The Most Overlooked Variable in Training Today

That’s right, I said it. Mostly everyone who completes some sort of training program often neglects this variable without even realizing it. Actually, they train this variable, but with little to know realization. That variable is the angle of the shin during athletic, and non-athletic activity. Shin angle is involved with every aspect of human movement, not just sprinting, throwing or swimming.

Whether you are a seasoned coach, or a parent looking to get their young athlete to the next level, you have probably tried to develop the ability of shin angle change. However, you probably didn’t use the best cues/ reasoning to get your athlete to do what you exactly wanted them to do. On top of that, if they couldn’t do it, you probably looked at another area of the body to solve the problem.

The angle of the shin dictates the direction of the athlete’s center of mass. During bipedal locomotion, the relationship between initial contact of the foot and the angle of the shin quite literally determines where the athlete is going, and where they will be going.

Let’s take linear sprinting for example, a 40yd dash. The goal of the 40 yd dash is for the athlete to cover 40 yds of distance in as little a time as possible. There are a a million variables that separate the fast athletes from the slow athlete, but one of the most important variables is how efficient the athlete is with each step they take. According to force plate data, elite sprinters can produce and handle up to 2500 N of force, but those are elite level athletes. How do those guys train to attain that ability? It’s technique.

Your body is constantly learning how to handle and optimize what you are telling it to do. There are certain optimal positions that your body needs to be in to even attempt to produce high levels of force at an extremely high rate of speed. Just like pitching, hitting, swimming, etc. If your technique is not optimal, it won’t matter how strong you are, you won’t be able to use your strength efficiently. The position of the shin sets up the rest of the body to attempt to complete the task required.

We can classify shin angle into 3 different angles: Negative, neutral, and positive angles. Negative shin angle means the shin (tibia) is behind the the ankle and foot (talocural joint). A neutral shin angle is where the shin is stacked vertically and in-line with the ankle. Finally, a positive shin angle means the shin is positioned in front of the ankle joint.

Each position will dictate the direction of force, therefore the direction of the body. For example, if an athlete is attempting to slow down, they will automatically try to find their heel by striking the ground with it. This heel strike forces a negative shin angle, and shoots forces produced by braking in a front to back direction. The result is that athlete slows down to an eventual stop.

A neutral shin angle is associated with a more vertical direction of force, like jumping. A stacked shin allows the athlete to put their force in a mostly top to bottom / bottom to top direction, resulting in actions like standing up, jumping, and squatting.

A positive shin angle is the key to horizontal locomotion to a certain point. This is especially true for the acceleration phase of sprinting. Having the shin in front of the ankle when contacting the ground means the force produced is directed in a back to front direction, and the athlete is in a position to move forward with less braking forces to compete with.

The athlete’s ability to understand these positions will dictate their understanding of sprint mechanics. This is especially true for those of us who think taking bigger strides automatically means a faster sprint time. Let’s break that statement down a little further.

Sure, a longer stride will create more time in the air, therefore less time having to deal with those annoying braking forces. However, the question of “how” those athletes attain longer strides is what’s key. Simply taking longer strides will more than often not solve the problem, and actually create a slower athlete. The reason being is that athletes who attempt to take longer strides typically cast their foot out in front of their shin and knee. Why is that less than optimal?….. The answer is above! They are now creating a shin angle more conducive to slowing down, rather than speeding up.

Sprinter with positive shin angle at mid-stance

What about running tall? Is this another cue you’ve used to help athlete’s sprinting ability? Sometimes this cue can work, but is often over-cued, and here’s why. A taller athlete is necessary during the late acceleration, and terminal velocity phases of sprinting. The athlete begins to rise out of their stance, and their force direction becomes more vertical. However, an athlete with a sprinting posture that is too tall, or even worse, too tall too early results in a shin angle that is too vertical! When athlete’s are sprinting “too tall” their shin is more neutral at initial contact, which is a position more optimal for a vertical force direction. In a race, where are we trying to go? Forward!

Now, don’t get me wrong, the direction you want to go in, at the velocity you are trying to attain is determined by the requirements of the moment. I am not saying a positive shin angle is the cure for male patterned baldness. The cure for optimized athletic performance starts with knowing how to get in and out of positions more efficiently than your competition. Because at some point an athlete will need to slow down, jump, change directions, etc. All I am saying is that you need to train the correct joint angles in movement to get the most out of your training.

I will close with this. Let’s get sprinting out of our head for 1 minute… don’t freak out, I’ll try not to. Look at other sports, and movements. When a swimmer leaves the blocks during a swim meet, what direction are they going? Forward. When a pitcher comes down the mound to deliver a pitch, what direction are they going? Forward. So, what shin angle would probably be best for optimal performance? A negative shin angle. Coaches must keep this fact when prescribing movement to their athlete, not only for the goals of enhanced performance, but injury prevention, and movement biasing as well.

Pitcher front shin preparing to decelerate (negative) back shin going forward (positive)

positive shin angle on left leg

If you made it this far, you might as well check out our instagram page (we post this stuff all the time) or maybe even our youtube channel.

If you’re still here you must really be bored, but to claim your reward, contact coach Nate at nate@tpstrength.com.

FreeLap Timing System

How fast are you? A question posed to athletes and coaches alike, and their answers will often have more weight to those questions than most think. This is why accuracy of sprint times is so important. Not only will accurate timing protocols allow coaches to track progress, but athletes competing for a scholarship will rely heavily on those times to at least get a “look” from a college scout. This is why we recently purchased the “FreeLap Timing System.”

The FreeLap Timing System (freelap) is a timing system that produces a magentic field around the timing gait. Athletes wear a tracking chip on their waistband, and when the chip crosses the magnetic field, times are recorded. Setting up the freelap system takes about 2-3 minutes, and requires a smart device for data to be exported to via the freelap app. Timing gaits are posted at your desired distance, tracking chips are placed on the waistband of the athlete, once this is completed you are essentially ready to run. This simple set up is huge for a facility like ours because not only can we track times on our athletes, we can track multiple athletes at once while receiving live feedback after each sprint. Whether we are testing, or tracking, this data allows us to make critical volume decisions, and give accurate coaching cues.

Consistency is the number one variable that will determine sprint times. The freelap system removes the #1 most inconsistent variable of all, and that is a coach and their stopwatch. I myself will not produce consistent times on a daily basis, the only thing consistent about a coach is the coach themselves. Removing this variable by placing job of gathering times with a machine makes each rep more valuable in the sense that athlete does not waist reps with bad times; plus I can now analyze the technique of the sprint without having to worry about a stopwatch. The freelap system has been proven by research to be within two-hundredths of second compared to a multi beam timing systems (the gold standard of timing systems).

With this new tool, the possibilities are endless. Test days will be more seamless, and take less time to gather athlete data. Data is more accurate and accessible, and with this data we can create even more accurate training protocols specific to each athlete. Not to mention when athletes see timing gear, they usually bow up, and sprint a little faster as well!

I will be diving into our sprint data in the future. I will discuss how we use the data, how to apply the data, and what the data actually means to athletes. Thank you for your time! I hope you enjoyed the read! If you have any questions hit us up!

If you’ve made it this far, you might as well check out our instagram page @tp_strength

Backward Running: What is it? Why is it important? How do we use it at TP?

Backwards running (BR)  can be described in several ways, for our purposes, we will define BR as- as a form of locomotion containing a single leg support phase, followed immediately by double flight phase. Essentially, there is never a point in time where there are two feet on the ground. 

Your initial thought could be, why would I ever need to run backwards if I am not a defensive back in American football? While this may be true, the physiological benefits of BR are quite extensive, and they have been proven to translate to increased sprint and sport performance. Some key differences between BR and forward running (FR) include a very basic one… you can’t see where you are going! This means that you must rely on other senses, such as sound, to help you dictate where your body is in space. BR places greater metabolic strain (28%) on the body at relative and absolute intensities (Uthoff, at el 2018). BR does not utilize the stretch shortening cycle like FR, so there is a higher demand for concentric and isometric contractions. In studies comparing BR and FR programs, similar performance increases in sprint speed and jump height were shared between the groups, researchers have also shown less mechanical strain at the knee when compared to FR as well, suggest possible rehab modalities.

Just like any physical gesture, it must be taught. While backwards running for a baseball player may not be the number one aspect of their training program, it can be used as an accessory movement to help develop sprinting, and other athletic abilities. Our training sessions are designed to build toward the goal of the session. This means, if the primary goal of the session is to perform a linear sprint for 30 yards as fast as possible, everything we do from plyometrics, to technical drills will be to enhance that sprint. It may sound easy to go tell an athlete to “run as fast as you can from here to there.” But, without proper warm up protocols, and preparation movements to get the athlete to their peak potential in that moment, the net return in adaptation from the sprint will be compromised. 

With that being said, we use backward running as a one of our warm up movements to help potentiate athletes for future movements in the session. I will list some examples of backwards movements below: 

REACH BACKS TO PAUSE, REFLEX, HOP, CONTINUOUS

BKWDS POGOS

SL RDL

FIGURE 4 TO KICK BACK PAUSE, REFLEX, INDIVIDUAL, CONTINUOUS

REVERSE LUNGE

REACH BACK RUN 

ALT REVERSE HOPS, SINGLE, DOUBLE, CONTINUOUS 

To what degree we use each of these movements depends on the group present, time of year, and goal of the session. Due to the increased metabolic demand, one must make sure not to spend too much time working in reverse, as you can fatigue the athlete, and take away from performance. However, if the focus of the session is backward running development, the majority of the day is spent in reverse. We use a day like this as an “Active Recovery Day” to get the athletes out of their normal running patterns to give those muscle actions a chance to recover, while still getting development in other areas. 

The benefits of BR can be extensive. How much we use it is dependent on athlete status, athlete’s sport, time of year, and goal of the session. If prescribed appropriately, BR can help develop several athletic qualities! 

Thank you for your time!

Coach Nate Garcia 

nate@tpstrength.com

tim@tpstrength.com

scott@tpstrength.com 

914-486-7678

Instagram: tp_strength

References:

Cronin J, Harrison C, Oliver J, Uthoff A, Winwood P. A New Direction to Athletic Performance: Understanding the Acture and Longitudinal Responses to Backward Running. 2018

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

How to Implement the A-Skip Progression into Your Speed Program (PT 1)

We have covered what the ASP is, now it is time to program it into your speed development program! 

In the very beginning, as I have mentioned several times before, this is a teaching tool! Most novice athletes lack proper strength and coordination when it comes to sprinting. Our goal with the ASP is to use it as a warm up drill before sprinting, but before we can do that, the athlete must demonstrate movement mastery so it does not over tax the athlete’s readiness level. The parameters for this discussion are as follows: 

Age: 16

Sport: Baseball/football

Position: Wherever you need me coach

Time of Year: Winter

Training Duration (Sprint only): 60 minutes

Being a multisport athlete, post peak height velocity, we can assume that this student has a solid athletic background and should be able to progress through our ASP relatively quickly…. but let's not get crazy yet. 

The first 10-12 minutes of the session will include our dynamic warm up and group preparation series. The goal of the warm up is to elevate the athlete’s readiness level by prepping the joints for specific movements, inducing thermogenesis, increasing blood flow to the working muscles, and tuning up the central nervous system for work. Since we use the ASP during our acceleration focus days, our warm up will match the necessary qualities associated with acceleration mechanical and physiological demands. Typically, the segment length of the warm up is 10-20 yards. Since this is the beginning of our athletes training, and we do not want to negatively affect our training, the segment will be on the shorter side (10 yards). If the athlete requires any “special” warmup drills that we noted from our screening process, we will include this as well. 

We then move into the plyometric section of the day. This portion will be 8-10 minutes in length, with plenty of rest opportunities between sets. Acceleration qualities include a longer amortization phase (longer ground contact time), and high force output. We are forcing the body to get out of a stand still position, and up to speed as quickly as possible. Our plyometrics will match these qualities. We will either go with “Hurdle Hops” or a “Broad Jump” series. I will save the “why” behind these drills for another post, but essentially these drills develop the same qualities associated with the ASP and acceleration. This helps get the athletes mind ready for the focus of the day. 

After plyometrics, we move into the technical/ strength section of the session. This is where we implement the ASP. Later in the training cycle, the ASP will be used as a plyometric, but as I said before… we are still in the teaching phase of the progression. We love pairing other drills with the ASP, but we have to be cautious not to over fatigue the athlete and take away from their learning ability. Drills such the wall drill, sled tow/push, and arm drill are appropriate and share similar qualities with the ASP. The ratio of reps for the ASP to other drills should favor the ASP heavily (3-5:1-2). Segment length for the ASP should stay between 10-15 yards depending on which stage the athlete is able to complete. This will be the longest segment of the progression lasting between 15-20 minutes. 

We conclude the session with sprints. The early stages of speed development will not include many sprints. Since our focus is acceleration, the distance will be kept under 10 yards. This is the shortest segment of the session lasting 7-10 minutes, with ample opportunity for rest between bouts. A personal preference of mine is to keep to the theme of the day (acceleration teaching) I will either keep the athlete in a 2 point linear start stance, or baseball start stance. A volume of 4-8 sprints with a recovery period of walking back to the starting line +15-30 seconds (maybe more if I need to make a coaching cue). 

In the very beginning, rest periods should be longer between segments. Learning a new skill requires as much focus as possible. Intentionally fatiguing the athlete will take away from their ability to learn, and prolong movement mastery. Once there is a foundation of movement competence, we can start building some work capacity with our speed sessions; keeping in mind that it all depends on the goal of the session. If we are trying to run as fast as possible that day, the parameters of previously mentioned completely change, and work capacity shouldn’t even be a thought in your head!

Thank you for your time!

Coach Nate Garcia 

nate@tpstrength.com

tim@tpstrength.com

scott@tpstrength.com 

914-486-7678

Instagram: tp_strength

Common Misconceptions of Maximum Velocity Training: Field Athletes Don't need to Train Max Velocity

In the world of sprint training, each athlete’s needs are going to be unique to their position in their sport. For awhile, there was a misconception that field athletes (i.e lacrosse, baseball, soccer) did not have to train for maximum velocity sprinting. Coaches cited that these athletes “never had the time to reach top speed” and that “track athletes required 50-60 m of sprinting to hit top speed.” I am here to tell you that training a 100m sprinter is totally different than training for a field sport. 

When someone is training for the 100m dash, one big pillar of that race is who can fatigue the slowest. Once top velocity is achieved, it’s a race to maintain that velocity! Sprinters who achieve max velocity early in the race are continually out performed by those who hit top velocity later in the race. According to World Open Indoor Track & Field Records, top sprinters have completed 50-60m races faster than their 50-60m split in a 100m race. The mindset behind these two races are different, and while sprinters are not running “submaximally” until the 50-60m mark, they take a longer time to achieve max velocity to prevent premature fatigue. 

Field athletes often sprint for 20-30m, much shorter than their track athlete counterpart. If we apply the same mindset of attaining max velocity in a shorter period of time, they have no need to fight off fatigue in a long distance run, and they are encouraged to reach peak ability in a shorter distance. Another difference between the two categories of athletes is starting position. 100m sprinters start from a 4 stance out of blocks, while the field athlete is often starting their sprint from a rolling position (walking, jogging) allowing them to reach top velocity in a shorter distance. 

When training the field athlete to improve sprint ability, neglecting to prescribe max velocity training is a flawed prescription. Field athletes are able to attain 95%+ of their top velocity in 20-30m runs. If their body is not exposed to those speeds, or trained to improve their top speed ability, you are not getting the most out of your athlete. Clark et al. looked at the NFL’s 40 yard dash times during the combine. The goal of these observations was to determine how important max velocity ability was during the 40 yard dash. What they discovered was max velocity is extremely important! The majority of all position athletes had similar acceleration ability. In the first 10-20yds, the majority of athletes achieved at least 75% of their top speed. What separates the fast from the slow was their top-end speed. The faster times were completed by the athletes with a higher maximum velocity. 

All phases of sprinting are crucial for improving speed. The ability to accelerate, improve top-end speed, and maintain it are all a must for athletes. The difference lies in the requirement of the sport. What does their starting stance look like? When do they need to hit top-speed? How long do they need to maintain that speed? These questions will answer what your speed development training should look like.

Thanks for your time!

Coach Nate Garcia 

nate@tpstrength.com

tim@tpstrength.com

scott@tpstrength.com 

914-486-7678

Instagram: tp_strength

Training for Acceleration

Take a moment, and picture yourself running as fast as you can. How did you get to top speed? Well, at some point you have to start moving! This is the acceleration phase of sprinting. There are two other phases, and these are max velocity and deceleration. At Total Performance, we train these phases individually. This blog post will be discussing the acceleration phase, and how we target the training required to improve acceleration ability. 

Some of you may be thinking, what is the difference between acceleration and max velocity? Why separate the two, when you are trying to be as fast as possible in each phase? Yes, they are similar in some ways, and the goal is to “be fast.” However, what your body does in order to get to max velocity is different than what it does once it has reached max velocity. Some big differences include are the magnitude, and direction of force applied while accelerating. Acceleration has a more horizontal application, while max velocity is more vertical. Also, during acceleration, you spend more time on the ground. This allows you more time to generate more force. Acceleration training should match the requirements of acceleration. 

So, if we are aiming to match the requirements of acceleration in the weight room, things like: the primary direction of the movement, the load of the movement, and the intent of the movement should be manipulated as such. Acceleration requires starting strength, you must get your mass moving forward as fast as possible. If you are weak, your ability to accomplish this is hindered. Max strength training requires heavier loads, and slower movements. Because of the horizontal force direction associated with acceleration, max strength training movements that put the body through a similar pattern should be the primary movements of the session. Roman Deadlifts (RDL), Hip Thrust, Split squat, and Single Leg (SL) Hip Flexion are a few possible exercise selections that I use to train acceleration. The RDL and Hip Thrust both target the hip hinge pattern. The primary action of hip hinge requires hip extension and flexion primarily occurring anteriorly, and posteriorly (forward and backward); here’s your horizontal force application. The Split Squat, and SL Hip Flexion are also movements that improve hip flexion and extension abilities, and they are unilateral (completed on one leg)! During all phases of sprinting, once you start, there is never a point in time in which you have two feet on the ground. So, you cannot rely on the force production of two legs at the same time, you have to rely on one. Neglecting this fact is a poor decision IMO. Finally, the intent of the movement should be to move fast concentrically. The benefits of having the intent to move weight as fast as possible are numerous, and we can discuss them later. Right now, all you need to worry about is “I gotta move this sh** fast” to train the qualities of acceleration. 

Plyometric type, and timing is also a major factors to consider. Plyometrics should check the same boxes of acceleration like direction, and force application. Broad jumps, and single leg bounds are a couple of examples. The timing refers back to the PAP post we had a few weeks ago. I will save that can of worms for another day. 

There are entire textbooks associated with sprinting, and acceleration. These are some basic facts and opinions to consider next time you want to train for speed.

-Thank you for your time! If you have any questions please let us know!

Coach Nate Garcia 

nate@tpstrength.com

tim@tpstrength.com

scott@tpstrength.com 

914-486-7678

Instagram: tp_strength

Instability Training... Why?

There seems to be an increased popularity in the utilization of unstables surfaces in the weight-room to improve balance, strength,  core strength, and sports performance. Why add another variable to a skilled movement? What does training on an unstable surface enhance, and/or hinder? To what capacity should you incorporate this modality in your own training regimen?

In the rehab setting, when an individual is returning from injury, it is very common for the usage of unstable surfaces to strengthen all muscles associated with the area being rehabbed. Without going too far out of my scope of practice, the unstable surface promotes co-contraction of agonist and antagonist muscle groups to stabilize the joint and prevent future injury. 

Once someone is cleared from the rehab setting, the capacity to which someone would use instability training methods vary quite a bit. As I have discussed in previous posts, it all depends on what the goal of your program is! Let's look at two people: 1- a sprinter who has 5+ years training experience, 2- an average person not training for competition with < 5 years training experience. 

The sprinter has one goal in mind, and that is to get from point A to point B faster than everyone else. Peaking for these events require detailed programming in order to get the best out of the athlete at the time of the event. A sprinter needs to the ability to put a high amount of force in the ground in a very short amount of time. To aid in force absorption and redistribution, sprinters have the ability to disinhibit the natural inhibitors of muscle contraction. This is part of the reason why they look so fluid running down the track! This has a lot to do with co-contraction of muscles, sprinters want agonist muscle groups to shorten rapidly while the antagonist muscle groups relax. This increases the range of motion of the movement, allowing more time for force generation, and shortens the amortization phase of the stretch shortening cycle. I say all that because unstable surfaces promote co-contraction, thus fighting the results we are looking for! They also limit force production in one direction, meaning as you put force in to the unstable surface like sand, or a bosu ball, the force is distributed across the platform rather than back into the movement. Training to improve balance focusing on the usage of unstable surfaces for the sprint athlete would not be recommended. 

As an average person looking to improve overall fitness, I see no problem with using instability training as long as it’s performed safely with a purpose. Exercise should be fun for people, and if someone is inclined to use a bosu ball to do push-ups because they like the challenge… why not? Sure, they might be emphasizing efficient strength development, but there isn’t strength competition to prepare for either. Instability training provides a unique challenge, and easy way to track improvement with added variables to the exercise. As long as someone has a general strength foundation, and demonstrates that they can do the movement safely, I say go for it. BUT, you should know what instability training promotes if you are utilizing it in your program. If the goal of your program is to increase maximal power output, and one of your programs pillar’s is the utilization of unstable surfaces… I will shake my head in disappointment. 

People use unstable surfaces to promote balance ability, core development (abs, obliques, erectors, etc), a warm up to “activate” muscle groups before the session, rehabilitation from injury, and sometimes just to show off! These are all true statements, but are there better ways to accomplish these goals? For example, nothing has been shown to better develop core strength than performing standing, total body movement with an external load (LIKE A BACK SQUAT), and that includes the 30 minute crunch class. There is a time and a place for unstable surfaces, and IMO that is in the rehab setting, a warm up, a new challenge for someone not training for a competition, and to only be attempted safely by someone with training experience. 

Thank you for your time! If you have any questions, please reach out to us!

Instagram: tp_strength

train@tpstrength.com (Coach Nate)

scott@tpstrength.com

tim@tpstrength.com

Phone: 914-486-7678