Discussion about the 40 yard dash

BJ Maack, ATC, CSCS
Certified Athletic Trainer
Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist
Arkansas Sports Performance Center

For many years now, the 40-yard dash has been the "gold standard" of speed measurement. The times that athletes put up in this race against the clock are the stuff legends are made of. The legend of Deion Sanders running a 4.17 in high-tops. Former Razorback Matt Jones wowing scouts at the NFL Scouting Combine by running a 4.37 with his lanky 6'6" frame. College football players making millions of dollars more just because they "surprised" scouts by running 40 yards two-tenths of a second faster than anticipated. But, realistically, just how important is it? How many times during a game does a player ACTUALLY run 40 yards in a straight line? If so, either that player just broke a long one, or he just got burned!

So where did the notion of 40 yards being the ultimate measure of speed come from? Some say that Paul Brown, the legendary football coach, is credited with initially timing players at 40 yards because he believed that this was the distance run in order to cover a kickoff. Others say that it is the approximate amount of time a receiver can run before a quarterback is sacked. Whatever the reason, it is generally agreed that rarely does a football player actually run 40 yards in a straight line during a game. But there is a need for measuring overall top-end speed.

Let's talk about the timing methods first. There is the hand-held stopwatch, and the electronic, or laser, time. The laser time is considered to be more accurate because it starts timing when the athlete actually moves. A hand-held time requires a very good eye-to-hand reaction of the one doing the timing---really, no one is exactly the same.

One thing to keep in mind about the 40 times you read about is that most of them are hand-held times. Very few are electronically timed. And most of the hand-held times are reported by a coach---someone who might have some bias in that player's favor. So, while there may be no disputing that a certain athlete is fast, there should be a grain of salt taken when reading some 40-yard dash times. A good rule of thumb when comparing hand-held times to electronic times is to add .20-.24 to the time. So if you read that so-and-so ran a 4.54 40 the other day on a hand-held stopwatch, you can know that a realistic laser time for him is around a 4.75.

What's really important? There is a need to see what an athlete's overall top-end speed is, and the 40-yard dash is the most accurate measure of this. But, too often, athletes become overly consumed with this. They overtrain-- running 40 yards after 40 yards, placing their body at increased injury risk. Instead, the athlete can gain so much more by training for what is important in their sport: FIRST-STEP EXPLOSION & ACCELERATION. If improvements are made in this area, then 9 times out of 10 the 40 will improve as a result. Think about a football player: their game consists of short, intense bursts. Five yards here, 2 yards there, 10 yards here. Occasionally, they will break one for more distance. But why focus so much on making your 40 time better? Let's train FUNCTIONALLY! Work smarter, not harder.

To Stretch or Not To Stretch.....

For those involved in any sort of physical activity, you know that it is important to get your body warmed up. Without proper activities designed to prepare your body for the activity, such as a light jog, gentle stretching, or movement drills, you run the risk of injury. An injury could be something as simple as "tweaking" a muscle, or could be the onset of a chronic, overuse injury (for example, tendonitis). No matter what sport you are participating in, you are doing your body a disservice by skipping warm-up drills. But if you consider a few seconds of stretching at the onset of your workout a “warm-up,” you could surprisingly be doing very little to prepare your body for its upcoming challenge.

When many people think of stretching, "static stretching is what comes to mind. A static stretch lets the muscle stretch with no real movement. This is usually just a simple exercise designed to elongate the muscle fibers a bit to make movement more efficient. In other words, stretching helps you "get loose." Examples of this include placing your toes on the curb with your heel on the ground to stretch your calf muscle, leaning over to get the back of your legs (hamstrings), or standing on one leg and grabbing the other foot to stretch your thighs/quads. People usually just hold these stretches for a few quick seconds, or just enough to feel it. While these are better than nothing, there is a better way.

The best stretch does not "burn" or invoke any sort of pain. In fact, this type of stretching can actually be counterproductive. Too forceful or too sudden of a stretch can cause slight injury and cause the muscle to tense up instead of relax. In reality, the best stretch in the world is a gentle, easy stretch that is held for 20-30 seconds, and repeated four to five times.

When to stretch? A warm muscle is easier to stretch than a cold muscle. So a great routine to follow is this: jog/ride/walk for a few minutes just to get your heart rate up *& increase circulation---break a slight sweat, and then do your stretching routine. Once you spend a few minutes stretching while warm, you can then begin your activity. You will find that your body responds much better to this type of warm-up routine, as opposed to stretching while the body is cold or not stretching at all.

How to stretch? A dynamic or movement-based warm-up is much more effective than the static stretching described above. What does this look like? Also called movement drills, these are things like jogging in place, high knees, butt-kicks, and jumping jacks. We utilize these drills heavily here at Arkansas Sports Performance Center as we prepare our athletes for training, and while movement drills are associated high-level athletes, the everyday recreational athlete can reap tremendous benefits from warming up in this way.

Once you have completed your activity, post-workout stretching is also very important. If you just finish a run or ride & then immediately sit in the car, your body does not get the proper benefit of cooling down. This can drastically affect your next workout. If you take a few minutes and do a cool-down stretch, you are really preparing your body for the next day’s workout by allowing the muscles to return back to a proper “at-rest” state.

Another thing to consider is utilizing the services of a professional stretching program. This program is done one-on-one by a trained professional and is designed to gain optimal flexibility with passive stretching. It is much more detailed than a self-stretch or even a massage therapy appointment, as it facilitates movement by reaching the muscles & the fascia, which goes beyond short-term benefits. This program actually shows permanent gains in flexibility.

In conclusion, if you aren’t stretching at the onset of your workout, build in a couple extra minutes to prepare your muscles, and you will notice that your muscles respond better and possibly prevent injury. If you’ve been stretching and not seen enough benefit to warrant your time spent, try waiting until your muscles are warm, and add in a dynamic, movement-based, pain-free warm-up routine. You’ll probably find yourself reaching your goals faster and easier than before.