First, don’t forget I’ve posted Week 7 of
my 12 week preseason 400m training program.

You can check that out by clicking here.

I’ve been getting some great questions about
various elements of coaching sprinters. These
are questions we all should have and/or
specifically address in our programs, so
here are a few of them with my answers:

Howard asks:

With the consistent workout examples you
demonstrated, your examples were approx 8
runs consistently. I realize it varies between
athletes, however, moving forward do you
intend the athletes to produce more consistent
runs at the target time before setting a new
target? Or do you manage both times and targets
together?

My answer:

Good question. The answer is both. I have to
manage them together. Just because an athlete
is inconsistent does not mean they are not
getting in shape or capable of progressing
in volume, intensity or both. Most kids have
never been consistently given target times.
They just run. So they’re not thinking about
intensity or pace or thinking specifically
about memorizing what it feels like to run a
30 second 200 *and* be at exactly 15 seconds
at the 100 meter mark. It’s a new skill for
them to learn and like any skill it takes
time and repetition. But they must learn it
so they can do race modeling later or know
how to run, for example, fast enough in a
trial to get a good lane in the final, but
not so fast they burn themselves out of the
final, but not so slow they don’t make the
final or get a bad lane.

_______

Kenneth asks:

How do you record the times when you have a
large group? Do you have each athlete run
individually or are you eyeballing and
estimating times with a stop watch as the
large group runs?

My answer:

I put athletes in groups of 5-8 for my varsity
and borderline varsity athletes. I will put
the lower tier athletes in bigger groups if
necessary. I give each ‘varsity’ kid a specific
time I want them to hit for the intervals in
the workout. I send the groups off every 3
seconds and call out the times as they finish.

If you’re in the second group you know to add
3 seconds to the time I call out when you
finish. Then I either write the times myself
or have an injured athlete, manager, etc.
record the times. Once a kid misses their
time by a certain amount twice in a row, the
workout is over for that athlete and they
either walk for the remainder of the workout
or move on to the next part of their practice.

They already know what is next because I always
explain the goals and parameters of each practice
before it starts, every day.

By looking at these numbers after practice, I
can figure out which kids I gave the wrong
times to and adjust them. I can look for
trends in where kids fell of the pace to
determine if the volume or intensity is too
high (or low) or if the rest is too long or
short.

This is how I evolve my workouts to be both
more effective and efficient because I’m not
just guessing. Well, I am guessing. We’re
all guessing. Those who guess most accurately
get the best results. I just try to minimize
the errors I make in guessing volume, intensity
and rest by keeping and analyzing my notes.
You’d be amazed how much you can learn about
an athlete just by looking at their workout
times, even if you’ve never seen them run.

But it always comes back to testing, retesting
and experimenting with how you build your
workouts.

Got questions? Post them in the blog.

To your success,

Latif Thomas

P.S. Indoor track is surprisingly close! If you
want to do a better job of workout planning
this season, click here for the resource I
recommend.

If you’re more interested in video of the
drills and exercises you’ll use day in and
day out, click here.

 Tonight I’m putting Lee Taft’s feet to the fire
in our webinar on developing multidirectional
speed and agility.

So if you work with field sport and/or court
sport athletes, tuning into this webinar is a
no brainer.

Because I’m going to get Lee to tell you everything
he knows on the topic. And believe me, I known
Lee for years. He knows A LOT.

So if you haven’t registered yet, you can do
so here:

http://tinyurl.com/ybq8rj4

Once you register, you’ll get all the info
you need to log onto the broadcast.

This is my final reminder and if you don’t
register, you won’t get to hear me grill Lee
and make him give up all his secrets.

And what fun would that be?

–> http://tinyurl.com/ybq8rj4

Until tonight -

Latif Thomas

Each Monday, for the next 5 weeks (and a total
of 12 weeks), I’ll be posting a preseason
training program for developmental 400m
runners.

I get so many questions about this event I’ve
decided to share what I’m doing. This way
you can copy it, pick it apart (respectfully),
or flat out steal it. Use it and see just
how much your athletes improve.

Of course, feel free post your comments and
questions below. I can’t guarantee I’ll
answer all of them, but I’ll do my best.

If you want more detailed information about
program design for 55-400m sprinters,
click here.

For Week 1 workouts, click here.
For Week 2 workouts, click here.
For Week 3 workouts, click here.
For Week 4 workouts, click here.
For Week 5 workouts, click here.
For Week 6 workouts, click here.

M: 7 x 40m from crouch, 3 or 4 point stance or
   rollover start

   7 x Standing triple jump

   Lift Day 1:

   2 x 12 – circuit format – rest
   between sets exercises is 60-90”

   Lunges
   DB bench press
   Lat pull
   Split squat
   Dips
   One arm row
   Leg extension

T: 4 x 300m hills R= walk back recovery

   Mile warmdown at slightly faster than
   conversation pace. Last 400m - barefoot
  
   Hurdle mobility

   Core - stabilization

   10′ static stretch

W: 3 x 8 x 100m  R= 45″reps/3′ sets
   B = 15.5 - 16.5
   G = 18.5 - 19.5

   10′ warmdown run barefoot on grass
   @ conversational pace

   Core - athlete’s choice

TH: 3 x 500m R = 5′
    B = 1:25 - 1:29, G = 1:40 - 1:45

    Lift Day 2:

    2 x 8 – circuit format– rest
    between exercises is 60-90”
    between sets is 3′

    Back squat
    DB incline
    Chin ups
    Bulgarian split squat (back leg up on bench single leg lunge)
    Clap pushups
    Seated Row
    Hamstring curls

F:  10-12 x 200, R = 2′

    B: 34 - 35
    G: 38 - 39

    800m barefoot warmdown (walk) on grass
   
    Core - stabilization

    Lift Day 1:

    2 x 10 – circuit format – rest
    between sets exercises is 60-90”

    Lunges
    DB bench press
    Lat pull
    Split squat
    Dips
    One arm row
    Leg extension

    15′ static stretch

Weekly Audio:

Remember: You can steal these workouts and use
them with your athletes. And you’ll be surprised
when they’re running lifetime bests before
the season even starts.

But if you don’t understand why the progressions
are what they are or how they fit into the
bigger picture, results will tail off before
they reach their major meets.

And you won’t know how to continue their
training once the 12 weeks is up.

To discover how you can improve your workout
planning results, click here.

To your success,

Latif Thomas 

This is a simple yet deep statement.

Have you ever heard a quick sentence that actually made you stop for a second and really think? Well, I was talking to my martial arts instructor, Master Garcia, the other day and during the conversation he said ‘You are an echo’. 
Wow, that’s powerful.

Think about it, what you eat, how and what you do to workout, your work ethic, your commitment to your family and friends, the effort you put in daily truly reflects the person you are and what you get back in return.

This ‘echo’ really tells us if we are successful and if we are not, there is only one reason for that.

When you look at your physique, you know this to be true. It’s easy to tell who is dedicated and putting in the work right?

When you look at it from the business standpoint, the ‘You are an echo’ still stands true.

If you are a great coach, you get great results, and you spend your time learning to be an even better coach – that’s amazing and needs to be done but that’s only one half on being successful in the sports and fitness industry.

I’m sure you know of some coaches and trainers that get great results with their clients but are struggling because they either need more clients or need to get in front of more people to show their skills.

Same thing goes with running a sports camp. I’ve seen it firsthand. A top coach decides they want to put on a sports specific camp and they think that their name alone will get athletes in to fill the camp. Well, they think that until the day the camp happens and their numbers are real low.

If Bill Belichick, Doc Rivers, or Terry Francona (I know I am New England biased) wants to put on a sports camp, you would think that would be successful right?
 
Well, if nobody knows they are putting on the camp then it’s going to be tough getting people to go. These are top coaches and even they have to market to get people into their camps.

But what if you name is not as big as theirs?

Most coaches and trainers think that their name and their initials after their name are a lot bigger than they actually are. Really, for the most part, your name doesn’t mean anything to athletes coming to your camp. If you work in the NFL, ok it helps a little to a high school football player. But most of us are not NFL coaches so we have to work even harder.

What I’m trying to say, is that it takes more than being a great coach, to be a successful coach. If you own your own business or are trying to get more clients, you know this to be true.

Being able to run a camp and market your camp are both skills. The act of getting more clients is a learned skill. And you need to constantly work on these skills to improve them.

Honestly answer these questions:

How much time are you spending trying to be a better coach?

Now how much time do you spend trying to grow your business?

These answers should be close to a 50/50 relationship. If they aren’t, well at least you know the area you have to work on.

My first 5 years or so in the industry, I spending a 100% of my time trying to become the best coach possible. Reading, watching training DVD;s, going to seminars, getting every certification there was, I did an internship with the best coach in the area, I basically was studying and applying what I learned non-stop.  Now don’t get me wrong, I needed this to become a good coach.
 
The problem was, I thought I could be helping more people and should be making more money than I was at that time, especially with all of the hours I was working. It wasn’t until I put in the time to learn advertising, marketing, sales, and even the structure and technical side of the business, where I started to reach my potential.

It wasn’t fun at first to learn how to market, but once I got and started applying it, it changed my whole life. I can now work whatever hours I want, make more money than I thought was possible at the time, and I am able to help even more people than ever before.

Discovering the business and marketing side of the sports and fitness industry is truly what separates successful coaches from the rest. If you are serious about growing in this industry, you must put your time in.

Believe me; no one is going to do it for you. The work you put into actively becoming a better coach and businessperson shows.

Your business is an echo of you. What are you saying that’s worth repeating?
Please feel free to comment below. I would love to hear from you.

To your success,

Pat Beith

Click Here to Discover How to Run a Sports Camp >>