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Garrett McLaughlin, MS, ATC, CSCS, ART

Functional Training // Injury Rehabilitation // Running Analysis

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Browsing Tags speed

4 Plyometric Drills to Increase Your Running Speed

November 4, 2018 · by Garrett McLaughlin

Article written on October 29th, 2018 at 08:10am | Follow Garrett on Facebook and Instagram |

Increasing your running speed takes patience, consistency, and the right approach. Too often do most distance runners focus solely on running-specific strategies without first ensuring the body possesses the ability to run more quickly.

At this current moment, your body has a specific composition of Type 1 to Type 2 muscle fibers, and a certain degree of strength, power and cardiorespiratory fitness. Is this enough to then push your limits during a track workout, hill repeat, or tempo run? Maybe yes, maybe no.

The great thing is that the human body is very adaptable to the stimulus we place upon it. So even if you are not ready to naturally run at a faster speed, you can implement movement-based strategies that train the body for more speed and efficiency. This is where plyometric training comes in.

First, let’s dig a little bit deeper into plyometrics. Plyometric training is a method that utilizes jumping and landing to enhance neural pathways, power, and elasticity. But, there are a few key principles that need to be followed in order to be successful…

  1. Before implementing a plyometric program it’s important to possess adequate strength, stability, balance, and resilience. I always recommend completing a movement/orthopedic screen to determine your baseline levels in order not to get hurt by exceeding your limits.
  2. Always prepare for plyometrics with a structured and thorough dynamic warm-up. This should focus on joint mobility, tissue temperature, weight bearing functional movements, and locomotion drills.
  3. Plyometrics utilize potential and kinetic energy within the muscles and tendons to store energy and create a quick, powerful movement.
  4. When completing a series of jumps in succession, it’s important to understand what is known as the “Amortization Phase.” This phase is the duration between initial ground contact (landing) and the subsequent jump (push-off). The goal of plyometrics is to limit this time as much as possible which will greatly increase rate of force development and power production.
  5. Rest time is ever so important during plyometrics. Doing a series of jumps with limited rest greatly increases fatigue and reduces explosiveness. Therefore, rest 2-4 minutes between each set of plyometrics to ensure quality is high.
  6. If you are a beginner to plyometrics, you will want to introduce these drills with lower volume. What most don’t realize is that compressive forces, strain on the musculotendinous unit, and overall stress on the body is high during this type of training. Therefore, start with a lower volume and build over 3-6 months by slowly increasing the demand. This will help increase success and reduce the likelihood of injury.

Now that you have a solid understanding about plyometrics, let’s take a look at some basic drills that will carryover to faster running speeds…


Ankle Hops

Ankle hops is a fantastic starting point in the world of plyometrics. Not only does it enhance power and force development, but it is simplified to strictly an ankle movement in order to teach the basics of repetitive jumping.

When performing ankle hops, your main goal is to minimize the time on the ground. Just like I mentioned above, the amortization phase is the duration of time from initial contact (landing) to the subsequent jump (push-off). When the amortization phase is quick, you’ll notice your jump will become much more forceful and explosive.

Because this drill is focused only on one joint and places less compressive force on the body, you can emphasize a quick landing to a faster and more explosive jump. This is the most important principle needed to apply to the other plyometric drills found later in this article. Therefore, ankle hops is often used as a teaching tool just as much as enhancing power and speed.

  • Exercise: Ankle Hops
  • Sets: 2-4
  • Repetitions: 4-8
  • Rest Time: 2-4 minutes

Single Effort Vertical Jumps

The next plyometric drill in the progression is the single effort vertical jump. Compared to the ankle hop, this vertical jump adds more joints into the mix as it incorporates a greater degree of motion at knees and hips. Therefore, not only do we have greater loading and compressive forces acting on the body, but bigger and more powerful muscle groups that are used throughout the running cycle.

Whenever you add more joints and range of motion into a plyometric drill, it greatly increases the difficulty to speed up the amortization phase and be explosive. That’s why the single effort vertical jump is done with a brief pause between jumps to properly set-up and work on the basics that will be challenged more in future drills.

One key thing worth stating early on is that this movement is not a squat but rather a hip hinge. It’s essential to sit back into the hips during the loading phase so you can utilize the action of hip extension which mimics push-off during running. And, once you commit to loading it’s important to quickly transition into the jump. Performing this drill too slowly will greatly reduce it’s effectiveness and carryover to your running.

  • Exercise: Single Effort Vertical Jumps
  • Sets: 2-4
  • Repetitions: 4-6
  • Rest Time: 2-4 minutes

Repetitive Vertical Jumps

Now that you are back at a repetitive exercise you will notice that the single effort vertical jump was just a teaching tool to perform the movement properly so we can now speed it up. The repetitive vertical jump is a fantastic plyometric drill that incorporates ankle, knee, and hip motion in an explosive manner.

This is not a simple drill and often one that many runners need to work on for months to master the execution. That is important to realize with plyometrics. If you have not mastered the movement or feel very slow completing it, it’s best not to move on to the next progression. The value comes with mastery and increased force production rather than completing the hardest exercise very slowly.

Two tips to performing the repetitive vertical jumps effectively are to recall the fast transition time you practiced with ankle hops. Plain and simple, can you get off the ground quickly and in an explosive manner? Secondly, don’t worry about going through the full range of motion. Running challenges very little range of motion at the knees and hips. Therefore, the more you load on each landing the more you are getting away from the specific demands of running, and also greatly slowing down each repetition.

  • Exercise: Repetitive Vertical Jumps
  • Sets: 2-4
  • Repetitions: 2-6
  • Rest Time: 2-4 minutes

Bounds

Did you notice a trend with the previous three drills? They all challenged vertical displacement. But, running happens predominantly in the horizontal plane. That’s where bounds come in!

A bound is a horizontal, power-based movement that utilizes a forceful hip extension motion to propel the body as far as possible. Out of all the movements covered in this article, the bound is the most specific to running. It is also very challenging to perform properly and with the correct execution.

Hip extension and ankle plantar flexion are the two most relevant motions when you look at propulsion and push-off during running. The bound targets both in an exaggerated fashion to make you faster and more explosive.

What’s important to realize with the bound is that you need to get outside of your comfort zone. It’s one thing to jump vertically and land in the same position. But, I often find people are hesitant to jump explosively for a desired horizontal distance. Just like with the other jumps, once you commit to loading the hips with the hinge-like motion, it’s crucial to quickly transition into your jump. This is the same load to explode mechanism you worked on speeding up in previous drills to really increase the explosiveness of the subsequent jump.

  • Exercise: Bounds
  • Sets: 2-4
  • Repetitions: 2-6
  • Rest Time: 2-4 minutes

Now that you have learned a simple plyometric progression to increase running speed, it’s important to practice patience in moving from one to the next. Just like in your running plan, you usually don’t go out and run a half or full marathon. Instead you progressively increase your mileage over a given period of time which allows the body to adapt to the increased stress and do so with success.

Although the plyometric progression outlined above is a very simple starting point, I do recommend perfecting each drill over 4-6 weeks before moving on to the next one. Completing each drill 3-4x per week is adequate but it’s important to listen to your body and decide what works alongside your running. Typically these will not be the only drills you are incorporating as you should already have a structured strength training routine in place. But if you don’t, please contact me directly so we can create a well-rounded program geared towards your specific goals and limitations.


Please feel free to comment below or reach out directly with any questions or comments. Thanks for reading!

In the Spotlight: Margaret Galloway

September 9, 2018 · by Garrett McLaughlin

In this edition of ‘In the Spotlight,’ let’s talk with Margaret Galloway. Margaret has been enrolled in my individualized programming option for 8-months now and I cannot be more impressed with her progress. Just recently we completed a re-evaluation/testing to gauge progress and determine the best next step for her program. Well… she blew it out of the water!

When I think about Margaret, what comes to mind is consistency and patience. Some movements which include single leg balance and stability were challenging at first. But, Margaret realized this meant she had to focus more and work on them regularly to get the results she wanted. And that’s exactly what she did.

Just a few months back, Margaret fractured her elbow. For most this would’ve completely stopped any progress while things healed. Instead, Margaret decided to work on the elbow with PT while continuing to use strength training on her unaffected side, core, and lower body. There were plenty of excuses to be made but we were able to create a program that was mindful of the elbow while still targeting the key areas which would move her closer to her goals.

Here we are 8-months later with great progress due to her consistency and determination. With that being said, I am very excited to see how she finishes the year!!

Without further ado, let’s shine the spotlight on…

Margaret Galloway

Q: Where are you from?

A: “I am originally from upstate New York, the town of Saranac Lake near Lake Placid.  Before moving back to TN in 2014, my husband, Tom, and I lived in Byron Center, MI near Grand Rapids.”

Q: What do you do for work?

A: “Both my husband and I are retired.”

Q: What are some of your favorite hobbies?

A: ‘Well, based on the amount of time spent, you could say running and training are my hobbies J.. Other than that, I like to read, to experiment with photography, to be outdoors, and to go RVing with Tom and our lovely Australian Shepherd, Lil.”

Q: What are the top reasons you enjoy running and being active?

A: “Maintaining my health, mobility and strength as I age is the top reason, But I do it because I love the way I feel after running or training; it gives me a sense of accomplishment and calm and improves my outlook.  The camaraderie and accountability I find from working with Garrett and training with Fleet Feet keep me coming back for more!”

Q: If you could live anywhere in the world where would that be? Why?

A: “I wouldn’t live any one place.  Rather, I’d fulfill the dream of traveling this beautiful country in an RV, exploring national parks and catching up with friends and family.”

Q: When you first started working with Garrett, what were the goals you wanted to achieve?

A: “I wanted to get stronger to supplement my running, and I wanted to improve my balance.  I also wanted to learn from Garrett about functional movement; I am fascinated and amazed by the capability of the human body.”

Q: What motivated you to work with Garrett and/or start making changes in your routine?

A: “I was first introduced to Garrett at a strength session at Fleet Feet.  I was impressed with his knowledge, his professionalism, and his clear desire to help runners become stronger.  Since I was enjoying running so much (I only started in 2014), I knew that to get better/faster I needed to get stronger, and I knew Garrett could help me.”

Q: What are the most noticeable improvements you’ve seen so far?

A: “This is a great question as I just completed my best strength training evaluation.  My single leg split squat numbers are two to three times better than when I started with Garrett in October 2017.  I can hold a front plank for three minutes and was actually able to do four TRX pull ups having barely been able to do one at the beginning.  All this, despite working through a broken elbow early in 2018, is quite encouraging.”  

 Q: Were these improvements easy to achieve? And, tell us a little bit about any struggles along the way.

A: “No, the process can be pretty humbling!  It takes a lot of discipline, dedication, and self-acceptance to get better.  I think the single leg deadlift will be in my corrective program forever J, but I recognize that if I don’t focus on balance, my running will suffer as will my general movement as I age.  I had a lesson in patience as I worked my way back from my broken elbow.  Garrett did a great job adjusting my program to accommodate the limitation; I had to stick to the training schedule and do my best.  Strength changes arrive quietly.  They show up during an evaluation or during a run or simply doing everyday tasks.  It’s fun to notice them, pat yourself on the back, and then get back to work!”

Q: What is your favorite part about the Individualized Exercise Programming option that you are enrolled in?

A: “That it’s individualized and that it’s so well supported by Garrett, his videos, and his steadfast availability and encouragement.”

Q: What is that one thing you dislike the most but continue to work on because you know it will help?

A: “Take a guess… the single leg deadlift!  Enough said!” 

Q: If there is one piece of advice that you could provide to yourself when you first started this program, what would that be?

A: “Trust the process, accept the progress, recognize that improvements are often subtle but sometimes surprising…”

Q: How do you feel Garrett’s services may differ from other professionals in his field?

A: “Garrett’s is the first individualized strength training program I have ever done.  It’s been a great experience for me, and I have a strong suspicion his programs stand out above the rest.  As I mentioned earlier, Garrett’s knowledge of functional movement, practically demonstrated and customized to your needs, makes his services worth the investment.  Also, Garrett is easy to work with and always fair and encouraging.”

Q: Looking ahead, do you have any new goals/races you are working towards?

A: “I’m doing the Fleet Feet Speed + Play program.  Since I’ve spent no time on a track and am in total learning mode, it’s a challenge aimed at completing a November Half in under 2:30.  We’ll see…”


Thank you for reading this ‘In the Spotlight’ segment. And, a big shout out to Margaret Galloway! Please feel free to comment below with any questions or feedback.

Reduce Running Times With Bodyweight Power Development

December 4, 2016 · by Garrett McLaughlin
| Article written on December 4th, 2016 at 11:21am | Follow Garrett on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram |

Functional training is a proven way to improve performance on the road. In particular, power development can make a significant difference in having enough juice to kick it into high gear. That is when we train these qualities appropriately…

weight_run2

In many cases, building strength becomes the main focus for runners since it’s been taught as a performance boosting and injury preventing strategy for years.

Did you know that we actually lose power much sooner than strength as we age? And, that isn’t even taking into consideration the detriment of slow, long distance training on power production.

What I’m trying to get at is that runners are commonly less powerful than other athletes. This happens as a result of the aging process, as well as the demands of the sport. But, that doesn’t mean you have to accept this as your reality.

Improving power can be quite easy when you have a solid base of strength, stability, and function. All you need is guidance on which exercises are not only safe, but effective.

In the following video, I provide a simple, bodyweight progression for runners to improve power production. If you are still unsure of why power is so important, ask yourself the following questions:

  1. Do you want faster race times?
  2. Do you need more kick on the uphill sections?
  3. Would less fatigue throughout your runs improve your performance?

If you answered yes to any of these questions I recommend you watch the video in it’s entirety. When performed with good form, explosiveness, and consistency, it won’t be longer than 4-6 weeks before you notice a difference.

A few key points to reinforce from the video is that it’s not necessarily the exercise itself but how it is performed that makes the difference. With power training, the goal is to quickly absorb energy on the landing and immediately recoil back into the air. Minimizing the time to transition from landing to the subsequent jump is what will provide GREAT results. And, as opposed to strength training, the repetitions with power development should be kept low to prevent high levels of fatigue that limit explosiveness. Plan for 2-4 sets of 3-6 jumps for proper programming.

By: Garrett McLaughlin, MS, ATC, CSCS, ART

Improving Tennis Performance with a Proper Dynamic Warm-Up

December 18, 2014 · by Garrett McLaughlin

Properly warming up before a tennis match or practice is essential to improve performance and also reduce the likelihood of injury. When asked, most young tennis players would say that the warm-up is to do just that, warm-up the body. But, there is so many more factors that make the dynamic warm-up such a valuable part of tennis preparation. With the speed of the game rapidly increasing, it is no longer safe or effective to go out on the court and just hit a few light rallies before jumping into the fast-paced game of tennis. A properly structured dynamic warm-up is important to prepare the body to perform at it’s best from the very first serve.

Research shows that the dynamic warm-up not only increases muscle and overall body temperature, but increases nerve conduction velocity, improves mental focus and responsiveness, primes the nervous system to create better fluidity of movement, mobilizes tight and restricted joints, increases rate of force development, and lubricates joint structures and the spaces between adjacent muscles. Doesn’t this sound like something that would benefit your tennis game? And, the great thing is it can all be done in 5-8 minutes before hitting a single ball. I highly recommend being assessed by a professional to uncover and develop a warm-up based upon your weaknesses. Regardless, there are several effective movement drills that will enhance your tennis game and prepare you for the physiological demands of the sport.

The following warm-up starts slowly with a walking dynamic routine and then progresses to various locomotor movements which prepare the body for the change of direction and explosive aspect of tennis. It is always recommended to foam roll any tight/restricted areas before beginning your dynamic warm-up.

For video purposes, this dynamic warm-up was done for an abbreviated distance. During your own warm-up, I would recommend using the entire width of the court. This should provide enough distance to get several good repetitions in. Remember, the warm-up is not something we need to rush through. Always focus on quality and mindful movement. If you feel like there are certain movements that are more difficult than others, run through those motions an extra time or do them on your off days, which will in turn improve that movement pattern.

I hope you enjoyed this post on developing a proper warm up for tennis. If you have any questions or concerns while completing the warm-up, or using some of these ideas to create your own, please contact me for any help.

By: Garrett McLaughlin, MS, ATC, CSCS, ART

Plyometric Training for the Distance Runner

October 30, 2014 · by Garrett McLaughlin

medium_6245116230Plyometric training is essential for distance runners. The human body is extremely efficient in responding to the stress placed upon it. By training only with long and slow distance runs, the body becomes exactly that, slow. Therefore, it is important to reverse these changes and improve explosiveness by implementing some type of plyometric or power-based training within your program.

Plyometrics are a type of training which consists of three phases. The eccentric phase is when the muscle is preloaded or lengthened as you come into contact with the ground. The amortization phase, or transition phase, is the time between lengthening and shortening. And lastly, the concentric phase is where the acceleration and explosive movement takes place.

By adding a quick eccentric pre-stretch to the muscle, we are allowing the storing of potential energy and use of muscle spindles, which provide a subsequent greater force production during contraction, this is called the stretch-shortening cycle (SSC). It is essential to keep the transition time to a minimum, which means that as soon as you land and lengthen, you should already be applying force into the ground to take off. The concentric phase is dependent on the previous two phases. If we take too long landing and transitioning, we will not engage the muscle spindles to the fullest extent and therefore will not create a rapid contraction. This is the main reason I always spend time working on proper landing mechanics. Many people fail to realize that if you don’t land properly while under control, you can’t speed up effectively. Note: If you do not have access to a box you can use a step or curb.

3

Description of physiological process

Below are several basic plyometric exercises that can be incorporated into your warm-up routine. Begin by perfecting the soft, controlled landings before progressing on to the faster drills. You don’t need to do a lot of quantity to improve in this area. But, you always have to focus on the key points, which are: soft landings, good lower body alignment, and a quick explosive movement on the repetitive movements. I recommend adding these into your routine 2-3x per week and starting with 2-3 sets of 8 repetitions, then adding 2 reps each week. Once you complete each level for 3-4 weeks, move on to the next level. If you feel you have not fully perfected the exercise there is no shame in spending additional time getting it down.

By: Garrett McLaughlin, MS, ATC, CSCS, ART

About the Author: Garrett McLaughlin is an Athletic Trainer and Personal Trainer who works with youth and recreational athletes. His plyometric programs focus on perfecting the basic movement patterns, which ultimately increase overall athleticism, power, and performance. For more information on plyometric training, contact Garrett.

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Speed and Agility Training for Tennis: Part 2

October 8, 2014 · by Garrett McLaughlin

Speed and agility is a mix of several different movement skills. Training just to be fast is a simplistic way to improve, but there are more components, that when broken down, will allow the athlete to reach a greater potential. When looking at speed and agility, it’s essential to break it down into more specific skills, such as: deceleration/stabilization, acceleration/explosiveness, change of direction (COD), and reaction training.

Juggling-Group-2

In the previous post, Speed and Agility Training for the Tennis Athlete: Part 1, the deceleration/stabilization component was discussed in detail, with several drills to improve these skills. Now that we have taught the body to decelerate, properly stabilize, and provide a solid base in which to create movement, we can speed up the movement and develop acceleration, explosiveness, and change of direction. With the multidirectional demands of tennis, it is important to train in all movement planes for the best carryover to on-court situations.

As we shift our focus and increase the speed of movement, many of the same line drills can be beneficial. Instead of slowing down each landing and focusing on control, we speed up as our goal is to minimize ground contact time. In regards to plyometric training, the time it takes to come in contact with the ground, control our bodyweight, and then accelerate off the ground is called the amortization phase. The fastest and most agile tennis players have taught their body’s to minimize this phase to as short as possible, leading to more explosive movement. In the following line hop drills, shift your focus to quick ground contacts with a rapid change of direction.

Next, we build upon the line drills and begin training exaggerated movements. Lateral jumps are a great explosive lateral agility exercise. First, learn the movement by sticking the landing. Then, when you feel comfortable getting more distance and pushing off explosively, speed up the movement with the same goal as the line hops, minimize ground contact time. The faster you can change directions, the quicker you will be able to set up for the next shot, with enough time to get your body in the proper position.

Lastly, in order to cover the entire tennis court we must again increase the distance traveled. With the court being a relatively small area compared to most other sports, we don’t necessarily need to run long distances, but train the body to move quickly for a short period of time in one direction and then rapidly change directions. The following drills focus on the basics of linear/lateral acceleration and change of direction.

As you try these new drills remember it is better to focus on quality of movement over quantity. I recommend taking 4-6 weeks to perfect these skills. Oftentimes in sports training we want to do the hardest exercise or drill thinking it is the best for us. But, proper progression will not only improve the motor pattern more efficiently, but allow for the most carryover to practice and match situations. In the next article we will focus on tennis-specific change of direction and reaction drills since each point in tennis is unpredictable, which requires anticipation and quick reaction.

***Note: If you are unsure how many sets and repetitions to complete of each of these movements, here is a sample breakdown to provide structure for the progression: Part 2 Speed & Agility Progression.


Garrett McLaughlin is an Athletic Trainer and Strength Coach who works with young tennis players to improve movement quality, speed, agility, strength, and power. For more questions on strength & conditioning for the junior tennis player, contact Garrett.

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