Why do some people recommend periodizing 400m runs in the off season? I think this would hinder strength gains.
What do you guys think?
Please elaborate!
Who does this?
What distance are you training for?
400m = 400 meter runs
Basketball - Off season
If you play basketball why are you running 400m in training?
Basketball is played either at high speed (fast breaks) or at a fairly slow pace (half court defense/offense).
In the game you are unlikely to run anthing further than about 40m so why would you train by running 400m?
Can you give us an example of what you mean by periodising 400m in the off season - e.g. an actual workout?
Charlie Francis worked with the Chicago Bulls when they had Jordan etc. If you want to know about how he advised them to train buy the Vancouver 2002 DVD from the store. There is quite a bit in it on sprint training for team sports (specifically basketball and ice hockey).
thanx. One point though , you can run more or less than 40 meters sometimes it can be a play from 10 seconds up to 2-3 minutes…no break.
You get what i mean
Barks
Yeah, you do get plays like this but as you move up and down the court you arn’t running flat out all the time. In fact you arn’t running that fast at all so it is mainly aerobic conditioning that you need (less than 75% of your top speed). The only time you really run fast is when you make a break and want to leave the defense in the dust (acceleration).
400m runs (assuming you do them fast) will train your ability to handle lactic acid (which you don’t encounter that often while playing basketball) so they arn’t needed. All that is required is good acceleration (speed work over 40m max) and aerobic conditioning (tempo runs).
If you don’t believe me run a 400m flat out and then tell me if you ever feel like this in a game. If you really did do this in a game you would need to be subbed off because you woulnd’t have the energy left to do anything else for a good few minutes.
So what you need to look into is how to develop speed over 40m and how to develop aerobic capicity. You can find info on both of these in the forum or from the Charlie Francis Training System ebook.
So what you need to look into is how to develop speed over 40m and how to develop aerobic capicity.
While i agree on the aerobic capacity and the tempo runs, I find it is essential to spend time learning to accelerate on the first 10 meters in basketball. When I do my offseason sprinting (im doing them now) i never sprint more than 30 meters since you rarely sprint more in a game. I concentrate a lot on running starts, accelerating out of the block and change of pace sprinting since this mimics a basketball game.
I havent seen Charlies Vancouver 2002(2004?) DVD, but maybe it should be on my list of stuff to buy.
Re 40m, the reason for running slightly further than you actually need is to develop speed reserve - noted from CF’s discussions on the topic.
thanx for the info
- And i’d be damned if i ran 400 all out. :mad: