How to Implement the A-Skip Progression into Your Speed Program (PT 2)

There is a list of complimentary exercises that you can pair with the ASP. Exercises can either help teach the pattern, prepare the athlete to sprint, increase rate of force development (RFD), increase ground reaction force (GRF), increase joint range of motion, or even potentiate muscles before sprinting. When teaching a pattern, it is best to keep the athlete in similar positions throughout the session, and repeat that pattern for the remainder of the session. Once the progression has been taught, exercises selected to pair with the progression should either be a regressed and loaded movement, or a progressed and explosive movement.

Lets dive deeper into the qualities associated with acceleration in relation to sprinting. Acceleration is the rate of change of the velocity of an object with respect to time. From an isolated stance, we must get the mass of the athlete up to speed as quickly as possible (in most instances). This requires high amounts of horizontal force production, longer ground contact times, and lower stride rates. Athletes who lack adequate strength will have lower top end speeds, and take a longer time to get to those speeds. This is why we must develop strength before considering moving fast. In order to match the qualities associated with acceleration, use drills that have a longer amortization phase (longer ground contact time), and horizontal force application. 

Early in sprint development, movements are typically slower with a greater emphasis on force development rather than speed. In order to keep the emphasis on force development, pushing/towing a sled is often prescribed. The load on the sled is heavier, and speed of the movement is slowed. Appropriate loading parameters can vary anywhere between 30-120% of the athletes body weight. Anything below 30% is reserved for movement teaching, or loaded sprinting. It is imperative that coaches do not prescribe excessive loads for sprinting. Research suggests that loads exceeding 30% of an athlete’s body weight can lead to altered sprint mechanics, which takes away from sprint development. 

At the end of the day, the athlete needs to practice the movement. Pairing the A-skip with movements that share similar qualities in body position, amortization length, and force production will not only help teach the progression, but you will further develop all qualities associated with sprinting. 

If you have any questions, please let us know!

Thank you for your time!

Coach Nate Garcia 

nate@tpstrength.com

tim@tpstrength.com

scott@tpstrength.com 

914-486-7678

Instagram: tp_strength

Why the A-Skip Progression Should be a Pillar of Your Speed Program (Pt 4)

Now that we know what the ASP is, we must decide when it is appropriate to use it. At Total Performance, we use the ASP as a teaching tool and warm up progression. Clearly, if we ask a novice athlete to demonstrate the power progression of the series, the athlete will surely fail in the beginning. Just as well, if we ask an elite athlete to repeat the basic fundamentals of the progression, they will not get enough of a stimulus to elicit a positive training response. 

Typically athletes who lack strength, speed, and proper sprint mechanics will need to spend more time learning the ASP compared to more advanced athletes. So, if you are working with this type of athlete, the speed session should consist primarily of drills, and plyometrics. The end of the session will consist of sprint variations that match the goal of the session . This is a similar approach I take with more advanced athletes as well who may have just finished their sport season. I still want to improve their sprint ability, but I want to give the athlete a break from the grind of their sport season, which typically involves a ton of sprinting!

The first few levels of the progression can seem quite slow, and without inspired coaching, athletes will lack intent behind the drill, and it becomes a waste of time. In order to keep the athlete in tune with the drill, I will often combine it with either a sled drill, wall drill, arm drill, or a sprint. Coaching this progression requires “feel.” The athlete needs time to practice, but we don’t want them marching up and down a 50 yard stretch of turf. Typically, 10-20 yards is an appropriate distance because they have enough distance to get several reps, but not too long to mentally fatigue the athlete. Once we get to the power and bounding stages of the progression, volume must be more carefully considered as these are high level plyometrics that can fatigue athletes quickly. If you say the goal of the session is to run as fast as possible, and then you prescribe 15 minutes of repeated 30 yard bounds, you are not going to see the fastest times. The athlete is now sprinting in a fatigued state, and we must be careful not to overtrain the athlete. 

Next week will continue our discussion with this progression. The later stages of the progression are high level plyometrics. We will dive into the physical adaptations associated with plyometrics and how it translates to sports performance.

Thank you for your time!

Coach Nate Garcia 

nate@tpstrength.com

tim@tpstrength.com

scott@tpstrength.com 

914-486-7678

Instagram: tp_strength