Bert Cameron coaching 400

Members Area In the News
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Bert’s presence at Racers a big plus
Sunday, 31 October 2010

President of Racers Track Club, Glen Mills, said the decision made by him to bring World Championship 400m gold medallist Bert Cameron onto his club’s coaching staff, was justified with last season’s performance of Jermaine Gonzales.

Gonzales, who has been knocking on Jamaica’s national record door all season, ran 44.40 seconds, to beat Roxbert Martin’s previous record of 44.49 secs, set back in 1997. Gonzales’ record run was done this past summer, July 22nd, at the 10th Samsung Diamond League meeting in Monaco.

“Bert has been doing a very good job with him,” said Mills of Gonzales, adding, "I don’t want to take too much credit, but if I may say so, it was a great move on my part, to bring him in, not just as Jermaine’s coach, but also as his mentor …

Mills continued, "It’s a competitive world and when you haven’t had the continued success that is expected coming out of high school, that period of doldrums brings uncertainty in one’s mind. Then for you to have someone who has been to the top and who has gone through it, relate to you and your situation, makes a big difference. It has worked tremendously for Gonzales.

Mills also said the performance of Gonzales, the 2006 Commonwealth Games bronze medalist, did not surprise him; he saw it coming in progressions.

By Anthony Foster, trackalerts.com

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For all the wonderful talent in Jamaica, and for all the coaching skill of Glen Mills and the experience of a world champion in Bertland Cameron, I think it is kind of nice to know that the program for coaching the 400m laid out in the “lactate thread” has produced a 44.38sec 400m performance which is still faster than the new Jamaican national record. Take a look sometime if you’re interested in the 400m race. There is a heap of discussion there
And by the way, the “lactate threshold” program defined as a “concurrent” approach to developing speed and endurance, produced that 44.38 on day 3 of competition at the Seoul Olympics 22-years ago.

:slight_smile:

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I did some work with Bert and Gonzales this summer…a great coach…very humble and down to earth. Has a very good technical eye.

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Do you know how they set up their training?

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KitKat
Fantastic work

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KitKat
Fantastic work you have contributed with your career and thank-you for sharing your passion with this site.
Charlie had incredible respect for your expertise and I remember that summer before Seoul meeting you for the first time.
Charlie did some cross section massage on an athlete then and while I did not appreciate what he was doing then I know very well now this is a very painful way yet effective way to get rid of adhesions and scar tissue.

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couldnt agree more keep the spirit alive KK :cool:

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I have heard of this a few times now. Was this the time the Sciatic nerve was trapped or had adhesions? Any chance of learning what was done here? It seems like a very valuable skill to learn.

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Boldwarrior
I am not certain about the nerve but would not suprise me and I know KitKat will clear that up for us.
As for learning what was done I can tell you that the reason Charlie was successful in treating the athletes at all levels was because he used a multi fauceted approach to recovery. In this case nothing special was required beyond understanding how the muscles work in the hamstring and glutes and getting in very deep for continuous periods until the adhesions let go.( It was 2 to 4 treatments over 3 or 4 days? but I am not exactly sure. I remember Charlie describing this as grunt work. He never thought of himself as a techician but someone motivated to get the job done and be prepared to do what ever it takes. It does not take too long to learn what well prepared muscles should feel like and then the next step is to put the work in consistently over time.

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Boldwarrior

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Very good.
I have been doing a Ton of Foam Rolling - not just on myself, but also my clients. I have found a Hard 2kg Mediball does wonders for the upper Femur area around the hip.
On the Fundamentals DVD - a Jade stone was shown - That is a fantastic tool for Scare Tissue removal.
I still need to learn more - i have one stubborn client - right hip keeps twisting in the socket. The muscles relax and get better - but that only last a day or two.

For the most part - i can fix most problems.
But the stubborn ones - let me know i need to learn more :slight_smile:

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Foam is fine but try the travel roller by Adam Wood.
I find the foam is much too soft and compresses very quickly
it is ok for someone really young or with very low muscle density but the argument is that the tissue will benefit regardless of the discomfort. Tissue that is routinely treated will eventually become more pliable.

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Travel Roller works very well

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I know what you mean about the normal Foam roller - I happened across a very Hard Foam roller awhile ago - its way too hard for beginners.
The small hard 2kg mediball is more challenging than the harder foam roll. More concentrated in pressure.

Then there are them spiky massage balls.

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I know what you mean about the normal Foam roller - I happened across a very Hard Foam roller awhile ago - its way too hard for beginners.
The small hard 2kg mediball is more challenging than the harder foam roll. More concentrated in pressure.

Then there are them spiky massage balls.

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No massage like a Charlie massage! I was suprised how strong he was! My legs felt like new!

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To be honest…no. But the sessions we did at that time of year (Focus on running fast at DL races) was based around Split 300’s (200/100),250m (8mins rec) and 110m runs x 6 with 4-5 min recovery. They didnt really follow a Hi Intensity/ Lo Intensity set up. Treatment (ART/massage) was before and after sessions.

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That looks a lot like what we have heard Bolt does around comp time.

What type setup do you think they do if it is not Hi Lo?

More like Tellez where it’s hard medium easy type days?

I get the impression Bud Winter philosophy is still a big influence.