Episode 4 – Lee Taft – Teaching Speed For Runners & Triathletes

In this Episode:

• Lee Taft
• Speed and Agility
• Importance of Foot and Ankle Joints
• Exercises
• Using Time vs. Distance
• Priorities of a Triathlete
• Proper Strength Training
  • Why are we posterior-chain focused?
• The Need for Speed
• Program Design for Runners
• Strength Baselines
  • Expectations for arm carriage
• Safe Drills for Cyclists and Triathletes
• Ideal Session
• Key Points for Listeners
• Conclusion

Show Notes:

0:47 – 

Lee Taft

• Nicknamed “The Speed Guy”
• He has a certified speed and agility course on the NSPA, athletes’ acceleration sports performance training, and a CEU course on speed and agility coaching: Speed Insiders 6-month course

3:19 – 

Speed and Agility

• A lot of the runners and triathletes that Menachem has worked with are surprised when they get speed and agility work
• There is so much value in training the human system to have variability because it gives us greater potential
• Lee always tries to do multi-planar movements with his linear athletes
  • Even in just one direction (not including change of direction yet), gives the system/structure more capacity to be able to joint load and handle force absorption and production
• Feet are the critical component; they are what touch the ground and give us sensory feedback
  • If we can train movements to strengthen those patterns, in our feet, ankles, and lower leg, it makes us a more efficient mover in a linear pattern
  • Deceleration/agility training (change of direction) then adds element of strengthening tissues to be able to manage mass and momentum
  • The ability to change our pace or momentum gets built up through basic agility training
• So much value that hasn’t been tapped into yet

6:46 –

Importance of Foot and Ankle Joints

• Great impact of big toe
  • It is very important to be able to spread the toes and lift the big toe on its own
• Subtalar and calcaneal joints make up the ankle and take on so much pressure and force when things are out of alignment
• There is great support in making sure we have multi-planar movement
• The more the feet are involved, the more efficient and economical you’ll be in running
• “We have to always control the transverse plane” – Lee
• Important for injury prevention

10:04 –

Exercises

• Jumping rope
• Low-box exercises or weight plate
  • Have them jump on and off and videotape from the back, front, and side to show how the body is managing this weight
  • The low box also provides a little bit of a projection forward, which running is
• “The person that it capable of running the furthest does not win, necessarily. It’s the person who runs the fastest for the distance being set” – Lee
• Lee wants to make sure that they have the endurance to maintain their speed
  • Then: 60s, 80s, and 100s, which gets speed at a much higher level
  • Then: repeat miles
  • Then: sequence again
  • The value of doing the repeats is that it allows runners to run the mile while still having energy reserves
• “Always gave them that ability to feel speed, while they were still at their race distance” – Lee

15:00 –

Using Time vs. Distance

• Lee uses time more than distance honestly
• “I try to get them to have a watch” – Lee
  • So they can know where they’re at and be able to push if he’s not with them
• To get them to buffer they have to hit certain time thresholds

• Best way is to use both a time and a distance
• But distances are most likely easier to understand for runners
• IMG tennis court in Arizona without any lines

• • One of the top players in the world when she would practice, she wouldn’t continue if she estimated the ball would go out
  • They wanted her to continue for the speed and agility side of things, so they erased the lines

19:26 –

Priorities of a Triathlete

• Strength: because of the rate of force development and being able to get off the ground quicker
• But, if we weren’t going that route, then sprint training and pure plyometric training
  • The ability to develop the resiliency – that elastic and stiffness quality – to get off the ground
  • Having this tissue quality adds a bonus to triathletes’ event
• Joint position dictates muscle function, so we need to get you in a better body position

22:31 –

Proper Strength Training

• Strength training can really help with proprioception and provide understanding that force creates motion, but stiffness controls that motion – Menachem

• If we properly strength train and create balance and symmetry within a joint, then athletes will have the ability to use that strength for force loading and producing, isometric movements, etc.
  • “The muscle being strong enough to hold its position gives the tendon the chance to have elastic quality vs. a weak muscle which won’t let that happen as much… good fundamental strength allows us to do so many more quality things with our movement” – Lee

• Good balance with pushing and pulling pattern – both vertically and horizontally
  • Cyclists spend more time on pulling because they’re so used to falling forward in the pushing posture
    • It depends!
• Make sure athletes squat with adequate dorsi-flexion 
  • Greater knee flexion (forward) and keep heel down
  • Power-lifters tend to be more posterior-dominant
• Every time a runner puts their foot on the ground that’s a form of deceleration
  • Make sure they can do it with adequate range of motion from the ankle, knee, hip, cervical spine, and pelvis
• General → specific type patterns
  • More sport-force specific
  • We want to eccentrically and concentrically produce force, while also having variability

29:55 –

Why are we posterior-chain focused?

• Sedentary lifestyle leads to poor posture
• You still need to focus on the explosive part – concentric speeds and rate of force development
• The best programs have a mix and progression

31:30 –

The Need for Speed

• Pace zone indexes
  • Aerobic, tempo, and threshold zones
    • 35-45 second gap between tempo and threshold
• The best milers and 5k runners are highly inefficient at any speed other than their race speed
• The ability to have capacity – to be able to push yourself – to get the tissues to be able to manage greater speeds and intensities is really important
  • When you learn to change gears/speed, everything from pelvic position to T-spine, ability to control rotation, arm action (will get bigger), foot action, where you land on your foot will change
    • Athletes must be exposed to this to help prevent injury

35:50 –

Program Design for Runners

• First, work on biomechanical efficiencies, any changes that you might have to make, running technique, and sprint mechanical technique to improve tissue quality and joint loading mechanics
  • Try to buffer their ability to have greater speed and manage good plyometric and jump training
• Then, less volume of pure distance, which will increase over time
  • “It is harder to gain speed, if you don’t have it, than it is to gain endurance capacity” – Lee
• Quality warm-ups that give multi-directional movement
• Lateral movement
  • Karaoke for joint loading in feet and hips
  • Resistant lateral stuff
  • Lateral bounding and skipping
• Go into different forms of power and speed/plyometric concept, which leads into easier type movements, such as stride-outs
• Typically, have the athlete moving more quickly toward the beginning of the week, when they tend to be more fresh mentally and physically, and toward the end, taper the intensity down
• Lee: make sure they get between that range of 80-100 miles because that’s what they’re gonna have to do/manage (for iron man)
• Menachem: max. 50-55 miles a week, but very high quality
  • Galloway method: doing their efforts and then walking and using HRV and teaching breathing and maintaining posture
    • “I would definitely defer to your expertise in that area; that’s without a doubt” – Lee
  • Progressive runs teach explosiveness, and as you’re getting tired you get tissue strain, a higher metabolic impact, and a greater hormonal response in recovery because you’re ramping up as you go through

47:43 –

Strength Baselines

• Big on single-leg
  • Especially for runners
  • Box squat where they’re standing on box and lower down so free leg drops below the side of the box, and they’re getting to at least parallel, hopefully more
    • At least 5 times with 45-60 pounds
• Hinge pattern
  • Somewhere between 65-75 pound (raw numbers) dumbbell single-leg RDL
    • Know they are developing really good stability in that posture
    • Hip flexion and extension control
      • It also depends!

52:22 –

Expectations for arm carriage

• It’s really important that they have the ability to have really good scapular movement form various arm positions
  • Looking for really good scapular rhythm around the ribs and the ability to maintain positions functionally and easily
• Ability to go unilateral, and have extension and rotation – or flexion and rotation – through the thoracic and have the arm move through its range of motion from an abduction position to adducted – internally and externally rotated position
  • Waiters’ carry or PNF pattern across the body
  • Wants to see good symmetry and range of motion and pain-free with various tasks of the shoulder
• Rotary stability/transverse control
  • One-armed and one-legged exercises

55:28 –

Safe Drills for Cyclists and Triathletes

• Jump rope builds foot quality and ankle stiffness and focuses on how our thorax and cervical spine manage quick loading
• Transfer into a gait pattern of simple A-drills
• Gradually starting to add a baseline plyometric and elastic type reflex activities
• Sprinting teaches them to open up and the greater arm action creates rotary stability and elastic energy that is wanted

58:59 –

Ideal Session

• Tissue quality work to get blood flow, heat, and extensibility within the tissue
  • Roller

• Multiplanar movement
  • Lunge series or matrix
• Medicine ball throws (still warm-up)
  • ~4-6 pound ball with different releases works on internal and external rotation from shoulder and joint, and thorax movement, and dorsi-flex → plantar-flex release pattern
• Power
  • Upper body
    • Medicine ball throw or tubing, explosive movement
  • Lower body
    • Jump
• Speed
• Strength
• Energy system training
  • Different from metabolic

1:02:41 –

Key Points for Listeners

• Strength is SO important
  • Making athletes stronger is the foundation of movement
  • Also for injury prevention
• Backpedal work from walking → squatting → running → skipping (all backwards) because it creates a natural subconscious to drive great dorsi-flexion through the great toe and the ankle and challenges the quadriceps to work with the lower part of the ankle
  • Do backpedalling when they’re extended and taller, which gets the front of the hip to communicate really well with gastrocnemius
  • Helps athletes feel really good in range of motion and control, as well as with injury prevention and overall performance

1:06:31 –

Conclusion

• Where can listeners find you?
  • Speed Insiders: 6-month course
  • Leetaft.com (most recommended)
    • New video almost every day
  • Social media: @LeeTaft