Friday, February 11, 2011

Resisted running- Where does it fit (or does it)?

"THE LONGITUDINAL EFFECTS OF RESISTED SPRINT TRAINING USING WEIGHTED SLEDS vS. WEIGHTED VESTS"- JSCR, 12-10.

Granted it was a small study-only 20 participants, and they were lacrosse-not track athletes, and the study only lasted 7 weeks.

The results showed sprint training with a weighted vest or sled pulls did not improve performance in the short sprints.  Our old track coach, the great Dave Costello claimed all resisted running, including parachute running, had limited value.  He would use it sparingly- only on his regional/national caliber sprinters.  He said while it looked like running, the mechanics were different and had little carry over.

Not to say it doesn't have a benefit.  If you play a sport like football or Rugby where people are hanging on you or pushing you I could see it being purposeful.  Would you use it to compliment shot put, discus, javelin, hammer throw?

7 comments:

JH said...

I would be curious if anoher type of resisted running would reap the same results,such as inclined running or declined running? Knew a kid in hs that would run with a football through his dads soy bean fields. He was very tough to bring down.

Jack Martin said...

Hill repeats and down hill running do work.
Joe, Cos was as much a master of motivation. We had some great battles. He definitely liked plyos. Martin

Brian Green said...

Huge purpose in sports where power needs to
be transmitted in the horizontal plane. More so when the opposition is trying to drive you backward. In rugby union it's all about line breaks and making tackles that push the ball carrier backward. The position in order to perform these tasks effectively is similar to the position of sled/prowler activities. I've stolen grocery carts which work great as you can throw in a few 20kg plates in it...

Joe Przytula said...

JH- Your teammate was a great innovator. Soybean field= sand pit.

Jack- Part of the problem with this part of NJ is it is realatively flat. How do you get it done?

Brian- Yes, in your environment the sled work is no doubt purposeful. I know Jimmy Rad uses it with Oregon Football. I wonder if Dean Benton uses it. Have to find out.

Brian Green said...

Joe,
I've never met him but considering he has loads of experience in rugby league, a similar rugby football code to union, he would be a great person ask....

Jack Martin said...

Joe, we manufacture hills??? Actually we go to Echo Lake Park.
Inconvenient, but we get some work in. Martin

BJ Maack said...

Sled/weighted vests can help some but when it comes to sprint work I feel they change too much of the mechanics needed to properly sprint....pelvis gets tilted, teaches upper body to pull instead of the more pressing need to push off the ground.

I like incline running but only if doesn't change proper sprint mechanics.

Resisted running works but it has to be sport-specific.