Slowing Down To Speed Up – Guest Blog Post by Eric Johnson of Sons of Strength

Here is a guest post by Eric Johnson from Sons Of Strength. Check it out and let us know what you think.

America is built on speed. Every aspect of our lives has become a competition to see who can get it done the fastest. The fast food industry has taken control over a majority of the population’s caloric intake and waistlines based on their ability to serve an entire meal in less than sixty seconds. Every other commercial plays into the ongoing debate of which is the fastest wireless carrier. Even the Oakland Raiders choose their first round selection in the draft each year based on the player’s forty yard dash time. Speed has become ingrained into our culture, from production of cars to the development of the athlete. We all want to find the quickest way to complete something. We have adopted the idea, “the faster, the better”.

As strength and conditioning coaches, we are no different. Let’s face it; speed is the most desired facet in athletics. We are constantly reinforcing the idea of moving the bar as fast as the athlete can through compensatory acceleration. We incorporate explosive movements that best translate onto the field of play. Various amounts of movement training are integrated into our programs to meet the demands of the athlete’s sport. The importance of speed in competition coupled with the athlete’s desire to shave a tenth of a second off their testing times has triggered the neglect of fundamental abilities needed in elevating one’s performance. This one important and overlooked aspect is deceleration training, the act of no longer accelerating or maintaining speed.

We must learn how to slow down and not get caught in the rush our lives force us into. You may be asking how can one afford to slow down in a world that is constantly focused on the finish line? The general population and athletes alike can all take the time to learn how to slow down. Find pleasure in the simple tasks in life. Take the time to breathe. Find appreciation for what you have. However, when taking the time to slow down, we must all still give all our efforts every second of each day. We must try our hardest both mentally and physically even when slowing down. Slowing down is just not an excuse to become lazy or stop working, instead it is a way to become better. Just as we must learn how to walk before we can run, we must learn how to slow down before we can speed up. By learning how to slow down, whether to enjoy life or become a better athlete, the quality of the needed speed in our lives can be greatly improved.

With such emphasis on speed, particularly within the sport specific setting, it is essential that athletes learn how to control their bodies at high velocities. After all, an athlete only has their body and particular equipment on the field of play. As strength coaches, force reduction should be a utilized component of training. Athletes should be taught how to absorb and reduce force efficiently before the application of maximal force production. Picture when you’re driving. You’re at a stop sign and not rolling through like most of us are guilty of. In order to accelerate, what must first be done? You have to take your foot off the brake first to step on the gas. In sports, we must teach our athletes how to absorb and reduce force (the brakes) in order to initiate and increase speed and put the pedal to the metal.

The ability to quickly decelerate, or slow down, separates elite players from the great. Whether in and out of a cut, jumping up only to come down, or getting past a defender, athletes must constantly partake in force reduction and absorption. The better an athlete can accelerate into each of the planes of movement, then stop or briefly hesitate through deceleration, and quickly produce that maximal speed again, the better that athlete will perform. Most athletic injuries occur while attempting to reduce force as well. A perfect example is the injury (a torn ACL and MCL) sustained by Patriots wide receiver Wes Welker while attempting to change direction.

The main goals in a successful strength and conditioning program are to reduce injuries and enhance performance. Therefore, the inclusion of periodized deceleration training, first and foremost, is an essential and commonly overlooked aspect in programs. Training should include force reduction in all three planes (frontal, sagittal, and most importantly, transverse), an emphasis on eccentric and isometric contractions, and stabilization through balance. This can be achieved through multiple approaches such as plyometrics, agility drills, and reactive techniques.

Deceleration training accentuates mainly eccentric and isometric contractions in order for one to be in control of their own body and stop forces from either gravity or produced by oneself. Force reduction can be applied to both the lower and upper extremities in order to meet the demands of sport specificity. For example, baseball players, particularly pitchers, can train the musculature of the shoulder and scapula that is needed to decelerate on the follow through of a throw. In return, this training will allow the shoulder to reach faster and faster arm speeds. In basketball, the players must constantly perform maximal to near-maximal vertical jumps. Following each of these jumps, the athlete must land. The inclusion of deceleration training such as altitude drops along with the teaching of a correct landing position will reduce injuries and possibly increase individual’s vertical jump height. (Note: Due to the constant impact players face during the in-season portion of their sports, most deceleration training should be implemented and practiced in the off or preseason.) Check out this video for some examples of force reduction training that you can implement into your program today!

Here are some other ways to include deceleration training into our athletes or own training.

Hurdle Jumps: Set up 3 to 5 hurdles, the height depending on the athlete’s level and goals. Have the athlete jump over the athletes and land in a correct position. Emphasize landing soft and sticking the landing. Don’t allow the athlete’s hips to descend during the landing. Therefore, once the athlete’s feet make contact with the ground, the athlete should try to control their body and fight gravity to remain in an athletic position. The intensity of this technique can be increased by the use of a single leg.

Mirror Drill: Must have used or seen this training method that utilizes two athletes. Pair two athletes within a set of cones set apart at 8 to 10 yards apart. Facing each other, one athlete is assigned to control his movement while shuffling from one to cone to the other in anyway. The other athlete must mimic or mirror the other player’s every movement. Emphasize correct positions of staying low with the chest up and neutral spine. (Depending on the level of the athletes, linear movements can be added with the lateral.) This drill allows deceleration training to occur due to the multidirectional movements and is a great way to motivate athletes through competition. Keep the duration of the drill within the sport specificity.

“If you can dodge a wrench” Drill: In this application of deceleration, the athlete is stationed in a set area. Staying within this area, the coach must use cones (not wrenches) to throw at the athlete. The athlete must move around and avoid being hit by the cones. Count how many cones the athlete gets hit by in the air to make the drill into a competition or punish the athlete with burpees or pushups.

Now it’s your turn. Be creative. Make your own drills that ar
e both fun, create competition, and emphasize the point of deceleration training. Any drill can include deceleration training by having your athletes immediately come to a halt. Include cues that will signal the athlete to completely come to a pause at any moment during an exercise.

Like our parents always told us to slow down while we were driving, maybe we should have listened after all. Learning how to slow down in a fast-driven world can be extremely difficult, but in the long run, we will be able to reach speeds that others never could. By taking the time to relax and enjoy life, the quality of our living will outweigh the quantity. In athletics, by learning how to slow down and properly decelerate, we will be increase our performance and take our game to the next level. We can become the competition by slowing down to speed up.