This NSCA Coach article provides a proposes a framework for standardizing SEB resistance training based on principles of kinetic and potential energy. Visit NSCA online to read more on exercise science and sport performance.

Acceleration and maximal velocity are two factors that are key for any position in football and can determine success in many situations out on the field. This article will review several aspects of sprint mechanics and training to enhance linear (straight-ahead) speed for football players.

This article examines using the sled as a dynamic correspondence exercise for increasing on-ice acceleration.

The purpose of this article is to describe the cause of hamstring injuries in sprinters and present a biomechanical intervention, or drill, that can be used to prevent hamstring injuries while transitioning sprint athletes toward the utilization of frontside mechanics.

Loren Landow, owner of Landow Performance in Denver, CO, shows some example progressions and cues for sprint mechanics.

This article features the recharge skate—an in-season hockey conditioning drill, designed by the authors, to maintain hockey-specific energy system fitness throughout the competitive season.

Sprinting is a key component for many individual and team sports. Therefore, to enhance sprint performance, various training methods are widely used by coaches and practitioners, including maximum sprint speed and resisted sprint training. Resisted sprinting with sled towing is a method that has recently received considerable attention from the sport science community. However, to date, no consensus exists regarding its acute and chronic effects in team sport athletes. This narrative review aimed to (a) review and analyze the mechanics of sprinting under unresisted and resisted conditions with a specific focus on team sport disciplines; (b) provide a thorough and applied discussion on the importance of considering acute and chronic effects of sled loading on technique, electromyographic activity, and force production, as well as on the role of muscle architecture and neural factors in sled training; (c) analyze the effects of increasing sled loads during acceleration and maximum velocity phases on contact and flight phases, while concomitantly examining kinetic, kinematic, and neuromuscular aspects, because all these factors affect each other and cannot be properly understood in isolation.

This infographic details sprint profiling and reviews possible resistance training exercises that help along the force-velocity curve.

This infographic shows the effects of sprint specific training, both forward and backward, and its relation to speed and power output.

This article in NSCA Coach shares a research-driven framework for dryland training in competitive swimming. Visit us online to learn more on sport performance and exercise science.