Concurrent 400m training (US model)

Expert Discussion Planning and Periodization
1

After reading through the lactate tolerance thread on the sprint training forum, I have become increasingly interested in the concept of concurrent training as outlined by KitKat as it applys to the 400m race.

Hence for examination and discussion, here are some very general ideas. I will expand upon them as converstation merits.

[i]The following is a designed around the American collegiate system which I have worked in on occasion.

My initial plan would be as follows:
3 mesocycles/phases prior to the Christmas break.

Phase 1 (4 weeks, 3:1 ratio):
General Endurance (ext. tempo)
General Strength (AA methods, circuits)Flexibility (static early, moving to dynamic late)
Hills (week 3 only)
Techical Speed (high knee variations, ladder runs)
All of this would be designed to prepare for the next phase which would have a speed development orientation.

Phase 2 (3 weeks 2:1 ratio):
Speed (both max. vel. and accel)
Max. Strength
Jumps (short)
200m progression as outlined by KK (begin) once per week
Hills (at the end of each week)
Continue ext. tempo for recovery and maintenance of gen. end.

Phase 3 (3 weeks 2:1 ratio):
Specific Endurance (sub. maximal)
Jumps (long)
Hills
Weights to be similar to Phase 1
Pool + Stationary bike for recov. and to maintain gen end.
Acceleration work one day week to maintain contact with speed.

Testing would take place between phase 2+3 and again after phase 3 going into the break. The emphasis in testing would be designed to check the athletes state related to the work that has just been done. The perspective on this data would really only be of value of a span years in the program.[/i]

Additional notes:
-I haven’t given specific weekly plans because they would vary based on the athlete’s stage of development.

-I think that speed should be developed prior to specific endurance that is why I arranged the phases in this manner. Additionally, as I am in California w/no indoor facility, there is still some warm weather in October. By November it cools to the point that I wouldn’t want to regularly expect to be able to do max velocity work.

-NCAA regs limit the number of contact days ( I forget the #) and hours (8 per week) particularly in the off-season.

That’s it for General Prep. Feel free to fire away with opinions/questions. I need to made to think and justify what I am doing in order to both learn and teach.

Cheers,
-AC

2

Hi AC,

Good on you for trying to sort out the stuff on the “lactate threshold” (LT) thread over in the Sprint Training category.

I would contribute here if a question is posed and I feel I may have a solution. But otherwise I’m not sure I would want to (nor have time) to go over the stuff already posted on the LT thread. If any of that seems relevant to where you want this thread to go, cut-and-paste.

I think if you want to kick-start this thread you may need to give a specific week of work from each phase, just so people can get a grip on what you’re thinking about. (ie: what is the sequence of rest/temp and training days). Ten weeks before “testing” seems a bit long to me, if I’ve interpreted your comments correctly. That may be fine, especially if you monitor the athlete closely every session to make sure s/he’s not sliding down the mineshaft (of fatigue), but I found six weeks to be a good truckstop and it provided incentive for the athlete to keep putting in, especially in the latter stages of each six-week cycle, because s/he knew rest-and-test week was coming.

A whole week of rest-and-test may seem like a lost week to a coach, but it can be salvation to the athlete - a reward for putting in the effort for the previous six weeks. The testing week also rejuvenates the athlete before s/he hits the next cycle.

I was always thinking that the LT discussion was moving strongly into program design.

That’s the crux of everything. Anyone can come up with a great set or session, but where does it fit into a logical and progressive structure? The shell is like a road map with built in controls (checks and balances) so that you have a good chance of finding your pathway to improvements across all the performance indices during the season.
kk :slight_smile:

3

Nice stuff, there is one thing that I don’t get though. What’s the “jump” that you are referring to? Is it plyometrics? Also, what is mean by “specific endurance”?

If I were to start training for next track season right after the one that I am in had ended, would I still have to go through something like Phase I ?

4

OK guys, I’ll give some specifics tonight when time allows.

I need to be careful not to go on so long that this becomes a training Blog. :wink:

5

I will be very interested in this thread, so post as much as you can.

I have some posts by kitkat from the old forum saved, and I can post them tomorrow if you would like.

6

I am going to post some ideas of sample weeks, but first a caveat.

In the American collegiate system a coach works with athletes from wildly variable training backrounds, some pretty good, some awful and others who have barely trained at all. You also will have some who are 17 years of age and others who are 23 and sometimes even a bit older. My point is that what I am going outline is not universal to everyone in the group.

So here goes.

[i]Phase 1:
Mo-am:weights(aa), pm: spr. mech’s
Tu-ext.tempo+core circuit
We-am:weights(aa), pm: spr. mech’s
Th-ext.tempo+med ball circuit
Fr-am:weights(aa), pm: spr. mech’s
Sa-jump/run circuit+cont. tempo
Su-Rest (complete)

Phase 2:
Mo-am:weights(mx), pm:max.vel+jumps(short)
Tu-lact.acid tolerance(200m prog.)
We-ext. tempo+core circuit
Th-am:weights(mx), pm:accel+jumps(short)
Fr-ext.tempo+med ball circuit
Sa-max.vel+jumps(long)
Su-Rest(complete)

Phase3:
Mo-am:weights(mx), pm:accel+jumps(short)
Tu-lact.acid tolerance(200m prog.)
We-ext. tempo+core circuit
Th-am:weight mx), pm:lact.acid tolerance(tba)
Fr-ext.tempo+med ball circuit
Sa-lact.acid tolerance(hills)+cont.tempo
Su-Rest(complete)[/i]

As outlined initially, phase 1 would last 4 weeks (3:1 ratio). Phase 2 would last 2week+2days as would phase 3. There would be significant unloading at the end of each of these phase in order to allow for testing to place in the between. Sorry if I didn’t make that clear KK. There would be test week inserted after week#7 and week#11. The nature of the tests would be designed to assess the cycle that had just been completed. The data from this would give a picture of how the athlete is progressing annually.

Also for the younger athletes and those who are of a low training age, the Saturday session would be reduced and possibly eliminated. This would keep them from dropping down the mineshaft (I really like that one KK!) as they would still have their weekends. For these people the ext. tempo would sometimes be replaced by stationary bike or pool sessions.

The strength training for the group which I have just mentioned would also be developmental. In otherwords, teaching technique and staying in the AA range for their first and in some cases 2nd years. This is consistant with Bompa’s writings.

Oh and remember, this all has to be done in 8hrs a week except for the weights.

OK, I’ve gone on long enough. This is a VERY rough guide that is a work in progress, but feel free to fire away.

-AC

7

Nice, i especially like how you called it “acid tolerance” makes it sound really cool :stuck_out_tongue: . But during phase 2/3, you have it the day after weightlifting and speed work. Wouldn’t that be too hard since recovery from the speed work is not sufficient enough to perform the workout that KK had prescribed.

By the way, im assuming MX stands for max? What about aa?

8

ALL I would say about that 200s set is it can be quite brutal, esp on a 200m-type 400m runner as distinct from a 800/400 type.

It isn’t a fast set. That’s not it’s purpose. But it does severely tax the legs. Therefore it may prove beneficial, especially in the early stages of training, to site the 5-6 x 200m set the day after a rest day. That’s mostly how I used it.

But AC’s siting seems good, so long as the Max Weights the night before doesn’t leave the athlete entirely legless.
kk

9

The lifting is always difficult for me to fit in once I start working the energy systems. I don’t like lifting after an relatively high intensity endurance session on the track. Also in many college settings the only time available in the weightroom during the fall is in the morning. In a non-concurrent set-up there would be 2 speed oriented days, hence no problem. If possible, it might be best to do it after the lactacid tolerance session, which would likely be the 300-250-200-15 + 60’s workout that KK outlined some time ago.

Yes MX is an abreviation for maximum. AA is an abreviation for Anatomical Adaptation.

10

This is the type of feedback that I’m looking for. I have some changes in mind for this already now that I’ve looked at it. I’m really still unsure if it’s workable.

11

One other point that may have some bearing on this schedule. When the athlete sets foot on the track I expect that they are going to be running at race tempo or faster. This is just a philosophical thing that I have found keeps the athlete focused. Hence the ext. tempo would be done on trails, or on a grass or synthetic field. This also helps to keep the legs free of “synthetic syndrome.”

12

Whats a synthetic syndrome?

13

GEEZ AC, Oni is keeping you honest! :smiley:

14

“Synthetic Syndrome” refers to the negative effects on tendons from too much time on synthetic track. Essentially I want to avoid staleness and potential injury by getting them off the track in between high intensity days.

15

Except when the rain had reduced the track to a bog, we used to do all the hackwork on grass (all that 12x150, 6x200 and 9x300), and sometimes the athletes asked to return to grass so I would try to help them out. Because they were serious about success, they received regular massage and chiro so maybe that was the reason they didn’t ever suffer shin-splints which I’m told can come from switching surfaces - hard to soft to hard etc.
I think more than the variables in frequency of the different surfaces, it may be a big change in intensity or volume which can cause shin-splints (through tightness of muscles in the calf and shin). kk

16

I have occasional use of a very good grass field in my area. The people that I train love to get onto it; I wish that I could use it more. The hills I use are on fire roads so they are dirt which is OK. Sometimes in the winter I have been forced to us a paved hill due to weather, but this is rare.

No problem with shins or other lower extremity soreness/injury form changing surfaces. Then again like your my group is motivated. We have limited access to physical therapy, but they take their baths (ice or epson alt), use foam rollers, tennis balls, massage sticks, and are reasonably good about post session stretching on energy system days.

-AC

17

I’m going to fiddle with the sequencing of the sessions some when I get a chance.

I guess at this point the question is does this plan appear to have any merit?

-AC

18

AC, hi

Your program looks like very solid GPP, but I have a prejudice against lifting in the morning and sprinting in the afternoon of the same day.

I worry greatly that if the athlete has seriously worked out in the gym, they will not be capable of doing anything approaching max velocity on the same day.

I have no problems at all using the two sessions in the reverse order.

I have worked with one woman who was obliged often to lift in the morning and run in the afternoon, but her speed development was poor because she could not go fast without tearing in the PM. So she avoided injury by running slowly.

You could probably “get away” with doing acceleration work in the PM after lifting hard in the AM, but having done this in the mid-1980s I found that once the athlete achieved complete upright posture and began to use the hamstrings and glutes in a significant way, injury was close. The acceleration work had to be done no further than 30m before we had hamstring "“issues”.

I would always try to have a rest day preceeding a maximum velocity session. I would try to separate speed days as far from each other as possible while still providing a balance of elements I thought I wanted to get into the program.

This is why I used to rotate cycles of work, using a sttrength and endurance block of 2wks or so, followed (or indeed preceeded) by a speed and power block.

That’s in the GPP, just until the elements have bedded in and the athlete can then go into a long-speed (or special speed endurance) phase for a month as they transit toward the competition phase.

AC, I’m a bit worried about the Monday program order, not the work as such but rather just the sequence of the work.

[phase 2:
Mo-am:weights(mx), pm:max.vel+jumps(short)
Tu-lact.acid tolerance(200m prog.)
We-ext. tempo+core circuit
Th-am:weights(mx), pm:accel+jumps(short)
Fr-ext.tempo+med ball circuit
Sa-max.vel+jumps(long)
Su-Rest(complete)]

19

I think that if the lifting is kept brief and explosive it has a positive effect on speed development. Mennea did it some. There are some coaches in the US who it as well Vitcor Lopez + Phil Lundin for example and they get very good overall results. Lopez has written extensively on the subject. Interestingly I have injured people going to the weightroom after lactate tol or capacity days. I definately think that it makes the them sore and stiff the next day.

I think that PJ made a great point over on the mega-thread regarding 400m runners and accel work vs. max. velocity. I did a kid in (hamstring)this season trying to mix the two in the same week and that is a partial reason for experimenting with this concept. Notice that the speed oriented work is in the accle zone once we start into special endurance.

Lastly I agree with your final point. I think that I’m going to fiddle with the sequencing and have the H.I. days be Mon-Wed-Fri-Sat. This would be closer to what Charlie would prescribe.

-AC