Speed Training

[laxattack662]

hey guys well i have been playing lacrosse for 3 years now an i have been doing well this season, i'm a freshman i play JV an i was leading scorer this year. My stick skills are great which is what has gotten me most goals, though if i was faster i could definetly be a better player. Do any of you guys have any drills or anything i can do to become faster?

[srhlax14]

I saw these things called "Speed Trainers" in the Great Atlantic lacrosse catalog (www.lacrosse.com). I'm not sure if they work.. but check them out. Just do alot of sprints. Suicides on a soccer or football field work. Suicides are tough, but they really do help in the long run.

[When It Cuts]

I saw these things called "Speed Trainers" in the Great Atlantic lacrosse catalog (www.lacrosse.com). I'm not sure if they work.. but check them out. Just do alot of sprints. Suicides on a soccer or football field work. Suicides are tough, but they really do help in the long run.
For $70 it looks like a rip-off. Those are just ankle weights for your thighs anyways.

Just do lots or sprinting and workout your legs in the gym.

[Conrice]

you could try to sprint with a parachute....idk who carries them, but my friend lets me borrow his, its very nice...also, ankle weights

[HdGLaxWarrior]

There is a magazine that is free at my school it's called STACK. They have like a section on speed. Go to thier website for more information. www.stackmag.com

[eamiddy16]

id say go with resistance training like Conrice said a chute. or shackles (sp) work or even like have someone hold on to u and drag them while running

[stix1025]

^^^^^^^^^^^^lol i will drag my sister down the street! thanx for the suggestion!

[Cburylax]

Please, never use ankles weights for running....bad news for your ankles, knees, and hip joints...

[spartacus9]

you could try to sprint with a parachute....idk who carries them, but my friend lets me borrow his, its very nice...also, ankle weights
eurosport has them.

[shimpy548]

run up AND down hills focus on running down the hill it will force you to pick up your feet faster.

[dlaxer]

correct me if i'm wrong cbury, but like shimpy said, i heard running downhill makes your body get used to running that fast, so you're faster

[Hookem]

i was told by my old HS track coach, who coached college, said you cant really increase your speed but you can maximize it.

she was saying that you need to make your stride bigger, and kick your legs up to your near your butt and focus on really running off the balls of ur feet

[Cburylax]

If you're talking about linear speed, of course you can increase it....running a 4.9 and improving it to 4.5 is increasing it in my book. Technique is often times the determining factor for an athlete. Many times, athletes need to be taught how to run, you'd be surprised how many things affect your speed such as starting position, arm swing, pronated feet, etc.


correct me if i'm wrong cbury, but like shimpy said, i heard running downhill makes your body get used to running that fast, so you're faster

Running downhill won't do anything to increase your linear speed if your form is still bad. I find it best to evaluate and correct technique before adding any external resistance.

[RYU]

Please, never use ankles weights for running....bad news for your ankles, knees, and hip joints...I concur. Please take our word on this. Running w/ ankle weights is one of the worst things you can do. The weights that attach to you thighs &/or hips aren't nearly as dangerous, but their training benefit is debatable.

Running downhill won't do anything to increase your linear speed if your form is still bad. I find it best to evaluate and correct technique before adding any external resistance.Again, I concur. :thumbsup:

Downhill running has its place, but it only helps linear speed when you do it on *very, very gradual* downhill declines (e.g. a few degrees). Downhill running that most people think of is really an exercise in decelleration. You're really better off just practicing your sprints on level ground w/ a good tailwind if you want to do overspeed training (I realize you can't make a tailwind occur at will).

Overspeed and resisted-speed training overall are grossly overrated & overhyped. They're mostly things used to sell products. Resistance devices like added body-weights, towing parachutes & sleds, even steep uphill sprints are helpful (if used properly) in increasing you acceleration but not so much in your top end speed. So if you use any of these methods, keep your reps short, inside the pure acceleration zone. That means 10-30 yds, maybe 40 yds max.

[dsticklax17]

id say go with resistance training like Conrice said a chute. or shackles (sp) work or even like have someone hold on to u and drag them while running

yea, just get a buddy and do harness training

[dsticklax17]

If you're talking about linear speed, of course you can increase it....running a 4.9 and improving it to 4.5 is increasing it in my book. Technique is often times the determining factor for an athlete. Many times, athletes need to be taught how to run, you'd be surprised how many things affect your speed such as starting position, arm swing, pronated feet, etc.




Running downhill won't do anything to increase your linear speed if your form is still bad. I find it best to evaluate and correct technique before adding any external resistance.

nicely said

[Cburylax]

I'll add a few more tips to speed training. First, I view speed training as speed in any direction: side to side, backward, up and down, front to back and combination of these. If you closely look at the functions of muscles you will notice that they function in three ways: concentric (to produce force), eccentric (to reduce force), and isometric (to stabilize or stop force).

In order to train for speed, agility, and change of direction, you must train all three of these areas. You need to learn how to use your center of gravity relationship to your base of support (your stance) to produce the force angles require to accelerate in the proper direction. IN addition, you must train to deccelerate or slow down again using the center of gravity and base of support relationship, and lastly and perhaps most importantly, you need to train your body how to correctly stop.

The basic principle behind change of direction (which is essentially a plyometric) is how fast can you go from an eccentric movement, to a stop, to a concentric movement. The less time it takes to do this, the quicker you will be on the field.

Many speed programs only focus on the concentric portion while neglecting the other two. This is often times the reason for injury, especially if you've only been doing linear training and you try to stop in a rotational or lateral manner.

Keep this in mind when you start doing any kind of speed, agility, or change of direction training. Ask yourself how applicable running with a chute is if you only run in a straight line, yet lacrosse players run in all three planes of motion.


Right now I'm working on some printed material for our clients at our facilty so I should be able to post some photos of acceleration, deceleratation, and change of direction exercises in the next week or so.

As a side note, this type of thinking also applies to strength training. Don't neglect the eccentric and isometric functions of muscles and keep in mind all three planes of motion when you step in to a weight room and start working out.

Comments?

[franks2089]

Has anyone talked about running up bleachers?

[bigDman]

very intresting cbury
id love to hear more on how to trian all three of these

i think something like
concentric: sprints
eccentric not sure
isometric: maybe shuttle runs


so id love to see what exersizes you use to train these acpects. and what kind of running program you but lacrosse players on to get faster and more agile in all three planes .

[laxgoalie18]

To clarify what running downhill does, basically when running down an incline (a small one, someone mentioned this b4) your naturally going to increase your stride length. The idea is muscle memory, and that as you run with that longer stride that will carry over to regular running, and most people would agree that often a longer stride can help with your speed (at least in the case of straight line running, sprints or long distance).