Top 5 Offseason Training Tips for Sprinters
If you’re a sprinter or sprints coach who starts getting ready for the indoor season during the fall (or for spring during the winter, etc.), here are my Top 5 Offseason Training Tips. Keep these in the front of your mind and you’ll set yourself up for another season of bringing shame upon the masses.
1. Define Your Expectations
Notice I didn’t say ‘Goals’. I don’t believe in goals. Goals are things that never actually happen. Like the dream you had last night. And tomorrow.
Expectations eliminate wiggle room, excuses and sad stories. Young athletes have lots of these. So I simply don’t allow them in my program. Think about it. Which athlete do you think will win the big race today?
The athlete with a goal: ‘My goal is to win today’.
The athlete with an expectation: ‘I’m going to win today.’
Action is the first step to manifestation. So take action before running a single workout and set specific, exact expectations for the upcoming season. Most kids don’t set clear expectations. So I just don’t let them off the hook. You shouldn’t either.
ME: What are you going to run in the 200 this year?
ATHLETE: Umm. 26?
ME: Are you asking me or telling me? 26 what? Flat? .9?
ATHLETE: Um. 26 flat?
ME: You’re going to run 26.0 seconds this year?
ATHLETE: …..Yes. 26 flat. That’s what I want to run this—
ME: That’s what you what?
ATHLETE: What I want to—
ME: What you…
ATHLETE: What I’m going to run this year.
ME: Soooo…..
ATHLETE: I’m going to run a 26.0 this year.
Good. Now we have established an expectation, not some half ass, ‘gee it sure would be nice to…’ nonsense that will never happen. And everything we do and say will come back to whether or not we’re doing what it takes to meet the expectation. I’m committed to their commitment. So we’re in it together. It’s not specifically about ‘winning’. I never pressure little kids to win. PRs and winning are byproducts of committing to your expectations. That’s an important distinction. Skip or ignore this and you might as well run all your races in trainers instead of spikes.
Try it. You’ll see just how wishy-washy your athletes are because they’re afraid to commit to something they think may be difficult. My philosophy is: Feel the fear and do it anyway. (That’s also a great book by Susan Jeffers and you should read it.)
And once you convince a kid they can meet their expectations on the track, it’s a natural extension to get them to believe they can meet any expectation in any aspect of life. And I call that character development, which is the real goal. Again, and I can’t stress this emphatically enough, running a 26.0 is just the physical manifestation of focus, attention and action narrowly aimed at meeting a particular expectation.
My athletes do what I say because I empower them. And few other people in their experience (they don’t count their parents) show that much personal interest. It’s really that simple. Last year, at the end of the season, one of my kids said to me, “Thanks for not giving up on me coach.”
Truth is, all I did was not allow her to give up on herself. That’s the difference. And it starts with setting an intention and establishing an expectation for success, whatever that means to the athlete.
P.S. Coaches need their own set of personal expectations. I know what my expectations are each season in terms of school records, championships, etc. for individual athletes, relays and the team as a whole. You simply can’t meet an expectation that you never bothered to establish.
2. Easy Does It
The temptation is to start training like animals because we’re excited for the new season. Or because we learned some information over the summer that we want to try out. (You have learned new information since last season, haven’t you?)
But I say: Relax.
It’s the fall. You don’t have any meets until mid/late December at the earliest. Do you really need to start training 5 days per week starting in August? Not so much. Especially if you’re dealing with developmental level athletes or kids going into their first year of college. It’s a long season.
I’d rather have my sprinters show up the first day of practice a little bit undertrained and chomping at the bit to get going than feeling like they need a vacation from their offseason training.
Besides, does a 55m guy really need to train 5 days a week during the fall? The farthest he’s going to run at once is 200m. (Or in my case 300m, the most underrated event in all of track and field.) Short sprinters just don’t need to do the amount of ‘work’ that a 400m runner needs to do.
So I say 3-4 quality days per week for short sprinters and 4-5 quality days per week for long sprinters.
3. Build a ‘Base’.
When most people hear the term ‘base work’, they think of endless, boring and exhausting aerobic workouts. And to sprinters, you might as well tell them that their training consists of repeatedly getting punched in the face. Because that’s what slow running feels like to a sprinter or speed/power athlete.
We get this false truth because we have a ‘go for a run’ mentality in this country when it comes to ‘getting in shape.’
This, of course, is nonsense. So, to me, ‘base work’ is establishing the general, foundational qualities that facilitate the ability to handle higher loads of higher intensity training later on in the season.
Simply put, develop foundational biomotor skill: speed, strength, coordination, mobility and endurance. This process is covered extensively in Complete Program Design for Sprinters and Complete Speed Training 2, so refer to those programs for a step by step look at how to achieve this.
Don’t go crazy with maximal loads in the weight room in September. Focus on general strength (GS) work.
Don’t go crazy with Special Endurance runs in September. Focus on acceleration and consistency of execution.
Speaking of acceleration…
4. Speed work is a ‘Year Round’ Process
I once had an athlete at the HS level who was All State Champion at 300m and 400m. In fact, no one in my state has run faster than his PR at 300m since that happened back in ’06.
He got to college and promptly stopped doing any speed work at all. He asked his coach why and was told, “You never hit top speed in the 400, so there is no need to run at top speed in practice.”
Hold on, I have to wipe the tears from my eyes. And the vomit from my shirt.
This coach clearly did not read my article on getting athletes to drink the Kool-Aid. And this athlete did not run a PR until he started ignoring his coach. I’m not condoning ignoring your coach. But, it’s hard not to when your HS coach has you running faster at 17 than your D1 coach does at 21. And I could give you a dozen more examples off the top of my head of former athletes who didn’t get faster in college. Like I’ve said countless times, once you see the Truth, you can’t go back inside The Matrix.
The whole point of training for running is to get faster. Even in the 2mile. (It’s not ‘how long can you run for?’ it is ‘how fast can you run 2 miles?’) So speed work is a year round process.
Your sprinters need to be doing speed work each and every week. Train 40 weeks a year, do speed work 40 weeks a year. (+/- 2 weeks)
My suggestion for fall training? Again, focus on teaching acceleration and consistency of execution.
5. Get Stronger!
I mentioned this already, but it deserves its own topic. You can’t do much for your athletes if you don’t get them stronger. Sure you can clean up technique and that will get you immediate results. But there’s a low glass ceiling in place when strength becomes the major limiting factor.
During the sprints camp I worked this summer, I had some kids with a lot of potential. But, at some point, all I could tell them was, “Until you get stronger, you’re not going to be able to execute X, Y and/or Z.”
But I’m not sending a 14 year old girl who has never touched a weight into the weight room to do heavy deadlifts. That is negligent. (It’s also the reason why I believe, when possible, you shouldn’t have freshman triple jump in meets or do full approaches in practice. Too weak, too dangerous. Not worth it.)
Strength comes in many varieties. And you can’t do max strength work from September to February, switch to power and then go heavy again in spring. I mean, you can. But your athletes will run crap times, then get injured.
Bodyweight circuits. Core work. Maybe even a hypertrophe phase. Start there in the fall. You’ll be surprised how strong developmental athletes can get on a strict diet of bodyweight exercises. Building a foundation here will develop the soft tissue strength and mobility to handle the heavy stuff later on. Trust the process and follow your blueprint.
(Have I ever mentioned that all your strength training options, general to specific, are covered in your CST2 program? Oh, I did? Nevermind.)
Build your offseason training around these core concepts and it is physically impossible not to build fast, skilled sprinters.
To your success,
Latif Thomas
Resources I recommend:
Speed Training for Sprinter The Godfather of Sprint Training Programs
How to Write More Effective Workout Progressions for Your 55m-400m Sprinters - Program Design for Sprinters
Sports Nutrition for Athletes (The Uncomplicated Version)
August 9th, 2010 at 8:26 am
Hey Latif,
I’m competing in the master this upcoming year. My strength is great…O lifts and squats are excellent. Power clean 295 pds, Squats: 485, & push press: 275. My 40 is currently only 4.5, I am a fineese jumper trying to become a speed jumper. I am a 6′3, 215 but I have to loose this weight because I couldnt run due to chronic ankle injury ( achilles tendonistis). My doctor is making me slow down, and i can lift as long as I dont aggravate it. I am built like a NFL strong safety right now (10% Body fat)…a beast, but I will jump weighing around 200. My question is have you ever heard any anyone bouncing back from such a injury who TJ or LJ? I am in a really depressed mode now and I have all the tools finally to jump 17 meter or even 8.2 meter in the LJ. I was getting faster with the assistance of some friends associate with the Shore TRack Club. Do you have any words of wisdom to get thru this? or Know of a Doc that may check me out. I have insurance. The military mess my surgery up years ago and I dont want to quit. This question came from nowwhere , but I read everything on your site and you know what your doing. If you can be of any assistance I would be very grateful. I am currently deployed and I am just trying to make a plan of execution. I currently reside in Tampa, Fl
BEst regards,
SSG Jamie Chase
Medic
Triple Jumper/ Long Jumper
August 9th, 2010 at 8:51 am
Informative and motivational to athletes serious about off season activity and pre-season preparation. Five, straight to the point, bottom line tips!
August 9th, 2010 at 9:23 am
I have a 13 year old dauther. Who is a sprinter. She is not droping time the way she did at a younger age. Her time are still pretty good ( mid 12 in the 100 and 26 something in the 200) Is this coment for youth girl sprinter?
August 9th, 2010 at 9:50 am
Thanks for tips latif.
But your idea “you can’t do max strength work from September to February” is like “you can’t do speed works through GPP!”
In GPP our focus is acceleration development,right? & is Max Strength vital for acceleration and first 30m!? if yes why u ignore them through GPP?”when our focus is acceleration development”
When to use Max Strength? in SPP?”when our focus is Max Velocity, top end speed & Speed Endurance”
GS is good idea in GPP,but in my oponion neglecting heavy squat,cleans and deadlifts is not good for sprinters!
I love this set up for my GPP:
“4 week cycles”
Monday – Acc. Dev. / Low Intensity Plyos / Heavy Weights
Tuesday – Tempo / GS Circuit (or GS in pool)
Wednesday – Acc. Dev./ Low Intensity Plyos / Heavy Weights
Thursday – Same as Tuesday
Friday – Acc. Dev. (short hills or sled pulling or stadium steps) / Heavy Weights
Acc. Dev start with 10m then combine 10m & 20m then 20m … & then 30m (In GPP sprints all from various positin and in flats not spikes)
When 30m is perfect at the end of GPP,i start flys gradually and then speed endurance.that’s my short to long program for this year and i EXPECT myself to run under 10.60 next year:)
Remember i’m a short sprinter (only 100m,don’t want to compete 60 this year)
August 9th, 2010 at 10:50 am
Latif I think we ran against each other in college. I ran at JMU(when we had a mens program). But I like what you are doing by giving more knowledge to others of the sport we love so much. Check this out when you get a chance “Advanced Techniques in GluteiMaximiStrengtheningII(2)” by Bret Contreras. I have been in this book so much the last month and a half that I have been up till 2am reading and rereading. Again keep it up and I hope we get to meet one day. I am coaching currently at Mary Washington University (DivIII). I have been coaching since graduation from JMU in 03′
August 9th, 2010 at 1:39 pm
Jamie: I’m no doctor or physio, so keep that in mind. I would say dropping some weight is crucial as that’s a lot of weight for a jumper to carry, even at 6′3. Start slowly with the accel work and low intensity plyos when you get cleared. Video yourself to make sure there are no technical issues placing extra stress on your achilles. Offhand I can’t name anyone who has come back or a doctor in your area. But the tendonitis is likely a combo of poor ankle mobility, mechanical issues, carrying too much weight, etc. I would err on the side of undertraining and focus, again, on accel work and technique. I would also focus on long jump and maybe table the triple until you can physically and mentally handle it. Not sure if that’s relevant input/advice..
August 9th, 2010 at 1:41 pm
Steve: I’m trying to say more in less space and time! I have a tendency to ramble!
Malcolm: Your daughter is going through puberty which is a difficult time in terms of body control and awareness. I wouldn’t stress it. I would, however, like to see a faster 200 time for someone running mid 12s.
August 9th, 2010 at 1:49 pm
Meysam: Ah yes. You’re thinking and I like that. As well as your EXPECTATIONS!
My comments are mostly geared toward developmental athletes. But I think you’ll peak higher if you do some foundational strength work earlier in the season when volume is higher and overall intensity lower. Develop soft and connective tissue strength with anatomical adaptation work. Maybe do a few weeks of hypertrophe work, mostly for hormonal response purposes. Going heavy year round, I think you’ll start to fry your CNS. Plus you have to convert to power somewhere in there. But I guess it also depends on your philosophy of periodization, i.e. linear vs. undulating. I’m not saying ignore heavy stuff. I’m arguing you’ll be able to get to a higher Deadlift 1RM if you go general to specific, as opposed to getting very specific months before a competition. I’d be interested to see if your lifts plateau or fall off if you’re not taking a break from consistent near maximal lifts. Interesting question and I’m certainly not saying you’re wrong. I just wonder if that’s the best way to maximize strength and speed gains in the long term.
As for your short to long progression, I’m in total agreement.
LT
August 9th, 2010 at 1:52 pm
Anthony: We might have. I graduated in 2000. I will check that book out immediately. Love suggestions from other information junkies! I hope we’ll get to meet as well. I’ll be in Baton Rouge in October for the LSU guys’ clinic and then I’m speaking at the Wisconsin clinic in February 2011.
August 9th, 2010 at 6:42 pm
Mr. Thomas,
I can’t even begin to describe how happy I am that my father (a high school track coach) sent me your website! I love these 5 tips, especially the first one. I really agree with everything you say, and literally laugh out loud at some points. Great stuff, thank you for sharing!
August 9th, 2010 at 8:43 pm
Hey Latif,
I am about to start High School, I run the 100 and honestly don’t want to even try the 200 or 400 but because I am “tall” people want me to run them. I run an 11.72s. What do you think?
August 11th, 2010 at 7:41 am
Rachel: I’m glad you’ve discovered the site as well. There is plenty more Latif style insight and comedy on the way, so I hope you’ll stick around!
Kyle: I love chocolate ice cream. It’s delicious. But why would I want to limit myself to one flavor when there are so many other delicious flavors to try? You’re too young to start boxing yourself into a narrow experience of your reality my friend.
August 12th, 2010 at 5:00 am
am boy of 18 years old.this every year in ghana they interschools compitetion .there has been a record there for a long time and i want to break the records .this are the records.400 M is 48.67 sec.the 200m is 21.64sec and 100m is 10.03sec.help me break the record.
August 12th, 2010 at 2:08 pm
Great five. I personally like no. one the best because it’s life-altering to have someone point this out to me. It’s just one of these things you know, but is nice to have an occasional reminder of. As an athlete, I’ll accept no excuses and/or sad stories. Thanks, Latif!
August 13th, 2010 at 1:13 pm
As an athlete in college the hardest thing to do in the offseason is to just relax and take in the fact that last year was a long season. It is so tempting to just get up and start doing all sorts of stuff because you are so excited for next season as I am now. Excellent read all 5 points speak volumes to me.
August 15th, 2010 at 11:49 am
Latif
I appreciate the research and sharing. It’s proved beneficial. I want to know more about your comment about freshmen not triple jumping in competitions. Thanks!
August 18th, 2010 at 2:46 pm
Susan: I believe in erring on the side of caution. When doing a standard plyometric progression, regardless of age/sport/gender, you’re not going to have athletes starting out doing alternate leg bounding on one leg. That’s dangerous with young kids because they don’t have the strength, power or coordination to handle those physical requirements safely. So, that being the case, how is it reasonable to have a 14 year old girl (who probably can’t even do a bodyweight squat to parallel) go out and go LLR or RRL at full speed with a full approach in a competitive situation? Sounds like ankle, knee and/or hip problems waiting to happen!
September 26th, 2010 at 2:23 pm
Latif,
I have a 6 year old son who started running with a youth track team here in Florida this past season. He really enjoyed training with all the other kids real nice group of people…..I did not let him run any meets as he was busy playing flag football on “meet wknds” and I felt he was busy enough .
Anyway it’s the off season and I’m wondering what I should have him doing to get ready for this years sprint season which he is lookng forward to Compete in with all the other tiny mites……
Thanks
October 1st, 2010 at 11:20 am
Boe: maybe 2-3 days per week of short (10-25m) speed work and technical work. Keep it fun, make it a game, don’t put any pressure or expectation on him that he runs any particular time or meets any particular technical expectation except for having fun.
January 2nd, 2011 at 7:35 am
Hey Latif,
I’m 19 years old and training form the last 4 months.My PB is 11.3.I can squat for 400lbs and SLDL 286lbs.I’m spending 2 days a week on speed work 2 days on endurance and 1 day on slow tempo..I just have 3 months and have two touch 10.8 at any cost..My height is 5 feet 9.5 inches. and body weight is 144lbs.Please suggest me something i should focus on.
Thanks.
February 20th, 2011 at 4:52 pm
Mr. Thomas,
I am currently a junior in high school, about to start our track season. I have been doing our preseason workouts, which include weight lifting and running (speed workouts, form, etc.). I run the 100, 200, and 400. Last year I did all of the preseason workouts and went to all the practices, but I hit a plateau not even half way through the season and stayed there the rest of the season. That really frustrates me because I am a really athletic person year round, and I do all of the workouts. I’m afraid that I will do the same thing this season, and I won’t be able to continue to drop my times in time to qualify for the state meet. Is there anything else ontop of your 5 steps that I can do to make sure that I don’t hit a plateau, and if I do, that I can get past it pretty fast?
Thank you.
March 6th, 2011 at 2:08 pm
Turab: Define ‘endurance’.
March 6th, 2011 at 2:11 pm
Robin: Hard to guess at the problem without knowing what you’re doing for workouts. Could be you’re doing too much quality work early in the season and overtraining. Remember: more is not necessarily better. You’d be surprised how little ‘running’ we do in practice. It really comes down to having a well organized and thought through training program. I would respectfully talk to your coach and get an idea of what their methodology is, compare it to what coaches getting good results are doing and then post what you come up with and I’ll try to give you some feedback. But I just don’t have enough info to give you a fair answer.
March 24th, 2011 at 1:30 am
hey Latif i have been rading your articles since i found this site’s link on google and i must say that you are so passionate about your writing..your work is highly appreciated..thanks for sharing it..
October 31st, 2011 at 6:02 pm
Hello Mr.latif !
I am a 13 year old and, im approaching my 2nd track season. I have peaked at a 12.4 100m but averaged at 12.90, and ran a consistant 26 – 27. i excel greatly in football but because this is my last year before highschool, i want to be a Good sprinter. i have a great work ethic. So if you can help me make a offseason training before indoor season or even suggest a regimine, i would be HIGHLY APPRECIATIVE!!! (P.S. im a DUMMY when it comes to designing a running workout! )