Athlete XPO Trainer Spotlight: Dr. Alex Harrison
Talented athlete and highly qualified coach Dr. Alex Harrison posted this sweet picture on Instagram with his take on the XPO Trainer.
Dr. Harrison, who is also the co-owner and co-founder of Excelerate Sport, is both a coach and a gifted athlete. When he's not training himself, he is busy developing athletes as a phenomenal coach, boasting some of the most prestigious training certifications and degrees in the industry. He has competed in track and field, weightlifting and most recently bobsledding. He earned two top 10 National Push Championship finishes in bobsledding and a 12th and 14th place finish in 2-man and 4-man bobsled at the 2015 World Championships. He was training in the hopes of joining the US Olympic Bobsled team in 2018 but recently suffered an ankle injury that will prevent him from competing at the upcoming team trials. You can read more about Dr. Harrison on his profile here.
Dr. Harrison said this about the XPO Trainer:
"What's better than pushing heavy things? Pushing reverse motor powered accommodating-resistance heavy things of course! Real talk, this thing is easily the best tool I've ever used for teaching acceleration mechanics. It allows a dramatic elongation of the acceleration phase without needing to hit a ton of bricks at the start. If you've ever tried to significantly slow down the drive phase with external load, as a learning tool, you know what I'm talking about. If the drive phase mechanics of low shin angles and and high force production need to be slowed down to allow the athlete many more reps (increased step number) for learning, the load almost always has to be so great on a normal prowler sled that to initiate movement requires breakdown of sprint mechanics. Not the case with this sled..."
"This sucker is now a staple of training to be included in phases where force production and acceleration mechanics are key and will precede things like hill sprints and short flat accelerations in the annual cycle. Fyi, it's made by @armoredfit and marketed primarily to @crossfitgames folks, but the utility of it for sprint coaches is arguably even higher. Paired with what I'd like to think is decent coaching ;) I've seen single session improvements in sprint acceleration mechanics that just haven't been possible before without a way to easily elongate the true drive phase of a sprint. I'll report back on how the athlete's progress into transitioning out of their new-found acceleration phases!"
"@sportscienceed and @drbraddeweese, this thing has some pretty sweet utility. Highly recommend as a teaching tool and potentially as a research project in conjunction with the @usabs athletes down there (after you read the results of my 200 page dissertation on none other than sled pushing, of course)."
We are so appreciative of the in-depth review on how Dr. Harrison is using the XPO Trainer. We wish him a quick recovery and successful opportunities to compete in the future!
Follow Alex Harrison here: