The creation of the parachute is dated back to U.S.S.R. Ben Tabachnik, who in background, stature, and respect was essentially a big deal. He authored several books and articles on Speed Training. In one of his publications, he presents the parachute as a unique means of intensifying the training process physically, as well as metabolically and neurologically.
Without going into a tremendous amount of detail, there were some issues with his findings, to say the least. Regardless, like many of my contemporaries, I used every single method imaginable to get faster in middle school and high school. Only seasoned readers will remember the “Strength shoe”, ankle weights, and the parachute. I was so desperate to get faster. I remember seeing a Frosted Flakes commercial and seeing the change in athletes after just one bowl!
After decades of trial and error, it’s only right to debunk some of these training apparatuses I still see trainers using. This equipment did have its time in the sun, but they have to go.
First off, the parachute or speed chute. Garbage. Get rid of it as soon as possible.
First and foremost, it’s important to remember that anything more than a 10% decrease in speed inhibits running form and while the athlete will “feel” it more, it does not translate to faster time quite well. Ground time increases dramatically which is the opposite of what we are looking for.
Second, the setup is ridiculous. In low-wind areas, you have to start running at full speed for a few seconds at least to get any resistance, and good luck getting it exactly at the right angle and not pulling off to the side. In high-wind areas, just be prepared to look and feel foolish for even bringing this out. The 10% window is almost impossible to gauge with this excuse for training equipment.
Instead of wasting your time and energy on the parachute let’s consider some other options.
If you are looking for resistance, and I emphasize, it has to be “slight” resistance, no more than 10%, then consider sleds.
The weight stays constant and can be adjusted based on ability. Consider the terrain you are going to be training on however as we all know sand would suck to be pushing or pulling something, but if you are using natural grass vs field turf, the drag on the sled will vary. Personal favorites of mine include, the hill is a good slope, nothing too steep, resistance bands, and weighted vests. They are all adjustable but constant during the rep.
In summation, resistance runs are good but don’t let me catch you using the parachute ever again.
