Hey guys,
I noticed on the tape a diagram that showed that younger developing sprinters should do more lactic work then alactic work.
How does this practically fit with the theory of training short to long?
In the GPP where we are emphasising anatomical development, and only performing one session per week of speed which is acceleration work, when do we start doing the 65:35 ratio in practice?
Also in the prep phase where we are performing three sessions per week of speed with one accel, one max speed and one speed endurance…how do we do that?
Do we:
a) go for a much greater volume on the speed endurance day, say 500-600 metres at 95%, with the other days being around 300m (giving a 50:50)
b) add some longer reps to the short sessions say a 120 to finish off a session?
c) do more speed endurance sessions, and mix the accel and max speed session together…say a maintenance of accel with 4x30 then flying 20s or something like that…
Some practical examples would be great as I think our group is not developing enough with the longer work.
Speed endurance work can be done over shorter rep distances if required. ie 4x(4x60) with short breaks between the reps with 7 to 10 min or longer between the sets. The 65 to 35 ratio refers to the training volume of tempo and speed- not the ratio between lactic and alactic speed work.
Mapping out details of all the options would mean finishing the new manual (working on it!)
Instead: Ask specific training questions for individuals by age, training age, body type and best times.
Ah ok tempo and speed work…
Charlie, what sort of year to year progression would you see from a 14yr old with about a year or so of training in terms of the volume of speed and tempo? His pbs this year are 11.91 and 23.81 (as of yesterday).
He is an ectomorph that is yet to hit his adult growth spurt and has started to develop muscularity but still light at 50kgs or so.
This year we have generally had him at around 3.5kms to 4.5kms for tempo and about 1km for speed…so we should be adding some more speed volume to his sessions next season?
Also, there is a certain 28 yr old sprinter (hehe) that weighs a huge 74kgs, ecto/meso pbs of 10.82 and 21.72 with a number of broken years training behind him that is currently doing 1200-1300 for speed and 5-6k for tempos.
Are our tempos way out of wack for our speed volume and development and can you suggest more appropriate volumes.
The 28yo should be able to increase the speed work volume by 200 to 700m, depending on the training distances (ie 2 x 300 is easier than 10 x 60).
The speed vol for the 14yo depends on the growth spurts which may occur during the year.
So for the 28yr old,
you suggest we increase to approximately 700m of speed work for speed endurance sessions, and increase the volume of the current acceleration and max speed volumes from approx 300 up to 600m or so depending on how the session is handled.
Am I reading this right, you mean increasing the volume from 1300m for the week to around 2000m right?
If he is currently doing 1300m in the last week of a 3-1-3 strength week and then moving into a 3 week maintenance phase to compete, how do you suggest we start to add more volume into the speed sessions?
Should I increase it over a two week period as we get out of the strength phase or increase it immediately…or increase the speed endurance sessions only and leave the other ones?
For the 14yr old, you add speed volume as he grows? So say every few months when he has a growth spurt add say 50m to each speed session or so (over a 3 week period say so he can adapt to that volume).
thanks heaps Charlie.
Any increase in volume should be very gradual- over a number of weeks. As for the young one, during the growth spurt itself, work capacity is actually reduced, so you must adjust DOWNWARDS accordingly. Growth spurts generally last 4 to 6 weeks at a time, but can vary widely.
No probs with that Charlie.
Do you recommend increasing the volume despite going into a competition phase in a couple of weeks, or should I adjust up, then slowly come back as I attempt to intensify for competitions.
thanks
Create a pyramid with the time available and go up for the first half and down into the meets after that.
Much appreciated Charlie.
I upped the volume in my speed endurance last night, and did the first two runs with an Ex-Australian 100m runner (who was doing a few 100m time trials) and boy am I sore today 
In terms of the ratio if I build up to 2000m and keep the tempos at 6000 that is a 33-66 ratio, so with about a year or so of CF training (of sorts) that is about the ratio I am looking for for a 28 yr old?
For the 14yr old I guess it would be more appropriate to go 25-75 speed/tempo and build more speed work into the equation of the next three or four years correct?