Reading Research: Strength and Power Characteristics of Sprinters

After my review of Linford Christie’s autobiography on Monday, I thought it was appropriate to review something relating to sprinting…

Sprinters nearing the line – photo by the talented William Warby

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I found this study, called A Comparison of Strength and Power Characteristics Between Power Lifters, Olympic Lifters, and Sprinters, by McBride, Triplett-McBride, Davie and Newton, Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 1999.

I found it interesting and frustrating in equal measure (because of the relatively odd treatment of bodyweight) but more on that below…

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What was the study for?

The study investigated the different requirements for strength, power and speed in three types of athlete known for their explosive power:

• Powerlifters
• Olympic lifters
• Sprinters

The traditional definitions of strength, power and speed were used:

• Strength – maximal force production
• Power – maximal power production (power = force / time)
• Speed – maximal velocity

The researchers set out to compare the three groups of athletes in order to show that :

• Powerlifters produce high force, at slow velocity
• Olympic lifters produce high force, at high velocity
• Sprinters produce low force, at high velocity

To explore these variables, the researchers chose the following exercises:

• Vertical jump
• 1RM smith machine squat-type exercise
• Jump squat

So what happened?  Let’s take a look at the results and find out.

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Results of the vertical jump

In the vertical jump, the researchers found that the sprinters and Olympic lifters both jumped higher (c. 48cm) than the powerlifters (c. 40cm) and the control group (c. 34cm).

Obviously, as we will see below, since the Olympic lifters were about 7 – 8kg heavier than the sprinters, this means that they are producing more force, because F = Ma.  They need to generate more force, because they are heavier.

However, it is noteworthy that the powerlifters were a long way behind them in jump heights.  Training with maximal weights therefore does not guarantee a high vertical jump or (therefore) a fast sprint.

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Results of the squat-type exercise

In the smith machine squat-type exercise (no comment required), the researchers found that:

• Powerlifters lifted an average of 225.5kg (average bodyweight of 78kg),
• Olympic lifters lifted an average of 243.9kg (average bodyweight of 85kg)
• Sprinters lifted an average of 204.3kg (average bodyweight of 77kg)

From this, they conclude that the Olympic lifters were strongest.  However, this seems odd to me as they do not take into account that the average bodyweight of the different lifters was substantially different.  And we are not talking about amateur athletes here.  These are athletes for which a 10kg difference in bodyweight will mean a 7 – 8kg difference in muscular bodyweight.

There’s not much fat on Zhan Xugang – photo courtesy of stickergiant

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I note that the powerlifers actually lifted an average of 2.89x bodyweight compared with the Olympic lifters 2.86x bodyweight.  To me, it seems that there is very little between them and there is certainly no evidence to suggest that Olympic lifters are fundamentally stronger.  In this regard, I disagree with the authors.

I also had a WTF moment when I read that their control group with an average bodyweight of 75kg lifted 160kg (more than 2x bodyweight!) for a 1RM.  This group had no resistance training experience but were described as active.  I don’t know what they put in the water down under but it seems that either Australian control groups are naturally super strong or that the researchers’ concept of a squat was approximately a quarter as deep as mine.

I simply cannot believe that they dragged some guys in off the street and warmed them up to a 160kg squat.  Please tell me if I am way off base here and I will crawl ashamed back into my garage gym and squat until I am strong…

The bottom line, though, is this: sprinters are not substantially weaker than strength athletes.  So if you want to be fast and you are not already strong, you need to start squatting.

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Results of the jump squat

The sprinters cleaned up in the jump squat, showing significantly higher jumps at various different weights (30% of 1RM, 60% of 1RM and 90% of 1RM) than either the Olympic lifters (who came second) or the powerlifters (who came third).

The researchers focused on the fact that the Olympic lifters generated more force.  However, I note that this is because they are (a) heavier, and (b) their 1RM weights are higher.

As far as relative to bodyweight lifts are concerned, the sprinters were able to jump substantially higher than the Olympic lifters and much better than the powerlifters.  Perhaps this means that the sprinters are better at the speed element of the power equation?  I doubt many people would instinctively agree with that, given the title of the snatch as “the fastest movement in sports”.

If anyone has any insight into this aspect of the study, I would be curious to know their thoughts…

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Why is this interesting?

Despite the grumbles above, I liked way that the researchers approached generating their conclusions.  Too many times, I read studies and think that the authors could have been much more perceptive in seeing the implications of their work.  These authors tried quite hard to be helpful.

The authors noted that:

“The sprinters group could jump high but was not forceful in this action.  The Olympic lifting group could jump high and simultaneously produce high force and thus the high- est power outputs.”

And they therefore concluded:

“This indicates that a volley-ball player may only need heavy squat and plyometric training to induce increases in jump height.  However, to maximize the ability to use high forces and high velocities simultaneously (as indicated by the Olympic lifting group), which is needed in a football block or tackle, training incorporating high force, high velocity movements (Olympic lifts or heavy load jump squats) may be required.”

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That’s all for today.  More research next week.

I am indebted to the generous help of my friend, Sumoman, who gave generously of his time in the preparation of this article.  Obviously, any errors are my own.