Im looking for the best way to increase speed and lose some fat in the process. Thing is, i need to not lose too much muscle as the football season is a mere 3 months away.
My question is this: Im using a modified westside approach, with the 4 lifting days (ME + DE upper + lower). What type of cardio should i do, longer running, or sprinting/jumping? I was thinking of jumping rope after every workout, and on 2 of the days off doing some kind of running, but as to what kind i am undecided. Should i sprint, or run a few miles?
Thoughts?
HIIT should do the trick.
to add to the last post, some sprint work would probably be very beneficial, like sets of 100 yard sprints followed by 100 yards of brisk walking, or 400 meter sprints with one and 1/2 minute rest in between. These will definitely make you quicker while cutting you up as well. You can also change your diet a little to be more leaness specific, i.e. dropping some carbs, getting plenty of protein, ect. Hope this helps.
sounds good. So is long distance running not a necessity?
Also, is the 4 lifting days the best way to go in your opinion?
100 yds seem to much…when in a game do you run this much at a time??
better focus on 10,20 yd…up to maybe 40
but you can do some conditioning doing cone drills also to help with decelaration
Dirk, I don’t think distance is a necessity, especially if you are looking just to lean up a little. As far as distance, I feel like for your needs running 100 yard sprints would still work, just because it would be like a HIIT workout but still build some quickness because you are sprinting. As far as jogging miles, from my experience that kills a lot of your high end strength and explosiveness. Just my humble opinion though. You might want to check some of Joe Defranco’s forum posts, or his articles he’s written, he works specifically with people like you.
Dirk: windsprints! Nothing longer than 40 yd, never more than 15 min, 3X/week, after lifting, never the day before ME SQ day. Enjoy!
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I discovered the high fat-burning potency of 400 meter sprints without really looking for it. I use a lot of 400m running with my hockey players, mostly because it develops the energy system they require the most during a game. However, I quickly noticed how lean they were getting shortly after starting 400m runs. They were not only getting leaner but stronger!
I then experimented with the 400m for fat-loss purposes and found time after time how efficacious it truly was. To this day I still believe that few things can match up with 400m runs for fat loss.
You need to do some 400meter workouts.
with the 400m training make sure that you put in around 5-7 min rests in between each one, only do like 2 or 3 starting out and go up for a 4-5 max no more than thatif your trying to do full out 400’s.
i have to agree with tank…coach davies is the man for gpp and speed work when your getting ready for football…bm
thanks for all the help fellas. So how’s this look?
Day 1 ME lower+ jump rope
Day 2 ME upper+ windsprints+ jump rope
Day 3 off
Day 4 DE lower+ windsprints+ jump rope
Day 5 DE upper+ windsprints+ jump rope
Day 6 400m running (4 maybe?)
Day 7 off
The advice to do HIIT and 400m runs is inappropriate for a football player trying to improve his speed and power. Any type of training that involves so much fatigue and lactic acid production, i.e. “intermediate” training, is detrimental to speed. In fact, “cardio” (HIIT or steady-state) is not compatible with speed training period. The way I see it, you have two choices: 1) do cardio for fat loss, and accept that you will not be able to improve your speed much during this time; or 2) eliminate cardio and train for speed improvement, and lose fat through caloric restriction. You can’t have it both ways.
I agree that so much distance is not so good…
but if his fat loss is considerable… his speed can increase due to a higher relative strength
well i dont need huge amounts of fat loss, and it is my last year of HS football, so im gonna go with increasing speed and power. To that end, what would be the best running/sprinting scheme to employ to reach these goals?
However, the 400 training doesn’t involve running 400’s check around on Charlie francis 400 meter workouts consist of running things from 200 ot about 350 coming in under certain times or having a certain recovery in ebtween. I believe this will help allow him to drop weight faster than conventional methods.
I just reread a little bit more of the posting, and if you want more speed and dont have to much weight to lose then you probably could go with running something n the 200m range following a few 10-20 yard sprints starting from whichever position you’d be starting at on the football field to kind of help you get prepared mentally. Check Coach D though he may be able to get you somethi ngood going to get your legs firing in the right time with your mind.
