Coach Ange's Blog

Hello Dear Reader and lover of Speed development and  Sprinting;

Thank you so much for showing up to read my blog. I'm interested in questions and knowing what you think. Bug me if I'm not attending to you faster. ( faster is better right? ;)

( photo of Charlie @1972 Olympic Games in Munich 100m heats)

There does not appear to be volumes of quality information or research around the central nervous system and sprint training.  Coach Charlie Francis educated himself on this topic primarily because he was forced to quit his sprinting career early due to injuries he later learned were due to chronic tightness which could be prevented. ( before signing off as a competitor, Charlie was plagued with one injury after another due to the primary focus of high intensity work with little attention to rest or recovery. "Speed Trap" the book Coach Francis cowrote in 1989 with Jeff Coplon, tells a story about his life as an athlete and coach. Francis wanted different for his athletes. 

You will find the most specific information about how the CNS and sprinting in another book Francis was asked to co write with Paul Patterson. "The Charlie Francis Training System". Understanding how the CNS works in speed training has been central to how Charlie coached countless sprinters, coaches and a variety of athletes from multiple speed and power sports.

Here is a question asked by www.charliefrancis.com forum member;

Forum Member Question

What is an efficient nervous system, which if an athlete has, allows him/her to be naturally fast? I'm familiar with the telltale signs of short temper, the quickness of their feet and a bunch of other stuff.. but moving past those subjective tests, what are the true metrics of a powerful CNS? Read in my psychology textbook about the sodium/potassium ion pump, action potential, excitatory neurotransmitters.. are those phenomenon’s related to someone's inherent speed? And that leads to the question - how can I purposely affect/increase these measures? Will supplementing with electrolytes translate to increased firing of neurons?.....

I saw Andre de Grasse at Canadian Nationals... he's a standard IMO of what a person with a superior CNS is. He is twitchy. He couldn't stop moving. There was always some articulation of the limb going about even when he was drinking his water. He could not be still. I think it's that neural configuration plus zero aggression/excessive effort that lets him run very fast.( forum member from www.charliefrancis.com since 2013 and junior pan american team member)

According to 'The Charlie Francis Training System', two telltale signs of an elite sprinter are:

1- High level sprinters tend to be short tempered; explosive and intense… an explosive personality is an indication of an explosive nervous system.

2- The athlete who can move his or her feet at high frequency is a candidate for sprinting.

( taken from 'The Charlie Francis Training System' page 10.  See also “Theory and Methodology of Training The key to Athletic Performance” by Tudor Bompa Chapter 13 )

CNS has to be fully regenerated so that the chemical environment required for optimal transmission of nervous signals is intact. (The Charlie Francis Training System page 29 to 32)

Motor pathways, characteristic of optimal technique and efficient routing of motor signals must be in place …. Appropriate training creates chemical changes. Notice “appropriate", not any training that some feel works for them, which advance the capacity to do both CNS work and muscular endurance work under conditions of correct technique, before fatigue is reached. (The Charlie Francis Training System pages 29 to 32)

Regeneration is equally as important if not more than training. My suggestion is to apply a few routine methods of regenerating to your week or two of training and see what you think. .

This means more contrast baths for all of you.

"Sprint your own race"

Warmest regards,

Coach Angé Coon