Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Unfortunately, many people have not recognized the diligent effort that
Ben put into his training or the brilliance of his training program. Charlie
Francis has been Johnson's coach since 1977, and it was the combination of
coaching and training that produced the fastest man in the world.
o Bench presses
o Incline presses
o Upright rows
o Squats
o Leg extensions
o Cleans
o Pulldowns
As Francis said, "Ben was never far from strength and speed." The
volume of both speed and explosive power work would be increased while
the weight training was decreased because, obviously, a full volume of all
components of his training would quickly lead to overtraining, burnout
and injury.
Observed Charlie, "I have no doubt that he could have done 440 pounds
that day.
"Ben was capable of performing two sets of 600 pounds easily in
the bench squat, and the next day he could do his speed work,"
Francis continued. "Other sprinters have handled heavy poundages
before. The American sprinter Stan Floyd squatted 675 pounds for a
maximum single in 1981, but he injured his back on that lift. Ben would
have rest periods of 10 to 14 days between any maximum efforts [not
singles]." In the interim Johnson performed sub-maximal lifts.
Again, I would like to point out that this idea about the speed of the
movement contradicts some popular trainers' current theories. I certainly
agree with Charlie Francis on this approach as well.
Ben typically trained his upper body and lower body three days per
week apiece using a simple pyramid style; for example, he would bench
press 10 x 135, 8 x 225, 4 x 315, 2 x 365. He would rest as needed between
sets and train only four days per week if he felt that he needed to cut down.
Francis monitored Ben closely for signs of overtraining, although, he said,
"Ben had great body awareness."
In the quarter finals in Seoul Ben exploded out of the blocks and
decelerated when he felt assured of qualifying for the next round. The rest
of the field gained rapidly on Ben, however, and he barely qualified for the
semifinals.
Notice that Ben was 0.09 seconds ahead of his Rome time in the
Seoul Olympics, yet he finished only 0.04 seconds ahead. This is the
slowing during the last 10 meters discussed above. His speed in meters and
split times may be difficult to imagine. A statistic that may be easier to
comprehend is the fact that Ben Johnson runs the 40-yard dash in 3.7
seconds!