⚡️SSL #018: The “Olympian vs Mr. Olympia” Story

Dec 04, 2022

Have you heard of the “Olympian vs Mr. Olympia” Story?

In 2002 legendary pro bodybuilder Kevin Levrone challenged Maurice Green, a former 100m world record holder, to a race.

At the time, Maurice Greene was the fastest man in the world.

Why would a pro bodybuilder, 4x 2nd place in Mr. Olympia, now IFBB hall of Famer, challenge a world champion sprinter?

Everyone at the time was just as confused as you probably are reading this right now.

Either way, Maurice Green never took him up on that offer, but someone else did.

Dwain Chambers.

One of the fastest European sprinters in history.

To this day he has the second fastest 60m in Europe.

In 2002 both of these guys were in their prime.

It was like Jay Cutler racing Usain Bolt in 2009 during the peak of their careers.

The race took place in sunny California on December 11, 2002.

It was a 60 meters race and surprisingly enough they even used starting blocks.

Let’s be honest, would you ever expect a guy that looks like Kevin, to voluntarily get into a starting block against a pro sprinter? Publicly?

I would pay to watch something like this in person.

In terms of the race itself.

Well, Kevin had an explosive start and for a split second, it ALMOST looked like he had a chance.

However, very quickly it became apparent that Kevin was a fish out of water on the track.

Kevin stumbled on his first few steps and tried to recover but next to Dwain Chambers he appeared to be running in slow motion like Neo from the Matrix.

As expected, he finished far behind the Olympic champion, with at least an epic story to tell his grandkids.

The reason I’m sharing this story with you is that it relates to one of the biggest factors in running fast.

The ability to convert strength into speed.

Although the fastest humans in the world may not be super muscular or super strong.

They are very effective at transferring their strength into running speed.

This is because they train their:

Rate of Force Development - how fast you can produce lots of force.
Elasticity - how effectively your muscles, tendons, and connective tissue can store and then release energy.
Direction Of Force Application - Striking back into the ground, rather than having the foot crash forward into the ground during a sprint.

Here are a few (science-based) ways you can train these characteristics :

Rate of Force Development - Counter Movement Jumps
Elasticity - Pogo Jumps
Direction Of Force Application - Hill sprints or sleds

Hope that helps, especially if you are someone who is strong and explosive but struggles to convert that into speed.

TL;DR

IFBB hall of fame bodybuilder challenged a world champion sprinter
Bodybuilder had an explosive start but ultimately got dusted
Although the fastest humans in the world may not be super muscular or super strong. They are very effective at transferring their strength into running speed.
Here’s a few ways you can do the same:
Rate of Force Development - Counter Movement Jumps
Elasticity - Pogo Jumps
Direction Of Force Application - Hill sprints or sleds

Stay Fast,

Cesar

Whenever you're ready, here are 2 ways I can help you:

1. Fix your technique and run faster using Sprint-Cheat Codes. (1,000+ success stories)

2. See my videos on Youtube and join over 97,600 subscribers.

Join 17,088+ athletes inside the Saturday Sprint Letter.

Every Saturday Morning, you'll get 1 actionable tip on how to run faster sent to your email.

I will never sell your information, for any reason.

⚡️SSL #018: The “Olympian vs Mr. Olympia” Story

TL;DR

Whenever you're ready, here are 2 ways I can help you:

Join 17,088+ athletes inside the Saturday Sprint Letter.

Join Our Free Trial