Chris Barnard

athleticperformanceoptimization.com

Chris Barnard

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

AGILITY AND SPORT-SPECIFIC SPEED

PHYSICAL KEY FACTORS IN AGILITY AND SPORT-SPECIFIC SPEED

BASIC MECHANICS OF CHANGE OF DIRECTION

PROGRAMMING AGILITY AND SPORT-SPECIFIC SPEED

PRINCIPLES OF THE PROGRAM

CONCLUSION

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INTRODUCTION

We’ve all heard the term “Speed Kills”. I believe the specific term should be “Sport-Specific Speed Kills”. There is a distinct difference between the speed it takes to run a fast 40, and the speed it takes to react, make a cut, and blow past a defender. An understanding of how to improve this sport-specific speed is crucial to your athletic success.

In my years working with athletes, I’ve noticed a series of trends regarding performance in the weight room vs. performance on the field.

Guys who lift the heaviest weight, or jump the highest, don’t always play the best. Even more, athletes who run the fastest in a controlled environment aren’t always the fastest in game situations. This is because they lack agility or overall movement proficiency in their respective sport.

These athletes may be explosive, but on the field, they play stiff and rigid. Again, this results in poor play in

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sport because of a lack of fluidity and coordination. They may be hitting on the measurables in the weight room - heavy one rep maxes, impressive vertical and broad jumps, blazing fast 10 times and 40 times - but that doesn’t translate to the field. The literal term I would give to these guys is “Weight room Warriors”. They are the type that lift all day because they are good at it and tend to avoid specific skill work.

On the other hand, I have worked with numerous athletes who possess elite “game speed” but produce head scratching measurements in the weight room. They have slower times on the 40 and 10, average vertical and broad jumps, and weak numbers on compound lifts. Still, they somehow make plays and appear lightning fast doing it. I termed these guys, “Field Junkies” and as you can imagine they excelled in their skill set. They could be found at your local field paying the sport over and over but rarely came into the weight room.

In addition to these two types of athletes, there’s a third type. The third type of athlete possesses a special type of speed in which they put up elite times in training AND fill up the stat sheet in competition. As you can imagine these athletes typically go on to compete at the professional level.

Seeing this difference in athleticism across multiple sports, such as football, basketball, baseball, soccer, and others, I was determined to identify exactly what allowed each to possess these attributes.

Now, one may account these differences in performance to genetics or skill. And that may play a role. How-ever, as a strength and conditioning coach, I wanted to break these differences down into tangible attributes I could control to develop athletes more sport-specific speed in our training.

In my experience since then, I’ve found that athletes who possess elite game speed, but are lacking in the weight room are the easiest to develop. Now this is common sense if you think about it, if you have a great competitor in their sport who is weak and slow you have a high potential to increase their athleticism. I would simply build their strength, improve their explosiveness, and develop their speed. Then they would produce great numbers the next season and this made me look like a miracle worker.

The difficulty came in training the athletes who already had proficient speed and strength in a closed training environment, but couldn’t put that on display in competition. It was easy to tell them to simply play and prac-tice their sport more, but I was still determined to find that missing piece in their training that would translate their linear speed into their sport.

This is what made me educate myself with a deeper understanding of agility, quickness, and sport-specific speed training.

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AGILITY AND SPORT-SPECIFIC SPEED

I’ve always preached the idea that the quickest way to increase an athlete’s performance is to turn their focus to the weakest point of their game.

If you score 30 points a night but pull down zero boards, you should practice rebounding all off-season. If you are great with the ball in your hands juking defenders, but don’t have good hands, you should catch a mini-mum of 1,000 passes during the off-season.

I want to challenge you to add every tool you can based on your sport’s demands. If you will face it in game we will practice it, and practice it a lot. Repetition beats any and all coaching methods. Putting the time into your craft with a consistent, disciplined approach is the best thing you can do to ensure success for your sport.

However, it’s also important as athletes and strength coaches to understand the difference between an athlete’s abilities and their skills. These terms should not be confused when attempting to develop a base of agility, quickness, and sport-specific speed.

Skills refer to the actual movements you perform in competition. Abilities are the physical qualities that an athlete possesses to perform those skills.

Using a defensive end as an example, his skill is sacking the quarterback. The abilities that contribute to this skill are his ability to react quickly off the snap and explode off the ball. Additionally, he must have the body control to bend around the offensive tackle with speed and have the hand eye coordination to slap his throw-ing arm while simultaneously tackling him. None of this has anything to do with his bench press or squat numbers.

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That said, your ability to perform explosive, quick, and appropriate movements is crucial to your athletic suc-cess. This reflects a need for agility, speed, and quickness training in your off-season. However, far too often coaches place too much emphasis on loading an athlete’s body for resistance training. Really, athleticism is based on movement proficiency, not strength. The bench press and squat are strength movements that enhance movement proficiency. However, those movements alone are not the end all. Both resistance training and sports-specific agility are needed to elicit adaptations that will support an athlete on the field.

So, our goal is to apply and progress the specific stimulus needed to elicit the adaptations we want to see in the athlete. This means that whatever we’re doing in the weight room must apply to what the athlete is doing in competition.

When applying the right stimulus it’s important to understand the difference between change of direction drills and true agility drills. We as coaches and athletes can favor randomized cone and ladder drills thinking we are elevating an athletes performance when in reality we are elevating their ability to perform that drill.

I say this because just like learning a dance, the athlete is learning to perform that specific cone or ladder drill. In reality, cone and ladder drills can be used effectively as change of direction drills to teach an athlete to decelerate, transition, and accelerate multi directionally in a controlled environment. Meaning they know what they are performing prior to doing it.

However, true agility is actually change of direction with a reactionary component. A simple example is a coach pointing which direction an athlete should lateral shuffle as the athlete reacts to the cues from the

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coach. The athlete here must process the information in real time just like they would in competition.

Both change of direction drills and true agility are needed to elevate an athletes performance but it’s import-ant to understand the distinction between the two.

Now that we have an understanding of what real agility training consists of, it becomes our goal to ultimately apply and progress the specific stress needed for the agility adaptations we wish to elicit. This means that our training should be transferable to what the athlete is doing in competition.

To do this, there are some key factors to consider. First, we must understand what movements the athlete needs to be proficient at. This varies from sport to sport. For example, shortstop in baseball will need different change of direction stimulus than a defensive back in football.

Next, we must regress these movements to their base form to ultimately build back up. For example, enhanc-ing the shortstop’s lateral change of direction begins with training inversion/eversion of the ankle, as well as hip abduction/adduction independently. Essentially, we’re reverse engineering movements in sport to en-hance those unique abilities.

In creating a program for sports-specific speed, we must progress the stress presented to an athlete during each phase of training. This stress accumulates, and allows us to improve specific components. Eventually, these components compound on top of each other like building blocks, and allow us to achieve a larger goal.

The creation of programming of any sport specific-speed program requires our ability to progress the stress during each phase of training to stimulate and accumulate that component and build each component on top of each other like building blocks to a larger goal.

This is the explanation behind my phrase “isolate and elevate”. We must isolate the simplest component of a movement, then raise the threshold that component is performed at.

As an example, if I want to enhance an athlete’s ability to change direction laterally, I must start by raising the stability in the ankle. I would do this through the use of inversion and eversion focused drills such as lateral line hops. Then, we’d progress into full speed lateral shuffle work.

Sure, we can cut to the chase and have an athlete perform repeated bouts of lateral shuffles. However, in my experience, this pales in comparison to stripping down the movement and rebuilding it. When you then finally progress to the high velocity shuffle, it results in a faster more powerful movement.

In addition, before we move into focused high velocity work, we want to ensure the body is not fatigued performing drills. To do this, we must build an optimal level of muscular and cardiovascular endurance. This builds an athlete’s work capacity, and allows them to perform high quality repetitions in advanced drills.

After we build that foundation we can reintroduce the sports-specific movement, and begin training the key factors that support that movement’s proficiency. Then finally, we can add the reactionary component to these sport specific drills aka agility to elevate the athlete’s performance.

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PHYSICAL KEY FACTORS IN AGILITY & SPORT-SPECIFIC SPEED

FORCE

Our ability to express strength and power is a huge factor in our agility.

To become more agile, an athlete must be able to produce high amounts of force in three different scenarios.

The first scenario is force production in a static position. This is your ability to produce force while your joints are stable, or mov-ing at very low speeds. Think pushing against a wall, or pulling against pins. In these scenarios, your body is able to exert 100% of its force.

If this foundational ability is not properly developed the athlete will surely falter when he attempts to change directions at high speeds.

The next scenario is dynamic force production. This is your ability to produce force while the body is moving at higher velocities. As you may have guessed, this is a point of emphasis while sprinting, as well as changing directions. Especially because as the speed of contraction increases, the body’s ability to produce force sig-nificantly decreases.

That last fact signifies the importance of two things:

1 - It signifies the importance of getting our bodies in the most beneficial positions to produce the highest amount of force possible. This comes down to having sound mechanics when changing direction.

2 - It displays the importance of strength training for those who want to become more agile. However, regular old strength training won’t do the trick. We’ll have to utilize a combination of advanced methods if we want to elicit strength adaptations that help our agility.

The last strength scenario is elastic. This is our ability to produce spring-like force in certain situations. You can see this in a running back who can stop on a dime and display a quick burst of speed in the opposite direction.

Currently, it’s believed that a lot of one’s elastic force potential is purely based on genetics, but in my experi-ence dynamic lifting and plyometrics can develop one’s elastic force production.

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STRENGTH AND MUSCULAR IMBALANCES

Strength imbalances in the legs play a huge role in our inability to move proficiently. If one leg is more defi-cient in absorbing and producing force than the other then the result is typically inefficient movement due to lack of equal contribution from the legs.

In addition, we must remove movement restrictions of the body that occur from muscular imbalances. Mus-cular imbalances are a result of movement patterns repeated over time or of societal demands.

For example, sitting for extended periods of time can cause imbalances in the hips. This type of imbalance shortens the hip flexors which can potentially inhibit full range of motion of hip extension, which can lead to inefficient movement.

Additionally, you can get the same kind of muscle imbal-ances from your sport. For example, a catcher, who stays in his catcher’s stance for long periods of time has his hips tighten up from this position.

Each sport has its own unique set of inherent muscle imbalances that can impede your game speed.

In order to elevate your quickness and agility, we must address these muscle imbalances and do the work nec-essary to eliminate them if they are detrimental to your sport or health.

This includes stretching tonic muscles, mobilizing the joints, and activating phasic muscles.

DYNAMIC BALANCE

Our ability to adjust our body position or the segments of our body at high velocities play a huge factor in displaying agility. To be agile, we must have the ability to transfer energy efficiently through our trunk while maintaining stability in the joints.

TECHNIQUE

We must display proper biomechanics and form to optimize our ability to be agile in our sport. To do this we must have a deeper understanding of the desired form or outcome of that technique. Then, we must be able to produce that desired form at a high velocity by being neurologically efficient.

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COGNITIVE KEY FACTORS IN AGILITY & SPORT-SPECIFIC SPEED

Once we are able to progress to developing the key physical factors of agility and sport-specific speed, we must progress to the final stage. In the final stage, we will integrate sensory stimuli while displaying the phys-ical attributes of agility. It’s one thing to have an automated or rehearsed training drill that is pre planned. It’s an entirely different monster when that training drill is based off the athletes ability to process cognitive information.

The key factors determining an athlete’s cognitive performance are as follows:

Reaction Timing

How fast can we process a series of information and turn it into specific action? Here we are dealing solely with the response rate from perception through our senses into actual movement of our body. Simply put, how quick can you react to stimulus. This ability can be improved and applied specifically to our physical demands for our sport. Example would be a shortstop reacting to a ground ball hit at him at high speeds.

Kinesthetic Awareness

This is our body’s ability to know where we are in space. It’s simply body awareness, body position, and the space around us as it relates to others on the field or court. Example would be a wide receiver being able to adjust his body to pivot, flip around, and high point a football over a defender to make a catch.

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Situational Awareness

Situational Awareness is our ability to understand the game and the factors within it. This includes anticipa-tion, pattern recognition, and knowledge of the sport.

Anticipation refers to the prediction of an event in competition that influences our movement.

Pattern recognition refers to the prediction of an opposing players movement that influences our movement.

Knowledge of sport refers to the knowledge of specific rules and regulations of the game that influence our movement.

In training the cognitive key factors we will focus predominantly on are reaction timing and kinesthetic awareness. Situational intelligence and awareness are developed through competition, practice of skills, and experience.

It’s important to note that the perceptual or cognitive factors have unique qualities based on that athletes sport. For instance, while a defender in soccer and a shortstop in baseball both display lateral quickness and acceleration, the perceptual factors are far different. The soccer athlete will process an opposing players body, while a shortstop will process a baseball flying at them.

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BASIC MECHANICS OF CHANGE OF DIRECTION

Just like linear speed there are a series of base mechanics for coaches and athletes to consider when training Change of Direction movements.

1 - DECELERATION - During this phase of the movement the athlete needs to come to a stop to change his direction. Initial deceleration is required to begin slowing the body down. Next, technique is involved to ensure the proper foot is planted and positioned at the proper angle. Finally the athlete must display eccentric strength out of the planted foot to fully decelerate their body.

2 - TRANSITION - This phase deals with the athletes time between deceleration and acceleration. This component is based on the amortization phase between the eccentric and concentric contraction of the movement. Here we want to minimize ground contact time utilizing the elastic strength we develop in our program.

3 - ACCELERATION - This is the final phase of a change of direction movement where we are redirecting our forces to move in the desired direction. Accelerating out of the movement deals with the concentric contraction of the muscles to rapidly drive the body in the desired direction. Technique is also involved to put the athlete in the most mechanically advantageous positions.

It’s important we train these factors independently and integrate them back as a whole. When these compo-nents are enhanced we can then enhance the technique to change directions in multiple planes.

Finally once change of direction technique is enhanced we can then add reactionary components so the ath-lete is responding to a stimulus. This is what is considered Agility or Sport-Specific Speed training.

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PROGRAMMING AGILITY AND SPORT-SPECIFIC SPEED

We have now established the key factors in enhancing your performance through agility and sport-specific speed. The next thing to know is how we will actually train these modalities.

Above we recognized the importance of establishing a foundation of sound movement and moving towards specificity. Breaking this down into a simple form will look like this:

PHASE 1: Foundational Multidirectional Movement

Here, we’ll Isolate and elevate the key components to establish foundational movement multi directionally. While doing this, we will build a base of conditioning to produce better quality reps. Here we also want to reduce strength and muscular imbalances to reduce movement restrictions.

In this phase we will focus on:

- Low Level Multidirectional Plyometrics - Basic Deceleration & Acceleration - Basic Change of Direction

PHASE 2: Biomechanics

Once we’ve established a base, proper technique and quality of the actual movements is essential to develop. Here we want to develop a base of speed and strength. Also a focus on balance and coordination is import-ant in this phase to aid in the performance of the sport-specific movements.


- Multidirectional Plyometrics - Deceleration & Acceleration Technique - Change of Direction Technique

PHASE 3: Specificity

Finally we will add cognitive elements to the technical specific movements. In this phase we will focus on adding reactionary components to enhance the athlete’s ability to respond and enhance overall performance.


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- Advanced Multidirectional Plyometrics - Sport-Specific Deceleration & Acceleration - Sport-Specific Change of Direction - Reactionary Agility Drills

It’s important to note for purposes of this program that this is more of a general approach to sport-specific agility training. I highly recommend checking out one of my programs that are specific to the physical de-mands of your sport.

It’s also important to note that many modalities are trained concurrently or overlapped due to the fluidity of training an athlete during an off-season. For purposes of examining the progression of agility we can utilize the three phases above.

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PRINCIPLES OF THE PROGRAM

As you can see, this system is designed to start out very basic, and get progressively more and more ad-vanced as you move through it. Regardless of how easy or difficult the drills are, they require the highest focus and intent in order for them to instill the speed that you desire.

In the following sections, we’re going to dive into the principles of the program. These principles cover every-thing from how to lift, how to deload, how to warm up, and more.

In order to get the results you are looking for with it is critical we are executing the program consistently and correctly.

This is a simple guide to make sure you are doing just that...

STEP 1: Dynamic Warm Up

As a base of mobility and general warm up I highly suggest following my Dynamic Warm Up located in the Exercise Database, even if you are at a commercial gym.

The Dynamic Warm Up, once understood, should only take 10-12 minutes and will act as a great base to pre-pare your body for the rest of the workout.

The goal of the dynamic warm up is to prime the body for strenuous training by elevating tissue temperature and ele-vating heart and respiratory rate. The dynamic warm up will improve the quality of the reps, reduce injury, improve reac-tion time, lower resistance in the muscle range of motion, and improve oxygen delivery and blood flow.

Point being, approach your warm up each session with intent, focus, and the understanding of the benefits.

STEP 2: Mobilization and Activation

The next phase of the workout is the mobilization and activa-tion through static stretching and dynamic movements.

I mentioned previously that one of the limiting factors for developing sound mechanics is muscle tightness.

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Muscle tightness not only prevents you from getting into proper sprinting positions, but they also create mus-cle imbalances.

Muscle Imbalances are the leading cause of injury in athletes outside of trauma injuries. To prevent these we want to lengthen muscles that are commonly tight or muscles that will support the movements you are about to perform.

Each time we stretch make sure to intuitively relax into the stretch and focus on increasing the range of mo-tion throughout the time of stretch for each individual set.

STEP 3: Speed and Power Movements

- Warm up Sets - At this point you should be fully warm and ready to compete in every rep. This means every rep is of the highest quality and intensity, especially in this program, where mechanics are para-mount.

- Intensity - When performing any form of athletic movement always make sure to progress to a technical max. This means you are maximally performing the drill but not sacrificing any technique. If it is a sprint we want to perform with high intensity, but also make sure technique is sound. If the tempo or speed needs to be reduced to meet the technique than so be it. If it is a jump and we need to increase the height we jump each week, without sacrificing form.

- Sets & Reps - The sets and reps are given so make sure to record your bests for that particular day if they can be measured. When performing an athletic movement ensure that each rep and set given is performed maximally.

- Rest - The rest for each athletic drill is intuitive. This means there is no prescribed rest period. You choose the amount of rest where you can perform each drill with 100% quality. The muscles should not be fatigued unless I have noted otherwise. The standard rest period for a movement in this section is any-where from 60 - 120 seconds but can vary depending on your conditioning level and the degree of difficulty of the movement.

- Recording - Track your progress from week to week for the drills that can be measured. Espe-cially in this program, where you’re trying to develop speed, the most easily measured aspect of athleticism. Record your best times to track progress.

STEP 4: Strength Movements

- Warm up Sets - I usually advise 2-3 warm-up sets when performing the main compound movement for strength or power and then lead into the instructed working sets in the table.

- Load - Make sure that you choose a weight that you can not perform more than the number

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of reps given, but can complete the full amount of reps with. Typically I suggest building up to your technical max lift for the given reps. For instance, if the program calls for 5 sets of 3 reps, the prior 2 sets should be a consistent build up. So, say you ended at a 300lb 3RM, it should look something like this…

Warm Up - 135 x 5 Warm Up - 225 x 3 Warm Up - 250 x 3

Set 1 - 275 Set 2 - 285 Set 3 - 300

- Sets & Reps - The amount of sets and reps is given in each table to show the athlete what they must perform for each movement on each and every day. This means if you are performing a Deadlift for your Strength Movement and it calls for 3 sets of 3 reps you would complete 2-3 warm up sets. Then from there you will progress each of the 3 sets until you reach your heaviest 3 repetitions, while maintaining proper tech-nique.

- Tempo - The tempo for each particular rep will be displayed with a bracket next to the move-ment. (Example: [3|1|X]) Where the first number is the Eccentric tempo or portion where you will lower the weight for the given seconds. ([3|1|X] in this case 3 seconds). The next number is the Isometric portion and finally the Concentric is the last. The letter X represents “explode” as in you will produce force as fast as pos-sible in this phase of the lift. So to go with the example of [3|1|X] on say a bench press you would lower the weight to your chest in 3 seconds. Then you would come to a hard pause at the bottom of the motion for 1 second then explode the bar up as fast as you can.

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- Rest - Sets of reps >5 = 60-90 seconds of rest between sets. Sets of reps <5 = 2-3 minutes rest between sets. The exception to this is when the program calls for a superset.

- Eccentric Training - When performing an eccentric lift we will focus on a controlled tempo for the lengthening of the movement or the “down” phase. The overall volume to receive this stimulus is low so it’s important to execute each set at a high level. To perform eccentric reps, you’ll execute on your prescribed tempo on the way down, then explode up as quickly as you can. For these reps, we’ll stay between 60-85% of your one rep max.

- Isometric Training - When performing an isometric lift, we will focus on a pause for the static portion of the movement, or the “transition” phase. We will mimic the same range of motion the athlete will utilize in their sport. For instance, if we are performing a squat we will perform the isometric pause at a 45 degree angle. This because when the athlete runs or jumps they are typically within this range of hip angle. That said, when you get to the bottom position of your movement, you’ll hold that position for your prescribed tempo, squeezing the muscles involved with the movement as hard as you can. Then, without sinking lower, you’ll explode up out of that position. Again, we’ll stay between 60-85% of your one rep max for maximum effectiveness.

- Concentric Training - When performing a concentric lift, we’ll focus on being as explosive as possible during the ascension or “up” phase of the movement. Here, you’ll control your movement on the way down, no prescribed eccentric tempo. Then you’ll move the bar as quickly as you can as you explode out of the body position. Here, we’re focused on moving the bar as fast as possible, so we’ll use lighter loads that can be anywhere from 30-55% of your one rep max.

- Recording - Make sure to write down the weight that you performed the lift with in the table to keep track of progress. This is paramount as each week you will be building on the previous from last week. Track these in the actual Excel Sheet so you can analyze your progress.

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STEP 5: Auxiliary Movements

- Sets and Reps - Make sure that you are performing each movement with maximal intensity. If the set calls for 10 reps then you are performing that set with a weight that you can do only between 8 - 12 reps with. If you can do more than 12 reps with that weight then you need to increase the intensity.

- Rest - Rest during the auxiliary phase varies but try to stick closely to 60 - 90 seconds rest between each exercise. If you switch body parts you can take up to 2 - 3 minute rest.

DELOAD

Every 3 - 6 weeks you will be assigned a Deload week in your training. During this period we are attempting to recover the muscle tissue and nervous system fatigue. This week typically mimics the same program you are following but with reduced volume and intensity overall.

- Speed and Power Deload - During these movements in a deload we want to focus more on technique then intensity. I like to cue my guys to have mental reps by pulling back the reins and having them focus on perfect reps for each drill. In addition, volume will typically be reduced.

- Strength Deload - During this portion we will cut the intensity of the movement to 50% of your estimated 1 rep max to reduce nervous system fatigue and allow it to recover. A race car can’t be driving with the pedal to the floor forever or it will breakdown. Use this time to recover and tune up.

- Auxiliary Deload - During the auxiliaires we want to reduce the intensity to an estimated 70% of what you were performing the movements in the prior week. As a simple example, if you were performing single arm row with a 100 lb dumbbell we simply want to reduce to a 70 lb dumbbell.

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CONCLUSION

To close the gap on the competition, an athlete not only needs to train, but make their training transferable to competition. Many times, athletes develop elite linear speed in their training, but don’t see that carry over to their sport.

The way to get this carry over is not with ladder drills, or hurdle hops.

Sports-specific speed, or agility, is a combination of an athlete’s cognitive abilities as well as his physical abilities applied directly to his sport.

To elevate an athlete’s agility quickly, these two attri-butes must be trained in isolation at first, then com-bined to give the athlete quickness and speed that helps him fill up the stat sheet.

This is easier said than done.

Elevating sports-specific speed takes attention to de-tail, patience, and consistency. Just as physical gains take a while to occur, cognitive gains take a while too. These times vary from athlete to athlete, but it’s im-portant to know that if you do the work, the results will come.

You see, knowing is one thing. Doing is another.

Now you have the know, it’s up to you to do.

As always, if you have questions about the concepts or training, feel free to reach out to us so we can sup-port.

Train hard.

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Chris Barnard