The Speed Report: Resisted and Assisted Sprint Training

Good or Bad for Football Speed?
by: Dale Baskett
Football Speed Specialist
by: Mike Johnson
Sports Science Consultant
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Since speed and movement control are two of the most sought-after athletic qualities, coaches and trainers are always looking for ways to help athletes improve in these areas. In this article, we will look at the topic of sprint assisted and resisted training and try to sort out the good from the not-so-good as it pertains to football.

I travel the country and spend time with coaches presenting my Team Speed Workshops for their programs. These coaches constantly ask me what I think about resisted and assisted sprint training. Well for football, I think it is controversial because coaches place too much value on it and in most cases they use it incorrectly. Far too often they overload the athlete beyond effectiveness and pay little attention to the mechanical skill functions. In this manner more harm than gain is accomplished; the reason is clear why this occurs. It must be understood what skill functions to apply before it becomes an important issue. The greatest emphasis should not be making the modality a heavy overload workout. This diminishes the potential purpose of its effectiveness. If my athletes cannot sprint at 90 to 95% of their maximum sprint capability then it provides little gain for true development. However, that is not the only area of concern when evaluating its potential for your program. Let's look at the pros and cons of its worthiness.

Ins and Outs of Assisted-Resisted

Most of the techniques and methods used in sprint assisted and resisted training originated in track and field. Assisted and resisted training are specific types of facilitation and overload. They are concepts that are widely used in other types of training such as whole body vibration (facilitation) and weight lifting (overload). Many of the types of procedures are listed in the following tables.

Although sprint assisted and resisted training has been around for many years, there is very little scientific research that has been conducted in this area. However, of the research that has been conducted, much of it has shown that only small changes in assistance or resistance can make significant changes in running mechanics. Once again this points to our concerns for mechanics being a greater focus for sprint speed development. Anecdotal comments from coaches and trainers range from high praise for assisted and resisted training to claims that these techniques aren’t worth the time and effort to fit them into a normal practice.

Football is Specific

In this monthly column, I have consistently emphasized the need to be specific in your speed and movement training. Football requires unique movement skills, taps exclusive energy mechanisms and necessitates training methods that will enhance multi-directional proficiency. Several of the sprint assisted and resisted approaches do not lend themselves to this skill set. Let’s look briefly at several of the procedures listed in the tables.

Stadium Steps

Stadium steps, hills and other forms of inclines and declines have been a staple in most resisted and assisted training routines. Problems arise because most steps and hills used for this type of training are too steep. The greatest positive benefits come from training on inclines and declines that are very slight – just two to three degrees. These slight slopes enable athletes to retain proper mechanics while enhancing power and neuromuscular systems. When the gradients are slight, multi-directional skills can also be included. Research indicates that a combination of incline and decline running in the same repetition offers better results than either incline or decline running individually.

Towing Specifics

Assisted and resisted towing, in many different forms, involves the logistics of the towing apparatus which many coaches find too time consuming. However, the logistics can be streamlined. The main drawback with towing is inconsistent forces produced when assisting or resisting an athlete. Again, when it comes to specificity of exercise, more assistance or resistance is not better. If sleds or tires are pulled, they should be very light, not slowing the athlete more than five to eight percent from their maximum acceleration or running speed. Partner towing, either assisted or resisted, is not recommended.

Treadmills

High speed treadmills are more suited to linear, maximum velocity running. It’s virtually impossible to perform acceleration work on a treadmill and multi-direction drills cannot be done at all. Chutes are also limited by various factors such as cross winds and linear running. Resistance generated by a chute cannot be regulated and is affected by running speed and wind gusts. The chute usually collapses with abrupt change of direction or deceleration.

Do Natural Elements Work?

Sand, water and wind can all be used to provide resistance. Deep water running is usually a rehabilitation modality but has been used by some athletes as a low stress form of training. Sand is a very controversial medium. Some coaches swear by it; others swear at it. There are no scientific studies concerning the pros or cons of sand as a tool for acceleration, maximum velocity or change of direction running. Sand is obviously a very good training surface for beach volleyball players. Wind can be used to assist or resist running. It is cheap but sometimes difficult to schedule.

Football’s Best Method

In addition to slight inclines, the best form of sprint resisted training for football is weighted vests. Vests provide several positive benefits and very few drawbacks. They allow full range of motion; can be used for multi-direction work; impart increased inertia that must be overcome in all directions including vertically; and simulate the weight that pads and uniforms impose. Good vests are somewhat expensive and all vests can be loaded with too much weight. The weight used in a vest should be light to moderate and should not slow the athlete more than five to eight percent of his maximum acceleration or running speed.

Ultimately you must be the judge for your program. Hopefully some of the information we have shared will afford you some insights into the positives and negatives of this particular type of training for football.

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