Answers to questions about training track and field sprinters
I get a lot of questions about how to train track and field sprinters. I’ve noticed that, over the course of the 5 1/2 years I’ve been online and running Athletes’ Acceleration, your questions have gotten far more specific and take more thought to answer.
This is an excellent sign!
If you post your questions in my blog, (and they are reasonable, i.e. you don’t tell me to analyze your entire season) I will generally answer them. (Complete sentences also help your chances!)
So here are my answers to 10 excellent questions including my take on the top 2 most frustrating questions I get. (I answered those first.)
QUESTION #1:
Coach- If you were my coach I would be running in the low 21’s right now, wow your program is amazing. Basically, my head coach is a distance freak and got our sprinter coach to leave because he was never allowed to assemble his own relays. We have 3 amazing 800 runners 2 sub 1:55 and one around 1:58. Understandably, he tried to make me the 4th leg on this my senior year, this year. I would have none of it and basically half assed the workouts to make me look slow and then I realized I was only wasting my valuable time. Coming off football I ran a 6.77 with no speed work and then did not realize I would have 0 speed work the rest of this season and still split 22.89 on our indoor national qualifying SMR. I am trying to figure out what to do because I am the fastest on the team 55/100/200 but I am working solely with the middle distance and distance guys. Should I come in early before school and follow your speed program and then do about half the workout he gives me or what? I am always lifting heavy since I have a football background and have that “skating” stride you talk about. I’m really trying to open my hips but sorry for the extremely long passage but your info is great. -Owen
>>>Owen, that’s a tough call. In theory, coming in early and getting a partial speed workout or a lift in would a good compromise. My concern is simply overtraining. If you’re fatigued after your speed work, even half a workout, and then you have to go do a high volume of low intensity training, I’m concerned you’ll end up burning out and/or getting an overuse injury like a hamstring, adductor or hip flexor strain.
If you only do half of your coach’s workout, that could cause problems because your coach does not appear willing to update his philosophy and will get upset if he sees you half assing his workouts and gets wind of you training on your own in the AM.
I don’t like to endorse going around your coach’s training, but I get this question all the time and there is no good answer because you can’t get fast by running slow. So, while my answer is unsettling to a degree, I would say that if you do want to get faster, you will have to get some speed work in a couple days per week on your own in the AM.
Just make sure you are not doing AM speed work the day after a lactic acid workout with the distance/mid distance group because that will compromise the quality of your speed work.
If you’re ’skating’, much of the problem is lack of hip mobility. I would focus on doing more hurdle mobility drills and a longer warm down and stretch. A foam roller wouldn’t hurt either.
QUESTION #2
I have a situation with an Old Fashioned very successful High School coach who is in my opinion providing the same old style of workout that you have on many occasions said is outdated and won’t help the kids reach their best times…….
You know how you told us running 8-200’s and 6-300’s an 10-150’s, day after day is not What sprinters need to get faster, especially when they are not being timed and no data is being kept. WELL THAT IS WHAT’S GOING ON AND IT REALLY CHAPS MY ASS! I DON’T WANT (my son) TO WASTE 4 YEARS DOING COUNTERPRODUCTIVE WORKOUTS. He broke the middle school Records last year in the State finals running 10.7 in the 100, and 21.67 in the 200 at 14 years old. Both were FAT times. A lot of coaches were there and said he has some real God given talent.
I coached him and his team in middle school. But now he graduated and is in High School this year doing one aerobic workout after another. HE’S NOT AN 800 METER RUNNER LATIF!! I want and need to approach this 70 year old coach but am not sure how. He is just a freshmen and is running on the varsity this year. The coach loves him and his relentless work ethic. I don’t want to ruin our relationship with him….
Coach Brad
>>>Man, that’s a tough question. And it’s the question I get most often from frustrated parents and athletes. If there’s one thing I’ve learned it’s that coaches don’t like to be told there’s a better way than how they’re doing it. My advice is to approach him very humbly, like you’re getting conflicting information elsewhere and you’re coming to him to clear things up.
If coaches feel threatened, they will do some amazingly obnoxious things.
He’s an Old Dog and likely doesn’t want to hear it. But I’d say your only option is to come to him like he’s the Godfather or something and get a feel for whether or not there’s any chance he’s open to your (or any) suggestions.
I’d go with something like:
“Coach. I was reading an article on a track website the other day and the author talked about how speed work is the foundation of any sprinter’s training. It made a lot of sense to me, but I see that you don’t have your sprinters training that way. You’ve been very successful so I’d like to hear your philosophy on training sprinters so I can understand both points of view.”
All the great coaches I know love answering questions. You can see their excitement when they’re asked, especially if the questioner isn’t presenting it in a confrontational way. If the coach gets upset with this line of questioning, it’s because he does not have an answer. I find that, in most cases, coaches don’t allow or promote questions because they’re not really qualified to be coaching.
I’m not saying this is the case with your son’s coach, but never assume that results are indicitive of good coaching. Give a monkey a stop watch and 20 years and he’s going to coach some state champions.
If you want to move to New England, I would be more than happy to train your son!! (You don’t want to move to New England 
QUESTION # 3
Latif- Off topic here but I was wondering how you take relay splits for your runners in the 4×200m relays on 3 turn staggers. Middle of the Zone? – AC
>>> Splits are always taken in the middle of the zone. In the 4×2, the only tough one is on the first exchange, since it is lanes. So you have to try and eyeball where the middle of the zone is. For the other 2 exchanges, I take the split when the baton crosses the start/finish line, regardless of whether or not the exchange has been made. In relays, we time the baton, not the athletes. And taking it in the middle of the zone insures each split is based on 200m, not a 193 if an athlete gets it late or a 207 if they get it early.
QUESTION #4:
Latif, I coach 7th and 8th grade track athletes, most of them have never really trained or been exposed to track and field. I would almost think that training these kids on the 55-200m model would be better than the 400m, even if some of them might be running the 400m in meets. My thinking is that in the short to long program, we need to develop speed first, if most of these kids have never really worked on speed, then that is what needs to be developed first. However, if I find a kid that seems to be suited for the 400m I could work some 400m work in on them. I guess what I am asking is, is it better to work new track kids at the 55-200m model than it is the 400m? – Scott
>>> Most great 400m runners at the elite level are former 100/200 runners. I develop my middle schoolers the same way you speak of – short to long and focusing on developing flat out speed. Your plan is exactly how I would do it.
QUESTION #5
Hey Latif, quick question about this video i’ve just watched. When your talking about how to work out what speed 75% is, you say that you should multiply a persons pb for that distance by 100 then divide. Should you not be multiplying that persons target pb for that distance by 100, then dividing? If you have athletes running at 75% pace of their current pb how are they going to get faster?? Ive heard you speak about this before in a video, and in that video you said use target pb’s. Maybe I heard wrong in that clip, if i have please let me know.
>>> Good question. And I suppose you could argue for that. I don’t remember, off hand, if I contradicted myself in one video versus another. If so, it was a speaking error. I do know that I always base these recovery day times on current best. Reason being that I’m not trying to make speed/Personal Best based improvements in my tempo runs. I want it to be recovery work from their speed work. So if a kid runs 11.3 in the 100m, but I base the tempo work off of a goal time of 10.8, now they’re running faster in that tempo work than their current speed says they should go. Now what was an aerobic workout (extensive tempo) has become a mixed aerobic/anaerobic workout (intensive tempo) and that’s not what I want. So I base tempo work on their current best times because we’re doing more than enough quality work on our ‘workout’ days to generate faster top speeds and new personal bests. Hope that makes sense.
QUESTION #6
LT,
I understand training for different power systems. When working with a multi-event athlete that does the 200,400,TJ,LJ, & HJ, which system should be the focus? This athlete’s main focuses are TJ & 400 in that order. -Ric
>>> Speed, strength and power should be the focus. Anaerobic alactic and then Anaerobic glycolytic. Get them faster and stronger and they’ll run faster and jump further. Don’t make it complicated.
QUESTION #7
Latif, How do you feel about about having your athletes running a stride pattern at “max velocity”? I’ve seen and heard sprint coaches use this drill to work on stride frequency: They place sticks (or tape) 5 feet apart for approximately 20 to 30 meters, then they have the athletes complete a 30meter flying run stepping between the sticks. As the season and/or athletes progress the coach moves the marks further apart. They alternate the “stick runs” with flying 30 without the sticks. Thanks, JD
>>> I sat here for 5 minutes trying to figure out how I would justify that workout and can’t do it. That’s trying to be complicated just for the sake of being complicated. And it’s going to confuse any normal kid whose sprinting skill isn’t where I want it to be in the first place. Stride length is a byproduct of strength and power levels, running mechanics and consistency, specific flexibility, etc. Different athletes will have different stride length based on skill and body type. So I’m not going to control stride length or I’m creating more problems than I am solving. I could say, when talking about arm action during sprinting, ‘don’t cross the midline of your body’ or I could say ‘avoid lateral deviation across the sagittal plane’. The former is just trying to get results, the latter is trying to sound smart for no reason. I choose the former.
QUESTION #8
I understand your criticism of the ladder work in general but I think your assertion about “identical clones” is a bit off the mark. If one looks at the best 100 meter sprinters in the world, it’s easy to see that they cover the first 10 meters in 6.5-7.0 steps. These athletes can range from 5′8″-6′4″, be tremendously strong in the weightroom or not lift that much at all. Interestingly enough, there’s plenty of guys who can cover 10 meters in 7.0 steps but how many can do it in less than 1.90 seconds? – Rich
>>> Fair point Rich. But neither I, nor 99.8% of the people who read/purchase/coach are dealing with sub 10 100m runners. At the developmental levels, which is where I spend the majority of my time, I think you are limiting an athlete’s development by restricting stride length during the early part of their race by forcing them onto an acceleration ladder. But, my mind is always open to opposing viewpoints.
QUESTION #9
Thought this was good information. It reconfirms much of what I already believed. Here is my query: Do I treat the 600 as a sprint or as a middle distance event? As a sprint coach, I have thus far treated it more like a 400 than an 800 and my 600 runners have had reasonable success. That said, I do have some doubts about strictly employing a 400 program , and I have been sticking in some 800 type workouts here and there. Any thoughts or advice is most welcome! – Fred F.
>>> Fred – That is an excellent question and one I consistently wrestle with. I personally have a hard time calling the 600 ‘mid distance’, especially on the boys side. Good kids are running less than 90 seconds, the best closer to 80 and I just can’t see that as mid distance. I’d say that my philosophy is very similar to yours – treating them like 400m runners with a higher volume of recovery work and the occasional ‘800′ workout. I do not do any mileage with my 600 runners. I still believe that developing a speed reserve is the key to running fast 600s. I also have a tough time using a straight 400 model with my 600 runners, but my program looks *much* more like a 400 program than an 800 program. They do the same lifts as my 55m runners, also. So, I say: Speed, Speed, Speed! To me, a great 600m runner is simply a natural 400m runner who is more Type IIa than Type IIb – i.e., someone whose 800m time is going to be comparatively faster than their 200m time.
In my program, where some 600 runners train with me using a ‘speed model’ and others train in a different group using a ‘distance model’, the speed based kids ran the fastest times across the board.
QUESTION #10:
Excellent information on training 400m runners. This reinforces my ideas and thoughts on how to train sprinters. For anybody that doesn’t have the Complete Speed Training DVD’s and signed up for Complete Program Design For Sprinters, it is well worth the money. Latif does a great job of presenting the information in an easy to understand way. My question would be, how do you set up the workout for those sprinters that do jumping events also? When do they get time to work on those events without compromising a workout that they need to do? – Coach Coppoc
>>> Thank you for the kind words, Coach. This is a very popular question. I take my philosophy from what I’ve learned studying the combined events. I look for commonalities between events and training qualities and match them up in practice. It just means your athletes who do multiple events must be generalists and not specialists, i.e., do a little bit of everything.
So your long jumper 100/200 runner does approach work on Monday. That is his speed/acceleration work for that day. He doesn’t do the track workout. If you’re doing VMax that day, he does most of the LJ approach work and then 1 or 2 fly runs at the end. If it’s a heavy jump day, he does none of or less of the plyos the sprint group is doing since he’s getting plyos in with his jump work. If it’s block work, he does half the approaches and half the block work. Keep the total volume the same, but break it up based on specific event needs and individual strengths/weaknesses.
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If you have thoughts, further advice or questions related to today’s post, please ask them below.
To your success,
Latif Thomas CSCS, USATF II (Sprints, Hurdles, Relays)
2005 MA State Track Coaches Association – Coach of the Year
Resources I recommend:
Complete Speed Training
Complete Program Design for Sprinters
.
March 16th, 2010 at 4:27 pm
Hi Latif,
Quick question about my daughter. 14 year old runner, 200, 400 800 – last year suffered an iliac crest fracture (apophysis – not sure of spelling). Track practices started 1 week ago and she is starting to complain again. Could it be possible her injury is resurfacing? Never healed completely? or doing too much too soon? Advise greatly appreciated. Thank you.
>>> It could be any or all of those things. It could also just be general soreness from an area that hasn’t had to do much work recently. If she’s afraid it’s going to hurt and focuses on it or fears it, she will manifest physical symptoms. I always err on the side of caution.
It’s difficult to assess without knowing the situation. Certainly her coaches should be made aware of the full scope of the situation and should modify her training to assure she remains injury free as the #1 goal of any training program is injury prevention. Of course, much of the coaching response depends on their level of skill. If they are certified, qualified coaches they’ll likely understand how to bring her back correctly. For example, I had an athlete this winter who, at the start of the season, was only 6 months post-op after tearing her ACL and MCL last spring. We modified her training to ensure we strengthened the area appropriately, didn’t put her in a position to add extra stress on the area *and* build mental and emotional confidence in the athlete so she didn’t secretly fear pain, but instead cultivated her belief that she could start to challenge her body through more intense workouts, lifts, etc.
I say this to say that the skill/knowledge of her coaches has a large role in her rate of recovery (or lack thereof). I would bring her back to her doctor, modify her training and err on the side of caution. She’s only 14 and I’d rather sacrifice the entire season or treat it like glorified rehab (as we did with my ACL/MCL girl) and focus on long term health and performance.
LT
Annie
March 16th, 2010 at 4:54 pm
Latif
What are some of the main reasons for hamstring injuries in sprinters? How did you rehab your hamstring injuries and/or the hamstring injuries in your athletes? What are some of the ways things that you stress to make sure sure your athletes are not subject to hamstring pulls? I have some video that I would like to send for your thoughts as a part of my consultation when your time permits. Have a great season.
>>> Ineffective warm up and warm down, mechanical/postural deficiencies, weak glutes and hips and overtraining are all common reasons for hamstring injuries. We rehab hamstrings through massage, glute/ham strengthening, posterior chain development, speed drills and technical feedback. Some kids are just going to have a lot of problems that put them in position to injure themselves due to the above issues. But in my opinion, the majority of the prevention comes down to a well designed and implemented program by the coaching staff and constant discussions with athletes to ensure they are not breaking down.
You can send me your stuff to look at and I will put you in the rotation.
LT
March 16th, 2010 at 5:48 pm
Hi Coach,
I purchased the complete program design for sprintes. However, I really need to see the awesome excerises and drills. Can your DVD’s be purchased individually?
Next question my son is a 11yr old who won a gold medal in the 800m,bronze in the 400m and a gold anchoring the 4×100 relay last year at the junior olympics. Latif this year we want to defend his go after th 800m and the 400m gold medals. We only have three days a week to practice and his track meets are on Saturday on Saturday he will run the 200m, 400m 800m or at times 4 x 100 relay(only 3 events). How should I set up his workouts: extensive tempo on monday, speed on wednesday and endurance on thursday? On tuesdays he does his body weigt excerises and Ab workout.
>>> We do not sell the DVDs individually. Only the package as a whole.
I will say this: Having an 11 year old compete in that many races on one day makes me uncomfortable. 2/4/8 is a triple even college athletes would have difficulty doing with quality and consistency.
That said, since bodyweight work is similar to traditional strength training for a kid that age, I would do something more like this:
M: Speed and strength training
T: warmup and speed drills
W: Tempo
TH: speed endurance
F: premeet
LT
March 16th, 2010 at 6:10 pm
When I sent in the #8 response, I wasn’t saying that I was a proponent of the stick drills, because I’m not. The point I was trying to convey was that even though significant differences
( anthropometric, strength, etc…) do exist amongst sprinters, the pattern of acceleration on the track can be quite similar and when sprinters can be 6′5″ or 5′9″, it’s pretty intriguing.
>>> In that instance, yes, I agree with you completely.
LT
March 16th, 2010 at 6:33 pm
I have been coaching for over 30 years but I did purchase your sprinter workout program and found that most of it did work very well with all the sprinters and my 4 X 200 girls relay (i.e., league record setters, state meet leaders, placing well in the NE meet this year) “You can teach an old dog new tricks.” I did have to modify some of the workouts due to limited time constraints for the athletes, i.e. hurdles, 55/200 sprinter, high jump, a 200/400 runner. When I was doing splits for the 4X200, it was difficult to keep the splits accurate. I currently use 2 watches, one for each runner coming and going. I do use the middle of the exchange zone as a reference point but have always found it difficult for the first runner to get an accurate time. I was wondering if you had any additional workout/plans for specific relays for both indoors and outdoor meets? I would be interested in looking into it in the near future.
>>> I’m glad the program was beneficial to you and your athletes. Regarding 4×2 splits, I think you’re making it more complicated than it needs to be. Splits are not real times. Kids need to know that. It’s why 200m splits are the shortest race splits I take. (I think giving 4×100 splits is crazy.) I get consistently ‘accurate’ *splits* using one watch. The lead leg is always going to have the slowest comparative split since they are starting from a static position and the other 3 legs are really running a fly 200. So, in my reality, the lead leg’s split is most ‘accurate’ in terms of comparing it to their actual 200m PR and the other 3 legs should be taken with a grain of salt.
I don’t run relay specific workouts, per se. If I want to do handoffs, we do handoffs, but I consider the total volume of the relay work in terms of how much volume I want done for the entire session. With relays, my concern is consistency with handoffs and that is our focus: timing. The rest of their training develops the speed that gives us our results.
LT
March 16th, 2010 at 6:57 pm
Hey I have just got your speed program DVD’s and I am impressed. I knew about half of the stuff but the other half was well worth the money. I incorporated your warm-up into our indoor state qualifier meet and all my 55 dash kids ran lifetime PR’s. I can not thank you enough for that, because they are why I coach. The worst thing is that our head guy is a distance coach who is also old and set in his ways. He constantly complains how we run tempo runs for recovery instead of miles. I swear I am at wits end with this, I need a head coach with your background! Question- I have a girl who works harder than anybody can I possibly get what you think would be the best speed endurance workout for a 300 girl hurdler. Let’s say it is mid season and she has already ran 49 flat? Thanks and sorry about length of message.
Yours in speed,
Coach W.
>>>Coach W. I’m glad you got some useful information to help your athletes achieve their goals. Trust me my friend, many of us are dealing with coaches who are either old school distance coaches or just flat out unqualified to coach!
Mid season 300 hurdle work I’m running different portions of the race (out of blocks over 3, 2-5, mid turn to #8, etc.) at race pace focusing on consistency with their steps (17-19 for females), developing consistency between hurdles (times between hurdles should not be more than .2 off) and “3 in, 3 out” – accelerating the last 3 steps into the hurdle and attacking the first 3 steps off the hurdle. If we’re doing race specific training, we’re going over hurdles at race pace for the most part.
LT
March 17th, 2010 at 7:04 am
Latif,
I’m the sprints and long jump coach for a very large middle school team (>200 kids). We’re implementing Complete Speed Training and the Program Design this year. Great program! Your advice yesterday about how to integrate long jump practice into speed days was very helpful. Time is at a premium with these numbers and a 90 min. practice. My question: Do you have some good practice drills to reinforce the mechanics of the long jump – run up, take off, position in the air, landing position? Keep in mind, we’re dealing with 5th – 8th grade kids.
Thanks!
>>> I’m so glad the information has been helpful!
My favorite drills for long jump are in teaching the set up to the jump, the last two steps and the take off. So we do a lot of skipping drills alternating for height and for distance where we focus on: 1. blocking the knee at belt height 2. landing and rolling off the foot heel to toe.
After the skipping we do a lot of ‘Run, Run, Jumps’. I’m a big believer in foundational drilling kids to death so the ranges of motion I want athletes to go through become natural. I learned this drill and it’s progressions from talking to and watching Boo Schexnayder videos.
This is the one I’m talking about in particular. It’s not that long and it’s not program design or workout planning, but you’ll get plenty of practice and improvements focusing on the information it contains:
http://tinyurl.com/y9ssacj
LT
March 17th, 2010 at 7:39 am
Hi Latif,
I appreciate all you do and want my organization to get more involved in your trainings. I am the cofounder of a national baseball organization called NorCal East. All of our players want to get faster and most of them are still in the dark ages about how to do it. Unfortunetely, so am I.
So, here is my question; My son is 16 and ranked #103 in the country by Perfect Game. He has a very bright future and from a tools standpoint, speed is his weakest tool. He runs a 7.0 60. As you may know, he needs to be in the 6.6-6.7 range to really get the attention of pro scouts. As a sophomore he already has offers from SEC and ACC schools. He just started his high school baseball season and he is doing his strength and agility workouts 2 times a week at 6 am. He is very dedicated. He has a huge opportunity/showcase on June 15th and I need to know EXACTLY what to do with him between now and then to get him as fast as he can be. he’s 6′ 197lbs. Very well built. Can you help us? (814) 931 2185
March 18th, 2010 at 10:06 am
Hi Coach Latif. I’ve recently come across a sprinter that is 24 years old and runs a 23 sec. 200 meter and 11.4 in the 100m. He’s tried several times to make the team but because he’s been training on his own and I admit he’s been neglected. He’s not a bad sprinter, he’s talented but has your typical flaws because he wasn’t corrected in high school and previous college coaches didn’t take the time to work with him or give him good training programs plus he has scoliosis. Right now I have him running 4 200s or 4 300s with 20min rest or 300,200,150,100,60,60 then lower body weights day 1, 10x 150 or 200s for extensive tempo day 2 and he’s clocking low 21’s consistently but he goes up and down in the 200s from 27 to low 29s. Day 3 i have him do a stair series and plyos then upper body weights, Day 4 7x 30m with 4×100m build ups, then Day 5 circuit training or 12×100 strides then lower body weights. He is a very dedicated athlete and that’s why I’m willing to work with him because he does want to compete in IAAF meets and I think he can in maybe 2 years. I’d really like some advice on how I can help him continue to improve quickly. He’s not competing in any more meets this season I have him just focusing on improvement. I do need help though trying to figure out the best training plan for him.
>>> This is one of those questions that is far more complicated to answer than it may appear at first glance. The 2 workouts you describe day 1 are completely different. Day 2 his lack of consistency comes from lack of conditioning and poor rhythm. Give him a split halfway through the 200 to see if he’s on pace. Day 3 and 4 should be combined because it is two CNS days in a row, which we generally want to avoid. And day 5 shouldn’t have strength training for the previous reasons – it’s now 3 days in a row of CNS/neuro work.
If this were my athlete I would go back to the basics and work on putting together a consistent workout program. I highly recommend investing in the following resource:
http://www.completeprogramdesignforsprinters.com
LT
March 19th, 2010 at 10:32 am
Hey Coach Latif thank you for the response. Do you think that I should just have the 300,200,150,100,60,60 I use as an alternate in Day 1 split into a different day rather than alternating it with the 4 200s or 4 300s? I also felt that it is really a consistent tempo issue with him in the extensive tempo 200s because he is a lot more consistent in his 150s. I have him running stairs on Day 3 and doing plyos because we don’t have a weight sled I’ve been talking to other coaches that say using the reistance bands work better but I’m not sure and I’ve also seen the resistance parachuete but I’m not certain if that will do the same. Should I add in another tempo day to alternate Day 3 or Day 4? Thank you I do appreciate the help.
March 22nd, 2010 at 7:55 am
I am training for basketball. My goal is 21 sprints continuous up and down the court. The max I’ve done is 11. How do I need to train?
>>> Get stronger and you’ll cover more ground with less effort. Improve your speed by doing acceleration work and you’ll improve your efficiency, covering more ground in less time. Improve your lactic tolerance by doing timed shuttle runs and doing short duration, high intensity (20-30y) sprints with limited rest. All of these things will help you achieve that goal.
LT
March 22nd, 2010 at 8:07 am
Hi latif!
am i correct in thinking speed endurance for a 400m runner should be 400-600m in total volume, roughly 3-5 runs, with near but not full recovery? And should this also go short to long?
How many ground contacts (total per session) would be a limit for plyometrics mid-late season for 400m runners 18-24 yrs, and should this reduce in volume and intensity as we move into MCP and peaking phase?
what your doing for athletics is priceless and recommend anyone in the world of sport to get CST and CPD. BARGAIN!!
>>> Paul. Yes, that is what I would call speed endurance for a 400m runner. The number of contacts would depend on the type of plyo being done. Tuck jumps and alternate leg bounds are not the same thing. But, like anything, it’s about watching for technical breakdown. As you get closer to peaking, I would reduce the volume, but not the intensity of the plyos you are doing.
LT
March 22nd, 2010 at 8:24 am
Latif,
I have been working with 100/300m hurdlers for 10 years now and I am looking for some new hurdle drills to do with my athletes. Most of our sprinters also do hurdle drills even though they are not hurdlers. We pick up a few new things each year from watching other hurdlers at the big meets, but I was wondering if you had some thoughts.
thanks so much!
Coach Jacki
>>> You’ll have to be more specific as listing all the different hurdle drills and hurdle workout variations could be a coaching program in and of itself…
I don’t try to teach 25 different drills because even ‘advanced’ kids have trouble doing something basic like trail leg half hurdles with the hurdles very close together. I’m a bigger fan of perfecting a smaller number of drills than being only average at a large number of drills.
LT
March 22nd, 2010 at 8:49 am
Hi Latif. In regards to Coach Marcus isn’t the 4×200 for just strength and power and the workout with the different distances for Strength endurance? I’m a young coach so there are things I’m still learning the difference in. I also don’t understand how Day 3 and Day 4 or similar. I’m sorry but I’m still a little ignorant on somethings. Have a good day. LJ
March 25th, 2010 at 6:57 am
hey Latif,
You and I both know that doing fly 40’s in the first week of practice is not the smartest thing. so a fellow teammate and I sat down and talked about the next 4 weeks of the season and what types of workouts we should “suggest” to the head coach who doesnt pay attention to us anyway. we decided to run more latic acid workouts like 200’s with a short recovery period and others workouts like that. do you have any suggestions of what type of workouts we should be doing. thank you.
>> It is not, but better than going for a run I suppose. Now, I’m not going to lie to you. In my experience, coaches aren’t usually all that interested in ’suggestions’ from HS kids because that undermines their authority.
My question about the 200s is ‘What is the goal of doing that?’ 200s with short recoveries is fine for a lactic acid workout. And it’s not a bad idea especially if you ran indoor track and even if you’re a short sprinter. This is a fairly complicated question, so give me a week to write an article that covers it in in more detail. But for an early season 100/200 training progression, my personal program for this looks like this (assuming you’re not having meets yet):
M: short accel work or short hills –> 5 – 10 x 30m from various positions on the ground. 3′ rest between reps. vertical plyos (tuck jumps, etc.) probably 3-4 x 6-8, R= 2′. Lift
T: Hills. 4-8 x 100m hills at 80-85%. R= 5-6′. hurdle mobility. core. Lift Day 2
(you could also do your intensive tempo 200s ((200s with short recovery)) here because 200s at 80-89% challenge the same energy system as the hill work, but I think the hills are mentally, physically and technically more effective for the first few weeks of the season)
W: tempo/recovery – 10-20x 100m @ 70-75%, R= 45-60″. speed drills. core.
TH: alactic short speed endurance – 2-5 x 30/30/30 @ 95-100%. R= walk/jog back between intervals, 4-7′ between sets. hurdle mobility. lift day 3.
F: circuits: extended warmup. 2 x 10 exercise body weight circuit with 30-40m job between exercises. R=3-4′ between sets. core. get a good static stretch in. and get a foam roller because they’re great for recovery especially if you’re doing a lot of weird training.
SA: Technique – jump drills/approaches, block work, speed drills, face and chase games/drills, controlled resistance work (i like bullet belts and sled push/pull) etc.
SU: Off
Hope that helps, Josh. Good luck.
LT
March 28th, 2010 at 8:50 pm
Great drills. The most important issue for an athlete recovering from an injury and then possibly re-injuring, is to make sure an athlete is rechecked by a sports medicine physician. An athlete can be permanently injured unable to compete if a coach and trainer do not handle the athlete with due diligence. A plan must be set in motion that a formally injured athlete now feeling pain where injured needs immediate evaluation/consultation.
March 28th, 2010 at 9:20 pm
Thursday’s workout =alactic short speed endurance – 2-5 x 30/30/30 @ 95-100%. R= walk/jog back between intervals, 4-7′ between sets.
I do not understand what 30/30/30 means in the workout above.
>>> it means run a 30, stop, jog back to the finish line, run a 30, stop, jog back to the finish line, run a 30. rest 7′. repeat 1-4 more times.
LT
April 9th, 2010 at 9:25 pm
Coach Latif,
I have a few questions pertaining to performance training for short sprinters specifically for the 100m and 200m races.
What lifts if any should be done to strengthen the hamstring group of muscles, also what can be done to develop the central nervous system to allow for faster reaction time, what can I do to increase my stride length and frequency, and finally coming out of blocks I have been struggling to find the precise median between stepping out to far and slow and taking a small first step and every time I attempt to correct my mistake I go from one extreme to the other.
Postscript- While I am unaware weather or not you have access to the required Mailing adress my guess would be that you do, you are probably wondering how ol’ JD has been able to articulate his words in a coherent legible paragraph simply put he didn’t. I figured I would maintain a semplance of ambiguity
Best of luck
July 29th, 2010 at 9:45 pm
Coach Thomas, I am a head girls track coach and have recently purchased the CST II and absolutely love it. The race startegies are great. I was wondering if you would share race strategy you use for your 800 meter runners.