Charlie,
Roughly how much volume of buildups have you used with your sprinters before moving into max speed work? The second phase of my warmup has been rather terse, consisting mostly of 4-5 progressively faster 30m runs.
However, for the last couple of months my speed workouts have been rather flat, and I don’t really kick into top gear until the last run or second to last. It seems like most of the workout is just a long warmup to get to that point, and then the workout is over. It’s as if I haven’t been allowing my body to progress through the gears completely before moving on to max speed work, kind of like trying to go from 3rd gear directly to 5th. I’m just worried about overall volume since I usually count the buildups as part of my speed volume.
In a previous thread on warmups, you described six 60m buildups and then doing some short starts (2-4x30m). Is there an advantage to doing the longer buildups before moving to the shorter work?
30m build-ups are two short a warm-up for max speed work. With 60’s and longer you are able to get up into your full stride and into the sprint position. The 60’s allow you to get closer to your max speed as well, which 30’s will not, which is why you are, as you say, going from 3rd to 5th.
Don’t be scared of the extra distance, a gradual build up to even 90% max v will create a fairly low level of cns stress (compared to max V runs, there’s a big difference between 90-95% and even bigger between 95-100%) whilst allowing you to in-grain the correct sprint position and mechanics for the session. The short 20-30m’s to end the warm-up can be a tool to increase the intensity (i.e. run them close to all out), as well as work on your starts, whilst minimising stress due to the short distances. You should then be ready to do a good volume of max speed work.
I think CF said to do up to 6 x 60m buildups prior to actual speed session or sprints as part of warm-up II for comp. We typically do about 4 with up to 6 on especially cold days. I agree that 30m is too short for buildups since the run is a very gradual acceleration with the last ones achieving a higher speed a little sooner since the speeds will be ultimately higher. If it was strictly an acceleration, 30m would be fine. We usually say “save the speed for the end of the run” but I still have some who want to do an all out dash on the first of 4-6 buildups. I suppose their speed session starts a little bit earlier than everyone elses on the team. We also slow their walk back recoveries down a bit towards the last few runs.
Pioneer,
The buildup pattern I’ve been using in Warmup II was originally for acceleration workouts. I just realized that the main change in my workouts over the last few weeks has been the introduction of longer sprints, and I didn’t adjust the buildups properly. Up until about mid March the only runs I did beyond 30m were speed change drills (in/outs).
If one were to do 6 x 60m buildups, how much rest do you get in between? Do you need to take a couple minutes for recovery, or just walk back and go again?
I guess walk back would be fine. It would also depend on how fast you’re doing them. But I’d go with doing the 30s and then a couple of 60s towards the end. That wouldn’t take much out of you
I’m not sure what CF would reccomend(sp?) specifically for acceleration-only training or if the warm-up procedures would differ any from competition warm-ups. Like others, I would like to hear CF’s take on this. Our first, of what is usually 4 buildups, are merely moderately fast runs and turn in to NEAR sprints on the last of the build-ups maybe 90-92% of max speed-with each build-up progressively faster.
I just finished a sprint workout with an extended warmup II consisting of 5x60m and 2x30m buildups and had a great workout, my best in weeks. My total volume including the buildups was 800m, but I don’t feel especially fatigued compared to previous workouts. I’ll have to see how my body responds over the next few days.
That brings up another question(as Flash brought up earlier). Do most here include their buildups as part of the total speed volume in a session? Weighlifters will generally not count any volume under 75-80% towards their volume total but then again that’s weightlifting-unsure if that applies here as well.
We generally do only four but might add one to two reps if it’s cold or the athlete, for whatever reason, is having difficulty warming up(though most won’t volunteer this information if it means more work). We are getting walk back recoveries though I often tell the athletes to take a LITTLE more time on the walks back as they progress through the build-up series.
I was at a sprint clinic once and the speaker said he counts buildups (ins and outs, etc.) as part of the total volume. He said that ANY running should be counted toward the total volume.
No I am not describing buildups as ins and outs. They are two different things. But they guy at the clinic I was at said whether it’s buildups, whether it’s ins and outs, or anything else, they should be counted toward total running volume.
Veney is very good-met him twice. I’d like to get CF’s opinion on this-just as you called for earlier in this thread. Specifically if build-ups are counted not as a part of the total running volume but as part of the total speed/sprinting volume.