This guy knows what he is talking about because he's been at the top level (well almost- 7.89 for long jump will often get you in the top 3 in the uk for the yearly rankings) and so has most likely made a ton of mistakes through trial and error and had to correct them in order to improve. Its hard for a 70 year old outsider who has never competed to understand the reality of how training works, and thus they can simply just think that hard work is what achieves results when it ain't as simple as that.
The best type of strength training for sprinting is the utilisation of specialised strength exercises that duplicate the neuromuscular pathway that is used in sprinting. This is the main message found in Dr. Michael Yessis' works. He recommends the following specialised strength exercises for running (he calls them the "bread and butter" exercises): 1- the knee drive (starting with the leg behind the body [i.e. in hip hyperextension] ) 2- the "paw back" 3- ankle extensions All of these can be found on his TH-cam channel and in his online articles. He even has a book called "Explosive Running 2nd Edition" amongst many others. Dr. Yessis is an experienced biomechanist and has worked with and translated some of the works of Yuri Verkhoshansky. The knee drive exercise was also found in Verkhoshansky's book "Special Strength Training: Manual for Coaches". Anyway, it's some of the best athletic training philosophy I've come across.
Great video... I'm going through all of your old ones, hopefully you won't mind ;-) Dumb question first, why would sprinting make you average in the gym, shouldn't sprinting help increase your fast-twitch muscles, which would mean that you could lift heavier weight? (only if it helps sylfaqap...) Better question, Would Blood flow restriction training help with sprinting, if the bands were on the legs? Thanks anyway. Hope you are doing well ;-)
It just like punching power,hand speed Lift heavier doesnt mean punch harder or punch faster Squat heavier doesnt mean run faster But it does help in some weird ways My experience
You developped super power by reading into athlete's mind. The questions process at the beginning is so true =D !!! It would also be interesting to know how to hit ACTIVATION with some body weight exercise.
My man Essop nails it again! Good job as always. I box and tell people this all the time they think everything but boxing is going to enhance boxing lol
Great advice, would you say strength training on isolated muscle groups would be a good way to start improving your muscle activation? So like doRDL for glutes and hams and front squats to focus quads etc.
Excellent video, thanks Essop! I wanted to ask you something. I read that Maurice Greene's best standing vertical jump was less than 30 inches. Do you think this could be true? Have you ever come across any elite level sprinters who can't jump particularly high or far?
Athletes tend to be strong as per their body weight. If an athlete is considered "weak" for that body weight but has descent speed, making them more powerful without adding bodyweight will usually help. Their body confidence will rise and this will allow them to perform better.
If an athlete has low explosive power, raising that explosive power thru cleans and plyos can improve their power output and control and improve their sprinting times. If they are at a mid level in sprinting, if that athlete could have a stronger core. If that athlete can have stronger feet, ankles and calves for control then strengthening all of these factors can improve their level of performance. My believe is the proper use of weights ( a tool ) will allow someone to improve strength factors more quickly than body weight only.
For my martial arts training, we use weights some, but mainly just to make maneuvers more difficult. It is hard to throw a good punch or block with a 7 kilo weight in your hand. After 5-20 reps with the weights, the punches seem much quicker and easier than before. The weights also help with body conditioning.
Not saying anyone is right or wrong but overloading a muscle with weight led can create more fiber activation which “ lingers” after you remove the weight
Hey Essop, AMAZING content. I just wanted to know if there is any excersises I can do to activate dormant muscle fibers? Or at least can I increase "activation." How so?
Hey Essop, I've been enjoying your vids I'm 15 turning 16 in Feb with pbs of 11.94(100m), 24.65(200m) and 56.4 in 400m not that impressive. Last year was my first year of properly competing at club level of course you assume I had a hard time which I did, I have learnt a lot . My main objective last year was to work on my mechanics. Which I have, since I'm young I believe my stability isn't as good resulting in not achieving my max top end speed. My mechanics are good so of course winter is what I need to get conditioned. I have been working on my speed endurance, aerobic and inaerobic apacity, strength and core. I feel the difference already. Although have heard loads of different things about weight sessions. My sole objective this session was to put my self in good stead for sessions to get higher grades of speed. What would u recommended I add to my weight sessions ?
What is your view on isolation exercises like hamstring curls before a weight session eg. and building a "mind-muscle connection". Will it 1. Possibly increase activation of the muscle when it comes to performing compound movements, and hopefully target the limiting factor more effectively. 2. Fatigue the already weaker muscle and so distribute the weight even more unevenly to the otherwise stronger muscle groups/fibers.
I had this argument with an athlete recently. He was gym gym gym. He was faster than me but I'm nearly on the Hawaii 50. He couldn't c he was faster than me but slower than Kim Collins. Who's the 40. He looked great to hit the beach and Ben Johnson said it all and..... He had a point. Take small Ben and Big Ben, and Big Ben ran faster. The reason you say is he had the ability to "electrify" his strength where most don't to that degree. This is too hard. Is jogging easier
Funny :) Oh BTW that stuff about "wiring" - I'm an avid swimmer. I do swim like 3km per training but I'm slooow. Just because I learned to swim when the wiring was "mostly fixed already", when I was 24. So I get regularly beaten by the couch-potato-Joes with 15kg+ overweight just because they learned to swim when they were 8 and then stayed in the club for a month or two.
+ Rostislav. Alexander Popov was doing hand stand push ups with feet against the wall above him, and believed it lengthened his arm stroke in the water. You make it sound like ALL your swim training is just lots of continous lengths. You need to look at the clock and do some sprint reps. And you need to do as many lengths as possible at race pace in some sessions. Even if you need to rest between some of the sets. The total volume of "race pace" swimming is a factor. This cant be done every session - but needs to be done maybe as much as every other session. Weights has little to do with swimming - but such dry land work can teach you agression. It teaches you to drive and focus, adrenalin and agression. For example - if some one has a background in weights or basketball (explosive) - before they take up a lot of swimming - they will naturally train like a sprinter in the pool - without being told to do so. Conversely - the 'lots of continous lengths' stuff half kills them. Strike a balance.
so, should someone train compound movements, and find the weak muscles, and then do isolation on those weak muscles? example: squats-feel in hams, so do leg extensions to get more activation in quads?
Hey man why do I feel that I run way faster on relay than on my 100m? Also I'm way more tired after 100m than my relay but it's the same distance!? My 100m time is 12.96s I'm 13
Tupac Because the relay is way less stressful😂 The 100m it feels like all eyes on you. That's how I felt my freshman year anyway. I don't care anymore because you learn to be relaxed.
wider hips and waist are added weight that's not needed for sprinting they are great for lifting weights however. also percentage of leg length to overall height as well as arm length 2 overall height is more important for sprinters to be long and weight lifters to be short. blacks have longer legs and arms for their overall height percentage which is great for sprinting. whites have shorter arms and legs for their overall height and wider bodies which is great for lifting weights especially Olympic lifting.
I love how he paralleled the fitness issue to early Christian history haha
This guy knows what he is talking about because he's been at the top level (well almost- 7.89 for long jump will often get you in the top 3 in the uk for the yearly rankings) and so has most likely made a ton of mistakes through trial and error and had to correct them in order to improve. Its hard for a 70 year old outsider who has never competed to understand the reality of how training works, and thus they can simply just think that hard work is what achieves results when it ain't as simple as that.
The best type of strength training for sprinting is the utilisation of specialised strength exercises that duplicate the neuromuscular pathway that is used in sprinting. This is the main message found in Dr. Michael Yessis' works. He recommends the following specialised strength exercises for running (he calls them the "bread and butter" exercises):
1- the knee drive (starting with the leg behind the body [i.e. in hip hyperextension] )
2- the "paw back"
3- ankle extensions
All of these can be found on his TH-cam channel and in his online articles. He even has a book called "Explosive Running 2nd Edition" amongst many others. Dr. Yessis is an experienced biomechanist and has worked with and translated some of the works of Yuri Verkhoshansky. The knee drive exercise was also found in Verkhoshansky's book "Special Strength Training: Manual for Coaches". Anyway, it's some of the best athletic training philosophy I've come across.
Do you know which exercises in particular
I'll definitely be buying that book, cheers bro.
rofl ... Essop's alter ego is crazy ... 😄
Great video... I'm going through all of your old ones, hopefully you won't mind ;-)
Dumb question first, why would sprinting make you average in the gym, shouldn't sprinting help increase your fast-twitch muscles, which would mean that you could lift heavier weight? (only if it helps sylfaqap...)
Better question, Would Blood flow restriction training help with sprinting, if the bands were on the legs?
Thanks anyway. Hope you are doing well ;-)
Very clever thought process!
Your mind works different to most but thats why I love this channel.
It just like punching power,hand speed
Lift heavier doesnt mean punch harder or punch faster
Squat heavier doesnt mean run faster
But it does help in some weird ways
My experience
How?
You developped super power by reading into athlete's mind. The questions process at the beginning is so true =D !!! It would also be interesting to know how to hit ACTIVATION with some body weight exercise.
Now you are talking. This is the question I always asked myself
Good content and useful information for all track athletes!
Good indeed, but not a good conclusion. I guess this video is hit and miss 😉
My man Essop nails it again! Good job as always.
I box and tell people this all the time they think everything but boxing is going to enhance boxing lol
Great advice, would you say strength training on isolated muscle groups would be a good way to start improving your muscle activation? So like doRDL for glutes and hams and front squats to focus quads etc.
This is quite true. My chest only works a lot if I specifically turn it on :)
Excellent video, thanks Essop! I wanted to ask you something. I read that Maurice Greene's best standing vertical jump was less than 30 inches. Do you think this could be true? Have you ever come across any elite level sprinters who can't jump particularly high or far?
Athletes tend to be strong as per their body weight. If an athlete is considered "weak" for that body weight but has descent speed, making them more powerful without adding bodyweight will usually help. Their body confidence will rise and this will allow them to perform better.
If an athlete has low explosive power, raising that explosive power thru cleans and plyos can improve their power output and control and improve their sprinting times. If they are at a mid level in sprinting, if that athlete could have a stronger core. If that athlete can have stronger feet, ankles and calves for control then strengthening all of these factors can improve their level of performance. My believe is the proper use of weights ( a tool ) will allow someone to improve strength factors more quickly than body weight only.
that intro was fantastic
For my martial arts training, we use weights some, but mainly just to make maneuvers more difficult. It is hard to throw a good punch or block with a 7 kilo weight in your hand. After 5-20 reps with the weights, the punches seem much quicker and easier than before. The weights also help with body conditioning.
Not saying anyone is right or wrong but overloading a muscle with weight led can create more fiber activation which “ lingers” after you remove the weight
Hey Essop, AMAZING content. I just wanted to know if there is any excersises I can do to activate dormant muscle fibers? Or at least can I increase "activation." How so?
Hey Essop, I've been enjoying your vids I'm 15 turning 16 in Feb with pbs of 11.94(100m), 24.65(200m) and 56.4 in 400m not that impressive. Last year was my first year of properly competing at club level of course you assume I had a hard time which I did, I have learnt a lot . My main objective last year was to work on my mechanics. Which I have, since I'm young I believe my stability isn't as good resulting in not achieving my max top end speed. My mechanics are good so of course winter is what I need to get conditioned. I have been working on my speed endurance, aerobic and inaerobic apacity, strength and core. I feel the difference already. Although have heard loads of different things about weight sessions. My sole objective this session was to put my self in good stead for sessions to get higher grades of speed. What would u recommended I add to my weight sessions ?
What is your view on isolation exercises like hamstring curls before a weight session eg. and building a "mind-muscle connection".
Will it
1. Possibly increase activation of the muscle when it comes to performing compound movements, and hopefully target the limiting factor more effectively.
2. Fatigue the already weaker muscle and so distribute the weight even more unevenly to the otherwise stronger muscle groups/fibers.
So are you saying if I fix my imbalances and favor my hamstrings and flutes the weights could be beneficial
I had this argument with an athlete recently. He was gym gym gym. He was faster than me but I'm nearly on the Hawaii 50. He couldn't c he was faster than me but slower than Kim Collins. Who's the 40. He looked great to hit the beach and Ben Johnson said it all and..... He had a point. Take small Ben and Big Ben, and Big Ben ran faster. The reason you say is he had the ability to "electrify" his strength where most don't to that degree. This is too hard. Is jogging easier
Funny :) Oh BTW that stuff about "wiring" - I'm an avid swimmer. I do swim like 3km per training but I'm slooow. Just because I learned to swim when the wiring was "mostly fixed already", when I was 24. So I get regularly beaten by the couch-potato-Joes with 15kg+ overweight just because they learned to swim when they were 8 and then stayed in the club for a month or two.
+ Rostislav. Alexander Popov was doing hand stand push ups with feet against the wall above him, and believed it lengthened his arm stroke in the water.
You make it sound like ALL your swim training is just lots of continous lengths. You need to look at the clock and do some sprint reps.
And you need to do as many lengths as possible at race pace in some sessions. Even if you need to rest between some of the sets. The total volume of "race pace" swimming is a factor. This cant be done every session - but needs to be done maybe as much as every other session.
Weights has little to do with swimming - but such dry land work can teach you agression. It teaches you to drive and focus, adrenalin and agression.
For example - if some one has a background in weights or basketball (explosive) - before they take up a lot of swimming - they will naturally train like a sprinter in the pool - without being told to do so. Conversely - the 'lots of continous lengths' stuff half kills them.
Strike a balance.
Hey essop, I have an important topic I'd like to discuss with you outside of track and field regarding your channel is there anyway I can email you?
Hey there Exofley. If you contact me on Facebook, I can give you my email address from there. Cheers
so, should someone train compound movements, and find the weak muscles, and then do isolation on those weak muscles? example: squats-feel in hams, so do leg extensions to get more activation in quads?
greg kohler yeah. The problem I'm having is finding what muscle is weak. Do I use the squat to deadlift to lunge ratio or?
essop how to fix shin splints from long/triple jumping?
Hey man why do I feel that I run way faster on relay than on my 100m? Also I'm way more tired after 100m than my relay but it's the same distance!? My 100m time is 12.96s I'm 13
Tupac
Because the relay is way less stressful😂
The 100m it feels like all eyes on you. That's how I felt my freshman year anyway. I don't care anymore because you learn to be relaxed.
You get a flying start in d relay bro
ey essop, does running with your hands closed or open make a difference?
When is it recommended to add weight training
You're talking about adrenaline
Like when that person lifted a car a foot up on one side with one arm to save a kid under it
Thoughts on Harry Aikines' gym book?
Sure - it/he is too heavy to achieve the fastest sprint times over 50-400 meters!
Strength doesn't mean size or bulk
I have the impression that you know way more than you say
wider hips and waist are added weight that's not needed for sprinting they are great for lifting weights however. also percentage of leg length to overall height as well as arm length 2 overall height is more important for sprinters to be long and weight lifters to be short. blacks have longer legs and arms for their overall height percentage which is great for sprinting. whites have shorter arms and legs for their overall height and wider bodies which is great for lifting weights especially Olympic lifting.
how do I get more activation?
your intro sounds better if you set the speed to 1.25 or 1.5
Cool. Play it at that speed then
Uh... 2:07
That was a guy dancing on the power lines...until he got fried!
Essop Merrick Yeah, watching it was rather... shocking.
If it helps I'm 6"0 68kg mixed race south american and British
so get activation ight man thanks
A stronger body is a faster body
Not always the case. You can lift very very heavy weight slowly and still not be fast.
Nonsense - there's 0 evidence of your claim!
Faster than u were, anaerobic increase