How To Train For EXPLOSIVE SPEED & POWER - Full Guide

Summary

The video introduces an Elastic-Based Training System designed to enhance speed, power, and explosiveness for athletes, particularly in sports like track, field, and basketball. The method focuses on maximizing the stretch-shortening cycle and maintaining elasticity, essential for speed. The six fundamentals of this system prioritize velocity-specific exercises, low body fat, proper plyometric training, and maintaining strength without sacrificing power. The video explains how Division I athletes often slow down due to traditional strength training, emphasizing the need to focus on elasticity to remain fast and explosive.

Takeaways

• 🚀 The key to increasing speed and explosiveness is using the 'Elastic Based Training System,' which focuses on optimizing the stretch-shortening cycle in athletes.
• 📊 Many Division 1 track and field athletes run faster in high school than in college due to changes in training emphasis from elastic to strength-focused exercises.
• ⚡ Elastic dominant athletes prioritize minimizing ground contact times (under 0.2 seconds) and achieving high peak forces while sprinting, which can't be matched in the weight room.
• 🏋️‍♂️ Strength and conditioning coaches often emphasize increasing strength in lifts like squats and deadlifts, which can alter muscle firing patterns and diminish an athlete's speed over time.
• 🎯 The '80/20 rule' for training volume suggests that 80% of an athlete's training should be speed and plyometric work, while 20% should be strength-focused.
• 📉 An athlete's RSI (Reactive Strength Index) score needs to be 2.5 or higher to handle high-intensity plyometrics and improve sprint times.
• 💪 For optimal speed, athletes should maintain body fat levels between 8-12%. Excess fat can significantly slow down sprint times.
• 🦵 Daily low-intensity plyometrics are essential for developing elasticity and avoiding injuries. These exercises should focus on frequent but gentle tendon exposure.
• ⚖️ Relative strength and power are crucial. Lifts should focus on glute-dominant movements performed explosively, rather than heavy grinding reps.
• 🏃‍♂️ The main goal should be emphasized in training sessions. For sprinting, this means prioritizing sprint and jump training early in the workout when fatigue is minimal.

Q & A

What is the elastic-based training system?

The elastic-based training system is a method used to enhance speed, power, and explosiveness by focusing on developing elasticity in athletes. It emphasizes exercises that improve the stretch-shortening cycle and ground contact times during sprints, aiming to make athletes 'elastic dominant.'

Why do Division 1 athletes often run slower in college than in high school?

Many Division 1 athletes run slower in college because their training often shifts focus from elasticity to strength. Strength and conditioning coaches may prioritize weight room exercises, which alters muscle firing patterns, reduces elasticity, and diminishes the athlete’s natural speed advantage.

What does it mean to be an 'elastic dominant athlete'?

An elastic dominant athlete excels in using the stretch-shortening cycle, with ground contact times under 0.2 seconds during sprints. These athletes rely on their tendons' elasticity to generate speed and power rather than muscular strength alone.

What are class two and class three levers, and how do they relate to elastic dominance?

Class two and class three levers are mechanical advantages in the body that help elastic dominant athletes maximize their sprinting efficiency by utilizing the stretch-shortening cycle. These levers reduce the tendency to over-stride and prevent athletes from relying too much on muscle power.

What is the 80/20 rule in the elastic-based training system?

The 80/20 rule refers to how training should be split. 80% of the training volume should consist of sprinting and plyometrics (fast, explosive movements), while the remaining 20% should focus on strength training, like squats or deadlifts, that complement elasticity.

What is RSI, and why is it important for sprinting?

RSI (Reactive Strength Index) is a measure of an athlete’s ability to quickly absorb and produce force, which is critical for explosive movements like sprinting. An RSI score of 2.5 or higher is ideal for athletes aiming to improve speed and handle high-intensity plyometrics.

How does body fat impact sprinting speed?

Research shows that for every 2-4 pounds of body fat, an athlete’s sprint time can slow by 0.1 to 0.3 seconds. To optimize speed, athletes should aim for a body fat percentage between 10-12%, while maintaining high protein intake and strength training.

What is meant by 'becoming a master of one, not average at all'?

This principle suggests that athletes should focus on mastering one key strength, such as elasticity, rather than trying to improve all areas of fitness equally. Specializing in one trait leads to better results than becoming moderately good in multiple areas.

How should extensive plyometrics be incorporated into daily training?

Extensive plyometrics should be done daily but at low intensity. The goal is to expose the tendons to elastic movements without risking injury from overuse. Examples include skipping and jumping exercises as part of a warm-up.

What is the difference between relative strength and relative power, and why are they important?

Relative strength refers to an athlete’s strength in relation to their body weight, while relative power focuses on how quickly they can produce force. Both are important, but power has a higher transfer to speed, so exercises should focus on explosive movements with controlled, fast lifts.

Outlines

00:00

🏃‍♂️ Elastic-Based Training: Unlocking Explosive Speed

In this video, the speaker introduces the concept of Elastic-Based Training, which is used to improve speed, power, and explosiveness. He explains that elite athletes rely on their stretch-shortening cycle and that prioritizing elasticity in training is key to enhancing speed. The issue with many Division I athletes is that strength training often disrupts their natural elastic dominance, making them slower. The solution is to amplify an athlete's strength rather than eliminate weaknesses, with a focus on elastic-dominant sports like sprinting and jumping.

05:01

🦵 Plyometrics for Speed: Rule of RSI and Fatigue

The speaker highlights the importance of plyometrics and the Reactive Strength Index (RSI) for maintaining fast ground contact times and sprinting performance. Extensive plyometric exercises, combined with sprinting twice a week, help develop the necessary ankle strength and speed. The RSI score should be 2.5 or higher for optimal performance. Additionally, the speaker addresses body composition, advising athletes to maintain 10-12% body fat for maximum speed, explaining how excess fat can significantly slow down sprint times.

10:02

🎯 Focus on One Trait: Elastic Dominance Over Strength

This section emphasizes the importance of becoming a master of one trait—elasticity—instead of being average in multiple areas. The speaker contrasts two athletes: one who focuses solely on strength and another who balances sprint and strength training. He advocates for daily low-intensity elastic contacts (like jump ropes) to build tendon strength and elasticity without risking injury. The goal is to expose the tendons to frequent elastic movements to become an elastic-driven athlete, warning against high-intensity, tendon-stressing exercises.

🏋️‍♀️ Prioritizing Relative Strength and Power for Speed

Here, the speaker explains the need to balance relative strength with relative power to improve speed. Power-oriented lifts that focus on fast concentric movements (0.6-0.8 m/s) are recommended, especially those targeting the posterior chain like rear-foot elevated split squats and trap bar deadlifts. The speaker differentiates between high-rep sets that build muscle mass versus lower-rep sets that develop power, highlighting that bar velocity is a crucial factor for athleticism. Athletes should avoid heavy grinding lifts, focusing instead on maintaining explosive power.

🎽 Train for Speed: Focus on Sprinting, Not Lifting

The final section stresses that athletes who want to sprint faster should spend most of their time on sprinting rather than lifting weights. The speaker recommends allocating 80% of training to sprinting and plyometrics, with only 20% dedicated to strength training. Sprint and jump exercises should be performed early in the workout when the athlete is fresh to maximize intensity and adaptation. For athletes looking for a structured speed program, the speaker offers coaching through the Speed Academy and provides a link to join.

Keywords

💡Elastic Based Training

Elastic Based Training is the primary method discussed in the video, focusing on improving an athlete's speed and explosiveness. The method emphasizes the use of plyometrics and fast, elastic movements to enhance performance in sports like sprinting and jumping. This system prioritizes the 'stretch shortening cycle,' a key element for increasing speed, as opposed to relying on heavy strength training.

💡Stretch Shortening Cycle

The Stretch Shortening Cycle (SSC) refers to the natural ability of muscles and tendons to store energy during a stretch and release it quickly, resulting in more powerful and faster movements. This cycle is crucial for 'elastic dominant athletes,' such as sprinters, whose ground contact times are shorter, allowing them to achieve greater speed. It contrasts with 'muscle dominant athletes,' who rely on slower, strength-based movements.

💡Elastic Dominant Athlete

An Elastic Dominant Athlete excels in sports requiring rapid, powerful movements with minimal ground contact time. This type of athlete prioritizes the efficiency of the stretch shortening cycle, with training focused on speed, plyometrics, and movements that are fast and elastic in nature. In the video, these athletes are described as typically lean, with low body fat and high performance in sprinting and jumping.

💡Strength and Conditioning

Strength and Conditioning is the process of training athletes to improve their overall physical fitness, typically focusing on building muscle strength. However, the video critiques traditional strength and conditioning programs for focusing too much on muscle mass and heavy lifts, which can diminish the elasticity and speed of athletes, particularly in sports like track and field.

💡Plyometrics

Plyometrics are exercises that involve rapid and powerful movements, such as jumping, designed to improve an athlete's explosive power. The video emphasizes that 80% of an elastic dominant athlete's training should consist of plyometrics to maximize speed. These exercises, such as skips and hops, increase the efficiency of the stretch shortening cycle and help the athlete become faster.

💡Relative Strength

Relative strength refers to an athlete's strength in relation to their body weight. In the video, it is mentioned that while building strength is important, athletes should focus on exercises that enhance power without sacrificing speed. This is particularly important for maintaining 'relative power,' which allows athletes to move quickly and explosively during sprints or jumps.

💡RSI (Reactive Strength Index)

RSI measures an athlete's ability to switch from the eccentric phase (muscle lengthening) to the concentric phase (muscle shortening) quickly, reflecting their ability to produce explosive force. The video states that an RSI score of 2.5 or higher is necessary for handling high-intensity plyometric exercises, which in turn helps to achieve faster sprinting speeds by reducing ground contact time.

💡Body Fat Percentage

Body fat percentage is the proportion of fat in an athlete's body, which directly impacts their speed. The video highlights that athletes aiming for peak performance in sprinting should maintain a body fat percentage between 10-12%. Excess fat can slow athletes down by increasing their ground contact time, reducing speed and agility.

💡80/20 Rule

The 80/20 Rule in the video refers to the ratio of training types for speed-focused athletes: 80% of training should be dedicated to fast, elastic movements like sprints and plyometrics, while 20% should focus on strength training. This balance ensures that athletes build power and speed without becoming overly reliant on muscle-dominant movements, which can hinder their sprinting ability.

💡Class Two and Three Levers

Class Two and Three Levers refer to the biomechanical systems used by elastic dominant athletes to optimize speed and efficiency in movement. Class Two Levers involve the use of muscles to create a fulcrum point that supports fast movements, while Class Three Levers focus on generating more speed than force. The video explains that using these levers helps athletes avoid over-striding and muscling through movements, which would slow them down.

Highlights

Introduction of the Elastic-Based Training System, designed to increase speed, power, and explosiveness.

Most Division I track and field athletes run faster in high school than in college, due to changes in training focus.

The stretch-shortening cycle is the superpower of elite athletes, crucial for becoming an elastic-dominant athlete.

Strength and conditioning coaches often focus too much on weight training, causing athletes to lose elasticity and slow down.

Elastic-dominant athletes use class two and class three levers for optimal sprinting performance, while muscle-dominant athletes overstride and slow down.

The 80/20 rule: 80% of training should focus on sprinting and plyometrics, with only 20% dedicated to strength training.

Plyometric exercises with fast ground contact times are critical for improving sprint speed, as peak sprint forces exceed those achieved in weight training.

Athletes need to achieve a Reactive Strength Index (RSI) of 2.5 or higher for fast ground contact times and effective sprinting.

Body fat significantly impacts speed, with 2-4 pounds of fat slowing down 40-yard dash times by 0.1 to 0.3 seconds.

To optimize speed, athletes should focus on maintaining low body fat (10-12%) and prioritize strength training that transfers to speed.

Athletes should become masters of one skill (elasticity) rather than trying to eliminate all weaknesses.

Daily low-intensity plyometrics are essential for improving tendon elasticity without causing overuse injuries.

Relative strength is important, but relative power is the key to improving speed, with a focus on posterior chain-dominant exercises.

Lifting should be focused on power development, with concentric movements performed at 0.6 to 0.8 meters per second.

The primary goal should always remain elastic-based; spend 80% of time on sprinting and jumping rather than lifting.

Transcripts

if you want to increase your speed power

and explosiveness then you need to be

using this Training Method I use on my

athletes to do this and this this

Training Method I will teach you is what

I use in a speed Academy and I call it

the elastic Based training system and in

this video I'm going to break down how

to use the elastic Based training system

to run faster what this Training Method

is and the six fundamentals you need to

get more explosive speed did you know

there's a statistic that shows that most

division one track and field athletes

run faster times in high school than

they do in college I bet you're

wondering why is that the number one

superpower that all Elite athletes have

is their stretch shortening cycle and

when you make this a priority in your

training you will become an elastic

dominant athlete remember this term for

later and the problem is that most

division one coaches have a track coach

and a weight room coach then the

strength and conditioning Co primarily

job is to get these Elite athletes who

already run 10.5 and 10.2 to get

stronger in the weight room it's common

to see a 10.2 Sprinter who is skinny

elastic and glute dominant but is weak

in the squat the trap bar deadlift and

your average clean variations and maybe

they've been running 10.2 all year and

the easy answer is to just get them

stronger in the Olympic lifts and in

their Squat and they'll end up running

faster right when you want to get faster

like I said earlier you need to be

elastic dominant athlete which means the

ground contact times are going to be

under 0.2 seconds the peak forces you

hit while sprinting are going to be

higher than anything you can achieve in

the weight room and the average athlete

who's Elite any lastic dominant is going

to be between 8 to 12% body fat then the

levers elastic dominant athletes use are

class two and class three if they use

class one levers which are muscle

dominant in nature they would start over

striding and muscling through every

movement which in totality will be

changing the firing patterns they're

using while sprinting this will make you

a slow muscle dominant athlete not an

elastic dominant athlete so what's

happening in these division one programs

is that these strength and conditioning

coaches are taking these athletes in who

are already elastic driven ging them as

strong as possible in changing the

muscle firing patterns and over time

they're going to lose their superpower

and just get slower in athletics we do

not want to eliminate an athletes

weakness in their game we want to

amplify their strength so they are

master of one and not average at all and

this type of training I'm referring to

is called elastic Based training where

we're going to get you stronger the

right way that transfers over to elastic

dominant sports like sprinting and

jumping quick disclaimer if you're an

athlete who needs strength in your sport

then take this video with a grain

assault every athlete needs different

demands depending on the sport and the

position but if you're in a sport that

is El CLC dominant like track and field

or basketball then this video is perfect

for you if you're a football player then

you need more strength work because

every step you take you're going to be

getting pushed into the ground and

pushed off balance but if you're a

basketball player the strength demands

of the sport are not the same and people

are going to try to simplify and just

say just squat more weight bro none of

this actually matters and they are

simply false this video is 100% for raw

speed and vertical jump gains not taking

in account sport specific needs now on

to the elastic based Training Method I'm

going to give you the six fundamental

rules of how to train like an elastic

dominant athlete starting with rule

number one the 8020 rule the goal for

increasing speed is to do fast stuff in

the research it shows that velocity

specific exercises have the highest

transfer over to your Sprint speed which

means to get faster we need to be doing

sprints that are 97% output any tent and

we need to be doing fast ground contact

petrics 80% of our training so your

first question is where does strength

fit in in the other 20% of your training

and this means 8020 in terms of volume

so let's use an example let's say you

have 3 to 4 days to train and you have a

total of a 100 reps that you can do in

terms of anything you choose that means

80 of your reps need to be sprinting and

petrics and 20 of reps can go to

strength dominant stuff like a deep

squat or a hinge this stuff can get very

complicated to calculate cuz sprinting

is not as simple as how many reps did

you do or how many reps you do on a

squat it actually is pretty complicated

so you're going to have to take some

time to really figure out the numbers of

this if you want a free speed workout to

see what this looks like join the speed

Academy Discord for free but I say for a

general number look at the amount of

sets you're doing for sprinting and

petrics including your warm-up and then

add that to your total amount of sets

then make 20% of that number of sets for

lifting and if your Advanced athlete

this should be pretty simple to figure

out in terms of reps and sets pretty

much if you have 20 reps to allocate

then you're going to be doing 80%

petrics and 20% strength training and my

most simple version is to lift two to

three times per week two to three sets

per 1 to three exercises and usually

you're going to split that up from one

squat one hinge and one calf raas

variation then you don't want to go

above 12 Reps for most athletes if the

goal is strength and power then we're

going to stick between three to six reps

but once you start training with this

rule you realize that something still

isn't working until you get a high score

in this single test rule number two if

your RSI is low then you will be slow

reach shows that your RSI score needs to

be 2.5 or higher so you can handle

high-intensity petrics and so your

ground contact times can be fast enough

for good sprint times we train this by

doing extensive Plyometrics daily

sprinting two times per week minimum and

making sure the intensity of the

plyometric is at our level where we're

either trying to jump high or get off

the ground fast mainly coming from the

ankle like a single leg hop for example

if you want to be an elastic dominant

athlete then you need to be great at

this plyometric exercise but listen even

if your RSI score is strong and you have

strong ankles you still can't be fast

and explosive if you have this one issue

rule number three fat don't fly research

shows that for every 2 to four pounds of

body fat not water weight your times in

the 40 yard will slow down by 0.1 to 0.3

seconds this is massive the goal for any

athlete who wants to be fast is to be

between 10 to 12% body fat an easy way

to do this is search up your maintenance

calories from a my calculator online

it's not going to be 100% accurate and

then once you figure out around what

your maintenance calories is cut those

calories back by 300 to 500 calories per

day and once you figure out your calorie

goal then you need to be strength

training and eating high protein if you

realize your body fat is a little bit

higher than you want to be and you have

fat to lose then you need to be making

sure that you're eating 1 gram of

protein per pound of body weight or as

little as 0.65 gam of protein per pound

of body weight people will debate this

all day but I think the most important

thing is that you're trying to eat as

much protein as possible this is one of

the biggest keys to help me go from 194

lb running 5.2 in the 40 yard to 184 lbs

running 4.5 in the 40 yard in 9 weeks

now once you lose the body fat that you

need to become a better athlete if

you're still making this one mistake

then all the hard work you put in will

mean nothing rule number four become a

master of one not average at all think

of two athletes athlete a wants to get

faster but he's weak and athlete B wants

to get faster but he's very weak athlete

a does speed and strength training but

he chases strength numbers so he pushes

his deep squat all the way to 400 lb

plus even though he has perfect

technique he is now the strongest in his

school while athlete B slowly

Progressive overloads his lifting while

making his Sprint training the primary

goal and his strength training a

supplement to his goal most athletes

when they feel slow and unathletic the

first thing they go to is trying to

eliminate all their weaknesses but the

issue is we want to become as strong as

possible in one trait and that is

elasticity and this point will lead me

to probably the hottest take I will put

on my YouTube channel is that we need to

be doing extensive P metrics daily when

you were a kid someone probably told you

if you want a dunk you need to do a

th000 jump ropes and a th000 calf raises

every single day while the specific

number isn't true there is a lot of

Truth in the fact that you need elastic

contacts daily to become an elastic

driven athlete but the issue in the

number one mistake most athletes make is

that these need to be low intensity

contacts and if you make them high

intensity you're going to tear your

tendon or just flat out get injured the

goal is to expose the tendons to elastic

movements daily not to inflame the

tendons and get overuse injuries my

favorite example is I helped this

athlete go from this to this and all we

had him do was do 3 to 5 minutes of

extensive skips and extensive jumps for

his warm-up and then he followed the

speed Academy program to keep

progressing every single month but if

you're elastic athlete and you still

don't Master this one trait then you

might be leaving some gains on the table

rule number five relative strength is

Queen relative power is King our goal is

to improve relative strength but not at

the expense of relative power so if you

want to increase your strength that has

more transfer to speed then we need to

keep our lifts focused on power

development which means the concentric

portion of any lift we do should be 0.6

seconds or 0.8 m/s if you have a

velocity tracker then our lifts need to

be mainly posterior chain dominant which

means glute dominant in nature because

this is going to have the highest

transfer to speed the best variations

are going to be the rear foot elevated

split squat a trap bar deadlift with

high handles or even a hamstring curl

then lifting should be for low reps and

low to medium sets a question I have for

you is what is the difference between 3

* 12 and 12 * 3 the volume is the exact

same in terms of total reps but the

stimulus you can drive from 12 time 3 is

much more power oriented especially if

you do more weight while 3 * 12 is much

more hypertrophic in nature research

like this one proves that bar velocity

transfers to athleticism but there's an

issue you improve strength specific to

the velocity of the sport a general rule

of thumb is that we should never see the

grinding portion of a set in our lower

body compound lifts here's a video

example of what you

want and what you don't

want and if you train your power while

having all your focus on this one thing

then you will get the most gains

possible rule number five keep the goal

elastic if your goal is to Sprint faster

then your time needs to be spent doing

this one simple thing if you spend 80%

of your time lifting and 20% of your

time sprinting then your goal is

completely backwards pick your singular

goal and train that goal two to three

times per week with proper volume based

around the goal either you want to

Sprint faster you want to jump higher or

you want to improve your change your

direction now make sure early in all

your workouts you do enough volume to

cause an adaptation we do not want your

Sprint and jump training to be at the

end of a workout where fatigue has

already accumulated and you don't have

97 to 100% output and intensity to get

the adaptation you want and then choose

one to two exercises per workout to

support the goal that you're trying to

train in the workout you should be

picking exercises to support the goal

not having the goal support the

exercises you to now if you want all

this done for you and you want me to

coach your speed and help you transform

your speed this year join the speed

Academy in the link below then watch

this video right here to learn how to

train your acceleration like an Olympic

level athlete