Solutions

Activity 1 What are speed and power?

Discussion

Speed can be defined as a measure of the rate of motion and is therefore the distance travelled divided by the time taken to travel that distance (Murray and Kenny, 2016). Power is a measure of the rate at which energy is transferred – that is, power is force multiplied by distance divided by time (Murray and Kenny, 2016). So in simple terms speed refers to how quickly we move (for example, from the start to the end of a 100m race), while power is a combination of strength and speed, and refers to the ability to execute strong explosive movement at a fast pace (for instance, as with exploding from the starting blocks). Speed and power are closely related, and both are often important in specific sports or activities.

A needs analysis of your sport or activity will indicate how important speed and power are to you. There is a wide range of sports and activities in which speed and power are important – in some sports such as sprinting or power-lifting, achieving speed and power are the main objectives, whereas in other sports such as rugby or football they are just one aspect of the sport. Speed or power may be required in various parts of the body – for example, in cricket the arm of a bowler needs to be able to travel at speed to deliver the ball, but the legs and the rest of the body also need to move fast in order to enable this.

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Activity 3 Speed training in action

Discussion

  1. Before planning speed sessions, Fiona the strength and conditioning coach will talk to the athlete to confirm their training age and injury history. Then Fiona will perform a needs analysis of both the athlete and their sport to determine the biomechanical, physiological and injury prevention needs.
  2. In Video 3 you see the coach deliver speed drills (primary method), resistance-band acceleration (secondary method), and plyometric training. Speed resistance and assistance training methods could be useful to any individual who needed to develop speed and therefore could be utilised by individuals from a range of sports. As always, the training principle of specificity should be considered when identifying appropriate speed training exercises. The examples in Video 3 are all running-based and would therefore be appropriate for individuals who wish to develop their running speed (such as sprinters, footballer players, rugby players). Alternative exercises would be more appropriate for those who needed to develop speed in other movements (such as throwers, bowlers, swimmers). For example, L’ubos et al. (2018) found that swimming training with a parachute (speed resistance) improved swimming speed.
  3. Speed training can be progressed by increasing the volume (the demand that the athlete places on their body), load (resist movement or increase height in plyometrics) or frequency (number of sessions per week) of training.

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Activity 4 Plyometric mechanics and physiology

Part

Answer

The correct matches are:

First

Eccentric

Second

Amortisation

Third

Concentric

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Activity 5 Plyometric training in action

Discussion

You probably chose your exercise by applying the principle of specificity. In other words, you probably tried to select an exercise that would be relevant to a 200m sprinter. Any of the lower body plyometric exercises with similar movement patterns (i.e. in a sagittal plane), or that work the muscle groups that a 200m sprinter needs to develop (i.e. quadriceps, hamstrings, gastrocnemius) in order to improve her sprint performance would be beneficial.

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Activity 6 Being explosive in the gym

Discussion

In Video 6 you see a variety of exercises being performed, including power cleans, power snatch and squat jumps. What all these exercises have in common is that they’re performed with fast, explosive or jumping movements – so they differ from more traditional weightlifting exercises which tend to be performed more slowly. Explosive exercises require relatively more technical input from a qualified strength and conditioning coach. Weight training exercises to develop power include Olympic lifts (such as snatch, clean and jerk). Squat jumps, the snatch and the clean are very effective at developing explosive leg power for sprinting.

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End-of-course quiz

Part

Answer

Right:

c) Strength x speed

Wrong:

a) Muscular endurance x strength

b) Cardiovascular endurance x speed

d) Anaerobic capacity x agility

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Part

Answer

Right:

b) Plyometric and weight training

Wrong:

a) Plyometric and balance training

c) Plyometric and endurance training

d) Plyometric and core training

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Part

Answer

Right:

b) Eccentric contraction

Wrong:

a) Concentric contraction

c) Isometric contraction

d) Isokinetic contraction

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Part

Answer

Right:

c) Running with a parachute

Wrong:

a) Running downhill

b) Running while being towed

d) All of the above

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Part

Answer

Right:

b) 75–90% of 1RM, 1–5 repetitions, 3–5 sets, 2–5 minutes rest between sets

Wrong:

a) ≥85% of 1RM, 1–6 repetitions, 2–6 sets, 2–5 minutes rest between sets

c) 67–85% of 1RM, 6–12 repetitions, 3–6 sets, 30–90 seconds rest between sets

d) ≤67% of 1RM, ≥12 repetitions, 2–3 sets, ≤30 seconds rest between sets

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