Sprint diagrams by Coach Charlie Francis
March 02, 2021Telltale Signs of an Elite Sprinter and making the most of your nervous system ( CNS training)
November 05, 2019Hello Dear Reader and lover of Speed development and Sprinting;
Take care of your nervous system. Learn everything you get your hands on about the CNS and don't take your energy and your health for granted. Also, last amount of advice on this, learn what Chuck said ( I'm the only one allowed to call him Chuck, so watch it ;0) about CNS, training and sprinting and practice it. He was so on the money about so much and don't let the drugs fool you. The IOC, The Iaa....f-ers, they want you to be fooled. Drugs work but they are illegal and you need to keep your self safe and don't f around with drugs. There are other ways to be your best and it's never all about the money, as much as it seems.... of course it's all about the money, but you have zero if you don't have your health.
( you need to delve deep into the lectures but only once you read the print stuff that gives you perspective. Perspective is rarely taught unless you have awesome parents or grandparents or unless you are wise beyond years and you have lots of love and kindness in your heart to see what the world is really about)
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)
Coach Ange’s Answer
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 )
As far as true metrics of a powerful CNS go?
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)Supplying excellent nutrition including electrolytes will optimize your physiology to both develop and enhance the nervous system you already have in place. Electrolytes work best during and post workout.
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)Routine regeneration is important because it will be your first line attempt to take full advantage any training you will perform. The training effect of the work you perform will be minimized unless you routinely ensure your personal chemistry is ready to respond to high quality work. Otherwise you are not optimizing your existing level of performance.
Regeneration is equally as important if not more than training. My suggestion is to apply a few routine methods of regenerating to your training week and see what you think?
This means more contrast baths for all of you.
"Sprint your own race"
Warmest regards,
Coach Angé Coon
Managing Muscle Tightness for Sprinting
July 29, 2019Weight lifting exercises for speed training
November 22, 2018Overspeed? Are you sprinting into trouble?
November 22, 2018Overspeed. Decide for yourself.
Does overspeed make sense? ( refer to "Running into the trouble" diagram)
Is there a need to reinvent the wheel when it comes to safe, proven methods that can be repeated with grand successes?
Is the risk worth an alleged return?

Why didn't Charlie use overspeed to develop some of the most most repeatable methods for speed training to date?
( because he didn't need to..., an idea the may be too simple for most?)
Keep in mind this. If you get injured, you may never be capable of returning to the same abilities as before. You would not be the first to have this happen or the last. ( this idea was a main idea Coon/Francis used to navigate daily training for a combined time of over 50 years)
My mission after losing Charlie to a 5 year fight with Stage 4 NHL was to maintain the content he spent his life creating and experimenting with in order to achieve significant and repeatable results in sprinting.
More often than not I see examples in the gyms and training environments where someone feels the need to reinvent speed training. Why?
In the face of many political sport hurdles, Charlie and I made it our primary goal to share our content with sprinters, coaches, athletes and students who were passionate about speed training.
I encourage you to study some or all of the massive archive of content at charliefrancis.com. The forum review of 2002 as well as 2009 offers some of the best content from the website’s world class forum to which Charlie contributed over 10,000 posts himself from 2000 to 2010.
Take a look at our Weights for Speed bundle here to learn why lifting weights and building strength are critical but study why Coach Francis and Coach Ange Coon prioritized speed training followed by lifting weights.
This is a list of lifts Francis and Coon used and Coon continues to use while coaching sprinting at the highest developmental levels.
Lastly, the best context for a full understanding of why Francis became a world class sprint coach is inside his book "Speed Trap". The story revolves around the events of 1988, but for me the most interesting part is how Francis discusses many of his ideas and how he came to them and why. For passionate athletes looking for more in their training this book might help you find it.
Sprinting your own race requires a recipe only you the reader can decide and experiment with. I trust this information will become content you find useful and enjoyable for your speed, sprinting and power sport pursuits.
"Sprint your own life"
Angé