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A 6-Week Base Strength Training Program for

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 A 6-Week Base Strength
Training Program for
Sprint Acceleration
Development and
Foundation for Future
Progression in Amateur
Athletes
Robert G. Lockie, PhD
Department of Kinesiology, California State University, Fullerton, Fullerton, California
ABSTRACT
THIS ARTICLE DETAILS A 6-WEEK
RESISTANCE TRAINING PROGRAM
THAT CAN BE USED TO IMPROVE
SPRINT ACCELERATION IN AMA-
TEUR ATHLETES. THIS PROGRAM
CAN CONCURRENTLY ENHANCE
BASE LOWER-BODY STRENGTH
AND 10-M SPEED AND INCORPO-
RATES THE BACK SQUAT, STEP-
UP, CABLE HIP FLEXION, AND
SMITH MACHINE CALF RAISE.
LOADS CAN BE INCREASED FROM
APPROXIMATELY 75–90% OF ONE
REPETITION-MAXIMUM OVER THE
COURSE OF THE PROGRAM. THE
EXERCISES ARE DESCRIBED WITH
SUPPORTING SCIENTIFIC EVI-
DENCE FOR THEIR USE. ADDI-
TIONALLY, SUGGESTIONS ARE
PROVIDED AS TO HOW THE PRO-
GRAM COULD BE MODIFIED AND
Address correspondence to Robert G. Lockie,
rlockie@fullerton.edu.
Copyright
National Strength and Conditioning Association
Copyright ª National Strength and Conditioning Association. Unauthorized reproduction of this article is prohibited.
PROGRESSED WITH DIFFERENT
EXERCISES TO FURTHER
ENHANCE THE FORCE–VELOCITY
PROFILE.
INTRODUCTION
trength training is generally de-
S
signed to make an athlete over-
come a resistance greater than
what they will encounter under com-
petitive conditions (85). The develop-
ment of strength aids in building the
foundation to support further sport-
specific training within an athlete. For
example, sprinting requires a high
degree of power, and this is dependent
on strength and force development
(85). This is particularly important dur-
ing acceleration, which is a sprint with
increasing velocity, generally occurring
over distances from approximately 0–
20 m in a linear sprint from a stationary
start (45). When an athlete accelerates,
the ability to generate force against the
ground is needed to overcome the
inertia of body mass. Lockie (45)
Strength and Conditioning Journal | www.nsca-scj.com
provided a detailed discussion as to the
potential influence of strength on sprint
performance, including acceleration.
Also, two systematic reviews of the
literature document a general consen-
sus that strength training would posi-
tively influence linear speed (11,72).
However, without correct im-
plementation, the strength gained from
resistance training may not crossover
to sport-specific performance, includ-
ing sprint acceleration.
Strength serves as a foundation for
power, of which sprint performance
is also dependent (5,7,25,37). Power
can be defined as the rate of doing
work and can be calculated by multi-
plying force and velocity (25,33,79). It
has been noted in the literature that the
ability to express a high rate of force
KEY WORDS:
back squat; calf raise;
linear speed; lower-body strength;
step-ups; team sports
1
 Resistance Training Program for Sprint Acceleration
development is often related to an in-
dividual’s strength or ability to express
a high magnitude of force (1,33,76). As
a result, it is important for athletes at all
levels of competition to attempt to
develop a base of strength, especially
for those that participate in sports that
require the expression of power. Baker
(1) recommended that once a strength
plateau is reached, the training empha-
sis can shift toward more power-based
exercises, such as weightlifting and
plyometrics. However, a high base of
strength is required for an individual to
best achieve benefits from power train-
ing (33). As a result, developing an
effective base strength training pro-
gram is important for the amateur ath-
lete. A program that can concurrently
enhance absolute and relative lower-
body strength, and enhancing sprint
acceleration performance, would be
of great benefit to amateur team sport
athletes who are attempting to prog-
ress to semiprofessional or professional
levels of play. This would also serve as
a foundation for further power devel-
opment as a training regimen pro-
gresses across a season.
This article will provide an example of
a 6-week resistance training program
that was used to enhance sprint perfor-
mance over 10 meters (m) in amateur
male field sport athletes. The ability to
accelerate over 10 m is essential to
many team sport athletes because this
distance encapsulates the distance cov-
ered in many sprints performed during
match-play, such as for Australian
football (26), rugby union (30), and
soccer (6). This program was part of
a larger study analyzing sprint acceler-
ation training methods that was previ-
ously published (49). However, the
scientific basis for the program will
be explained in greater detail in this
article. This is pertinent for the amateur
athlete because they have limited time
in which to foster physiological adap-
tations. Amateur athletes are not paid
for sports participation, and as a result,
may be poor as they may have to bal-
ance a full-time career (23). In a detailed
analysis of amateur rugby players from
New Zealand, Cresswell and Eklund
2 VOLUME 0 | NUMBER 0 | MONTH 2017
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(23) profiled an age range of 18–42
years for this type of population. Fur-
thermore, amateur or semiprofessional
athletes generally have lower strength
levels when compared to professional
athletes (2), and thus will stand to gain
more benefits to sprint performance
from an effective resistance training
program that can improve strength
(7). In addition to explaining the 6-
week training program, methods for
adapting the program, and other exam-
ple exercises, will be provided.
TRAINING THE AMATEUR ATHLETE
Professional athletes have the advan-
tage of being able to incorporate differ-
ent modalities of training throughout
the week, often completing multiple
sessions within one day (71). Amateur
athletes do not always have this oppor-
tunity because of other responsibilities
including school, occupation, and fam-
ily commitments. This means that
when compared to elite athletes who
are able to compete in their sport pro-
fessionally, amateur athletes will tend
to demonstrate lower levels of strength
and power (2). Furthermore, amateur
sports tend to be reflective of the lack
of funding and training resources avail-
able to the athlete (18). Chapman et al.
(18) noted that regardless of these chal-
lenges and the competitive level of the
athlete, it is important for strength and
conditioning professionals to make
effective use of the limited time and
resources available. As a result, training
programs for amateur athletes should
be as efficient as possible. If a certain
training modality or program can pro-
vide concurrent improvements in dif-
ferent physiological capacities, this
would be of great benefit to an amateur
athlete.
In elite athletes, it is difficult to see
a direct influence of changes in
strength to a physiological capacity
such as linear speed (7,62). For the
amateur athlete, however, a correctly
structured resistance training program
can enhance both lower-body strength
and sprint performance (22,29,49).
This means that a resistance training
program can be designed by the
strength and conditioning professional
to specifically target both strength and
linear speed adaptations. The training
background of the amateur athlete
could allow for a more conducive
transfer of enhanced strength to sprint
performance (7). Furthermore, the
establishment of a base level of
strength is essential for any attempts
to training into more power-based or
high-velocity movements in subse-
quent training blocks (33). Although
traditional strength exercises are not
always viewed as being “movement-
specific” for sports, there are core lifts
that can be used to train for sprint
acceleration. For example, the back
squat is one exercise that typically
forms a foundation for strength train-
ing programs that enhance linear speed
(11,28,72). Furthermore, there are also
lifts that involve movements similar to
the sprinting gait pattern that can be
incorporated into resistance training
for athletes (25,59,68,73,78). Some of
these have been incorporated into the
current program.
PROGRAM DESIGN
The training program presented in this
article is designed to improve lower-
body strength and sprint acceleration
(49) and can be viewed in Table 1. Four
exercises form the basis of the pro-
gram. These are:
 Back squat
 Step-ups
 Cable hip flexion
 Standing calf raise
To standardize the program, the ex-
ercises are completed in this order
for each training session. The pro-
gram involves 2 bilateral contact ex-
ercises (back squat, standing calf
raises), and 2 unilateral contact exer-
cises (step-ups, cable hip flexion).
The inclusion of unilateral activities
is pertinent because sprinting is
a cyclic activity and the athlete will
predominantly be in single-leg sup-
port during the running action
(48,81). The inclusion of these
single-leg exercises holds true to the
ideal of specificity and has been rec-
ommended for speed development
training (25,59,68,73,78).
 Table 1
Six-week resistance training program for sprint acceleration development in
amateur athletes
Week Exercise
1 Back Squat
Barbell Step-up
Cable Hip Flexion
Smith Machine Calf Raise
2 Back Squat
Barbell Step-up
Cable Hip Flexion
Smith Machine Calf Raise
3 Back Squat
Barbell Step-up
Cable Hip Flexion
Smith Machine Calf Raise
4 Back Squat
Barbell Step-up
Cable Hip Flexion
Smith Machine Calf Raise
5 Back Squat
Barbell Step-up
Cable Hip Flexion
Smith Machine Calf Raise
6 Back Squat
Barbell Step-up
Cable Hip Flexion
Smith Machine Calf Raise
%1RM 5 percentage of one-repetition maximum.
Lockie et al. (49) documented that this
program was effective at improving
lower-body strength and velocity in
the 0–5, 5–10, and 0–10 m sprint in-
tervals in amateur male field sport
athletes (Table 2). Using the effect size
guidelines from Hopkins (34), there
were moderate changes in absolute
strength as measured by a 3-repetition
maximum (3RM) back squat and rela-
tive strength (3RM$body mass21).
There were very large effects for the
Copyright ª National Strength and Conditioning Association. Unauthorized reproduction of this article is prohibited.
strength and conditioning professio-
nals that use this program could expect
enhancements in strength and sprint
acceleration in their amateur athletes.
Sets 3 Repetitions %1RM This is especially pertinent following
3 3 10–12 75 the recommendations of Haff and
Nimphius (33). Haff and Nimphius
3 3 10–12 75 (33) suggested that a back squat of 2
3 3 10–12 75 3 body mass should be a minimum
strength requirement for individuals
3 3 10–12 75 to best achieve benefits from power-
3 3 8–10 75–80 specific training. Because the subjects
from Lockie et al. (49) did not have this
3 3 8–10 75–80 level of strength, they (and other ama-
3 3 8–10 75–80 teur athletes with similar strength lev-
els) arguably would be best served from
3 3 8–10 75–80
building a higher level of base strength
336 80–85 before targeting other aspects of the
force–velocity relationship. This also
336 80–85
provides a foundation as to how and
336 80–85 why this program could be useful for
strength and conditioning practitioners
336 80–85
who train amateur athletes who play
335 80–85 sports requiring power.
335 80–85 This training program was conducted
over 6 weeks, with 2 sessions per week.
335 80–85
A 6-week mesocycle is a sufficient time
335 80–85 period to induce changes in lower-
body strength and linear speed
334 90
(46,49,63). A meta-analysis of strength
334 90 and power training research suggested
that 2 days a week of specific strength
334 90
training was optimal in eliciting gains
334 90 in strength (64). The training program
334 90 featured a decrease in repetitions over
the course of the program to corre-
334 90 spond with an increase in load. Inter-
334 90 estingly, following a meta-analysis of
the literature, Seitz et al. (72) stated
334 90 that improvements in linear speed
occurred independent of the average
load intensity. The program adhered
to the principle of progressive overload
and followed a linear periodization
increase in 0–5 and 0–10 m velocity
model (4,77), with a weekly load
and a large increase for 5–10 m
increase of between 5 and 10%. The
velocity. These data illustrate that
degree of load increase per week was
there were meaningful improvements
in strength and sprint acceleration (13), dependent on the individual, and
and this was particularly true for the whether they could attain the target
10-m sprint intervals. It should be repetitions. Three working sets are
acknowledged that the effects this pro- allocated for each exercise because this
gram may have on other aspects of has been shown to be suitable for elic-
performance, such as change-of- iting gains in maximal strength (42).
direction speed and agility, cannot be For a warm-up, athletes completed at
categorically stated. Nevertheless, least one set of 15 repetitions at
3
Strength and Conditioning Journal | www.nsca-scj.com
 Resistance Training Program for Sprint Acceleration
Table 2
Changes in absolute and relative strength as measured by the 3-repetition
maximum (3RM) back squat, and sprint times over 0–5, 5–10, and 0–10 m
following the resistance training program in amateur field sport athletes
Pretest Posttest % Change Effect Size
3RM Back Squat (kg) 114.40 6 26.80 131.73 6 23.54 15 0.69
Relative 3RM 1.48 6 0.27 1.70 6 0.26 15 0.83
(kg$BM21)
0–5 m Velocity (m$s21) 3.68 6 0.13 4.03 6 0.16 10 2.40
5–10 m Velocity 6.55 6 0.11 6.76 6 0.18 3 1.41
(m$s21)
0–10 m Velocity 4.72 6 0.13 5.05 6 0.14 7 2.44
(m$s21)
Lockie et al. (49).
approximately 60% of one-repetition both the hip and the knee. Indeed, the
maximum (1RM) for each exercise, vastus muscles, gluteus maximus, and
before progressing into the 3 working hamstrings are all active during the
sets. The first 2 weeks of the program back squat (17), and these muscles
featured higher repetition ranges (8–12 are essential for force development
repetitions per set). This was to accus- during the sprint step (38,57,75).
tom the athletes to the exercises used in Although high levels of strength will
this program. The repetition ranges in not always directly correlate with lin-
the last 4 weeks of the program use from ear speed (3,24), absolute and relative
3–6 repetitions per set. The decrease in strength as measured by the back squat
repetitions over the 6 weeks of this pro- in a range of populations has been
gram allowed for progressive overload, related to sprint acceleration. For
by increasing the resistance and the example, absolute 1RM squat corre-
intensity of the exercises. Repetition lated with 10-m (correlation coefficient
ranges were used as the intensity guide [r] 5 20.94) sprint times in male soc-
for athletes (as opposed to percentages cer players (83). Relative 1RM squat
of 1RM) because all athletes had a back- strength has been associated with
ground of resistance training. Previous times over 10 m (r 5 20.87) in female
research has found that resistance- softball players (61) and recreationally
trained and strength-trained athletes trained men (19) and 9.14 m (r 5
can complete more repetitions than 20.54) in collegiate male football play-
untrained athletes at the same percent- ers (54). Although this is not a cause-
age of 1RM load (65). Therefore, by and-effect relationship, these studies
using repetition ranges as the guide, this collectively highlight the value of
ensured that athletes lifted loads com- incorporating the back squat into
mensurate with the intensities required a training program designed to
in the program. Rest periods between improve sprint acceleration.
sets were held to approximately 2–
3 minutes because longer rest periods Execution of the back squat.
have been shown to lead to greater in-  The back squat in this program is
creases in lower-limb strength (66). performed within the confines of
a power rack. The stops should be
BACK SQUAT set at a level just below each individ-
The back squat is a beneficial exercise ual athlete’s bottom position.
for overall lower-body strength devel-  The athlete should begin the back
opment largely because of the involve- squat by un-racking the bar and sup-
ment of the flexors and extensors for porting it on the mass of the
4 VOLUME 0 | NUMBER 0 | MONTH 2017
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trapezius, just below the cervical ver-
tebrae (Figure 1A). The bar should
be held with a closed grip, with the
hands placed outside the shoulders.
The feet should be placed approxi-
mately shoulder-width apart, with
the toes pointed outwards because
of external rotation at the hip.
 The athlete descends to a position
where the anterior surface of the
thighs is parallel with the ground
(Figure 1B). The athlete should not
allow their back to round during the
exercise. To facilitate this, the athletes
should be instructed to keep their head
and chest up throughout the exercise.
 When rising from the bottom posi-
tion, athletes are directed to push
through their heels and to not come
up on their toes. The head and chest
are to remain up during this phase.
The finish position involves the ath-
lete standing upright without locking
the knees.
STEP-UPS
Step-ups are a movement-specific
exercise for acceleration and have been
recommended for use in speed
enhancement training (59). This exer-
cise places a great deal of stress on the
muscles involved in hip extension. The
range of motion at the hip will rise with
sprint velocity, and this is in part driven
by the actions of the muscles involved
in hip extension (31,51). Furthermore,
a strong extension of the support leg
has been recommended for optimal
acceleration performance (25,41,80),
and it has been stated that hip exten-
sors are the prime movers for acceler-
ation (9,75). The hamstrings are also
active in stepping exercises such as
the loaded step-up used in this pro-
gram (74,82). Notably, Simenz et al.
(74) found that the biceps femoris is
required to be highly active during
the eccentric phase of a loaded step-
up. This is pertinent given the impor-
tance for the hamstring muscles to be
eccentrically strong to help prevent
injury during maximal sprinting (70).
Collectively, these studies highlight
the value of adopting the step-up as
a strength exercise in a training pro-
gram for the amateur athlete.

Figure 1. The back squat start (A) and bottom depth (B) position.
Execution of the step-up.
 Step-ups are performed with the
bar held across the shoulders, in
the same manner as the back squat,
and the athletes step up onto
a standard gym bench or step
(the height of flat gym benches
typically range from approxi-
mately 0.4–0.5 m). The start posi-
tion involves the athlete placing
a foot flat on the bench or step
(Figure 2A).
 The athlete is instructed to push up
with this leg by extending the hip
and knee, and not with the trailing
leg on the ground. A slight degree of
trunk flexion is recommended to
facilitate this action.
 The finish position for each repeti-
tion occurs when the athlete is sup-
ported on the bench with 2 feet
(Figure 2B).
Copyright ª National Strength and Conditioning Association. Unauthorized reproduction of this article is prohibited.
 The athlete then steps down with
the back leg by flexing at the hip
and knee and returns to the original
standing position by placing front
foot next to rear foot in the initial
position.
 The exercise is then repeated with
the other leg.
CABLE HIP FLEXION
Cable hip flexion is a movement-
specific exercise that has been advo-
cated for sprinting speed development
(73,78). Great hip flexion relative to the
individual has been recommended for
sprinting (41,79) because this could aid
the athlete in increasing step frequency
(25) and lengthening their step (49).
Although overstriding is not recom-
mended during acceleration in athletes
from field-based sports (69), there are
several studies that have shown that
Strength and Conditioning Journal | www.nsca-scj.com
a greater step length can contribute
to faster sprint acceleration in athletes
(14–16,46–49). Further to this, the hip
flexors are an important muscle group
for increasing running speed (25,31,52),
and specific hip flexor training has been
found to not only increase hip flexor
strength, but also improve 36.6-m
sprint and 4 3 5.8-m shuttle run times
in college-aged men and women (27).
Additionally, Ronnestad et al. (67)
found that a seven-week strength pro-
gram that incorporated a hip flexion
exercise significantly improved the
0–10 m interval in a 40-m sprint com-
pleted by elite soccer players.
Execution of cable hip flexion.
 For this exercise, the low pulley on
a cable machine is attached to the
ankle of the athlete by a leather cuff.
 This leg is placed posterior to the
body, and the athlete supports them-
selves in a standing position with
a slight forward lean (Figure 3A).
 The knee is driven forward in a quick
and explosive manner until the thigh
is parallel with the ground
(Figure 3B), before returning with
control to the starting position.
 Correct sprint arm action, where the
opposite arm to the leg is driven for-
ward simultaneously, should be
encouraged.
 After completing the required num-
ber of repetitions, the athlete should
position the cuff on the other leg and
repeat the exercise.
STANDING CALF RAISE
Training the calves is of significance,
because the lower leg complex is a crit-
ical lever for sprint performance
(8,38,44,55), and the muscles about
the ankle will aid the in attenuation
of force during stance (35). Further-
more, the muscles that plantarflex the
ankle (e.g., the gastrocnemius, soleus,
and peroneus longus) contribute to
power generation during takeoff (10).
The actions performed by the ankle
joint and muscles about the ankle can
be isolated within the calf raise move-
ment, and increasing strength in the
calves could improve the ability of
the muscles to absorb and propagate
5
 Resistance Training Program for Sprint Acceleration
Figure 2. The step-up start (A) and top (B) position.
the load of the body during ground
contact when sprinting (40,50). Addi-
tionally, Delecluse et al. (29) found
acceleration over the first 10 m in
a 100-m sprint improved by 7% in
physical education students following
9 weeks of full-body resistance training,
of which the calf raise was one the of
exercises used.
Execution of the standing Smith
machine calf raise.
 The standing calf raise exercise can
be performed on a Smith machine,
with the aid of an aerobic step (Fig-
ure 4). For this program, a weight
plate should be positioned on the
6 VOLUME 0 | NUMBER 0 | MONTH 2017
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step to prevent it from moving dur-
ing the exercise.
 The bar of the Smith machine can be
supported across the shoulders,
below the cervical vertebrae and on
the mass of the trapezius. A foam
pad can be wrapped around the
bar to lessen the impact of the load
on the upper back.
 The hands should be wrapped
around the bar, outside the shoulders,
with a closed grip. The balls of the
feet are placed on the edge of the step.
The athlete should be instructed to
keep their legs straight (i.e., no knee
flexion) throughout the exercise.
 To begin the exercise, the athlete
should let their heels hang off the
end of the step to stretch the gastroc-
nemius/soleus complex (Figure 4A).
 The athlete then should push up
on their toes and fully contract
the gastrocnemius/soleus complex
(Figure 4B).
VARYING THE BASE STRENGTH
PROGRAM
Although this program was effective in
improving the 10-m sprint perfor-
mance of amateur athletes (49), by
no means is this the only method to
improve acceleration. By applying the
concepts that governed the design of
this program, there are a number of
ways to adapt this program to match
the philosophies of the coach and the
requirements of the athlete. Some ex-
amples for alternative exercises are
shown in Table 3. The deadlift has also
been used as a core strength exercise in
strength programs leading to enhanced
linear speed (11,28,72), whereas the
front squat has been used as a condi-
tioning exercise to induce postactiva-
tion potentiation (60,84). Both of
these exercises would be potentially
suitable as a bilateral strength exercise
in lieu of the back squat.
Because of the importance of hip
extension within the sprint step
(9,41,75,80), the step-up should be
incorporated into the training pro-
gram. Although this exercise is per-
formed with a barbell in this program
(Figure 2), dumbbells or kettlebells
could also be used. The hip thrust exer-
cise could also feature in resistance
training programs targeting speed
development because it recruits those
muscles involved in extension of the
hip (20). A 6-week hip thrust resistance
training program led to slight improve-
ments in 10-m and 20-m sprint times in
adolescent male athletes (21). Because
this was the only lower-body strength
exercise performed in this program
(21), greater benefits to sprinting speed
could be expected if other strength ex-
ercises were included, such as those
shown in Tables 1 and 3. The hip thrust
or bridge exercise can also be per-
formed unilaterally (32,58), which
could have some application to the
single-leg support required when
 Figure 3. The cable hip flexion start (A) and top (B) position.
sprinting (48,81). A limitation of the
current program is that eccentric ham-
string strength is not specifically tar-
geted with an exercise that could
isolate this action. As noted, eccentric
hamstring strength is essential not just
from the aspect of sprint performance,
but injury prevention as well (70).
Dawes and Lentz (25) recommended
exercises such as the Romanian dead-
lift and traditional and assisted versions
of the Nordic hamstring curl for accel-
eration development in nontrack ath-
letes. Each of these exercises leads to
high muscle activation of the ham-
string muscles (12,53) and could be
useful as exercises to develop base
strength in the amateur athlete.
The cable hip flexion exercise is
included in this program because it is
a unilateral exercise that targets the hip
flexor muscle group (73,78). Lunges
also lead to the recruitment of muscles
responsible for flexing the hip (36), and
Copyright ª National Strength and Conditioning Association. Unauthorized reproduction of this article is prohibited.
because of the unilateral action of the
lunge, have been recommended for
speed training (25,39). The stationary
and walking lunge, depending on the
space available in the training facility,
are both suitable options for a resis-
tance training program that targets
speed development. The walking lunge
also incorporates a horizontal force
component (39,43), potentially making
it more applicable to linear speed
development. The calf raise can be
modified to a unilateral exercise (56),
using the Smith machine or dumbbells,
or even performed walking with dumb-
bells. These exercises can be
substituted for the bilateral Smith
machine calf raise. Lastly, because the
current program features 4 lower-body
exercises, strength and conditioning
coaches could also incorporate extra
exercises that target upper-body
strength (e.g., bench press, barbell
row) or lumbo-pelvic stability (e.g.,
abdominal and lower-back exercises)
Strength and Conditioning Journal | www.nsca-scj.com
to further enhance athletic perfor-
mance in their athletes.
PROGRESSING THE FORCE–
VELOCITY RELATIONSHIP
As noted, strength is part of the foun-
dation for power (1,33,76). Although it
is outside of the scope of this article to
provide a yearly periodization plan for
the amateur athlete, especially consid-
ering how work, study, and training
demands will vary considerably across
different populations of amateur ath-
letes (18,23), it is still important for
the practitioner to understand how
training could be progressed over the
long term. Haff and Nimphius (33) pro-
vided a detailed discussion of the
force–velocity relationship, and how
different facets of the force–velocity
curve could be trained. For example,
relatively weaker athletes can enhance
the velocity of movements simply by
enhancing maximal force development
because the requisite strength levels for
7
 Resistance Training Program for Sprint Acceleration

for an amateur athlete that could be

used to enhance sprint acceleration.
As for the strength exercises, by no
means are these the only power exer-
cises that could be used to improve the
force–velocity profile of the amateur
athlete. Nonetheless, they are specific
examples that could be adopted by the
strength and conditioning practitioner
who works with amateur athletes.

Figure 4. The Smith machine standing calf raise start (A) and top (B) position.
high power generation have yet to be
developed (33). In contrast, stronger
athletes will need to do more specific
power training to improve their high-
velocity capabilities (1,7,33).
When the base strength levels for an
athlete reach an acceptable level,
a mixed methods approach to training
can be adopted. This means strength
and power exercises can be combined
within a resistance training program,
which could be useful for the amateur
athlete constrained by time availabili-
ties. The reader is directed to Haff and
Nimphius (33) for more detailed infor-
mation about this approach to training.
However, Table 4 provides some
example power exercises that could
be substituted for more strength-
focused exercises in a training program
CONCLUSION
This article presents an example of
a resistance training program that
incorporated the back squat, step-ups,
cable hip flexion and standing calf raise
and followed the principle of progres-
sive overload to improve 10-m sprint
acceleration performance. This pro-
gram would be of particular value for
the amateur athlete or those individu-
als that have limitations placed on
their training time because there were
concurrent improvements in sprint
acceleration and lower-body strength
when completed by amateur male field
sport athletes (49). Variations of these
exercises could also be used within
a resistance training program that tar-
gets sprint acceleration development,
and a mixed methods approach could
be used to progress the program when
power becomes more of a focus (33). It
should be acknowledged that even for
amateur athletes, resistance training
will generally not be the only modality
used. At a minimum, team training ses-
sions including other training protocols
(e.g., skill-based training drills, small-
sided games, plyometrics, and free
sprint training) will generally be com-
pleted. The completion of these train-
ing modalities could lead to further

Table 3
Example strength exercise variations to the resistance training program
Exercise Variation 1 Variation 2 Variation 3

Back Squat Deadlift Front Squat Single-Leg Squats

Barbell Step-up Bilateral or Unilateral Hip Thrust Romanian Deadlift Nordic Hamstring Curls
Cable Hip Flexion Barbell/Dumbbell Lunge Barbell/Dumbbell Reverse Lunge Barbell/Dumbbell Walking Lunge
Smith machine Calf Smith machine Single-Leg Calf Dumbbell Single-Leg Calf Raise Dumbbell Walking Calf Raises
Raise Raise

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Table 4
Example power-based exercise progressions to the resistance training
program
Exercise
Back Squat
Barbell Step-up
Cable Hip Flexion
Smith machine Calf Raise
improvements in linear speed. Never-
theless, the resistance training program
described here can be used to improve
base lower-body strength and sprint
acceleration in the amateur athlete.
Conflicts of Interest and Source of Funding:
The author reports no conflicts of interest
and no source of funding.
Robert G.
Lockie is an
assistant professor
in Strength and
Conditioning at
the Department
of Kinesiology
within California
State University,
Fullerton.
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