sprint training for sport

[Gaelle OLIVEIRA-GRILO]

hi , i hope you are fine.

do you have any advice to how combine sprints and weight training in weekly program for athlete ?( alactic sport)

[Ryan Faehnle]

I would recommend structuring the week so that you alternate high CNS stress days (sprinting, plyometrics, lower body weights) with low CNS stress days (tempo runs, upper body strength training, mobility, etc). Start with a maximum of 2 high CNS stress days per week and see how the athlete responds. The higher your sprinting volume, the lower your strength training volume must be and vice versa.

[George Chiappa]

If I can also contribute, there are two things that need to be taken into consideration:
1- what is the purpose of the sprint training? Is it for conditioning, or is it for improving speed? If it is for conditioning, then the demands of energy system should be considered and appropriately applied as per the needs of the athlete, as per what Ryan mentioned. If it is to improve speed, then it is important to identify what elements of biomechanics the athlete needs to improve vs being structurally stronger (usually a combination of these).
2- what part of the season is the athlete in? if it is "in-season" it is important to consider what the sport coach is making the athlete do. In my experience, many sport coaches burn out their players by making them volumes of full sprints during their specific training session. When this is the case, making the athlete do more sprint training may cause more damage than good. If, on the other hand, it is in the off season, you could emphasize a higher ratio of speed to strength training session within various mesocycles ie 3:3 for 4 weeks, followed by 2:4 for the next 4 weeks, and of course within each mesocycle, the priorities are addressed...With all this in mind, it is important to consider Ryan's advice with respect to the CNS.

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