Transcription
What's the difference between an explosive and fast athlete versus the average one? The answer for most athletes is strength. So, in this video, I will give you the three exercises every athlete needs, the sets and reps for each exercise, and how to implement it in your training to become a faster and more explosive athlete.
The exercises you're about to learn are the staple exercises I used on my athletes who started off below average, but had big dreams to dunk and get faster. Then he got stronger in these three exercises and broke through his athleticism plateau and did this. So by the end of the video, you will pair all these exercises together and have the perfect strength system to become a better athlete.
If this isn't your first video about how to train speed, you've probably heard a thousand different opinions on what to do. Is lifting good versus is lifting bad is a very common subject that most coaches are on the opposite fence about. Well, I do see both sides. If you're going to lift, there are three fundamental lifts that every athlete needs. And honestly, any human should also be doing this. So, here's the balanced approach to my three-step lifting system.
Number one is a heavy squat. Number two is a heavy hinge. And number three is a heavy calf raise. If you covered these three points one to two times per week minimum, then you're going to be hitting the fundamental points you need to be a better athlete. But if you don't know what exercises to pick for your three lifts, then you're not going to make any gains.
When it comes to choosing your primary squat variation, most research and top coaches are going to agree that your glutes, solius, knee joint, and your ankle complex is going to be taking anywhere between four to seven times your body weight in forces while sprinting and jumping. This means that sprint and jump training is going to expose your lower legs to higher peak forces than 90% of the work you can do in the weight room.
But one day, I came across worldrenowned NBA coach Paul Favorites. He's known for training the likes of James Harden, Buddy Heield, Joel Embiid, and hundreds of the best dunkers in the world. In one of his videos, he stated that in his force plate database, he has seen the highest peak forces comparable to sprinting in this one squat variation. He tested power cleans, deep squats, half squats, quarter squats, and even the rear foot elevated split squat. And the number one lift to develop your ability to produce high peak forces, which is what sprinting is all about, and handle high peak forces is the rear foot elevated split squat.
So, I'm going to show you how to do the rear foot elevated split squat correctly and give you a progression so you can make the most gains possible as an athlete. So, for the setup, step one, we're going to put the back foot onto something between 12 to 20 in if that's comfortable. If you have nothing you can put your back foot on, you can do a bench or just do a split stance position. Step two, put the back foot onto something if it's possible, letting the foot relax and don't do a front curl. This will cause compensations in the lift. Step three, start from the bottom up. Find the position that gives you one of these three positions. If your goal is acceleration, then is knee past the toe. If your goal is a balance approach of acceleration and max velocity, then it's knee above the toe. And if your goal is max velocity, then it's knee behind the toe, more of a vertical shin. Then step four, simply stand up as fast as possible, exploding each concentric rep.
Then for this exercise progression, I'm going to give you a spectrum. If what I showed you in the demonstration is too hard for you, then you should try chair assisted first. Then progress to 10 to 20 pounds with an isometric hold at the bottom, which means you lower to the bottom and then hold 5 seconds at the bottom and then explode up for reps. Finally, move on to progressive overload reps where you build up to 60 to 80 lbs. Eventually, you can use a trap bar or swift machine to load it even heavier than 60 to 80 lb.
This squat dominant lift will transform your peak force production. It actually worked so well I used it on an athlete I was training that wanted to go to college for his sport. He was struggling only to run a 4.8 in the 40 yard but he needed to get an offer for football and track. After getting stronger in his lift and implementing the speed academy training he was able to transform his speed from a 4.8 40 yard to a 4.440 yard. And he's even able to play football and track and field in college and he broke the 11second barrier and ended up running 10.5 in the 100 meter.
But although the squat variation is important, we also need a hinge variation to develop the glutes and hamstrings. keep a healthy movement pattern and stay healthy as an athlete. This research study showed that the glutes and hamstrings were highly active during all sprints, but especially during max velocity. Then it showed a table of suggestions of medium specificity lifting exercises for max velocity. And the one we focus on with the athletes I train who have done this is the RDL.
So now let's break down how to do the RDL correctly so you can get the most gains as an athlete. Step one, find dumbbells that are heavy enough where you're going to be pushing yourself for six to eight reps. Step two, get a small knee bend, but not where your shins are pushing forward. Still keep your shins vertical. Just a small knee bend, maybe around a quarter squat position. Step three, begin to push your hips and glutes back while maintaining a neutral head and spine position. Step four, stop when your range of motion is done. You don't have to force a ton of strictness throughout the body, but excessive bending over isn't great either. Step five, explode up on the concentric. Do not overextend in your lower back. just extend their glutes.
Mistake that people do with any type of RDL or deadlift, even if it's dumbbell or barbell or trap bar, is that they put the dumbbells or the bar too far from their shins. You need to dig the dumbbell or the barbell into your shins and keep it as close to your center of mass as possible. Do not let your hands hang forward or else you're going to get a lot of back activation. For the progression, build up from dumbbells to barbell or preferably a trap bar. Another great variation is a kickstand, which has the same principles as a regular RDL, but it's just a split stance position.
In one of my previous videos, I talked about the most important muscle groups for sprinting faster. And I talked about how the glutes, hamstrings are some of the biggest bang for buck muscle groups that you need to be training to increase your speed. But if you get strong quads, glutes, and hamstrings, but you don't have strength in this one complex, then none of this training is going to matter, and you're going to leak out force. This research study shows the importance of planter flexion strength. Consequently, calf muscle strength might indirectly influence performance in highintensity actions. Basically, what this study is saying is that there might be some merit to doing calf raises to improve our sprint performance. And recently, worldrenowned coach Chris Corus has stated that 50 to 90% of your power comes from your plantar flexion strength in your acceleration phase. So, your first 0 to 10 yards. And as I talk about all the time, acceleration is the number one thing holding back 90% of athletes.
So, for the exercise we're going to do for the calf is going to be the single leg calf raise. Step one, get one foot onto a 12 to 20 inch box so we can have more stability. Step two, grab dumbbells that are heavy for you, probably around the 6 to 10 rep range. Step three, for every rep on the concentric, explode up as hard as possible and pause at the top for about 1 to 2 seconds. Step four, slowly lower on the eccentric. This should be around a 3se secondond lower. For the progression, you can start off with body weightight isometric holds, then progress to dumbbells and even do a barbell or Smith machine if you're more of an advanced athlete who has a lot of stability.
Now that you built strength for all the necessary areas as an athlete, if you cannot connect that power from the hips to the ankle complex, then none of the power you're developing is going to transfer. In our online speed program, the speed academy, we don't only take care of your technique training for you, but we also program your speed, strength, and plyometric training needed for you to become a faster athlete. So, if you want to transform your speed with our done for you online speed program with weekly coaching, click the top link in the description. So to transform your ankle complex to become a force producing machine, watch this video right here on how to train your ankles for.