Lower Body Performance Profiling
Build on your Weaknesses for Better Performance
Following on from my previous blog post, you would know that I have correlated data from different gym exercises and how they relate to sprinting. I concluded that there are many strength qualities that relate to speed and not one defining test that will accurately predict a persons speed.
Considering the correlation between exercises and their impacts on speed I can create individualised programs based on the athlete's profile to help them get faster! My area of interest lately has been to train the athlete in what they are lacking. My theory when designing programs has been to ‘fill in the gaps’ and overcome any obvious weak points. So far I have recorded great improvements in my athletes’ sprint speed and gym results.
Below is an example of two drastically different player profiles and therefore my hypothesis states that they should have very different training programs. Player A tested to be very powerful and moderately fast but lacked maximal strength. I have been programming him to increase strength in the lower body. Player B tested to be very strong (2.7xBW squat) and moderately fast, but lacked being able to translate his strength into speed and power (shown by his low RSI and average VJ), so his program focused on producing force and included more jumping and plyometric movements.
Here is an example of how I would differentiate the programs to highlight and improve on their weak areas while maintaining and improving their strengths.
Both programs are similar yet with obvious differences. Both contain strength work for the lower body however; different volumes, intensities and exercises are used to stress the system that needs the most work.
After profiling my athletes early in the year, most of the 8 week preseason was spent focusing on individualised programs similar to the one above. Here is the improvement seen over the course of a preseason with actual players. It is interesting to see how their profiles moved around after specifically training a weakness.
I have found this type of profiling and then programming it to be very effective to say the least. 49 out of 50 players increased performance in the 10m and 20m tests which I count as a win!
Written by Louis Dallimore
Professional Strength & Conditioning Coach
Website: https://www.louisdallimore.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/louis-dallimore-a032a37a
