44 BBFFSS -- Spring 2004 • Bigger Faster Stronger 1-800-628-9737

Look at the frontleg. This is whywe parallel squat.Now, look at theback leg. This iswhy we powerclean and/orpower snatch.

by Dr. Greg Shepard

Photo: Tony Duffy

1-800-628-9737 Bigger Faster Stronger • Spring 2004 - BBFFSS 45

uick review: In our last issue I discussed three basic rules

of speed: You can improve speedsignificantly. You must use a vari-ety of speed improvement compo-nents. Everything you do in yourstrength and conditioning programshould be related to speed improve-ment.

I also introduced Speed Component#1: Strength, and gave a detailedaccount of why the parallel squatcan improve speed and jumpingpower. In this issue I will presentthe BFS 10 Speed Components anddiscuss additional strength exercis-es to improve speed.

BFS 10 Speed ComponentsOver the past three decades ofcoaching I have developed a top-ten list of components for develop-ing speed. You have my personalguarantee that by applying thesecomponents you will take yourspeed development to the nextlevel.

Strength. The parallel squat, powerclean and straight-leg deadlift mustbe performed consistently withgreat technique to maximize speedimprovement. Other strength-speedenhancers include the glute-hamraise and the lunge.

The Start. Practicing and perfect-ing the BFS Start will improveyour 40-yard-dash time by as muchas 0.2 seconds.

Flexibility. Performing the BFS 1-2-3-4 Flexibility Program daily willdramatically improve speed.

Plyometrics. Using the BFSPlyometric Program, whichincludes plyometric box jumping,will make your start more explo-

Speed Drills. Twice per week, ath-letes should include 10-minutespeed drill sessions that emphasizespeed technique.

Sprint Aids. Parachutes, toe-updevices, Tanita scale, whey proteinand sprint sleds can be of greatvalue for developing straight-aheadspeed and game speed.

Speed Component #1: StrengthThere are three core strength liftsneeded for speed: the parallel squat,the power clean and the straight-legdeadlift. Two auxiliary exercisesthat help develop speed are theglute-ham raise and the lunge.

The parallel squat was thor-oughly discussed last issue. On ascale of 1 to 10, the parallel squat

Learn the secrets of valuable strength-speed exercisesand the BFS 10 components for developing speed

sive, increase your stride lengthand improve your sprinting tech-nique.

Technique. Follow and practicethe BFS 8 Speed TechniqueGuidelines to maximize yourspeed potential.

Stopwatch Time. Twice permonth, athletes should be timed tooptimize sprint times.

Sprint Practice. Twice per week,athletes should perform 10-minutesprint practice sessions using avariety of short distances.

Video Analysis. All athletes canrealize speed benefits by watchingthemselves on videotape and ana-lyzing their technique.

Q

John Rowbotham shows a perfect parallel squat -- thekey to speed improvement

BBFFSS -- Spring 2004 • Bigger Faster Stronger 1-800-628-973746

gets an 11 in importance for help-ing you become really fast. Thepower clean, or power snatch, getsa 10 on the speed improvementscale; and the straight-leg deadliftgets an 8. The power clean and thestraight-leg deadlift will be dis-cussed in this issue along with twoother strength-speed enhancers, theglute-ham raise and the lunge. Allother lifts would score less than 8.

Power Clean

To get really fast, an athletemust have tremendous explosivepower that creates maximumextension force from three vitalareas: the hips, the knees and theankles/feet.

Take a look at the photosabove, figures 1-3. Focus on theback leg of each athlete. You willsee the full extension of the hips,knees and ankles/feet. The powerclean allows you to practice and

train for these extensions in themost powerful way.

You must jump straight upduring a power clean (or powersnatch) to maximize the positiveeffects on speed or jumping. Weuse the three BFS power cleandrills to teach the principle ofjumping straight up. These drillsshould be used by the beginningseventh grader on the BFSReadiness Program all the way upto the advanced college or pro ath-lete. To illustrate the three BFSpower clean drills, I have chosentwo young people on their first dayof training on the BFS ReadinessProgram. The first is Kylie, who is4-feet-11 and weighs 80 pounds.The second is Alex, who is 5-feet-7 and weighs 110 pounds.

You first perform these drillswithout a bar. Kylie, in Figure 6,gets into a ready position. Sheimagines she has a bar just aboveher knees. The first drill (Figure 7)

is to just jump straight up as highas possible while pretending tohold an imaginary bar. She isexperiencing a full extension ofthe hips, knees and ankles/feet.The second drill (Figure 8) is tojump high again but this timebring the elbows to the ceiling asshown. The third drill (Figure 9) is

Figure # 1 Worlds fastest manTim Montgomery. The back legcompletely extends like apower clean

Figure #2 AngelaWilliams World’sfastest start

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Figures #3 At a body-weight of 270 lbs., StefanFernholm ran a legitimate4.23 forty. He also had apower clean of 473 lbs.

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to jump high again, elbows to theceiling, but now you land in asolid athletic position as shown,with the imaginary bar racked cor-rectly on the shoulders.

Now you are ready to per-form these drills with a regularOlympic bar or a BFS Aluma-litebar and lighter training or bumperplates. Alex does Drill 1 in Figure10, Drill 2 in Figure 11, and Drill3 in Figure 12. Alex experiencedthe feeling of complete extensionfrom the hips down. Both of theseyoung athletes did very well fortheir first day, and so can any ath-lete.

You want the same feeling ofjumping when you do heavierpower cleans. Shown in Figure 13is Stefan Fernholm, a discusthrower who ran a legitimate 4.23forty at a bodyweight of 270pounds. Stefan is achieving a full

extension with 325 pounds. Figure14 shows Stefan at the peak of hisathletic career when he couldpower clean 473 pounds.

Figure 15 illustrates Stefan’spowerful, explosive extension onthe vertical jump. The IndianapolisColts measured his vertical jump,without a step, at 40 inches. Noticehow the position of his legs andarms is similar to his power cleanposition in Figure 13.

You can develop this exten-sion power by performing powersnatches. Stefan believed in themand trained so hard that eventuallyhe was able to power snatch 350pounds. Study Figures 16, 17 and18. Can’t you just see how thisextension power would help anyathlete create a more powerful,quick sprint start and a faster,longer and more powerful stride?

Straight-Leg Deadlift

Stefan taught me the secret ofthe straight-leg deadlift. “Use avery light weight and think of it asa stretching exercise,” said Stefan.“What you want to do is stretchand strengthen the hamstrings andglutes at the same time.” (Figure19) He said that keeping the kneeslocked is absolutely essential.“You can’t bend your knees andstretch your hamstrings. The kneesmust be locked.”

When I asked Stefan aboutthe argument that the straight-legdeadlift can put too much stress onthe lower back, he replied, “Keepthe weight very light.” With thisadvice in mind, we begin trainingyoung athletes with only 45pounds on the bar—even thestrongest high school seniors don’tgo above 135 pounds.

Figure #6 Figure #7 Figure #8 Figure #9

Figure #10 Figure #11 Figure #12 Figure #13

BBFFSS -- Spring 2004 • Bigger Faster Stronger 1-800-628-973748

Stefan felt the straight-legdeadlift was one of the very mostimportant lifts for developingspeed. He said, “The greater yourhamstring flexibility, the morefluid a running movement you canachieve. It’s like adding a high-grade oil to the pistons of yourengine.” Stefan had incredibleflexibility, as he could stretch, withknees locked, 9.5 inches past histoes on a sit-and-reach test. Ibelieve that partially explains his4.23 speed and his 40-inch verticaljump from a stand.

The results in speed improve-ment from performing straight-legdeadlifts have been dramatic withmany athletes. P.J. Brown (Figure20), a pole-vaulter at theUniversity of Arkansas, has con-sistently performed straight-legdeadlifts since he was a seventh

grader. Even though he weighsonly 140 pounds, P.J. is also fastenough to compete nationally insprints during the indoor track sea-son.

The BFS straight-leg deadliftis a top-priority auxiliary liftbecause of its effect on speedimprovement. It’s like magicbecause you simultaneously stretchand strengthen your glutes andhamstrings.

When planning your work-outs I usually suggest performing2 sets of 10 repetitions with verylight weights. I also stress that ath-letes must take care to completeeach rep very slowly and undercomplete control to get the maxi-mum amount of stretch in thehamstrings. At first athletes shouldperform this lift only from thefloor. As their flexibility improves

they can progress to performingstraight-leg deadlifts from a plat-form, as shown in Figures 21 and22.

Strength-Speed Enhancers

There are two top-priorityexercises that should be mentionedwhen discussing speed develop-ment: the glute-ham raise and thelunge. They are key auxiliary exer-cises for all athletes.

The glute-ham raise (Figures23 and 24) is performed on amachine called the glute-hamdeveloper, and better than anyother exercise it develops theglutes and hamstrings, developingthe muscles from origin to inser-tion. These muscles are vitallyimportant in running fast. Thisexercise is a great complement to

Figure #14 Figure #15 Figure #16 Figure #17

Figure #18 Figure #19

1-800-628-9737 Bigger Faster Stronger • Spring 2004 - BBFFSS 49

the parallel squat and power cleanfor the strength development inthese areas.

Another reason the glute-hamraise is classified as a strength-speed enhancer is that it helps pre-vent injuries. I believe the glute-ham raise can be a key factor inpreventing hamstring pulls, whichoften occur when athletes try tosprint as fast as possible. We nor-mally perform 2 sets of 10 repswith just bodyweight, althoughsome athletes do as many as 25reps per set. This exercise shouldbe performed twice per week.

The lunge can be performedwith a barbell or dumbbells. Itdevelops power balance because

each leg is forced to work inde-pendently of the other. The lungedevelops the hamstrings, quadri-ceps and buttocks. It also wonder-fully complements all the otherlifts discussed in this article.

P.J. Brown demonstrates aperfect lunge in Figure 25. Whenyou do this lift, you want to looklike a sprinter. Does he? Look athis eyes and upper body. Thelower body is in a hip-flexorstretch position, and as such, thelunge enhances speed by stretchingand strengthening the hip flexors.Your hip flexors are tremendouslyimportant in developing a greaterstride length, and increasing stridelength equates to improving speed.

You should perform this exercisetwice per week, completing 2 setsof 10 reps with each leg.

Do you want to get fast?Really fast? Then you must per-form these key exercises: parallelsquat, power clean, straight legdeadlift, glute-ham raise andlunge.

In our next issue Dr. Shepardwill discuss how to achieve thebest start possible. If you don’twant to wait, go to our website,biggerfasterstronger.com, andbecome a member. You’ll gainaccess to an extensive archive ofresources, including BFS articleson speed development. BBFFSS

Figure #23

Figure #24 Figure #25

Figure #20 Figure #21

Figure#22

The BFS Set-Rep System is the best thing you can do. It isbetter than any other weight program period. We have testedthis program for over 20 years and our brand new Set-RepLogbook is now better than ever.

I can absolutely guarantee you that your athletes will never experience a plateau again. My system is easy to doand it is so versatile it can work in any situation. The BFSSet-Rep System is unbelievably motivating. Imagine. Yourathletes - high school or college - will break 8 or morepersonal records every week, all year round.

Athletes will run up to you and say, “Coach, I just broke five records today.” You will be likea powerful magnet. Everyone will want to be a part of your program because they’re breakingrecords all over the place. You can use my Record Card or Set-Rep Logbook. You can evendo it on your computer. I also have a Readiness Program for junior high athletes or yourbeginning lifters.

Amazingly, my guarantee even holds up during the season. Look, the BFS Set-Rep System isthe single greatest thing you can do in developing winning attitudes. Don’t wait. Call now.Our BFS Coaches are just itching to help you.

Dr. Greg Shepard - BFS President

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The BFS Readiness Program was designed by BFS for the Jr. High School Athlete. The emphasis is placed on the tech-nique of each lift. When the following records are broken: Squat 145 lbs. 2 x 10, Bench 105 lbs. 2 x 10, Clean 105lbs. 2 x 5, the athlete graduates on to the BFS Set-Rep System. An excellent way to start out lifting the right way!

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