In the past, athletes used to mimic successful athletes as a way to enhance their skills. However, this approach has transformed with the introduction of specialized periodized programs. These programs consist of adaptable training phases that cater to the requirements of athletes, regardless of whether they are competing or striving to maintain fitness. This contemporary advancement has inadvertently benefitted other athletes by assisting them in boosting their performance.
It is crucial for athletes to establish a holistic sports foundation that encompasses physical and mental abilities (Hoffman, Sheldahl & Kraemer 1998). In the past, conditioning programs mainly concentrated on enhancing cardiovascular fitness and aerobic conditioning. Nevertheless, a successful program should also take into account the specific metabolic requirements, potential injury risks, and biomechanical attributes linked to each sport.
When considering sports fitness, it is important to consider various factors based on the specific requirements of the sport. Fitness has multiple aspects that can affect individuals differently, with physical fitness being extremely important. Physical fitness includes seven main components: aerobic and muscular endurance, flexibility, speed, muscular strength, power, and body composition. While agility and balance are categorized as motor skills, they are also recognized as essential parts of overall fitness.
The main focus of this text is discussing the components of fitness that are relevant to sprinting 100ms and exploring how training can affect and improve these components. In sprinting, power is considered to be the most essential component to develop. This is because the ability to generate force quickly is important for success in various sports (Newton Kraemer Hakkinen 1999), but it is particularly crucial for achieving a winning performance. Power is defined as the combination of muscle force and movement speed, and improving either speed or strength will result in increased power.
The concept of power is closely connected to muscular strength and differs from muscular endurance. Muscular strength refers to the ability of a specific muscle or group of muscles to exert maximum force during contraction (Heaney, 2008). Increased muscular strength leads to the development of highly forceful muscles (Heaney, 2008). Multiple factors influence muscular strength, including muscle mass and the number of contracting fibers – a higher number of fibers results in greater muscle girth and thus more force (Heaney, 2008).
Gender also plays a role; typically, males tend to be stronger than females. However, there are numerous women who have developed their muscular strength despite having approximately twice the body fat levels compared to males and significantly lower testosterone levels. Testosterone, an anabolic steroid that promotes muscle growth, may also contribute to men being more aggressive and training harder (Sharkey, p147). Age also affects strength, with muscles being strongest in a person’s early 20s and declining thereafter.
According to Sharkey (p146), regular strength training can postpone the decline in physiological function and speed until approximately 35/40 years of age. Resistance exercises can help older individuals enhance their strength mass and mobility (Sharkey p146). The determination of strength is influenced by muscle fiber types, particularly fast twitch fibers. Individuals with higher levels of fast twitch fibers may possess greater power (Sharkey p146). A study conducted by Sharkey (p147) discovered that weightlifters have a larger area of fast twitch fibers compared to non-weightlifters. Factors such as heredity and training can impact the increase in muscle size (Sharkey p147).
Developing strength is crucial for the growth of other systems like connective tissue and motor units, which in turn aid muscle hypertrophy by providing physiological stimuli. Training with weights using the 3 – 5 rep max range not only enhances strength but also stimulates muscle hypertrophy by engaging all muscle fibers. Speed, besides its importance in sprinting, plays a significant role in overall muscular fitness and is considered a vital factor in sprinting as well as other sports. It should be noted that speed differs from acceleration as it represents the athlete’s maximum rate of movement.
Speed is diminished by factors such as tiredness, contact friction, and air resistance (Sharkey p145). The reflexive nervous system regulates response time and is not subject to conscious alteration; nevertheless, heightened consciousness and repetitive, suitable reactions aid in decreasing nervous system processing (Sharkey p146). Following a training regime, alterations in muscle fiber types have been measured. Through proper training, stride length, stride rate, and speed saw improvement as attention shifted from form as a primary focus to anaerobic conditioning and a program incorporating methods to enhance these factors.
Balance is an essential part of fitness that is often ignored. It enables athletes to stay stable during different activities, according to Sharkey (p147). There are two types of balance to consider: static balance, which involves maintaining stability while not moving, and dynamic balance, which is necessary when athletes are in motion. Insufficient balance can negatively impact an athlete’s skills and performance. Balance depends on proprioreceptors or sensory nerves that send information about our muscles, tendons, and joints to the brain, giving us a sense of our body position.
According to Sharkey (p147), the information received through sight and sound in our inner ear is later combined. It is essential to train the neuromuscular system to improve quickness, which should involve exercises that teach muscles to react faster and enable the brain to respond appropriately. Training the nervous system leads to adaptations in the neuromuscular system, enhancing brain response abilities. As a result, motor neurons fire at a higher rate, fast twitch fibers are recruited accurately and completely, reactions become quicker, and ultimately, there is an increase in force production.
Optimal quickness is attained by reducing body fat, which adds extra burden. Prioritizing the strengthening of the legs and core is crucial, as they are the essential initiators and power suppliers for movement. Building stronger muscles in these areas lowers the body’s center of gravity, resulting in improved dynamic balance and better control and quickness. Sprinting also relies on flexibility, as it relies on balanced muscles for efficient movement. Lack of flexibility and strength in the muscles hinder dynamic balance, ultimately affecting quickness.
Improving the neuromuscular system, also known as muscular fitness, has visible results in terms of strength, speed, and power development. To achieve these results, the training program should include specificity and overloading principles. Free weights, machines, and isokinetic devices are all options for enhancing strength. Free weights allow for a greater range of movement, engaging more muscles and tendons, while machines provide a safer and versatile workout. Specificity focuses on the physiological functions necessary for sprinting, enhancing muscle performance.
Overloading is a training method that goes beyond the physiological adaptations of muscles, such as structural changes and growth. This can improve an athlete’s performance, especially when the activities are similar to their sport. Specificity is a conditioning program that strives to achieve a particular outcome. It includes metabolic specificity, which deals with the metabolic changes and responses during training, as well as physiological specificity, which involves the physiological changes and responses during training.
Effective training programmes can lead to changes in the body, particularly in the Cardiopulmonary, musculoskeletal, and neuroendocrine systems. The type of these changes depends on what is most effective for a specific sport. Furthermore, there is a need for mechanical specificity where the mechanical movements of the sport are replicated. These exercises should produce changes that align with the sprinter’s performance objectives. For example, including plyometric exercises like the “frog” can help sprinters generate more power when pushing off from their starting blocks.
Reciprocal Innervation is based on the concept that muscles work in pairs. When one muscle contracts, it generates a force opposite to the opposing muscle’s contraction. Therefore, as one muscle contracts, its antagonist muscle relaxes. Power performance involves both speed and strength. However, strength can be developed more than speed can. Sprinting usually lasts less than 10 seconds and depends on the ATP – PC system. This system can be overloaded multiple times with short rest periods, resulting in lactic acid production.
The use of plyometric exercises is a common and effective way to enhance speed by emphasizing explosive movements. These exercises train the nervous system to function more efficiently, resulting in quicker improvements. The muscle contracts eccentrically to absorb mechanical energy generated from rebound movements, and then contracts concentrically to release this energy. Experienced athletes can utilize a flat step loading program, where the load is gradually increased and followed by a recovery period.
In general, there are three weeks of gradually increasing intensity followed by a regeneration week to begin the next cycle. Each four-week macro cycle has a higher load than the previous one. Athletes should increase their load by up to 5% per week for progress. This is different from overloading, which consistently increases workload without enough recovery time. While overloading may result in short-term gains, it does not promote optimal muscle development.
Delayed Onset Muscle soreness typically occurs 24 hours after training and is likely caused by muscle tissue tears. However, this can be viewed as a natural part of the adaptation process that enhances strength by replacing the damaged tissue. As the muscle builds and recovers, this “micro trauma” leads to muscle hypertrophy, reducing the risk of further damage for up to six months after the initial soreness (Nosaka et al 2001).
Anabolism refers to the metabolic processes that promote growth. These processes contribute to the development of organs and tissues and result in cell growth, ultimately increasing body size.
Catabolic processes involve the breakdown of proteins for various purposes, including the breakdown of muscle protein to utilize amino acids. These processes occur simultaneously and can mutually trigger one another. To maintain balance, the valsalva manoeuvre can be employed. When performing resistance exercises, which heavily involve large muscles, both systolic and diastolic blood pressures increase (MacDougal et al).
According to MacDougal et al, it is effective to work at 80-85% of 1RM or when fatigue occurs. The increased pressure affects the arterial tree but can decrease if maintained. Trained athletes benefit from this as it stabilizes the spinal column, reduces afterload (Lentini et al), and prevents vascular damage (McCarthy 1999). Muscle fiber contraction occurs when motor units are recruited during activity. Sprinting specifically recruits Type II fast twitch muscles, which are larger and require more muscle.
These are powered by anaerobic metabolism and generate short bursts of power – fatiguing easily. Sprinters are believed to have a greater amount of Type II fibres due to their higher rate of firing. Training impacts muscle fibres, thus incorporating these fibres into the training regimen is crucial. Anaerobic metabolism yields immediate energy, with sprinting relying on the rapid utilization of ATP by cells. Muscles also contain creatine phosphate which, when the bond is broken, generates additional ATP and releases energy. This can supply energy for up to 15 seconds at high intensity levels required in sprinting.
Sprinting is a short-lived activity that relies on the absence of oxygen. Carbohydrates serve as the main source of fuel for sprinting, while high levels of fat hinder speed. Muscle repair and maintenance necessitate a combination of carbohydrates and protein. Uphill runs, plyometrics, and circuit training can enhance speed endurance. The production of adrenaline and noradrenaline is triggered by competition, impacting glycolysis through alterations in the PFK-FBPase balance. Another effect is the lowering of firing threshold for Type II fibers, enabling the utilization of more motor units. In conclusion, sprinting demands a specialized training program to develop necessary muscles and skills. Despite other fitness components having lesser significance, power and the advantage gained from explosive starts remain pivotal for elite athletes.
According to Hoffman, Sheldahl & Kraemer (1998), plyometrics is considered the most effective method of training for events like this as it helps develop skills and muscles the most.
This information can be found in the book “Therapeutic exercise” edited by J. DeLisa (1998) in the section on Rehabilitation Medicine: Principles and Practice.
Heaney (2008) also mentions the effectiveness of plyometrics in the study guide “E112 Introduction to sport, fitness and management”.
Another source that reinforces this idea is Sharkey and Gaskill’s book “Fitness & Health” (2007).
All of these sources highlight the benefits of plyometric training for improving skills and muscle development.
