increasing the amount of force you apply into the ground with every step. It’s called Up Tall and Fall.
Training for Lacrosse!
This video has some great info about training for lacrosse featuring Jay Dyer and Paul Rabil. Not necessarily about the proper way to do it and not really providing you with some great new exercises to try; but it does a great job of explaining that the old bodybuilding style workouts are useless to you as a lacrosse player. Also, it’s bang on about starting to train in high school to prepare for a college/pro career and to find a strength coach who knows what they are doing to guide you to get better.
If you are interested in more information on training for lacrosse or want to get started on a program just for you go to http://www.prolaxtraining.com or email me at sean@prolaxtraining.com.
Why is Strength and Conditioning Important for Lacrosse?
The primary goal of a strength and conditioning program is to prevent the likelihood of injury. Lacrosse is a physically demanding sport that is played at high speeds. The stronger and more powerful you are the less likely you are to sustain injuries. Secondary to this goal, being stronger than your opponent will give you an advantage in all facets of the game including offensively, defensively, or competing for a loose ball. Being in better condition will allow you to perform to your maximum skill level for longer periods of time during a game and avoid the pitfalls of fatigue that decrease your performance.
Game Speed: Vern Gambetta
Here’s a good video from famous strength coach Vern Gambetta on training for ‘Game Speed’. He explains it’s not just 40 yd dash times but your ability to control your body and decelerate to change directions efficiently that is what’s important. Being a great track athlete does not automatically make you a fast lacrosse player. Train for the game! Use drills that simulate the sport!
Inside Lacrosse: Death of the Crunch!
My latest post on Inside Lacrosse is up and running and looking good.
Check it out here: http://insidelacrosse.com/news/2011/04/07/il-fitness-death-crunch
FAQ: I play women’s lacrosse, should I train the same way the men do?
YES! Even though there is less contact (I say less because even though there isn’t any allowed, I’ve certainly seen more than my fair share of ‘accidental’ contact during the game), in the women’s game an elite player still needs to be strong, fast, and powerful. Running is a single leg power activity and the stronger you are the better chance you have at being powerful. You still need to be able to decelerate yourself to make quick cuts to elude your check, and that is a function of being powerful. The only difference in training for women than men would be an increased emphasis on trying to prevent knee injuries. The female body has weaker ligaments and due to wider hips the angle (called the ‘Q’ angle) of the femur is medial, or more towards the middle of the body. Almost all knee injuries occur due to medial and rotational forces on the knee. Extra emphasis on stability and strength of the glute medius in particular will help to reduce (but unfortunately cannot prevent) these injuries in females.
Dawson In-Season Training Part 3
http://insidelacrosse.com/news/2011/03/21/il-fitness-dan-dawson-season-training-breakdown-part-3
Dawson’s In-Season Training Part 2
http://insidelacrosse.com/news/2011/03/16/il-fitness-dan-dawson-season-training-breakdown-part-2
Dawson’s In-Season Training Part 1
http://insidelacrosse.com/news/2011/03/14/il-fitness-dan-dawson-season-training-breakdown-part-1
Complex Training Part 4
The 4th and final part of the Complex Training series I did for Inside Lacrosse.
http://insidelacrosse.com/news/2011/03/02/nll-all-star-dan-dawsons-complex-training-part-4-4
Dawson’s Complex Training Part 3
http://insidelacrosse.com/news/2011/02/28/nll-all-star-dan-dawsons-complex-training-part-3-4
Dan Dawson Complex Training Part 2
Part 2 on Inside Lacrosse:
http://insidelacrosse.com/news/2011/02/23/nll-all-star-dan-dawsons-complex-training-part-2-4
Dan Dawson Complex Training Part 1
The 1st of a 4 part series I am doing for Inside Lacrosse on the final phase of Dangerous Dan’s training leading up to the 2011 NLL Season.
http://insidelacrosse.com/news/2011/02/22/nll-all-star-dan-dawsons-complex-training-part-1-4
Why youtube Isn’t Reliable!
I really like youtube. I mean I really like it. However when it comes to training information I absolutely hate it. I have seen some of the most horrendous things on it, worst of all by people claiming to be ‘experts’ on training. I actually saw someone do, and actually explain how to do it, a ‘Single Leg Deadlift’ while standing on two legs. Are you kidding me? It’s still one of my favourites. Anyways, I recently saw a twitter post that linked to video of the 5 “Key” exercises for the core that lacrosse players should be doing. I decided to click the link to see what these 5 exercises were. Now before clicking the video below, I should state I wrote an article on Core training for lacrosse a while back that I recommend you read as it explains how the core functions. For those not going to read it I’ll briefly explain: your core is designed to keep your spine safe first and foremost and it does this through stabilization. It’s designed to resist flexion (sit ups are bad for you), resist extension (think leaning way back), and to resist rotation. Only after it has been trained to strengthen stabilization (planks, side planks etc) should it then be trained to help with rotation. It should still never be trained to help flex or extend the spine as that causes damage to the spine. The stronger your core can stabilize the spine the more force you can transfer to your limbs making you shoot harder, hit harder, jump higher, and run faster! Here is the video that I clicked on with the ‘5 Key Exercises’:
Ridiculous! 4 of the 5 are wrong. This video is only going to cause people to experience back pain in the future. It’s all flexion, extension (my back got sore just watching those supermans!), and rotation. The only one mildly acceptable is the leg raise and even that’s not great. To work the hip flexors more appropriately you should be standing and lift your knee above waist height as that is when they are activated. Then you progress to doing the same thing but with some resistance from a band.
I don’t like to slag on other people, but this is just poor information and is being marketed to sell. I thought maybe that clip was old and before the overwhelming amount of information has come out in recent years on proper core function and how to train it but it just got posted to youtube this year.
Please use youtube wisely: as a place to kill time and have some laughs, not a place to learn workout information!
Sean Holmes C.S.C.S. 