Train Like an Athlete – Look Like an Athlete

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Published on Friday, 03 June 2011 01:24

Written by Jim Kielbaso MS, CSCS

It’s an incredible feeling to feel light on your feet and able to move with a little spring in your step. It’s very different than the feeling of being strong or having great endurance. Those feel good too, but feeling athletic only comes from performing athletic movements on a consistent basis, and this feeling disappears quickly when it’s not used. Take one look at the way most bodybuilders or powerlifters move when they try to do something athletic. It’s not pretty. They get used to doing one thing, and their bodies forget how to move athletically.

Again, if you’re like most people, you used to do some speed work when you were competing at your sport, but you quit doing most of that as soon as you didn’t have a coach making you do it. Who can blame you? Most people think that sprinting and agility work has to be incredibly difficult because that’s what you learned from high school conditioning sessions.

It doesn’t have to be that way. In fact, speed and agility training for most people should have a very slow progression that leaves you feeling revitalized, not completely drained. You hear a lot about CNS activation these days, and it’s kind of the same process. The difference is that you’re performing athletic movements like accelerating, decelerating and changing directions instead of only jumping or explosive lifting movements.

Within a couple of sessions, you’ll be feeling better than you have in a long time. I can’t tell you how many times I hear people tell me this after they re-incorporate some speed work into their routines. It almost becomes addictive, because that feeling of moving fast and free is exhilarating. And, seeing quick improvements is incredibly motivating.

If you’ve never participated in a sport that required this kind of training, you’re in for a treat. No matter what you currently do or what state of fitness you’re in, you can improve your athleticism and feel like a pro.

Another benefit of speed training is that it is one of the best ways we know to look athletic. What do cut-up, athletic looking guys like Chris Johnson, Reggie Bush, Raphael Nadal, Clay Matthews, Maurice Greene, Dwight Howard, Kyle Vanden Bosch, Gabe Kappler, LeBron James and Terrell Owens all have in common? Yes, they’re all jacked, and they move with a stunning combination of grace and power.

But, think about what they do that you probably don’t. They all do plenty of speed and agility work in addition to their lifting and sport practices.

High-intensity speed training has been shown over and over again to increase HGH output better than any other form of exercise. Since HGH makes us metabolize fat faster, increase lean body mass and increases your overall youthful look, it makes sense that we’d want to take advantage of this. It has also been shown that speed work burns more calories than aerobic exercise and keeps your metabolism revved higher for a much longer time post-exercise.

The explosive work also stimulates your nervous system like no other form or training, which makes your muscles fire more synchronously during athletic movements. This makes you jump higher, run faster and cut quicker than ever before.

The overall feeling of achievement from this kind of training can also trigger your cerebral cortex to send a message to your hypothalamus to produce more testosterone. Crazy, but it’s true. It’s no wonder that the Army and Marines have adopted this form of training in many of their protocols. It just makes sense.

So, if speed and agility work makes you look and feel like a champ, what’s stopping you from adding them to your routine? Trust me, I’ve heard it all. How about these excuses:

· I don’t have anywhere to do it

· I don’t want to get hurt

· I don’t know what to do

· My (insert lingering injury) won’t let me

· I don’t have time

· I don’t want to cut into my lifting time

· It’s too hard

· My lifting partner won’t join me

· I’m not athletic – I’ll look stupid

· I don’t want to be a pro athlete

· I just want to lift weights

Maybe you have another one, but they all sound the same. The bottom line, however, is that adding some quality speed training to your routine can be both fun and beneficial on a variety of levels.

You don’t have to start out on day one training like an NFL running back. In fact, it’s best to start conservatively and slowly progress. Your new speed program only needs to take about 30 minutes, 2-3 days a week, but be sure to listen to your body if you think you need more rest between sessions. If you haven’t done anything like this in a long time, there’s a good chance you’re going to be sore after your first workout, so give yourself plenty of time to recover before you hit it again.

Start out with a basic warm up routine, getting your body moving through different planes of motion and movements. Find an area 10-15 yards long, and go down and back with each of these exercises:

· Jog

· Backpedal

· Shuffle

· Carioca

· Skip

· High knee run

· Butt kickers

Don’t rest between these so you get your heart rate up and increase your core temperature slightly. When you’re done, do a quick stretch of your entire body.

Now you’re ready to start some work. Do six, short (10-15 yards) sprints, giving yourself 30-90 seconds rest between each. You want to give yourself plenty of rest between sets so that you can give very high effort while you’re working. That’s the key to speed training – high-quality work.

The first two sprints shouldn’t be done at 100% intensity. Use these two to continue loosening up. The next four should be done all out.

When you’re done, find a line. Any line will do. Get into an athletic position and do the following routine, taking 30-90 seconds between sets:

· Two feet, forward & backward – 30 reps

· Two feet, side to side – 30 reps

· One foot at a time, forward & backward – 15 reps

· One foot at a time, side to side – 15 reps

Now perform 2 sets of 5 jump squats and 2 sets of 5 broad jumps.

Finish off with an agility drill like a 20-yard shuttle or the Up & Over drill. If you haven’t done much agility training lately, try performing eight 20-yard shuttles, four each way. Check out the videos on how to run a 20-yard shuttle or Up & Over drill.

This is a very, very basic start to things. Think of it as a starting point if you haven’t done much speed training lately. As you get more into it, start to use your imagination and create your own agility drills or go online and find some new ones. You can also slowly start to increase the number of repetitions you do, but don’t feel like you have to make these workouts too long. Unless you’re preparing for a sport or competition, 30 minutes of speed work is plenty.

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