Resisted Sprint Training for the Acceleration Phase of Sprinting

S printing has previously been described as consisting of a series of phases: an acceleration phase from 0 to 10 m, a transition phase, and then a maximum velocity phase from 36 to 100 m during a 100-m sprint (7). Mero et al. (34) described the acceleration phase as being in the first 30–50 m, followed by a maximum velocity phase and a phase of deceleration. However, for many sporting activities such as soccer, rugby, football, netball, and basketball, maximum velocity is not always attained, and repeated short sprints are more common. As such, the ability to develop velocity in as short a time as possible (acceleration) may be of most importance to performance in many sporting activities. Furthermore, it is thought that acceleration and maximum velocity are relatively separate and specific qualities (9, 44). Therefore, it is the development of the acceleration phase of sprinting that would seem to be of greatest benefit to many sports people and is the subsequent focus of this article.