A 6-Week Base Strength Training Program for Sprint Acceleration Development and Foundation for Future Progression in Amateur Athletes

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Article in Strength and conditioning journal · November 2017

DOI: 10.1519/SSC.0000000000000341

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A 6-Week Base Strength Training Program for

Sprint Acceleration Development and

Foundation for Future Progression in Amateur Athletes

Robert G. Lockie, PhD

Department of Kinesiology, California State University, Fullerton, Fullerton, California

A B S T R A C T

THIS ARTICLE DETAILS A 6-WEEK RESISTANCE TRAINING PROGRAM THAT CAN BE USED TO IMPROVE SPRINT ACCELERATION IN AMA- TEUR ATHLETES. THIS PROGRAM CAN CONCURRENTLY ENHANCE BASE LOWER-BODY STRENGTH AND 10-M SPEED AND INCORPO- RATES THE BACK SQUAT, STEP- UP, CABLE HIP FLEXION, AND SMITH MACHINE CALF RAISE.

LOADS CAN BE INCREASED FROM APPROXIMATELY 75–90% OF ONE REPETITION-MAXIMUM OVER THE COURSE OF THE PROGRAM. THE EXERCISES ARE DESCRIBED WITH SUPPORTING SCIENTIFIC EVI- DENCE FOR THEIR USE. ADDI- TIONALLY, SUGGESTIONS ARE PROVIDED AS TO HOW THE PRO- GRAM COULD BE MODIFIED AND

PROGRESSED WITH DIFFERENT EXERCISES TO FURTHER

ENHANCE THE FORCE–VELOCITY PROFILE.

INTRODUCTION

S

trength training is generally designed to make an athlete overcome a resistance greater than what they will encounter under competitive conditions (85). The development of strength aids in building the foundation to support further sport- specific training within an athlete. For example, sprinting requires a high degree of power, and this is dependent on strength and force development (85). This is particularly important during acceleration, which is a sprint with increasing velocity, generally occurring over distances from approximately 0–

20 m in a linear sprint from a stationary start (45). When an athlete accelerates, the ability to generate force against the ground is needed to overcome the inertia of body mass. Lockie (45)

provided a detailed discussion as to the potential influence of strength on sprint performance, including acceleration.

Also, two systematic reviews of the literature document a general consen- sus that strength training would positively influence linear speed (11,72).

However, without correct im- plementation, the strength gained from resistance training may not crossover to sport-specific performance, including sprint acceleration.

Strength serves as a foundation for power, of which sprint performance is also dependent (5,7,25,37). Power can be defined as the rate of doing work and can be calculated by multi- plying force and velocity (25,33,79). It has been noted in the literature that the ability to express a high rate of force

Address correspondence to Robert G. Lockie, [email protected].

K E Y W O R D S :

back squat; calf raise;

linear speed; lower-body strength;

step-ups; team sports

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development is often related to an individual’s strength or ability to express a high magnitude of force (1,33,76). As a result, it is important for athletes at all levels of competition to attempt to develop a base of strength, especially for those that participate in sports that require the expression of power. Baker (1) recommended that once a strength plateau is reached, the training empha- sis can shift toward more power-based exercises, such as weightlifting and plyometrics. However, a high base of strength is required for an individual to best achieve benefits from power training (33). As a result, developing an effective base strength training program is important for the amateur athlete. A program that can concurrently enhance absolute and relative lower- body strength, and enhancing sprint acceleration performance, would be of great benefit to amateur team sport athletes who are attempting to progress to semiprofessional or professional levels of play. This would also serve as a foundation for further power development as a training regimen pro- gresses across a season.

This article will provide an example of a 6-week resistance training program that was used to enhance sprint performance over 10 meters (m) in amateur male field sport athletes. The ability to accelerate over 10 m is essential to many team sport athletes because this distance encapsulates the distance cov- ered in many sprints performed during match-play, such as for Australian football (26), rugby union (30), and soccer (6). This program was part of a larger study analyzing sprint acceleration training methods that was previ- ously published (49). However, the scientific basis for the program will be explained in greater detail in this article. This is pertinent for the amateur athlete because they have limited time in which to foster physiological adaptations. Amateur athletes are not paid for sports participation, and as a result, may be poor as they may have to bal- ance a full-time career (23). In a detailed analysis of amateur rugby players from New Zealand, Cresswell and Eklund

(23) profiled an age range of 18–42 years for this type of population. Fur- thermore, amateur or semiprofessional athletes generally have lower strength levels when compared to professional athletes (2), and thus will stand to gain more benefits to sprint performance from an effective resistance training program that can improve strength (7). In addition to explaining the 6- week training program, methods for adapting the program, and other example exercises, will be provided.

TRAINING THE AMATEUR ATHLETE Professional athletes have the advan- tage of being able to incorporate different modalities of training throughout the week, often completing multiple sessions within one day (71). Amateur athletes do not always have this oppor- tunity because of other responsibilities including school, occupation, and fam- ily commitments. This means that when compared to elite athletes who are able to compete in their sport pro- fessionally, amateur athletes will tend to demonstrate lower levels of strength and power (2). Furthermore, amateur sports tend to be reflective of the lack of funding and training resources available to the athlete (18). Chapman et al.

(18) noted that regardless of these chal- lenges and the competitive level of the athlete, it is important for strength and conditioning professionals to make effective use of the limited time and resources available. As a result, training programs for amateur athletes should be as efficient as possible. If a certain training modality or program can provide concurrent improvements in different physiological capacities, this would be of great benefit to an amateur athlete.

In elite athletes, it is difficult to see a direct influence of changes in strength to a physiological capacity such as linear speed (7,62). For the amateur athlete, however, a correctly structured resistance training program can enhance both lower-body strength and sprint performance (22,29,49).

This means that a resistance training program can be designed by the

strength and conditioning professional to specifically target both strength and linear speed adaptations. The training background of the amateur athlete could allow for a more conducive transfer of enhanced strength to sprint performance (7). Furthermore, the establishment of a base level of strength is essential for any attempts to training into more power-based or high-velocity movements in subse- quent training blocks (33). Although traditional strength exercises are not always viewed as being “movement- specific” for sports, there are core lifts that can be used to train for sprint acceleration. For example, the back squat is one exercise that typically forms a foundation for strength training programs that enhance linear speed (11,28,72). Furthermore, there are also lifts that involve movements similar to the sprinting gait pattern that can be incorporated into resistance training for athletes (25,59,68,73,78). Some of these have been incorporated into the current program.

PROGRAM DESIGN

The training program presented in this article is designed to improve lower- body strength and sprint acceleration (49) and can be viewed in Table 1. Four exercises form the basis of the program. These are:

Back squat Step-ups

Cable hip flexion Standing calf raise

To standardize the program, the exercises are completed in this order for each training session. The program involves 2 bilateral contact exercises (back squat, standing calf raises), and 2 unilateral contact exercises (step-ups, cable hip flexion).

The inclusion of unilateral activities is pertinent because sprinting is a cyclic activity and the athlete will predominantly be in single-leg support during the running action (48,81). The inclusion of these single-leg exercises holds true to the ideal of specificity and has been recommended for speed development training (25,59,68,73,78).

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Lockie et al. (49) documented that this program was effective at improving lower-body strength and velocity in the 0–5, 5–10, and 0–10 m sprint intervals in amateur male field sport athletes (Table 2). Using the effect size guidelines from Hopkins (34), there were moderate changes in absolute strength as measured by a 3-repetition maximum (3RM) back squat and relative strength (3RM$body mass²¹).

There were very large effects for the

increase in 0–5 and 0–10 m velocity and a large increase for 5–10 m velocity. These data illustrate that there were meaningful improvements in strength and sprint acceleration (13), and this was particularly true for the 10-m sprint intervals. It should be acknowledged that the effects this program may have on other aspects of performance, such as change-of- direction speed and agility, cannot be categorically stated. Nevertheless,

strength and conditioning professionals that use this program could expect enhancements in strength and sprint acceleration in their amateur athletes.

This is especially pertinent following the recommendations of Haff and Nimphius (33). Haff and Nimphius (33) suggested that a back squat of 2 3 body mass should be a minimum strength requirement for individuals to best achieve benefits from power- specific training. Because the subjects from Lockie et al. (49) did not have this level of strength, they (and other amateur athletes with similar strength levels) arguably would be best served from building a higher level of base strength before targeting other aspects of the force–velocity relationship. This also provides a foundation as to how and why this program could be useful for strength and conditioning practitioners who train amateur athletes who play sports requiring power.

This training program was conducted over 6 weeks, with 2 sessions per week.

A 6-week mesocycle is a sufficient time period to induce changes in lower- body strength and linear speed (46,49,63). A meta-analysis of strength and power training research suggested that 2 days a week of specific strength training was optimal in eliciting gains in strength (64). The training program featured a decrease in repetitions over the course of the program to corre- spond with an increase in load. Inter- estingly, following a meta-analysis of the literature, Seitz et al. (72) stated that improvements in linear speed occurred independent of the average load intensity. The program adhered to the principle of progressive overload and followed a linear periodization model (4,77), with a weekly load increase of between 5 and 10%. The degree of load increase per week was dependent on the individual, and whether they could attain the target repetitions. Three working sets are allocated for each exercise because this has been shown to be suitable for eliciting gains in maximal strength (42).

For a warm-up, athletes completed at least one set of 15 repetitions at Table 1

Six-week resistance training program for sprint acceleration development in amateur athletes

Week Exercise Sets3Repetitions %1RM

1 Back Squat 3310–12 75

Barbell Step-up 3310–12 75

Cable Hip Flexion 3310–12 75

Smith Machine Calf Raise 3310–12 75

2 Back Squat 338–10 75–80

Barbell Step-up 338–10 75–80

Cable Hip Flexion 338–10 75–80

Smith Machine Calf Raise 338–10 75–80

3 Back Squat 336 80–85

Barbell Step-up 336 80–85

Cable Hip Flexion 336 80–85

Smith Machine Calf Raise 336 80–85

4 Back Squat 335 80–85

Barbell Step-up 335 80–85

Cable Hip Flexion 335 80–85

Smith Machine Calf Raise 335 80–85

5 Back Squat 334 90

Barbell Step-up 334 90

Cable Hip Flexion 334 90

Smith Machine Calf Raise 334 90

6 Back Squat 334 90

Barbell Step-up 334 90

Cable Hip Flexion 334 90

Smith Machine Calf Raise 334 90

%1RM5percentage of one-repetition maximum.

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approximately 60% of one-repetition maximum (1RM) for each exercise, before progressing into the 3 working sets. The first 2 weeks of the program featured higher repetition ranges (8–12 repetitions per set). This was to accus- tom the athletes to the exercises used in this program. The repetition ranges in the last 4 weeks of the program use from 3–6 repetitions per set. The decrease in repetitions over the 6 weeks of this program allowed for progressive overload, by increasing the resistance and the intensity of the exercises. Repetition ranges were used as the intensity guide for athletes (as opposed to percentages of 1RM) because all athletes had a background of resistance training. Previous research has found that resistance- trained and strength-trained athletes can complete more repetitions than untrained athletes at the same percentage of 1RM load (65). Therefore, by using repetition ranges as the guide, this ensured that athletes lifted loads com- mensurate with the intensities required in the program. Rest periods between sets were held to approximately 2–

3 minutes because longer rest periods have been shown to lead to greater increases in lower-limb strength (66).

BACK SQUAT

The back squat is a beneficial exercise for overall lower-body strength development largely because of the involve- ment of the flexors and extensors for

both the hip and the knee. Indeed, the vastus muscles, gluteus maximus, and hamstrings are all active during the back squat (17), and these muscles are essential for force development during the sprint step (38,57,75).

Although high levels of strength will not always directly correlate with linear speed (3,24), absolute and relative strength as measured by the back squat in a range of populations has been related to sprint acceleration. For example, absolute 1RM squat corre- lated with 10-m (correlation coefficient [r]5 20.94) sprint times in male soccer players (83). Relative 1RM squat strength has been associated with times over 10 m (r5 20.87) in female softball players (61) and recreationally trained men (19) and 9.14 m (r 5 20.54) in collegiate male football players (54). Although this is not a cause- and-effect relationship, these studies collectively highlight the value of incorporating the back squat into a training program designed to improve sprint acceleration.

Execution of the back squat.

The back squat in this program is performed within the confines of a power rack. The stops should be set at a level just below each individual athlete’s bottom position.

The athlete should begin the back squat by un-racking the bar and supporting it on the mass of the

trapezius, just below the cervical vertebrae (Figure 1A). The bar should be held with a closed grip, with the hands placed outside the shoulders.

The feet should be placed approximately shoulder-width apart, with the toes pointed outwards because of external rotation at the hip.

The athlete descends to a position where the anterior surface of the thighs is parallel with the ground (Figure 1B). The athlete should not allow their back to round during the exercise. To facilitate this, the athletes should be instructed to keep their head and chest up throughout the exercise.

When rising from the bottom position, athletes are directed to push through their heels and to not come up on their toes. The head and chest are to remain up during this phase.

The finish position involves the athlete standing upright without locking the knees.

STEP-UPS

Step-ups are a movement-specific exercise for acceleration and have been recommended for use in speed enhancement training (59). This exercise places a great deal of stress on the muscles involved in hip extension. The range of motion at the hip will rise with sprint velocity, and this is in part driven by the actions of the muscles involved in hip extension (31,51). Furthermore, a strong extension of the support leg has been recommended for optimal acceleration performance (25,41,80), and it has been stated that hip extensors are the prime movers for acceleration (9,75). The hamstrings are also active in stepping exercises such as the loaded step-up used in this program (74,82). Notably, Simenz et al.

(74) found that the biceps femoris is required to be highly active during the eccentric phase of a loaded step- up. This is pertinent given the importance for the hamstring muscles to be eccentrically strong to help prevent injury during maximal sprinting (70).

Collectively, these studies highlight the value of adopting the step-up as a strength exercise in a training program for the amateur athlete.

Table 2

Changes in absolute and relative strength as measured by the 3-repetition maximum (3RM) back squat, and sprint times over 0–5, 5–10, and 0–10 m following the resistance training program in amateur field sport athletes Pretest Posttest % Change Effect Size

3RM Back Squat (kg) 114.40626.80 131.73623.54 15 0.69 Relative 3RM

(kg$BM²¹)

1.4860.27 1.7060.26 15 0.83

0–5 m Velocity (m$s²¹) 3.6860.13 4.0360.16 10 2.40 5–10 m Velocity

(m$s²¹)

6.5560.11 6.7660.18 3 1.41

0–10 m Velocity (m$s²¹)

4.7260.13 5.0560.14 7 2.44

Lockie et al. (49).

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Execution of the step-up.

Step-ups are performed with the bar held across the shoulders, in the same manner as the back squat, and the athletes step up onto a standard gym bench or step (the height of flat gym benches typically range from approximately 0.4–0.5 m). The start position involves the athlete placing a foot flat on the bench or step (Figure 2A).

The athlete is instructed to push up with this leg by extending the hip and knee, and not with the trailing leg on the ground. A slight degree of trunk flexion is recommended to facilitate this action.

The finish position for each repetition occurs when the athlete is supported on the bench with 2 feet (Figure 2B).

The athlete then steps down with the back leg by flexing at the hip and knee and returns to the original standing position by placing front foot next to rear foot in the initial position.

The exercise is then repeated with the other leg.

CABLE HIP FLEXION

Cable hip flexion is a movement- specific exercise that has been advo- cated for sprinting speed development (73,78). Great hip flexion relative to the individual has been recommended for sprinting (41,79) because this could aid the athlete in increasing step frequency (25) and lengthening their step (49).

Although overstriding is not recommended during acceleration in athletes from field-based sports (69), there are several studies that have shown that

a greater step length can contribute to faster sprint acceleration in athletes (14–16,46–49). Further to this, the hip flexors are an important muscle group for increasing running speed (25,31,52), and specific hip flexor training has been found to not only increase hip flexor strength, but also improve 36.6-m sprint and 435.8-m shuttle run times in college-aged men and women (27).

Additionally, Ronnestad et al. (67) found that a seven-week strength program that incorporated a hip flexion exercise significantly improved the 0–10 m interval in a 40-m sprint completed by elite soccer players.

Execution of cable hip flexion.

For this exercise, the low pulley on a cable machine is attached to the ankle of the athlete by a leather cuff.

This leg is placed posterior to the body, and the athlete supports them- selves in a standing position with a slight forward lean (Figure 3A).

The knee is driven forward in a quick and explosive manner until the thigh is parallel with the ground (Figure 3B), before returning with control to the starting position.

Correct sprint arm action, where the opposite arm to the leg is driven forward simultaneously, should be encouraged.

After completing the required number of repetitions, the athlete should position the cuff on the other leg and repeat the exercise.

STANDING CALF RAISE

Training the calves is of significance, because the lower leg complex is a crit- ical lever for sprint performance (8,38,44,55), and the muscles about the ankle will aid the in attenuation of force during stance (35). Further- more, the muscles that plantarflex the ankle (e.g., the gastrocnemius, soleus, and peroneus longus) contribute to power generation during takeoff (10).

The actions performed by the ankle joint and muscles about the ankle can be isolated within the calf raise movement, and increasing strength in the calves could improve the ability of the muscles to absorb and propagate Figure 1.The back squat start (A) and bottom depth (B) position.

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the load of the body during ground contact when sprinting (40,50). Addi- tionally, Delecluse et al. (29) found acceleration over the first 10 m in a 100-m sprint improved by 7% in physical education students following 9 weeks of full-body resistance training, of which the calf raise was one the of exercises used.

Execution of the standing Smith machine calf raise.

The standing calf raise exercise can be performed on a Smith machine, with the aid of an aerobic step (Fig- ure 4). For this program, a weight plate should be positioned on the

step to prevent it from moving during the exercise.

The bar of the Smith machine can be supported across the shoulders, below the cervical vertebrae and on the mass of the trapezius. A foam pad can be wrapped around the bar to lessen the impact of the load on the upper back.

The hands should be wrapped around the bar, outside the shoulders, with a closed grip. The balls of the feet are placed on the edge of the step.

The athlete should be instructed to keep their legs straight (i.e., no knee flexion) throughout the exercise.

To begin the exercise, the athlete should let their heels hang off the

end of the step to stretch the gastrocnemius/soleus complex (Figure 4A).

The athlete then should push up on their toes and fully contract the gastrocnemius/soleus complex (Figure 4B).

VARYING THE BASE STRENGTH PROGRAM

Although this program was effective in improving the 10-m sprint performance of amateur athletes (49), by no means is this the only method to improve acceleration. By applying the concepts that governed the design of this program, there are a number of ways to adapt this program to match the philosophies of the coach and the requirements of the athlete. Some examples for alternative exercises are shown in Table 3. The deadlift has also been used as a core strength exercise in strength programs leading to enhanced linear speed (11,28,72), whereas the front squat has been used as a conditioning exercise to induce postactiva- tion potentiation (60,84). Both of these exercises would be potentially suitable as a bilateral strength exercise in lieu of the back squat.

Because of the importance of hip extension within the sprint step (9,41,75,80), the step-up should be incorporated into the training program. Although this exercise is performed with a barbell in this program (Figure 2), dumbbells or kettlebells could also be used. The hip thrust exercise could also feature in resistance training programs targeting speed development because it recruits those muscles involved in extension of the hip (20). A 6-week hip thrust resistance training program led to slight improvements in 10-m and 20-m sprint times in adolescent male athletes (21). Because this was the only lower-body strength exercise performed in this program (21), greater benefits to sprinting speed could be expected if other strength exercises were included, such as those shown in Tables 1 and 3. The hip thrust or bridge exercise can also be performed unilaterally (32,58), which could have some application to the single-leg support required when Figure 2.The step-up start (A) and top (B) position.

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sprinting (48,81). A limitation of the current program is that eccentric hamstring strength is not specifically tar- geted with an exercise that could isolate this action. As noted, eccentric hamstring strength is essential not just from the aspect of sprint performance, but injury prevention as well (70).

Dawes and Lentz (25) recommended exercises such as the Romanian deadlift and traditional and assisted versions of the Nordic hamstring curl for acceleration development in nontrack athletes. Each of these exercises leads to high muscle activation of the hamstring muscles (12,53) and could be useful as exercises to develop base strength in the amateur athlete.

The cable hip flexion exercise is included in this program because it is a unilateral exercise that targets the hip flexor muscle group (73,78). Lunges also lead to the recruitment of muscles responsible for flexing the hip (36), and

because of the unilateral action of the lunge, have been recommended for speed training (25,39). The stationary and walking lunge, depending on the space available in the training facility, are both suitable options for a resistance training program that targets speed development. The walking lunge also incorporates a horizontal force component (39,43), potentially making it more applicable to linear speed development. The calf raise can be modified to a unilateral exercise (56), using the Smith machine or dumbbells, or even performed walking with dumbbells. These exercises can be substituted for the bilateral Smith machine calf raise. Lastly, because the current program features 4 lower-body exercises, strength and conditioning coaches could also incorporate extra exercises that target upper-body strength (e.g., bench press, barbell row) or lumbo-pelvic stability (e.g., abdominal and lower-back exercises)

to further enhance athletic performance in their athletes.

PROGRESSING THE FORCE–

VELOCITY RELATIONSHIP

As noted, strength is part of the foundation for power (1,33,76). Although it is outside of the scope of this article to provide a yearly periodization plan for the amateur athlete, especially consid- ering how work, study, and training demands will vary considerably across different populations of amateur athletes (18,23), it is still important for the practitioner to understand how training could be progressed over the long term. Haff and Nimphius (33) provided a detailed discussion of the force–velocity relationship, and how different facets of the force–velocity curve could be trained. For example, relatively weaker athletes can enhance the velocity of movements simply by enhancing maximal force development because the requisite strength levels for Figure 3.The cable hip flexion start (A) and top (B) position.

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high power generation have yet to be developed (33). In contrast, stronger athletes will need to do more specific power training to improve their high- velocity capabilities (1,7,33).

When the base strength levels for an athlete reach an acceptable level, a mixed methods approach to training can be adopted. This means strength and power exercises can be combined

within a resistance training program, which could be useful for the amateur athlete constrained by time availabili- ties. The reader is directed to Haff and Nimphius (33) for more detailed infor- mation about this approach to training.

However, Table 4 provides some example power exercises that could be substituted for more strength- focused exercises in a training program

for an amateur athlete that could be used to enhance sprint acceleration.

As for the strength exercises, by no means are these the only power exercises that could be used to improve the force–velocity profile of the amateur athlete. Nonetheless, they are specific examples that could be adopted by the strength and conditioning practitioner who works with amateur athletes.

CONCLUSION

This article presents an example of a resistance training program that incorporated the back squat, step-ups, cable hip flexion and standing calf raise and followed the principle of progressive overload to improve 10-m sprint acceleration performance. This program would be of particular value for the amateur athlete or those individuals that have limitations placed on their training time because there were concurrent improvements in sprint acceleration and lower-body strength when completed by amateur male field sport athletes (49). Variations of these exercises could also be used within a resistance training program that targets sprint acceleration development, and a mixed methods approach could be used to progress the program when power becomes more of a focus (33). It should be acknowledged that even for amateur athletes, resistance training will generally not be the only modality used. At a minimum, team training sessions including other training protocols (e.g., skill-based training drills, small- sided games, plyometrics, and free sprint training) will generally be completed. The completion of these training modalities could lead to further Figure 4.The Smith machine standing calf raise start (A) and top (B) position.

Table 3

Example strength exercise variations to the resistance training program

Exercise Variation 1 Variation 2 Variation 3

Back Squat Deadlift Front Squat Single-Leg Squats

Barbell Step-up Bilateral or Unilateral Hip Thrust Romanian Deadlift Nordic Hamstring Curls

Cable Hip Flexion Barbell/Dumbbell Lunge Barbell/Dumbbell Reverse Lunge Barbell/Dumbbell Walking Lunge Smith machine Calf

Raise

Smith machine Single-Leg Calf Raise

Dumbbell Single-Leg Calf Raise Dumbbell Walking Calf Raises

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improvements in linear speed. Never- theless, the resistance training program described here can be used to improve base lower-body strength and sprint acceleration in the amateur athlete.

Conflicts of Interest and Source of Funding:

The author reports no conflicts of interest and no source of funding.

Robert G.

Lockieis an assistant professor in Strength and Conditioning at the Department of Kinesiology within California State University, Fullerton.

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Table 4

Example power-based exercise progressions to the resistance training program

Exercise Variation 1 Variation 2

Back Squat Power Clean Jump Squats

Barbell Step-up Split Jerk Clean and Jerk

Cable Hip Flexion Snatch Pull Split Jumps

Smith machine Calf Raise Ankle Hops Depth Jump

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