The 40 Yard Dash Running Technique Revealed! By Coach Lamour
The 4.30 journey is a story that every athlete that has had to run a 40 yard dash can relate to. It is my journey from running a 4.66 40 yard dash as a freshman in college to running a 4.30 for the New Orleans Saint scouts and the New Orleans Arena 1 football team. I will not lead you to believe that it is as easy as most speed centers all across America advertise. It takes perseverance and hard work. In this journey I will give some insight into the mental preparation, strength training, speed training, nutrition, and environment that was in place during this time. I must warn you that I did not know anything about Elite Fitness and did not adhere to a concurrent system of training. The point is although the program design was flawed and is not what I recommend to my clients the hard work that I put in led to some positive adaptations.
Mental Preparation
My mind was extremely focused at this time because I was not far removed from College, was married, had one son, and another son on the way. I felt that this was one of my best chances to achieve something great and provide a better life for my family. My buddy was a scout for the saints and arranged the tryout for me, as well as gave me a place to stay while I was down there. Every day I had training sessions I would wake up at 4:30 a.m. and lift weights, go to my full time job, and run at the local college during my lunch break. I was what you would call in the zone. I envisioned myself at the facility in New Orleans running the best 40 yard dash ever. I went through my warm-up in my mind, my stance, my first step and saw myself succeeding. Envisioning your success is one of the steps that is often left out in program design, but can have some profound effects. I believe if you dont believe it you wont achieve it.
Strength Training
My training was a sporadic mix of everything I learned from strength coaches during my high school days and college days. This was mostly a hybrid of Olympic movements, linear periodization, and hypertrophy based training. In the training world as we know it now this type of training should have caused me to be crippled and slow as dirt. The more I train the more I question philosophies on paper because I have found that you must test everything on numerous people with great success before you can come to any conclusions.
What the program was missing?
Foam Rolling
Dynamic Warm-up
Pre-hab
Lower Rep Max Effort Training
Balance between movements (Vertical Pull vs. Vertical Press)
CNS monitoring ( High CNS v.s. Low CNS Days)
Great Technique on all exercises
Planned Deload days
What the program had?
Explosive cocentric reps
Plyometric Training
Bike and Jump Rope Warm-up
Main Exercises (Squat, RDL, Snatch, Power Clean)
Single Leg Exercises ( Lunges, Step-Ups, Reverse Lunges, Single-Leg Squats)
Core Training
Progressive Overload (Increased weight by at least 5% every workout)
Decreased intensity and volume by 50% the week before workout
Short Rest Periods on certain days
Varied Rep Ranges (8-12 on strength rep days/ 3-6 Reps on Main Exercises)
Static Stretching before every session (I paid for not stretching my hip flexor on a daily basis with low back pain)
Back Exercises (Lo- Row, DB Row, Bent Over Row)
Chest Exercises (Bench, Plyo- Push Ups, DB Press)
Sprint Training
My sprint training consisted of running two high intensity speed days, as well as one speed endurance day during the week for the 8 weeks leading to the try out. I did not run anything but light tempo runs on the week before the try out, as well as practice events like the short shuttle.
Speed Days
Distance 10 yards. 50 yards.
Recovery Did not run unless absolutely rested unless pressed for time
Volume 100 yards - 400 yards.
Stance- 3 Point Stance
Intensity- 85-95%
Speed Endurance Days
Distance- 75 yards 150 yards
Recovery From 75 seconds 30 Seconds
Volume - 600 yards 1000 yards
Stance- Three Point & Standing
Intensity- From 70%- 90% depending on feel
Experiment- Mixed a high intensity acceleration with a tempo finish
Nutrition
My nutrition was very basic. I did not count calories. I ate lean meats, fruits and vegetables. I also ate a lot of carbs like white rice, potatoes, pasta to match the amount of energy I needed during my sessions. If I knew that my training would be tough or high intensity I would up the carbs. I supplemented with Cytogainer after workout sessions to replenish my carbs, as well as provide some proteins, to deter catabolism.
Environment
I was fortunate enough to workout with some guys that were still training for their upcoming college seasons at the college I attended. The guys were always intense and competing to achieve new PRs at everything that we attempted. There was competition in the air and no one wanted to be out done. From pancake eating nights to the big squat, you did not want to get clowned. It was also a very encouraging atmosphere because we all wanted to push each other to the limits, so that we could succeed. There is nothing that will push your lifts higher than when you train with a group of fired up guys that want to lift big weights. This kind of environment is what inspired me to call my training business the chamber and what I envision my gym to be like when it opens. The chamber is an atmosphere where only the grimmy survive, the big plates are clanging, the air is filled with sweat, dirt, and rust. Some music is blasting and some huge guy is pushing you to get under the bar. If you have ever had a chamber experience than you know what I am trying to say and words cannot describe it.
Conclusion
When the smoke cleared and the tryout came and went like a blur I tallied up my stats and was not surprised. When you believe that you will accomplish it is not surprising to achieve. I was grateful that the intensity in preparation led to a great victory. My words about my journey to a 4.30 can only paint a picture of how exciting the journey can be. I believe it was Martin Rooney that said enjoy the process of climbing the mountain in your life. As the summer approaches and many young athletes are preparing for their season I hope that they enjoy each grueling training session and remember to attack each day with purpose.
Coach Lamour is a performance enhancement specialists in the Jamestown, NC area. He has played football professionally and coached the pop warner level all the way up to college. Coach Lamour believes in the eastern bloc training methods as well as many means to achieve outstanding results. He enjoys training fat loss clients and athletes of all ages. He can be contacted at grorie@triad.rr.com
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Sprint Training
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