warren_1987

hey people , as a few on you may know i am trying to get on the american football team in sept for my uni, so i have decided to add some size and increase my 40 yard dash (120ft). my time yesterday was 5.4 sec which isnt great but anot bad considering i ad just ate and had jeans on lol.

but i found this article and would like your opinions , it pretty much says every other legs session do sprints instead

have a read tanks in advance

http://www.t-nation.com/findArticle.do?article=1550yar2

Pompey Tim

I think it sounds pretty plausible, as TC says in the article you only have to look at the physiques of sprinters to see that their training lends itself well to developing muscle mass.

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Jock

There is a lot of factors in producing a good 40 yard dash, obviously you have to have good leg strength and hip drive but the mechanics are a little more complex.

1. You need to be flexible. Having good flexibility improves you range of motion which will pervent injury and help you get faster.

2. You need strong abdominals. And not just the 'six pack' muscles, you need to have a strong core, these are the muscles that initiate most movements and are particulary important for athletes who want to generate power quickly.

3. 'Train as you play' your training should mirror you performance on the field. There's no point doing 4 sets of squats with perfect form if you do it in slow motion. To be a good sprinter you need to develop the muscles required (fast twitch) so dynamic olympic lifting, plyometric drills agility, speed work sprints etc will be the order of the day.

There is more info here: http://www.oztrack.com/sprint.htm

Good luck,

Jock

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warren_1987

thanks mate thats help full, im in a weird position as im starting american football in sept but i weigh 167.5 lbs i need to get to around 180-190lbs lol whilst increasing my speed aswell

but thaks for that iv had a browse while i eat but im goingto have a good read now

Reesy

Out of interest what uni you at for American football?

Ecksarmy11

Great post !

warren_1987

hey reese im at newcastle upon tyne,

but i didnt realise they had a team till last week lol so im going to prepare for next sept.

warren_1987

fiished reading that and was very elpfull defo reps jock thanks again

Jock

No problem, glad I could help.

Have a look at Joey de Franco's 'Westside for Skinny Bastards' program, it is tailored especially for athletes and American Football players.

It develops functional strength so you can gain size./strength without becoming slow and sluggish.

http://www.defrancostraining.com/art...s_westside.htm

Bill Starr has written some good info on football strength training too:

http://www.strengthcats.com/classicfootballII.htm

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warren_1987

the good news is the lifts they advise are already in my routine

press and clean
bench
squat

along with deads, leg press

plus i am already doing the 5x5 so guess im doing the right thing at the moment

thanks again

warren_1987

ok i have been reading up on tis alot and found a few things out. like mentioned flexability is important in running but not static flexabillity (ie splits) but dynamic felxability ( ability to kick over head height etc) which is good for me as i kick boxed for years so i have good dynamic flexability.

also sprinters have more fast twitch muscle fibres these can be trained in people by poltmetric exersises such as lunge jumps and squat jumps ect ect

i also found out that the main muscle in sprinting it the hamstring.

so i ave decided to add to my training and adjust it as such but can some oe tell me if my leg day will be too much? i figure it will b ok as im only training them with weights every oter week.

week 1

mon- chest+tri
tue- polymetric exersices + 5 x 40yard dash
wed- back and bi
thurs- 45min walk cardio
fri- 1 week legs day next week sprint training and poly


the polymetric/sprint training will consist of

dynamic stretching on legs
squat jumps - 30sec x2
knee high jumps-30 sec x2
lunge jumps -30sec x2
sprint on spot - 30 sec
burpees - 30 sec

then 5x 40 yard dash

on the sprint training every other fri i will add hill sprints x5

my new leg day i was thinking of adding a few exersices due to me haing like 12 days before more weight on them

squat
leg press
straight lg deads (thought these would help with the hams)
calf raises
rev ham curls

advise welcome

remember my aim is to bulid some lean mass but also better my 40 yard dash