Every sport or position requires specific movement skills for an athlete to master. These movement skills are crucial to maximising efficiency, speed and performance, and to minimising the potential for injury when training and competing in the sport.
There are many elements to enhancing speed, no one training method holds the key. Rather it is a combination of components that results in greatest improvements. For example, developing specific strength qualities is one of the most effective ways to increase the power necessary for maximal sprinting, however, unless an athlete first focuses on movement, and in turn movement skills, they may struggle to maximise the results from their efforts in other areas. Whatever your sport or level, you will benefit from learning to optimally apply force, decelerate, jump, land and change direction.
In our programmes and with the athletes we work with, we focus primarily on linear, multidirectional and rotational movement. For the purpose of this article we will look to describe the key components of improving linear movement, specifically acceleration!
LINEAR MOVEMENT SKILLS
Linear movement skills focus on developing the optimal patterns required to produce maximum power and speed when propelling the body forwards, in a straight line. Linear speed development is typically broken into acceleration, transition, and absolute/maximum speed.
In many positions in the various field sports, acceleration is regarded as the physical quality which has the greatest impact on performance.
Below, we’ve outlined some simple progressions we commonly use to develop the movement skills necessary to maximise acceleration and linear speed.
ACCELERATION POSTURE HOLD –
SETS & REPS: Hold 10-15 seconds on each side for 1-2 sets
TIPS: Ensure a straight line from your heel through the knee, hip and shoulder. The heel of the support leg should be off the ground slightly. The lower leg on the raised side, should be parallel to the support leg, with toes/laces up!
ACCELERATION LOAD & LIFT –
SETS & REPS: 3-5 reps on each side for 1-2 sets
TIPS: Reach back or “load” from the set position, allowing the knee on the support leg to bend, then “lift” to a strong acceleration posture position, driving the knee upwards forcefully. Make corrections to your body position if required before continuing the set.
ACCELERATION SINGLE EXCHANGE –
SETS & REPS: 3-5 reps on each side for 1-2 sets
TIPS: From an acceleration posture hold position on the wall, quickly switch the support leg driving the opposite knee upwards. Make corrections to your body position if required before continuing the set.
ACCELERATION LOAD, LIFT & SWITCH –
SETS & REPS: 2-3 reps on each side for 1-2 sets
TIPS: Combine the two movements above to perform this drill, taking care to make corrections to your body position on each rep.
The positions and patterns outlined above should serve as a good introduction to acceleration mechanics. These movements are typically advanced further with drills which incorporate arm movements, and with variations which utilise harnesses and sleds to enable the same controlled patterns to be practiced, while allowing the athlete to move in a forward direction.
It’s important to note at this point, that incorporating these or any movement skills into a training plan will provide only a modest return to an athlete unless they possess the underlying movement patterns, in addition to adequate levels of strength. Mastering Movement Prep and engaging in consistent and appropriate strength and power training are important steps in building the foundation that enables optimal movement skills and speed.
If you are interested in learning and applying more movement skills to your training, check out our online training plans.
