400m runner training

Hello everyone!
I spent some time on deciding where to put my post and I finally decided to put it here. If I made a mistake can Admin please move it to the right section.

Before I started track&field I was training judo for 7 years. Then I got a bad shoulder injury and so I started runing 400m. I am actully a begginer (training for 19 months). Two or three weeks ago I querreled with my coach as he overtrained my for the third time. I did everything as told, I completely trusted his judgement and he overtrained me so badly I couldn’t even sprint without feeling sick. I couldn’t sleep and I lost my appetite. Since then I am training on my own. I got myself a few training books, one of them was Charlie’s Key Concepts Elite and in the end I made my own programm based on that book. I would really appreciate it if someone could check if I get it right. I didn’t managed to read the whole book yet, as I had to little time.

After one week of complete recovery I started 3 weeks of GPP. I started max sprints immediatelly due to the quite short break in training. When still training with my coach i Was doing linear periodization which robbed me of almost all speed that I got in summer.

1.week:(21.2-27.2)
Sunday: HI- speed:

  • warm-up, active stretching
  • 3x60m accelerations
  • 3xstart + 10m
  • 4x30m standing start
  • 2x30 m blocks
  • 1x60m blocks
    -power cleans:
    1set x 10reps
    2 setsx8 reps
    -1/2 squat
    3sets x 10 reps
  • cool down, stretching

Monday LI -tempo:

  • warm-up, stretching
  • 16x100m, rest between runs: 20 sit-ups
  • core exercises
  • cool down, stretching

Tuesday LI- tempo

  • warm-up, stretching
  • 3x5x200m/75-70%, 200m walk between runs, 4 minutes between sets
  • core exercises
  • cool down, stretching

Wednesday HI - speed

  • warm-up, active stretching
  • 50, 60, 40; accelerations
  • 3x start +10m
  • 1x flying 30m
  • 1x60m blocks
  • 1x80m standing start
  • power cleans:
    1 set x 8 reps
    2 sets x 6 reps
    1 set x 8 reps
  • 1/2 squat:
    4 sets x 6 reps
  • Jumps from one leg to another 4sets x 20m ( I dont’ know how it is called in english)

Thursday: LI - tempo

  • warm-up, stretching
  • 5x600m/60 -75%
  • core
    ARE CLAP PUSH-UPS OK TO DO WITH CORE?!
  • cool down, stretching

FRIDAY - OFF

Saturday: HI - SPEED ENDURANCE

  • warm-up, active stretching
  • 100m and 200m TEST
  • 3x max standing jump
  • 3x 30m Jumps from one leg to another
  • 2x 3 depth jumps
  • Bench presses
    4sets x 6reps
  • cool down, stretching

SUNDAY- OFF

  1. week(1.3-6.3)
    Monday: HI -speed
  • warm-up, active stretching
  • 50,60,40m accelerations
  • 3x 30m from blocks
  • 3x 50m standing start
  • 1/2 squat:
    4 sets x 6 reps
  • deadlift:
    1 set x 8 reps
    2 sets x 6 reps
    1 set x 8 reps
  • 3x 40m jumps from one leg to another
  • cool down, stretching

Tuesday: LI - tempo

  • warm-up, stretching
  • 7x300m/65%, 100m walk between runs
  • core exercises
  • cool down, stretching

Wednesday: HI - SE

  • warm-up, active stretching
  • 3x 200m/95-100%, rest 10-15 min
  • hurdle jumps 2x reps x 5 sets x 6 hurdles
  • 4 x 2 depth jump
  • snatch: 4sets x 6 reps
  • cool down, stretching

Thursday: LI -tempo

  • warm-up, stretching
  • 10 min of relaxed jogging
  • 3 x 400m, with 100m walk between
  • 10 min of relaxed jogging

    Friday: LI- tempo
  • warm-up, stretching
  • 6x2x200m/75%, 200m walk between runs, 4 minutes between sets
  • good morning: 3 sets x 6 reps
  • core
  • cool down, stretching

    Saturday: HI - speed
  • warm-up, active stretching
  • 3x 60m accelerations
  • 3 x start +10m
  • 2x 60m
  • 1x 70m
  • 1x 80m
  • 1/2 squat: 4 sets x 6 reps
  • snatch: 2 sets x 6 reps
  • clean&jerk: 2 sets x 6 reps
  • cool down, stretching

SUNDAY- OFF
3. week(8.3-13.3)
Monday: HI - speed

  • warm-up, active stretching
  • 50, 2x40m accelerations
  • 4x start+10m
  • 2x flying 30m
  • 2x 60m
  • 2-3x 40m from blocks
  • clean&jerk:
    1 set x 8 reps
    3 sets x 6 reps
  • 1/2 squat:
    4 sets x 6 reps
  • bench press:
    3 sets x 6 reps
  • cool down, stretching

Tuesday: LI- tempo

  • warm-up, stretching
  • 8x300m/65%, 100m walk between runs
  • core exercises
  • cool down, stretching

Wednesday: HI - SE

  • warm-up, active stretching
  • 2x 60m accelerations
  • 150, 200, 200, 150m /95-100%
  • 3x 30m runs with emphasized stride (don’t know how it’s called in english)
  • 4x 8 vertical jumps
  • 2 reps x 4 sets x 6 hurdles
  • cool down, stretching

Thursday: LI - cardio :

  • warm-up, stretching
  • 8 x 2 min cardio run, 1 min of jogging between runs
  • cool down, stretching

Friday: HI - Speed

  • warm-up, active stretching
  • 3x50m accelerations
  • 3x 40m speed exercises (skips over 30m + 10m sprint)
  • 2x flying 60m
  • 2x 40m runs with emphasized stride (don’t know how it’s called in english) - count as speed work
  • 1/2 squat
    4 sets x 6 reps
  • snatch
    1 set x 8 reps
    2 sets x 6 reps
    1 set x 8 reps
  • heel raises:
    4 sets x 6 reps
  • cool down, stretching

Saturday: LI- cardio

  • 30 min cardio run
  • stretching

SUNDAY -OFF - END OF GPP

I am in good overall shape, my body stats are: height: around 5 feet and 10 inches,
weight: around 80kg (body fat percentage 5-6%). I train my back, biceps, triceps, chest and shoulders in split programm 3 times a week separately from track training. Some people, including my ex coach say that I have too much muscle mass and that that could be a problem for 400m runner. WHAT DO YOU THINK? SHOULD I “DROP” SOME MUSCLE MASS OR SHOULD I JUST PREVENT GAINING SOME MORE ON THE UPPER BODY?

IS THE PROGRAMM OK? IS THERE MAYBE TO MUCH VOLUME FOR THE BEGGINING?
I felt quite tired after completing 3x200m/95-100% this week and I had to rearrange my week microcycle in order to do two tempo trainings before yesterdays speed.

I calculated the volume based on the Charlie’s Vertical Intergration model. First week I did around 750m (excluding acceleratios) of speed work, in second week I did 1250m (excluding acceleratios) of speed work in the last week of GPP I am expecting around 1500m of speed work. Would that be ok?

I would really appreciate some comments, corrections. Thank you!

Program looks solid. The speed and SE volumes may be a bit too high for most beginning athletes, but you know yourself and what you can handle. You may benefit from not having as much muscle mass in your upper body. There is a great thread on 400m training called Lactate Threshold Training. I would recommend reading it, particularly the posts by KitKat.

Thanks a lot for your answer.

Maybe this is for you.
http://www.charliefrancis.com/community/showthread.php?t=12364
its the 400 AWESOME GPP from kitkat in a nutshell.

  • as a beginnen take it easy with the volume. start at about 50% and work upwards. better do too little than too much.

good luck with your season and don’t get overtrained or injured

Thanks a lot! I have just read through it and now I got the filling that I completely screwed up my GPP. Is the thread you posted only for the GPP of maybe for all year round?

I’m concerned with the jumps. They are of a highly advanced nature: depth jump, single leg stuff. Since you’re a beginner focus on double leg jumps in the ‘up’-mode, i.e. jump onto a platform, and later progress to hurdle jumps in low volume at first (4x3) and always with perfect technique (i.e. short contact time).
Very easy to get injured otherwise, which would be totally unnecessary.

And as a 400m runner you could also do less jumps and introduce >45s skippings, in essence also a type of plyometric, for strength endurance

Read thought the lactate threshold tread.
search for gpp.

a six week plan is available.
but remember cut volume at least 30~40% when starting.

Thanks a lot martijn. I reduced jumps as you suggested. I was doing all sorts of jumps when still training with my coach and I often felt very fatigued the next day, don’t mentioning all the ankle problems I had.

I read the whole thread that you posted the other day. The problem is that I just finished GPP. You are suggesting that I do it again?
My first important match which I would like to compete on is around 15th May and the most important match of the season is in the beggining of July. So if I do my GPP by kitkat1’s plan again starting next week, then I’ll finish it just 2 weeks before my first important match. Would that be ok?
Or should I just add some kitkat1’s components in my training (x*200m with 200m walk for recovery) and continue the way I was planning? Well I had a lot of 200’s in GPP already and I am still a begginer. Would it be such a problem for this season to just continue what I started with adding some of the kitkat’s vital components?

It is very difficult to be prescriptive when I don’t know your capacity, you movement abilities, your training history (as a sprinter, not a judoku).

It sounds like speed is your primary need. If that is the case, maybe you should explore Charlie’s 100/200m programs this season and leave the 400m for the following year.

No one is better at developing speed in any athlete than Charlie. His ideas are laid out in various of his DVD presentations.

I do not use extensive tempo much, nowhere near as much as Charlie advocates but he has the results to prove his method works at the highest possible level historically and to this very day.

But I have my own 400m program, which is outlined in the “lactate threshhold” thread. I have had good success with athletes of all abilities and age groups with that system. I am not saying it is superior to anyone’s else’s system, but it is the one I created to meet the needs of athletes I have worked with. Hence I use the weekly template which includes one day off followed by two days training, then another day of rest followed by another two or three days of training. I work in cycles. Charlie tends to work in waves, which is perhaps more sophisticated and works brilliantly for him.

Both of our 400m programs encourages continuous development of peak velocity and speed endurance - Charlie’s programs more so than my own.

I think you can take what you like and create your own program, so long as you don’t do too much volume or too much speed, so long as you can recovery quite well before attempting the next intensive training session.

Weights: Whatever bulk you build, you must carry around the stadium. So be careful. Also, save most of your energy for running training. Weights are a supplement to your training, not a substitute. There are many world class 400m runners who do not lift big in the gym. Best wishes to you. kk:cool:

Well thanks a lot Kitkat!