Optional Speed Events: Broad Jump and 60 yard Shuttle

The Broad Jump is probably the simplest event requiring the least amount of time.  It is, however, a great test of explosiveness and lower body strength.   This is a quick and easy test of pure athleticism and thus a part of the NFL combine.  The NFL combine record in the broad jump is an incredible 139" (almost 12 ').
check out this video of his performance and notice the incredible explosiveness combined with great flexibility.

The 60 yard shuttle is the event that seems to be most skipped at the NFL combine.  While virtually all of the athletes run the 40 yard dash, only a few at the skilled positions run the 60 yard shuttle.  This event tests quickness, but also tests conditioning.  This event requires quickness, leg strength, flexibility and excellent balance.  I searched and could not find a single video posted of this event at the NFL combine, but here is a video link showing a super fast time.  Notice, the competitor has to touch the line each time.

Start the time on the first move of the runner.   You get three attempts taking your best time.

Speed Events: The 40 yards and 400m.

The 40 yard dash is the premiere event at the NFL combine.  It is a measure of speed with some emphasis on quickness as the faster the start, the lower the time.  This event also is a measure of explosiveness, leg strength, flexibility and quickness.

In the Speed Strength Combine, there is no requirement for electronic timing.  The only requirements are as follows:

1)  minimal wind (no actual wind speed gauge is required)
2) performed on the football field from goal line to 40 yard line (turf or grass)
3) Any shoe you want to use.
4) Timing should be done by two different people simultaneously, and take the average.
5) Timer starts are first movement and ends when first body part crosses the 40 yard line.

You should take three attempts.

Obviously, these rules are self policed.  However, for those who are in the top 5% of overall scores, a video must be submitted via you tube (or other means) to be qualified and recognized.

Cheating really makes no sense since the objective of this competition is to find out how you compare to others and to see how fast you are.  Cheating hinders that objective and there is NO reward for the fastest 40.
The fastest 40 yard dash electronically timed was by Chris Johnson.  see here.

The 400m is similar.  This event is run on a track and is 1 lap on the inside lane.  Only one timer is required and time is to the nearest second.  Any shoe type (including spikes) is fine to wear.

This event tests speed, flexibility, anaerobic capacity, but also aerobic capacity.  This race is also a test of a competitors mental toughness, and conditioning.  This is not event you should attempt all out if you are not sure you are in good physical shape as it will stress the cardiovascular system to its absolute maximum.

The world record in this event is 43.18s held by Michael Johnson.  Times in the sub 45s area are absolutely mind boggling for those who do not run track.  So be prepared to see a significantly slower time for yourself.
Here is Michael Johnson in Atlanta.

Please post your times on the web enabled score sheet:

What pro athlete would most excel in the Speed Strength Combine?

See the first blog to find out what the SS combine comprises.

Bo Jackson is likely to be the pro athlete to achieve the greatest score in this combine.  While I don't have data on how much he lifted, by extrapolating and using conservative numbers when doing so we can see that he would have produced an eye popping score of well over 300 pts.  To understand how other worldly this score is, understand that getting a score over 200 pts would likely put you in the elite athlete category.

Event 1: Bench Press-425 lbs (likely more than this).  He did not lift weights prior to college.  His room mate state that Bo Benched 400 lbs without having worked out prior.

Event 2: Dead Lift-I could find no data on this for him.  It is likely that he never even attempted this.  However, given his incredible strength, he could likely have pulled at least 500 lbs without to much trouble.  

Event 3: Squat-Once again, I have no data on this, so I will go conservative guess 425 lbs.  Likely, he would have been able to do much more.  

Speed events: 

40 year dash-  Bo ran a hand clocked 4.12 s at the NFL combine in 1986. This is THE fastest time on record.  However, because it was not electronic, it has an asterisk.  Either way, this is incredibly fast by any measure.

400m- Bo has a clocked time in the 100m of 10.44 s.  Using a web based calculator we can estimate his time in the 400m. The time calculated is 45.41s.  This, of course is incredibly fast and since Bo was not a 400m runner, we will be conservative and bring that back to 47 s.  

60 yard shuttle:  I have no time in this event for Bo.  Using times typical of running backs we can guess that he would have done at least 11.6 s.  This is in the middle of the running backs at the 2012 combine.

This produces a score in the Speed Strength Combine of 314.32 pts.  If he were to train specifically for this competition, he would probably break 350 if not 375 pts.  Truly, mind boggling.

Speed Strength Combine Blog overview

The Speed Strength Combine, in this first iteration, was conceived as a motivating force for men and women who are older than 30 years old, working or going to school full time, but love fitness in their limited free time. This blog is dedicated to allowing a those who want to add the motivating force of competition to their workouts.  The blog will create a space for those who want to compete to post their scores in the different events and compare with others around the world.    The blog will explain what the Speed Strength combine is, how it is scored, how the events are to be performed, how to get a score, the rationale behind having this competition, and continued updates on how to improve in each category in terms of the technical aspects of performing the event as well as the proper training techniques that will allow a competitor to reach their highest potential.

The Speed Strength Combine levels the competitive playing field so all body types can compete in the same arena to see who is keeping in shape, who is making gains, and see who is the overall most athletic among us.  

So please follow along and post your times and lifts to see how you compare and discover what fitness category you fall into!

The competition: Events

To assess one's overall fitness there are a number of factors to consider.  Typically, the common recreational athlete considers how long they can do some activity (biking, running, swimming, etc.)  The focus is typically on duration.  However, this often misses the true mark of one's athleticism.  Certainly, endurance is important.  But, it is only one side of the fitness coin.  The other, often neglected, side of the fitness coin is (at least by the recreational athlete) is pure strength and speed.  In reality, most sports rely more on this facet of fitness than on endurance.  Baseball, football, soccer, hockey, tennis, and many of the track and field events rely predominantly on explosiveness or raw power.

Therefore, the Speed and Strength Combine seeks to include events that measure these two aspects of fitness perfectly.    The strength events include: Bench press, Squat, Dead Lift and standing military press. However, the competition requires only three lifts be performed (2 required and 1 optional).  The required lifts are Bench Press and Dead Lift, and the optional lifts are the Squat and the Overhead Press. The strength events in this way are evaluating all major muscle groups: Deltoids, trapezoid, latissimus dorsi, quads, hamstrings, glutes, triceps, biceps, pecs, abdominal and lower back.

Power or speed is tested by the field events: As in the Strength event there are two required events (40 yd dash and 400m run) and one optional event (either the broad jump or the 5-10-5 shuttle).

While these events are specifically chosen to test speed and strength, they also test one's flexibility and joint health.  A score is generated from each lift and this tally is then used to produce a raw score that can then  be used to classify the competitor into one of 5 fitness categories: untrained, novice, intermediate, advanced, or elite.

I've been doing this combine with friends for the last two years every six months.  It is great for motivation, but also camaraderie and friendly competition.  We reconvene every six months to see who has trained and who hasn't.   Where do you fit in?

Now why did I come up with this competition?  Why go to the effort???...