Woodway Speedboard

I have long been a fan of the Woodway FORCE treadmill.  It is a self propelled treadmill. This has been for several reasons;

• Encourages FOOT CONTACT under COG
• Encourages HORIZONTAL PROPULSIVE FORCES
• Allows VIDEO ANALYSIS of multiple strides easily
• Provides easier accel bounding learning and resisted bounds
• ...and in the case of a FORCE 2.0 or 3.0 provides data on actual forces and gait analysis between left and right legs

Last year Woodway introduced the SPEEDBOARD.  We  had the chance to recently evaluate it with athletes of different calibers and experience. 

Another self propelled treadmill, this one uses a low friction belt, and curved surface so that no harness is needed.  A bit scary for many when first stepping on, it ends up being very easy to get used to.

We have done some rudimentary video analysis comparing athletes over ground and on the Speedboard.  Although  not complete, I can say that differences in most kinematics are minimal.  Below are some comparison shots.  Although limited by using 60 frames of video, their was not difference in stride frequency in this analysis.

TOE OFF

THIGH BLOCKING

GROUND PREP

GROUND CONTACT

MID STANCE

TOE OFF 2 

Our coaches have generally found that athletes feel like it "makes them go faster."  In our trials and observations, it seems to encourage better recovery and step over mechanics.   This has been consistent among many different athletes.  Put them on their and we have seen residual phase get cut dramatically and a better step over action.  The step over may be encouraged by the slight angle of the tread in front, encouraging them to step up to it. 

One area where we have found we had to really coach well and watch is ground contact.  I encourage dorsi-flexed ground contact and this becomes even more important on the Speedboard.  When coached and executed, ground contact is good and many athletes have actually felt increased gastroc soreness after sessions.  This makes sense as they are making contact with slight angle and therefore potentially loading in a more stretched position.  This would also be something to consider if an athlete is returning from a foot/lower leg injury or has problems there. 

If an athlete tends to overstride and does not understand to try and footstrike under the COG they may be encouraged to overstride or even heel strike in lower level athletes.  The key was coaching.  It is very easy to hear the difference and we found even more than on the ground that if given as a cue, athletes could hear the difference themselves.

These are a bit in contrast to the FORCE treadmill.  I have found it encourages better ground prep and footstrike mechanics by its nature to require additional force production.  Any overstriding on it will not drive the belt backward. 

All in all we are finding it extremely useful. 

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  Takes up a lot less space than 60-100 yards of track/turf. 
• 
  
  It allows us to provide video feedback and analysis over multiple strides. 
• 
  
  Encourages good recovery mechanics.
• 
  
  Allows a natural running motion.
• 
  
  Allows IN/Outs indoors
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  Useful for repeat sprint intervals with active running recovery between.

NSCA 2009

Just got back from NSCA in Las Vegas. No speaking this time, but will be speaking on multi-directional speed in Orlando next year. It's easy to forget how enjoyable and valuable it is to get to spend time seeing friends and colleagues, that you may not spend time with often.

One of the things I was looking forward to, was actually trying the new Woodway Speedboard. I have worked with the Woodway Force for years both in research and in training. Its a great tool for many aspects of speed training, energy system development, and diagnosis.

Like the Force, the Speedboard was intriguing because it is self propelled. It would offer the opportunity to provide video analysis and feedback easily. It would allow instant changes in speed for in-outs or interval work, and we could switch between users quickly.



For me a key though is how it feels to a sprinting athlete, along with what it does to both the kinetics and kinematics. I haven't got one yet to do video analysis, but the feel was pretty good to me, and I was able to hear what some collegiate level sprinters thought.

It takes just a minute to get used to it, which is always a good sign for natural mechanics. While using a high speed treadmill, you sometimes can notice that need to focus on quicker recovery but not necessarily force production into the ground. On the Force treadmill you become very aware of the need for force production.

One of the things I noticed was that I did have to focus on force into the ground as I accelerated along with feeling the need for quicker recovery. I would say the feel was somewhere in the middle of the those other two modalities. This may make some sense since the curve of the belt means that you will need to increase force into the ground as you hit up higher on the belt where there is a greater angle. The angle of the deck transfers some of the vertical forces into horizontal for you thus increasing the belt speed.

All in all my initial impression is this is a device with a lot of potential. It is going to be great for individual or group interval training without question. For an athlete that needs max velocity training I think it will probably be good as well. Not a replacement for over-ground running, but it could be a very effective supplement. As I learn more and study the kinematics/kinetics, we'll find out more.

40 Yd Dash Training Tools

Over this coming week I'll be posting about how we prepare our guys for the 40yd dash at the Scouting Combine. I'll be in Indianapolis with our guys for 8 days so I should be able to find the time.

One of the greatest challenges of preparing athletes for the NFL Combine is that we have such a short time. We need to find those places where we can have the most impact and which drills will be most effective.

One of the areas we can impact the most is the start. We are going to try and build power and impart some basic technique. I say basic because most of the guys never ran track. The mechanics of acceleration in football are generally in contrast to those that are best for the 40yd dash.

One of the common movement strategies is to stay low and to take quick, choppy steps. Great if you are a running back hitting the hole, or a lineman who needs to apply leverage against another 300lb guy, but really ineffective if you need to go straight ahead as fast as possible.

Acceleration bounds are a great tool for these guys. It helps then develop specific leg power and rate of force development. It reinforces applying them in a proper direction and often can help improve the range of motion.

We actually progress those short. choppy step guys using some 3pt starts directly into an acceleration bound. Though its an exaggeration, it helps them learn about building a drive phase. We do this as a contrast drill and progress towards an optimal 3pt start and first ten yards.

Some guys struggle with achieving a technically proficient bound however from a motor control standpoint. This is especially true for many of our "big uglies", the 300 lb linemen.

We have the FORCE treadmill from Woodway and its a great tool to help this. As you can see in the video below, it takes away some of the challenges and lets the athlete focus on 3 of our 4 main points; Big Force, Proper Direction, and Optimal Range of Motion.


We can add a significant load if the athlete can handle it since the FORCE has adjustable resistance. To facilitate motor learning we use it in a contrast method, where we go and do 10 yard starts after a few reps, and repeat this several times.

I find it very effective. We see instant improvements in fewer steps over ten yards, faster times, and a better drive action in the initial 1-4 steps. Then we have to keep reinforcing it and make sure they do it when the pressure is on.

Does Sprint Technique Matter?

This was the topic of my presentation at the National Strength & Conditioning Associations Sport Specific Conference. Instead of a presentation that just gave coaches a bunch of speed drills, I looked at the path I have gone trough as a coach and how I view the importance and application of sprint technique to team sports. We have a number of different camps today although these are stereotypes we all have seen them (and I've been in all of them at one point)
1 - Pure Strength Coach - "technique doesn't matter wothout strength"
2 - Classic Track Coach - perfecting technique is essential.
3 - Sports Performance coach - do it. "the athlete will figure it out if you work them hard in the drills"
As I have grown through the years I can see there is some degree of truth in all of these. The key is what you take from each, and how you apply it. We'll get much more indepth in this in the February webinar, but lets focus on one question for now.

DOES SPRINT TECHNIQUE MATTER IN TEAM SPORTS?
Of Course It Does! If we want to really break it down, there is no coach out there who is going to same that an athlete take 15 steps to cover 10yds, who is up on a planter flexed ankle or on their heels, with a frontal plane arm action, is using the optimum technique. Now thats an extreme example, but haven't we all seen that athlete?

A better question would be, "Can We DO Anything About It?"

Can we change technique?
Of Course!In the video below we have a visually subtle difference, but one that makes a world of difference. This athlete is preparing for the NFL Combine and Draft. This was part of a Max velocity mechanics coaching session.

In the second part you can see the blocking angle of the leg in front is slightly higher and the angle between the lead and trail leg is also slightly greater. Whether this is good or bad is irrelevant for this discussion. Its changed. And it changed because of different cueing and focus by the athlete.

There are some that argue about whether technique changes matter or whether its just about ground reaction forces. Silly question because how do you seperate the two? This particular treadmill is self propelled and it measures both the vertical and horizontal forces produced.

So now we can quickly answer the question; did changing the technique change the forces into the ground?
YES!
This athletes forces changed a little vertically, but a lot horizontally. This in turn led to greater power output and higher top speed.

So YES, we can change technique and alter ground reaction forces, the the question becomes "Can We Make the Change Last?"

Ground Reaction Forces

Ground Reaction Forces are a key component to consider in improving an athletes speed. Today in the track world there are some big arguements in this realm. They can become oversimplified and end as technique training vs. force training. Using the Woodway FORCE treadmill, we actually get to see whats happening in terms of ground reaction forces.

One of the things that surprised me as we started research with this several years ago, was that the horizontal forces are more sensitive to differences than the verical. Coming from the strength side of coaching and having been a weightlifting coach, I had an early bias (and still do at times) towards the "force" side of things. "Build more of the right strength qualitites to improve impulse and they will run faster" My thinking and understanding have evolved dramatically over the last 16 years, but there is still a lot of truth in this.

This ia typical horizontal GRF graph during an unloaded sprint on the FORCE treadmill. It Shows some variability as expected from prior reserach, but no consistent pattern. The athlete is not displaying a significant difference between the left and right legs.
An interesting note is that this athlete had an injury to the knee about a year ago. They rehabbed and played the season. On intake, they reported no pain or problems in this knee. As they were doing the test. this one was bad enough that we could here it before we could see it. However we find this differences even when they are visible or audible.

However, what we often see is below. It doesn't take a Master's degree in biomechanics or motor control to understand there is a problem here. We have an athlete that is generating a fraction of the force on one leg versus the other. This athlete was getting ready for the NFL COmbine where 40yd dash is critical to his draft position and making money. Obviously this can't be optimal. This also has to lead to some seriously unbalanced force through the kinetic chain and may lead to problems in the hips or lumbar spine.



The real key step to any assessment however is how do you use the information to help the athlete. Research is great to help us learn and grow, but for each athlete the questions is "What Now?"

Some we do a number of things. First we will use this data with data from functional movement assessments, joint rom and testing, other performance tests. Then we address the specific strength, stability and range of motion issues on this leg. We will also probably do some additional work on this leg with drills like fast leg, gallops and bounds when appropriate.

NFL Draft Speed Testing

As we are in the midst of NFL Combine Prep, we are doing a lot of assessments. One of the elements of our assessment process, is using the Woodway FORCE treadmill from Woodway.

One of the unique things we get from this is the actual measurement of Ground Reaction Forces. It's self propelled and the athletes have to do the work. Over the last several years, one of the things we have learned with research is that many old injuries show up in un-even force production. We regulary see athletes that are sufferring no symptoms, but end up putting very un-even force into the ground.

This has several implications from un-tapped performance potential, to unbalanced stresses that may increase injry risk and overuse.

Mark Sanchez is pictured here during testing and he had great results, but thats not what we see from everyone.


We have tested 100's of athletes over the years, and while some we can pick up with our eyes and ears, those great tools don't tell us everything. It is amazing what we find, and even greater when we can do something about it. Finding an athlete has a significant difference, lets us target their specific needs and make a difference.