Speed Training - 2 Simple Upper-Body Techniques to Enhance Your Speed!

Speed is something that everyone is born with, but some are naturally born with more speed than others. However, everyone can be trained to fully optimize their individual abilities to become faster. This is the good news because this article will provide you with 2 great adjustments to make with your arms to increase your velocity immediately!

Drill 1: Many problems that inhibit athletes from their full sprinting potential can be related to improper running mechanics. Individuals often generate a lot of wasted motion when it comes to running. For instance, when you think about your arm motion when in a full sprint they are pumping back and forth as quick as your legs. Studies have shown that about 18-20% of your running power comes from the upper-body. This is a big factor when trying to find ways to get faster. The problem with most people is that when they are pumping their arms in the sprint phase, they tend to move them from side to side. This crossing the mid-line of the body is wasting motion and causing your weight to shift side to side instead of in a linear direction. Correct this motion by moving the hands from the pockets (or hips area) to your chin.

Drill 2: So we know that most people waste a lot of motion by moving from side to side, but there is another problem that people are guilty of when trying to generate sprinting power with their arm motion. The next tip is making sure that the angle of your elbows are locked in a 90 degree angle when driving your hands from the pockets to the chins. You also want to make sure that you get your elbows to drive back when the hand is moved to the pockets area. This backward elbow drive with each arm pump is what provides that 18-20% of running power!

To learn more about Kettlebells, Fitness, and achieving Total Mind-Blowing Strength come and visit me at http://www.efandps.com To be one of my members and to receive more tips on INSANE BODY CONSTRUCTION please visit me at:http://www.efandps.com/www.efandps.com/Brandons_Members_Newsletter.html I'm Brandon Richey the Strength and Conditioning Pro!

Speed Training For Baseball - 2 Drills Designed to Enhance the Baseball Player's Athleticism!

For baseball players that want to increase their speed and athleticism you have reached the right article. I have included 2 basic drills and exercises here that are guaranteed to improve your muscular power and help you to develop speed.

1. Kettlebell Snatch and Squat Jump Combo: For this drill you will need the availability of a moderately heavy kettlebell and your willingness to work! To start, make sure that you have a flat open space to work in. Of course, make sure that you are properly warmed up. Begin by performing a series of one arm kettlebell snatches. Make sure to execute at least 30 total snatches (15 each arm). As soon as you complete the snatches then immediately get into an athletic stance and perform a series of 15 squat jumps. Make sure that you use your arms to help with momentum of the counter-movement in order to get the most height out of every continuous jump! Afterwards you will be surprised at just how fun speed training for baseball can be!

2. Kettlebell Rolling Squat Jumps: For this drill you will need a relatively light kettlebell and a semi soft surface such as grass or a big mat. To begin this drill simply stand with your heels to the mat. Hold the kettlebell firmly with both hands upside down (with the bell facing up). Keep the bell semi-close to your chest. Next, simply squat down all the way to the ground until you actually sit with your rear on the ground. In one continuous movement, as soon as, you touch the ground tuck your knees and roll back until your upper back and traps are touching the ground. Once you do this then immediately and forcefully explode out of the roll propelling your body forward with enough force to plant your feet back to the ground and stand up. From the time you plant your feet and start to vertically come up explode into a vertical jump. As soon as you land from the jump immediately transition right into the next rolling squat jump! This drill is a sure way for the baseball player to develop speed and explosive athleticism!

To learn more about Kettlebells, Fitness, and achieving Total Mind-Blowing Strength come and visit me at http://www.efandps.com To be one of my members and to receive more tips on INSANE BODY CONSTRUCTION please visit me at:http://www.efandps.com/www.efandps.com/Brandons_Members_Newsletter.html I'm Brandon Richey the Strength and Conditioning Pro!

Kettlebells - The Female Athlete's Choice For Building Speed!

Plain and simple ladies, the kettlebell can build your speed! The key to building speed is to challenge your body by stimulating your nervous system. This is done by performing powerful short intense lifts that cause your muscles to produce maximal force! There is no better tool for allowing you to achieve this than the kettlebell.

Kettlebells are great for working on the development of your sprinting muscles. Your core and your legs both must be strong in order for you to have a powerful sprinting foundation. The key to speed training is that you properly load your body and perform movements that are athletic and dynamic in nature to produce an optimal level of speed. Kettlebell training for women is a great way to achieve this and to also help reduce the risk of injury.

Performing the base lift known as the double-arm swing with the kettlebell is great for developing the muscles of your glutes, hamstrings, quads, and hips which are all essential in propelling your body forward in a maximal sprinting effort. Take the time to implement this ancient tool into your personal program and you will quickly see how much of an edge you will gain by developing your overall female athletic performance.

If you decide to make yourself a better athlete than all of the rest by training with kettlebells then I will even help to make it an easy task for you. All that you have to do is access all of my other articles to get all the information you need on lifts and techniques that you can perform with kettlebells. Train hard and enjoy!

To learn more about Kettlebells, Fitness, and achieving Total Mind-Blowing Strength come and visit me at: http://www.efandps.com To be one of my members and to receive more tips on INSANE BODY CONSTRUCTION please visit me at:http://www.efandps.com/www.efandps.com/Brandons_Members_Newsletter.html I'm Brandon Richey the Strength and Conditioning Pro!

Speed Training - 2 Simple Upper-Body Techniques to Enhance Your Speed!

Speed is something that everyone is born with, but some are naturally born with more speed than others. However, everyone can be trained to fully optimize their individual abilities to become faster. This is the good news because this article will provide you with 2 great adjustments to make with your arms to increase your velocity immediately!

Drill 1: Many problems that inhibit athletes from their full sprinting potential can be related to improper running mechanics. Individuals often generate a lot of wasted motion when it comes to running. For instance, when you think about your arm motion when in a full sprint they are pumping back and forth as quick as your legs. Studies have shown that about 18-20% of your running power comes from the upper-body. This is a big factor when trying to find ways to get faster. The problem with most people is that when they are pumping their arms in the sprint phase, they tend to move them from side to side. This crossing the mid-line of the body is wasting motion and causing your weight to shift side to side instead of in a linear direction. Correct this motion by moving the hands from the pockets (or hips area) to your chin.

Drill 2: So we know that most people waste a lot of motion by moving from side to side, but there is another problem that people are guilty of when trying to generate sprinting power with their arm motion. The next tip is making sure that the angle of your elbows are locked in a 90 degree angle when driving your hands from the pockets to the chins. You also want to make sure that you get your elbows to drive back when the hand is moved to the pockets area. This backward elbow drive with each arm pump is what provides that 18-20% of running power!

To learn more about Kettlebells, Fitness, and achieving Total Mind-Blowing Strength come and visit me at http://www.efandps.com To be one of my members and to receive more tips on INSANE BODY CONSTRUCTION please visit me at:http://www.efandps.com/www.efandps.com/Brandons_Members_Newsletter.htmlI'm Brandon Richey the Strength and Conditioning Pro!

The Sprinter's Powerhouse - The Glute-Hamstring Combination!

Can you run fast? Do you want to run faster? I want to explain the importance of glute and hamstring development as it pertains to SPEED!

When you think about the muscles that are involved in running we obviously think about the legs, but which specific muscles in the legs really have to "fire" to get us up to a blazing pace? The answer to this question is the muscles in the butt (glutes) and hamstrings (back of the legs b/w the knees and glutes).

These muscles are a powerful combination when it comes to driving and propelling the body forward in a series of quick plyometric bounds we call sprinting. These muscles are literally pulling the body forward during a sprint just like a race horse powering down the track at the Kentucky Derby. The quads (thighs) extend the leg forward for the foot to make immediate contact to the ground while the glutes and hamstrings power the pull-back or pawing-type motion to execute every stride. These muscles are developed most effectively through strength training exercises in the "pulling phase" of what I describe in my push/pull methodology of training. The development of these muscles are important for everyone whether or not you are a competitive athlete or just a serious workout junky. Most lifts that have to be executed for the development of these particular muscles generate tremendous leg power and total-back strength.

Go and work on developing your powerhouse. Competitive sprinter or not keep your edge. If you do you'll live longer and look better as you get older!

To learn more about Kettlebells, Fitness, and achieving Total Mind-Blowing Strength come and visit me at http://www.efandps.com To be one of my members and to receive more tips on INSANE BODY CONSTRUCTION please visit me at:http://www.efandps.com/www.efandps.com/Brandons_Members_Newsletter.html I'm Brandon Richey the Strength and Conditioning Pro!

Strength Training - Multi-Joint Exercise Vs Isolation Exercise

Well, where do I begin with this topic? I think I'll start by saying that the proof is in the pudding! I have been training athletes and hardcore taxpaying citizens that workout like they are possessed for about 8 years now. One thing that I have learned in training everyone of these people is that the overall biggest results are achieved through large muscular movements. However, there is something to be said for single-joint or isolation exercise.

Multi-Joint Exercise: This is where you execute a lift or exercise by involving more than one joint therefore impacting many muscle groups at one time. By doing this more force is applied to the body. For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. In other words, if you do a push-up you are primarily using the upper-body to do the greatest amount of work, but not without help from the rest of the body by tensing up. This tension creates tremendous strength and increases your exertion level for greater results.

Isolation Exercise: Unlike multi-joint exercise isolation exercise or single-joint movements involve only one joint therefore impacting primarily only one muscle group. Notice that I said primarily one muscle group and not ONLY one single muscle. The truth is that it is physiologically impossible to purely isolate a single muscle. So this is where tension can still have a large effect on a specific area of the body that may be lagging in terms of strength or muscular development. However, if a person is in the beginning stages of an exercise program I wouldn't waste a lot of time on standing arm curls or leg extensions. If the person could use some extra bicep work then standing curls are good, but he or she should be instructed to grip the bar with force and to stand straight and tighten up the rest of the body in the process.

Remember to balance your multi-joint and single-joint movements in your program, but I would concentrate on the multi-joint. Also, be creative and dynamic and take the time to find out how.

To learn more about Kettlebells, Fitness, and achieving Total Mind-Blowing Strength come and visit me at http://www.efandps.com To be one of my members and to receive more tips on INSANE BODY CONSTRUCTION please visit me at:http://www.efandps.com/www.efandps.com/Brandons_Members_Newsletter.html I'm Brandon Richey the Strength and Conditioning Pro!

Speed Training - 3 Ways to Develop Linear Speed in the Competitive Athlete!

Linear speed is a fancy way of saying "Fast." However, it is specific to running fast in a straight line. We all have wanted to be fast a one time or another and that mindset has certainly not changed in today's competing athletes. I have spent the last 8 years of my life working with athletes at all levels of competition. The two things that they all have in common is that they want to be strong and fast!

The first and most basic variable in building linear speed is making sure that your running mechanics are sound. Too many athletes have poor running form, or technique and usually end up wasting a lot of motion when they are trying to develop speed. The fastest distance between two points is a straight line and often when athletes run there arm and foot placement causes them to shift from side to side when accelerating into a sprint. This is the first and most basic principle in building speed and can be quickly improved.

The next step is by loading the athlete in order to create resistance for resistance speed training. The athlete can be resisted in a number of ways ranging from a bungee chord device, weighted vest, or resistance rope. This resistance adds additional stress to the athlete's body causing his or her muscles to adapt and contract more forcefully due to being trained in this fashion.

Finally, the last method I want to discuss is assisted speed training. Some examples of this can include running with the assistance of a bungee chord device, an over-stride trainer device, or by running on a slight down hill slope. This causes the athlete to run at a faster pace than he or she is capable. By doing this the athlete takes longer quicker strides than normal. This in turn stimulates the nervous system causing the muscles to contract in rapid succession.

These three steps should be carefully studied before applying if you attempt them on your own. I will say that these examples are pretty basic in nature, but that with proper instruction and application your linear speed will drastically improve! In other words, "You'll get Faster!"

To learn more about Kettlebells, Fitness, and achieving Total Mind-Blowing Strength come and visit me at http://www.efandps.com To be one of my members and to receive more tips on INSANE BODY CONSTRUCTION please visit me at:http://www.efandps.com/www.efandps.com/Brandons_Members_Newsletter.htmlI'm Brandon Richey the Strength and Conditioning Pro!