Definition and classification of speed
The speed, better defined as motor speed, is a specific athletic ability that could be divided into two categories:
- Speed or speed of reaction, or the ability to react to a stimulus in the shortest possible time; it is an athletic characteristic that is partly conditional but above all nervous; a typical example of an athletic gesture driven by rapid reaction is the evasion of boxing
- Speed or speed of action of the movements, or the ability to perform an athletic gesture characterized by both cyclical frequency and a single simple acyclic action, both in the presence of modest physical resistance ; it depends directly on the MA nerve component also significantly from the energetic cellular metabolisms. A typical example of an athletic gesture based on the speed of cyclical movements is the fast run of the 100 meters, while a typical example of an athletic gesture based on the speed of acyclic movements is the fencing of the fencing. The rapidity of the neuro-motor activation allows the recruitment of the muscle fibers BUT the energetic metabolisms favor the performance sustenance required by the brain to the motor system .
Speed of reaction and action (simple acyclic and of cyclical frequency) are two forms of PURA rapidity. However, there are also other more complex forms of rapidity of movements in which FORCE and / or RESISTANCE take on a fundamental role, to say the least; it is the case of rapidity of force, also called fast force, which in turn differs in:
1) an athletic gesture that is repeated frequently, in which case we speak of resistance to fast force
2) a continuous athletic gesture that requires MAXIMUM resistance to speed .
Details: phases of speed and factors that influence it
The speed of execution of a motor gesture is a differentiating performance characteristic in 3-4 phases:
- REACTION phase to stimulus (internal or external)
- ACCELERATION phase
- MAXIMUM RAPIDITY phase
- QUICK phase of RAPIDITY - only in resistance to rapidity
As logical as it may be that speed is influenced by some factors, few suspect that these are really many; there are factors determined by the qualities, the development and the learning of the subject. These include age, sex, anthropometric characteristics, constitution, technique and socialization.
Other factors are cognitive sensory and psychic: concentration, mental processing, motivation and willpower, experience and ability to anticipate, mental strength and learning skills.
There are also factors of a strictly NERVOUS nature: recruitment and frequency of motor impulses, alternation between excitation and inhibition of the nervous system, co-activation, nerve conduction velocity, nervous pre-activation, reflex activation, neuromuscular activation pattern, neurobiochemistry.
Last but not least, the tendon-muscle factors: distribution and types of muscle fibers, muscular section, speed of contraction, muscle and tendon elasticity, lengthening, muscle length and force levers, energy transformation and muscle temperature.
Pure speed and energy metabolism
The energy metabolism that most affects the speed is the anaerobic alactacid (which exploits the adenosine tri phosphate [ATP] and creatin-phosphate [CP]), supported by the anaerobic lactate (which exploits anaerobic glycolysis [glucose released from muscle glycogen or obtained by neoglucogenesis]; in this case, the factors limiting performance and which must therefore be TRAINED are:
- Muscle capacity of ATP and creatin-phosphate concentrations
- Muscle power, or the activity of enzymes that split creatine phosphate and the specialization of muscle fibers
- Less than the others (in pure speed!), The lactic acid potential; or the effectiveness of energy production through anaerobic glycolysis (more useful in fast force, fast strength and maximum speed resistance).
Speed and supplements
As just mentioned, one of the determining factors for speed performance is the consistency of the energy reserves of ATP and creatin-phosphate. ATP is a minimum reserve, therefore not very effective; in contrast, CP is a potentially incrementable molecule in muscle. It increases in concentration following 1) training stimulus 2) nutrition (creatine is contained in the meat). In the event that the subject proves predisposed to the absorption and metabolization of exogenous creatine, dietary supplementation could prove useful for improving performance; otherwise, supplementation would have no weight ... except that of any placebo with unnecessary kidney overload.
Speed training
Let's start by saying that speed is a characteristic that, to be brought to maximum potential, should be trained from the subject's young age; however, in a sportsman, significant muscular adaptations can be observed from the first 8 weeks of training (Medbo, Bergers - 1990).
Through specific training, the muscles of the sprinter and resistant sprinter undergoes some fundamental changes:
- Increase in energy reserves of: ATP and CP (+ 20%), and glycogen (+ 50%)
- Increase in enzymes: ATPase (+ 30%), Myocinase (+ 20%) and Creatine phosphokinase (+ 36%).
There are many methodological principles of speed training; first of all, it is essential that the athlete is as fresh and rested as possible. Secondly, the specific work volumes must be VERY lower than those of strength and resistance because it would not make sense to excessively prolong a stimulus when the subject is no longer able to make 100%. It is also essential to ALWAYS apply the maximum training intensity (with very large recoveries) for up to two weekly sessions; avoid standardizing environmental conditions so as not to induce "a habit" that could prove limiting in the race and always exploit the specificity of the movement. It is important to remember to apply a maximum intensity ONLY following the achievement of technical completeness, otherwise, it would be advisable to reduce the speed of execution.
Speed and strength
There is a close correlation between speed and muscle strength; training with sprinter overloads is primarily aimed at finding the maximum strength in order to improve both the nervous activation and the recruitment-coordination of muscles and fibers. An example for leg training could be:
Squat 2-3 reps for 6-8 series with 3 'recoveries and load equivalent to 1-1.5 times the athlete's weight½ Squats 3-4 repetitions for 6-8 series with 3 'recoveries and load equivalent to 2-2.5 times the weight of the athlete
Other variants of the strength to be trained are: the explosive-elastic force and the reactive-elastic force; for the elastic explosive strength of the legs, a widespread exercise is the 1/2 squat with jump: 6 repetitions for 4-6 series with recovery of 3-4 'and load that allows to detach the feet from the ground for 30-35cm. For the training of elastic reactive force, however, always with regard to the lower limbs, there are many variants of the springing of the feet, skip, jumps and sprinted stroke, both with overloads and free body.
