So what the heck is Jalen doing with these repeated treadmill sprints?
I think he's learning how to run faster in the open field, because he knows that is the ONLY element of his game that doesn't always compare favorably with the top running backs in college football today. So he's building it up so it does compare well. In short, he's training himself to be the perfect back.
How do you "learn" how to run faster? Some might say that's nonsense, you can't "learn" to run faster, you just develop your muscles and responses by training. Okay, but maybe you can "learn" it, too.
Muscle memory is a real thing. Golfers know all about it, and gymnasts. You do precisely the same moves over and over again, and your body and mind make it a subconscious response. After a while, you no longer have to think about it, it's what comes natural.
And no one else can really teach it to you, because every body is unique...specific muscle mass with a specific combination of fast- and slow-twitch fibers, hanging on a specific skeletal frame with specific tendon and ligament strengths and lengths, wired up by a very specific tree of nerves and glands. It's not exactly the same for any two people.
But if Jalen can "feel" what it's like to run at 23 mph, even for brief periods, he can start to build muscle memory of that speed. Rather than playing hit & miss out on the track, where he might have a burst of 23 mph surrounded by slower stretches, where it's hard to say "ah, that's the ticket," then focus on that particular motion. Instead, jump on the treadmill, keep up, and feel what it feels like. Okay, that's 23 mph. That's where I need to get to. That's how it feels to really burn it up.
And that's exactly what I think he's doing. He's making himself the ideal running back, using Science.
Go Jalen! Go Vols!
