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EE!1ǵKz(>>E,etJ(e O'Ҋ(@ŏS ( )cZ~QC*/J(Q)O(VEQ&EEause they compare the upper leg with the ground. Big mistake. Parallel squats are the most important lift you can do to improve speed.<br> <br>Now look at Figure #1 of the De La Salle running back. Besides having impressively powerful thighs, look at both legs and their angles. Again, the front leg is at a 90-degree angle just as in a parallel squat. The back leg position is that of a power clean or our hip flexor stretch. Next, look at Figure #2 of Derek Jeter of the New York Yankees. Parallel Squat! Figure #3 shows a front angle of 100-meter world record holder Tim Montgomery. Again, the front leg shows a parallel squat angle, while the completely extended back leg is the same as in our power clean technique. <br> Women athletes gain the same benefit and can also get really fast with the BFS program. Angela Williams, Figure #4, is considered to have the fastest start in the world. Look at the lead leg. What angle is the upper leg in as compared to the lower leg? Parallel squat. The back leg is exploding to a completely extended position that looks exactly like our BFS power clean position when completely extended.<br> You can work with a 5.9 forty athlete all day, every day, on technique, drills and stride length fundamentals and not make much improvement. Weakness is the fundamental issue. Parallel squats provide the basis for speed improvement. I can take any athlete and make him/her significantly faster by doing perfect parallel squats. The athlete may still have lousy form but will run significantly faster with a big improvement in parallel squat strength. Parallel squats are the single most important thing you can do to improve speed.<br> Early in my career, I was in the Los Angeles area training with track athletes (throwers) during the summers. I was amazed at their size and speed. There were about 30 throwers who weighed an average of 270 pounds running between 4.6 and 4.8. Pro football players were not even close to that. I wanted my high school football players back at Sehome High School in the state of Washington to be like those throwers. So when I returned, we parallel squatted like those throwers and practiced sprinting. We timed our players twice per month. We did not do a very good job with power cleans but we were superior at the parallel squat. See Figure #5 and you will see what I mean. Little Greg Frere at a bodyweight of 155 parallel squatted 355 pounds and ran a 4.6 forty. Look at his depth and form: eyes on target and being tall with the chest spread. This photo was part of a story that featured my program at Sehome in the old Strength & Health magazine. We did a good job at only two of the ten components we have today, but we did those very well. It took only a year to get phenomenal results. I had 50 players run between 4.5 and 5.0 in the forty. That was 1970. Can anyone match that today? Sehome had an enrollment of 1,400 in grades 9-12. We played mostly larger schools and ended up playing Snohomish High School in a mythical state championship. They had minus 77 yards. <br> My next move took me to Brigham Young University, where I worked with football players and the power lifting team. Paul Howard, a lineman, gained 45 pounds in one year, reaching 275, and improved his forty from 5.2 to 4.8. He played ten years for the Denver Broncos. Paul Devine was a running back who was also on my power lifting team (see Figure #6). He helped us win the1973 national collegiate power lifting championship. Paul graduated and raised his family in southern California. His son Kevin