High school coaches commented that I had no idea what I was doing and ridiculed the way we train athletes. Change can be difficult so I don’t blame them. The squat has been one of the core lifts found in almost every successful football training program in America since forever, yet here I was telling athletes to scrap the exercise.

Is the back squat losing favor in strength training programs designed for athletes?

As I watched our athletes train my intuition told me something was wrong.

How often in team sports do we run or jump with two legs? Not often; I can think of at tip-off and the occasional 2 handed dunk in basketball.

From a training perspective, heavy squats didn’t seem to replicate what I was seeing on the field or court.

In January of 2009 I tried an experiment. I took our strongest athlete who could front squat 230 pound for 3 reps, cut his bar weight in half, and told him to do as many reps as possible on one leg.

The result shocked me… he did 14 reps!

That’s when the puzzle started to come together for me…

In the past, when spotting an athlete on a “max effort” back squat, the mechanical point of failure was always at the low back. The legs appeared to still have juice in them, but the back just could not support the weight. What this told me was that the back was the limiting factor, not the legs.

In the past, our philosophy was, “to maximize performance (speed & jumping) squat heavy or go home.” Needless to say, we had a lot of sore backs in the gym for a few years. We bought into the clan mentality and trained athletes like everybody else.

Thinking Outside the Box

Today it’s a lot different around here. It’s no longer about how much weight can you lift, but how to best prepare you to be faster, stronger and more explosive on the field. Since we’ve revamped our performance program to train exclusively on one leg, our athletes have had zero back issues and have improved in almost every performance test we’ve throw at them (vertical jump, 40-yard dash, pro shuttle, etc.).

A recent study in the Journal of Sports Rehabilitation has validated our programming solution:

“the single leg squat variations may be better for performance enhancement while simultaneously reducing risk of injury to the low back when lifting even moderate resistances.” [McCurdy, K. ET al (2010) Comparison of Lower Extremity EMG Between the 2-Leg Squat and Modified Single-Leg Squat in Female Athletes. JSR. 19(1)]

The study also discovered that the rear foot elevated split squat [video below] produced greater EMG activity (i.e. muscular stress) in both the gluteus medius and hamstrings compared to the 2-leg squat; two commonly undertrained muscles and critical for running at top speed.

In the video above, baseball player Wes Piersall performs 10 single leg squats with 160 pounds on his back which equates to a 420 pound back squat… do you think he’s fast? Watch him track down a fly ball in the outfield.

To improve your speed and jumping ability make single-leg training a staple in your strength training program; you’ll keep your back healthy while packing on some serious muscle and maximizing performance.

Scouts and coaches have always said that the fastest athletes are determined at birth. Yeah maybe some, however genetics alone will not help you achieve your highest speed potential.

In team sports, the best athletes are not necessarily the ones who can outrun a cheetah on a straightaway, but the athlete who can accelerate to a “hole” or ball the fastest. The problem is, most athletes don’t train for this all-important ability.

Through training and drills you can learn to start and accelerate better while increasing your sprint speed. The following bullet points are seven things you’re (probably) not doing that can have a dramatic effect on your speed development:

#1 – Train for Function Not Muscle Size

Training for speed should have everything to do with performance and nothing to do with “how big can I get?” If you’re training to add muscle bulk then you’re probably doing it at the expense of your speed. Train to develop better balance, coordination, and neuromuscular control. Train to develop better single leg strength and core stability. Functional training is no longer a “buzzword” in strength & conditioning, it’s the standard. If your strength coach can’t explain to you why you’re doing a particular exercise (as it relates to performance) then run the other way.

#2 – Perform Carefully Executed Explosive Lifts & Plyometrics

Explosive lifts and Plyometrics trains your body overcome inertia “with authority” and become more explosive. Both, however, require surgical precision to detail and good coaching. Explosive lifts have a greater degree of risk associated with them because you’re dealing with an external load, whereas Plyometrics are safer but often “over-trained” with most athletes. Both forms of training can have a huge impact on your speed development and are an important component to helping you develop better acceleration.

#3 – Lift for Maximal Force Production

Every opportunity you get, lift a weight with as much force as possible – you’ll get stronger. Obviously, anything too light will become a projectile (ballistic training), but if you properly select a heavy enough load [even at a moderate level] you can recruit more motor units/muscle fibers by moving the weight with as much speed as possible. Newton’s Second Law of Motion states that the “force applied to a body produces proportional acceleration.” The basic equation F=ma demonstrates that. For speed development, the more force you exert with your body into the ground, the more the ground exerts against you to propel and push you forward. Lifting for maximal force production will get your legs stronger and allow you to run faster.

#4 – Cycle Your Exercises Every 3 to 4 Weeks

Your body is an adaptive organism. Fitness entrepreneurs have raked in millions coining new terms like “muscle confusion” (P90X) to explain the need to cycle your exercises. Often times, changing the rep ranges, load parameters, and rest intervals can be enough, or to get really creative you can introduce some instability or the way you position yourself for the exercise. Your body will respond by engaging new muscle fibers and developing more strength.

#5 – Condition With the Goal to Sprint Faster Not Win the Boston Marathon

Trainers who send their athletes off on a 15-minute run to “get faster” do not understand the principles behind speed development. Doing long, slow, and steady state running does not develop explosiveness or greater speed. To train your Energy System as it relates to helping you sprint faster, perform short & explosive intervals in a competitive environment with your peers. Next time your coach sends you off on a 5-mile run politely remark that “you’re killing my wheels coach.”

#6 – Perform Mobility Work Everyday

Your ankles, hips and shoulders need attention everyday. Keeping these joints healthy and mobile is critical in your quest to run faster. All undergo a tremendous amount of stress and develop “tightness” as a means of protection from further trauma. In addition to performing mobility work everyday, invest in getting a good massage from a practitioner who understands the stress you endure.

# 7 – Drill, Drill, Drill Starts & 10 Yard Sprints

Drill the guts out of becoming a better “starter” and 10-yard sprinter. You’ll expend a significant amount of time and energy getting “out of the box” and up to speed. Once you’ve overcome inertia and gained some momentum accelerating becomes easier. Focus on driving the ground away and taking fewer steps. The best sprinters cover the first 10-yards in 5 steps! You can’t take less steps running upright. Be comfortable training in a “controlled fall” when learning how to accelerate.

In addition to helping athletes increase their speed, single-leg training is recognized as a key in knee injury prevention. The video below is the first exercise we introduce to all our new clients. The split squat must be performed with no upper body movement and full range of motion. We use soft foam pads below to guide our athletes to proper depth.

An easy progression to include in your program is performing 3-4 sets of 8-12 repetitions for 3-4 weeks. Choose a heavy enough weight that forces your body to “work” but not so heavy that your form is compromised.