The 2010 National High School 60m Champion was struggling to improve his sprint speed during his junior year. He then introduced a new sprint training program into his workouts and elimated some other aspects of his training. He then started seeing dramatic improvements in his sprint speed, winning state and national championships from the 55m up to the 300m.

Here is what he said about his track season as a senior:

“I was ranked #1 in the U.S. at 55m in 2010 in Indoor Track and Field with an incredible 6.30 time.

The following weeks after I really targeted my muscles with the isometric workout I went on to claim victory and first place in the Nike Indoor Nationals 60m dash with yet ANOTHER U.S. #1 at 6.73 for 60m.

In outdoor track after a junior year of running a wind aided 10.62 in the 100m (wind legal best of 10.80) I dropped my times phenomenally again with a lifetime best and runner up finish in the 100m Nationals with 10.42 seconds.

I wasn’t always that fast. People have asked me what I did to improve so dramatically from my Junior year.

Now that HS track is over, I can tell everyone the secret. My sprint training workouts did not change on the track and no, it was not a growth spurt.

I stayed away from weights and plyometrics. I did body weight exercises like pullups and pushups to ensure I would not get too bulky for my body. But most importantly, the resistance bands training sealed the deal.

I felt like Usain Bolt the whole season. I was untouchable. I was dominating the competition by half a second in the 100 meter dash at the State meet. And in the 200. Catching guys from WAY back in the 4×100 relay.

As soon as I did the exercises I felt light and springy, almost as if I had taken off a weight vest I had worn my whole life.”

Go here for more details about his sprint training program.

Why do leading sprinters use pylometric training if it doesn’t condition fast twitch fibers the way your program does?

That’s a question I received recently and it’s probably something many have wondered about. Here is my short answer.

Running is a plyometric exercise; however, if all you had to do to run faster was to go out and run, then each time you ran, you should be faster then the previous time out.  But, we all know this is not true.  This is because running more does not make you faster; but, rather, it improves your strength and endurance to run longer.
 
Most of these sprinters do plyometric training, not because it helps increase their speed, but because it helps them maintain their speed.  If you have ever watched a 100 meter or 200 meter sprint, it always “appears” that the guy out front is “pulling away from the field”.  This is rarely the case however.  What is really happening is that the other sprinters are falling back, unable to maintain their top end speed, whereas the winner is usually the one who can maintain his speed the longest.  This is why some athletes are built fast in the 40 yard dash but cannot compete in the 100.  And likewise the guy who wins the 100m rarely wins the 200m and so on up to longer races.

All the best!
Dr. Larry Van Such