The speed ride

“The 4.30 Trip”

The 4:30 Drive is a story that every athlete who has ever had to run a 40-yard dash can relate to. It’s my journey from running a 4.66 40-yard dash as a freshman in college to running a 4.30 for the New Orleans Saint Scouts and the New Orleans Arena 1 football team. I won’t have you believe it’s as easy as They advertise most speed centers across the United States. It takes perseverance and hard work. On this journey, I will give insight into the mental preparation, strength training, speed training, nutrition, and environment that existed during this time. I must warn you that I knew nothing about Elite Fitness and did not adhere to a concurrent training system. The point is that while the show’s design was flawed and it’s not what I recommend to my clients, the hard work I put in led to some positive adaptations.

mental preparation

My mind was extremely focused at the time because I wasn’t too far from college, I was married with a child and another child on the way. I felt this was one of my best opportunities to achieve something great and provide a better life for my family. My friend was a scout for the saints and he arranged the test for me, and he also gave me a place to stay while I was there. Every day I had training sessions. I would wake up at 4:30 am and lift weights, go to my full-time job, and run at the local college during my lunch hour. I was what you would call in the area. I envisioned myself at the New Orleans facility running the greatest 40-yard dash in history. I reviewed my warm-up in my mind, my posture, my first step, and I saw myself succeeding. Visualizing your success is one of the often-skipped steps in program design, but it can have some profound effects. I believe that if you do not believe it, you will not achieve it.

strength training

My training was a sporadic mix of everything I learned from strength coaches during my high school and college days. This was mostly a hybrid of Olympic movements, linear periodization, and hypertrophy-based training. In the world of training as we know it now, this type of training should have crippled me and slow as dirt. The more I train, the more I question philosophies on paper because I have found that you have to test everything on numerous people with great success before you can come to any conclusions.

What was missing from the program?

foam lamination

dynamic warm up

prehabilitation

Low Reps Max Effort Training

Balance between movements (Vertical Pull vs. Vertical Press)

CNS monitoring (CNS high vs. CNS low days)

Great technique in all exercises.

Scheduled download days

What did the program have?

Explosive Cocentric Reps

plyometric training

Bike warm up and jump rope

Main Exercises (Squat, RDL, Snatch, Power Clean)

Single leg exercises (lunges, step-ups, reverse lunges, single leg squats)

Training

Progressive overload (weight gain by at least 5% in each workout)

Decrease in intensity and volume by 50% the week before training

Short rest periods on certain days

Varied rep ranges (8-12 reps on strength days/ 3-6 reps on main exercises)

Static stretching before each session (I paid for not stretching my hip flexor daily with low back pain)

Back exercises (Lo-Row, DB Row, Bent Over Row)

Chest exercises (bench, plio-push-ups, DB Press)

speed training

My sprint training consisted of running two high-intensity sprint days as well as one sprint endurance day during the week for the 8 weeks leading up to the test. I didn’t run anything but light paced races in the week leading up to the test, as well as practice events like the short flyer.

speed days

Range – 10 yards. – 50 yards.

Recovery: failed to run unless absolutely rested unless time pressed

Volume – 100 yards – 400 yards.

Stance – 3 Point Stance

Intensity – 85-95%

Speed ​​Endurance Days

Distance- 75 yards – 150 yards

Recovery – From 75 seconds – 30 Seconds

Volume – 600 yards – 1000 yards

Posture: three points and standing

Intensity- From 70% to 90% depending on the sensation

Experiment: Mixed a high intensity acceleration with a tempo finale.

Nutrition

My diet was very basic. I didn’t count calories. I ate lean meats, fruits and vegetables. I also ate a lot of carbs like white rice, potatoes, pasta to equalize the amount of energy I needed during my sessions. If I knew my training was going to be hard or high intensity, I would up the carbs. I supplemented with Cytogainer after training sessions to replenish my carbs, as well as provide some protein, to prevent catabolism.

Atmosphere

I was lucky enough to train with some guys who were still training for their upcoming college seasons at the university I attended. The guys were always intense and competed for new PR in everything we tried. There was competition in the air and no one wanted to be left behind. From pancake nights to big squats, you didn’t want to be clowned around. It was also a very encouraging atmosphere because we all wanted to push each other to their limits, so we could succeed. There’s nothing that propels your lifts higher than when you’re training with a bunch of enthusiastic guys who want to lift big weights. This kind of environment is what inspired me to call my training business the chamber and what I envision my gym to be like when it opens. The chamber is an atmosphere in which only the filthy survive, big turntables rattle, the air is thick with sweat, dirt and rust. The music is blaring and a huge guy pressures you to get under the bar. If you have ever had a cam experience then you know what I am trying to say and words cannot describe it.

Conclusion

When the smoke cleared and the evidence came and went in a blur, I tallied up my stats and wasn’t surprised. When you think you’ll make it, it’s not surprising that you make it. He was grateful that the intensity in the preparation led to a great victory. My words about my 4.30 trip can only paint a picture of how exciting the trip can be. I think it was Martin Rooney who said enjoy the process of climbing the mountain in your life. As summer approaches and many young athletes prepare for their season, I hope they enjoy each grueling training session and remember to attack each day with purpose.

Final Stats:

Height: 5’11”

weight: 177

225 Rep Max: 17

Vertical Jump: 42″

Pro Agility Race: 4.13

40-yard dash: 4.30 twice (Field Turf)

Long jump: 11’2″