Don’t worry about people expressing differing views to your own John. There is so much information out there and much of it is contradictory. We can only use an empirical approach to determine what works for specific athletes. Your experience across a range of athletes makes a valuable contribution to the data available. Thanks for sharing it.

I appreciate videos like this. In the States where American football and basketball are king particularly for males, having a resource to point to explaining why I don't worry about weight training kind is helpful.

Thank you for a peek into your thought process. As a spectator of sport and track and field and as an old weekend warrior, I like this topic. So many uninformed opinions out there juxtaposed to the hard-won knowledge of successful coaches and scientists. Your logic makes a lot of sense to me. In track and field, I am always amazed to see so many youth (16 and younger) competing at and close to world class levels of performance.

I completely agree. The best way to run faster is to run faster. Weights have only benefited me when I focus on improving a specific weakness. But I no longer start a training cycle or incorporate full body weight sets until I see the interval work take hold and then I look to supplement with targeted weight work.

Thank you for this well explained video. I have the same view point on the benefits of weight training I use to gain strength and power however I also believe it's not necessarily needed to gain strength and power. Anywho wants to argue that well I guess we will have to do everything weighted for now on. Gravity is weight we constantly go against this why it's a lot easier to have stronger legs than arms. Ours legs constantly are against the weight and force of gravity our arms not. Our legs are conditioned to be to stand holds for example in sense standing 8 hrs at a cash register where as our arms not conditioned not obviously meant to. Don't get sidetracked though my point is if weight training isn't the only way in my opinion it must not necessarily be the best way.

Thank you

I 100% agree with what you've said. If training specificity hierarchy would look like a tree with sprinting and jumping sitting on the leaves, strength training would be in the trunk. It is a general form of training. I believe the reason why so many people crave about strength training is that if you subject a young athletes to strength training the first time, the endocrine response might be huge leading to enormous gains in a very short amount of time. Any type of high intensity workout provide a hormonal response but I feel that certain type of strength training are the best way to stimulate those responses. From what I observed the effect is most pronounced with male athletes btw 18 and 22. I even wonder that if you start a good strength training program to late you miss a window opportunity forever. I wonder if there is any type of research on that subject as I may be totally biased.

Don’t read the comments John (other than this one!). The advice you provide for free is incredible and if viewers take anything new from your videos they should consider themselves lucky. If they vehemently disagree they can create their own videos.

My favorite thing about this video is the large bright red text you added to emphasize each of these points 😁

Thanks for defending your philosophy. After 46 years as a Coach and S&C specialist I have gravitated to your way of thinking. The wear and tear many coaches are placing on their athletes bodied will manifest itself in something later in life. About 35 years ago I started moving towards a more wholistic look at how I train my athletes. Thank you for keeping us all on our toes and accepting that more is often better.

After years I've discovered that my limiting factor can be corrected with weights, but it's not strength training, it's isometric and eccentric training for the tendons. Tendon work is extremely overlooked and I'm finally pushing through my plateaus.

What can you tel about next statement (not mine, it's from an article about isometric training)? "Dynamic training such as plyometric training is effective in increasing active muscle stiffness (i.e. ability to maintain quasi-isometric state) which allows the tendon to stretch rapidly during the countermovement phase of dynamic movement. Thus, resulting in higher amount of elastic energy stored in the tendon which leads to greater production of propulsion force. In contrast, IST has a better effect on tendon stiffness. While high active muscle stiffness allows for great tendon stretch during countermovement phase of a movement, high tendon stiffness would result in greater storage of elastic energy when stretched and reduced electromechanical delay, resulting in greater propulsive force generated. Hence, there is a complementary effect on neuromuscular adaptations when IST is performed in concurrent with dynamic training". Also there is were interesting moments about in which positions (angles) isometric exercise is performed and how it affects strength in some range of movement (angles, positions) and that the longer the muscle during isometric hold the greater range of movement (angles) in which strength is increasing and vice versa. Plus better morphological adaptations. (is you want to read full article it's called "Isometric Training: Science and Practical Applications" by Danny Lum. As for transfer - it's not important how strong and powerfull you are if you apply that force incorrectly (just wasting most of it), so there is Technique and specificity comes in. Like powerlifters, weightlifters and gymnasts - they all are strong and everything, but can they sprint effectively, or can powerlifters-weightlifters do gymnastic elements, etc.? But what if they will be coached a bit? And is there were description of methodology which were used by Bondarchuk in his work? We can't trust or be sure in anything if there were mistake in methods or protocols used (like, for example, as simple as wrong recovery time between sets may result in failure of experiment or research). I don't fight against you or agains "weights", as I never did any gym stuff myself (single leg squat and isometric squat holds is heaviest things I did from category "weights", as they were easily available anywhere and anytime, with more than good results for me). I think that by using them (weights) is very important to strictly control the volume and frequency of implementing close to max heavy intencity sessions, athlete is in risk of overdoing it and drop yourself in overtraining or CNS fatigued state, so he will not be able to perform other important means of training for 100% as he will be in CNS underrecovered state. Because in some cases after close to max intencity weight training there is about 7 days should be given for recovery (I'm speaking about CNS, not some glycogene replenishment or so) or even more in range of 7-15 days. Once athlete does this mistake sistematicly (training in CNS fatigued state due to overdoing weights) - he's in trouble and most likely will be in plato state with no or minimum progress. Especially if you are not Elite or Pro with team of professionals like physioterapists, nutritionists, medical stuff that work with you on a daily basis for better recovery and control of loads and athlete's state. But some "microdosing" or if implemented correctly (correct intensities with correct volumes and correct frequencies during micro or mesocicles) can give some benefits. But if you're already strong and powerfull enough - better go to maintaining mode and focus on techniques, right angles and other stuff which help to transfer all that into better performance and results.

Hi John, this may be perhaps an unsual perspective, or maybe not, but do you think that maybe the role of weights past the foundational stage is more so used to increase the potential stimulus and output from higher degree movements like plyometrics due to improved power outputs from neural or hypertrophic adaptations, and as such that would improve the sprinting and jumping indirectly? This of course is done over a long period of time, but when you consider the different 'degrees' of movements like you have laid out, the lower you go obviously the lower and less specific the ground contacts are to the actual event, but movements of adjacent degrees still have relatively high similarity, so improving the 5th/6th degree, being weights, could improve the output you gain from the 3rd/4th degree which would eventually improve the top?

It's hard to imagine an explosive start and drive phase not being assisted by stronger leg muscles. Has any correlation work been done on these aspects?

I agree that strength training has almost zero direct transference to sprinting & jumping…. However, when done very specifically, it does possess a great ability to promote structural growth due to the potential for long cumulative time under tension with at least moderate forces. This kind of stimulus is uniquely good at causing the body to simply build better structure, so it is greatly beneficial in both injury rehab/“prehab” and also, potentially, in stiffness development. My personal belief is that max effort strength training is actually a mistake because it is “too costly” in terms of recovery and does not allow the athlete to accumulate as much time under tension (which is so good at stimulating collagen). Essentially, by favoring max effort strength training rather than higher-rep “bodybuilding”, the athlete is chasing direct transference (where the potential gains are very limited) and eschewing the much greater potential benefits from structural development.

A BIT OF LOGIC AND BIOMECHANIC After we discussed some days ago, I had a look of this video ,so I decided to publish this post because I think it's time to shed light on some points that I consider fundamental around the WEIGHTS - SPRINT debate. I will proceed analytically with some statements. I am aware that several points may be a little revolutionary for many, however I hope that the notes and examples provided will be in some way useful for understanding. Sorry if I will incurr in grammar issues, since I am using google translator. POINT 1. Training with weights in a traditional way with A) positions, directions and directions of execution different from the competition gesture, and B) with grips and supports not suitable for recreating the competition conditions, and C) without overload or with limited overload which is even lower than the actual overload that the athlete endures during the race - LOGICALLY there is then the problem of how to transfer the improvements - obtained through this training - into the execution of the race gesture. POINT 2 To be truly transferable in terms of race performance, weight training must be INNOVATIVE: therefore either the exercise (or the machine) adapts to the race gesture OR the exercise (or the machine) must be completely reinvented In other words, either some variations are made to the isotonic machines OR new machines specific to the purpose must be invented NOTE 1 This applies to sprinting but also to other very technical disciplines such as boxing and in some martial arts or momentum techniques in general. NOTE 2 So I agree with you that traditional weight training is considered, as you say, the fifth or sixth generation But only because clearly these traditional weight training sessions do NOT educate the competition gesture, on the contrary they de-educate it, and in fact there is a problem of transforming these skills again for the competition, this will be reiterated later on POINT 3 The fact that traditional weight training allows the acquisition of improvements in muscular capacity and to some extent (and, if anything, only for some athletes) improvements in race performance, however DOES NOT DETERMINE and DOES NOT PROOF that these muscular capacities are the maximum potential of the athlete, because - beyond the loads and/or maximums that an athlete can lift - these loads or maximums have been reached with positions, holds and overloads NOT related to the competition gesture POINT 4 The improvements that can be obtained from traditional weight training (both with low and high loads) DO NOT PROVE that traditional weight training can also guarantee to every other athlete the same improvements or the maximum improvements possible for that individual. athlete. The improvements that can be observed in athletes who have followed the same traditional weight training may in fact also depend on other factors. POINT 5 Therefore, athletes distinguished only by age and weight and by their performances cannot be taken as examples or subjects to be tested For example, between two athletes, one weighing 60 kilos and the other 80 kilos, with the same height and correct running technique, the first with a muscular surface area of ​​a certain muscle equal to 30 cm with fibers capable of lifting 5 kilos each cm square and the other athlete with a circumference of 50 cm but with fibers capable of lifting 3 kilos per square cm, have the same strength but the first perhaps will be faster due to the BMI (if not also due to the type of muscle fibers and the lengths of the insertions of the tendons into the respective bones) POINT 6 With training with traditional weights (traditional isotonic machines and free weights) the athlete wastes too much energy and is too busy maintaining balance and position. In running, balance and position DO NOT present such difficulties. POINT 7 In sprinting, (or if we want "in any movement that implies the maximum forward momentum that an athlete must express following a downward projection") they are fundamental: A) the production of an increasingly increaseable weight force B) the transfer of this weight force from one part of the body to another. This increase constitutes the acceleration and this acceleration is produced thanks to this increased weight force. POINT 8 For the production of an increaseable maximum weight force - since traditional training with weights is not designed for this specific purpose - it is essential to build an innovative training that allows the athlete to A) propose the real overload that the athlete endures during the race e B) in a position emulating the race gesture POINT 9 A running athlete exerts a weight force on the ground which is initially made up of body weight From the moment of departure or the moment in which the limb receives the push backwards, an acceleration is produced and this acceleration at the moment of contact with the ground transmits a weight to the ground that is greater than one's own body weight. The athlete's fall towards the ground right from the start has this purpose: to seek maximum speed by trying to increase the impact force on the ground or one's own weight force POINT 10 To produce this maximum increaseable weight force (i.e. with that ideal increase at each stride such that it can be decisive for expressing maximum performance in the race) the sprinter must have the musculature of the pushing leg ALREADY capable of expressing a capacity such that at the moment of impact produces the ideal weight force or the maximum possible one. It is not possible to achieve this maximum muscle strength through traditional weight training NOTE SQUAT, DEADLIFT, LUNGES, STRAPS The substantial difference between these exercises and the rest of the isotonic leg machines (leg curl, leg press, leg extension etc etc) is that in the latter the athlete remains in a prone, supine or sitting position, while in the former he is in an upright position. . Execution in a standing position somehow emulates the athlete's position during the race and can cause very high pressure on the feet such that the athlete trains the hamstring muscles in a partially isometric way during execution but these are exercises that undertrain as they A) they mainly train the front muscles of the leg which are not everything in the production of the increased weight force and therefore they do not train the transfer of the increased weight force from one part of the body to another B) the load is lower than that useful for producing this ideal weight force, as it is limited both by the direction of movement and by the position assumed B) the overload is limited by the tolerance limit of the weakest structures (during running the weight force weighs on the body structures for fractions of a second) C) if carried out through contact with the ground with both feet they do not emulate the real push that that half of the body should express D) they have no useful grip to maintain balance CONCLUSIONS Weight training in the traditional way (everything: from leg curls to leg presses, leg extensions, lunges, squats, deadlifts, deadlifts, etc. etc.) CAN be included in any generation but NOT in the first or second, as it is valid only for a general improvement of skills, especially for those disciplines of contrast or where there are changes of direction, therefore wrestlers, rugby players, martial artists, footballers but they are not the best for expressing the potential in a technical discipline such as sprinting on the track. It therefore remains undertraining regardless of whether it is carried out with low overloads because perhaps it is thought that otherwise it could negatively affect performance or with sub-maximal overloads because it is thought that maximum fiber recruitment is better But in the first generation, together with the teaching of technique, weight training should be included with new systems that allow training to be carried out with tools capable of applying a real overload in the competition and simulating the specific gesture. Thanks for attention

I have a question, does weight translate equally to the 400m as it does for the 100m? Or is it better to reduce the load of the weight training compared to the 100 m?

Coach, I do max effort flying sprints from a curve bare foot in normal grass ground but cant able to do more than 2 (my ankle gets sore ) . Aslo With proper rest . As I use intense stiff leg plyometrics with a running approach as potentiation effects and before it , only dynamic jump and plyometrics based workouts before sprints thanks 🙏 to you before doing sprints intense running stiff leg prime times very effective. Pls 🙏 Reply thanks due to your great efforts I understand some science of speed and jump

Use the Gym = injury prevention not directly speed same as you say. Achilles tendens for me is really important the Gym Heavy iso's or eccentric calf work is great for the tendens