Last season I had a junior who placed 7th at the state meet for our classification. His times at the meet were 11.43 and 11.52 FAT. 2 weeks earlier he ran a 10.98 hand time. In the finals he was clearly leading through about forty meters, then faded terribly. What specific workouts would you suggest to help him in the last half of the race? Compared to the 100, his 200 is very weak. This means we need speed endurance work, correct? He is 6-2, 195. Very lean and pretty powerful powerful He squats 350-400 and benches about 270. I think he has very good sprinting technique. He is a football player, and we spend a lot of time training for the shorter distances / accelerations.
Also, does anyone put the starting blocks very close together, almost even? We have had good success with this.
Assuming his top speed is in place (abilty to accel. up to top speed and maintain that speed for approx 3 seconds) he most likely needs Special Endurance which are runs of 150-300 meters at race pace with full recovery between reps. The volume should be keep under 900 meters.
Speed endurance as you suggested will also be of benefit to him. The 2 types of Speed End. I like to use are “Regular Speed Endurance” and “Neuromuscular/ATP Speed Endurance”. When I say “Regular Speed Endurance” I am refering to the 80-120 meter distance with full recovery between reps. And when I say “Neuromuscular/ATP Speed Endurance” I am refering to sessions such as 3x3x80 with 90 secs between reps and 3 mins between sets. Each type of speed end will have have a different yet overlaping affect on the bodys energy systems. Also it will depend on the athlete which type of speed endurance they will benefit from the most.
Of course what I have listed is just some insight/guidelines. Having the knowledge to efficently periodize an athletes training plan is the most important aspect in the long run.
THe blocks together generally is not good, but let start on other things.
He could be dying because of poor speed end., caused by poor form, .In the 100 it could also be poor max v.
Even though his squats are good, is this past parallel?
The hand vs FAT; what about the wind??
Do you guys do flying 30’s?
I’ll let other ring in.
aloha
Ben J. had his blocks close together… it was like a rocket taking off. he was so strong. horizontal propulsion.
Your guy is more built like Carl Lewis (compared to BJ). CL used a “medium” setting; blocks 16 - 21 " apart. where the back knee comes down across from lead foot in “marks” command. This way one gets more push off from the front leg, since it stays/pushes on the block longer.
Tests have shown that although one is in the block a little longer with the medium setting, it is more successfull, and IMO espec. for the taller, longer legged sprinter.
My runner (Joe - 6’1", 155lb.) had trouble last year initialy, with the bunch setting; swagger in the lane, jumbled short steps. Switching to the medium cleaned up his start and improved the 100m time.
biomechanics of the sprint start :
http://www.coachesinfo.com/category/athletics/219/
Thanks for the replys.
Quik - I assume with the regular speed endurance workout, you are doing the runs at 100%? What about the ATP Speed Endurance? (Not that many HS kids really know what 100% is in practice anyway.)
Kelsey - His squat is right at parallel. That’s what we teach. We are doing flying 30s for the first time this year. I think his max v is good. He has great breakaway speed in football - outruns angles,etc. Like I said, his form is pretty good until he gets “fatiqued” (usually after 40-60), then it breaks down at times… almost seems like he is too tense. Most of the time he is very smooth and graceful. I guess we need to adress why his form breaks down? The 10.98 was on a perfect day… not really any wind. Our kids have always run their best times on that track for some reason. Another kid on the team ran 10.69 that day, his previous best was about 10.8 - don’t recall for sure. Anyway, the wind was -2.7 when he ran the 11.43.
As for the starting with the feet together. I guess he actually goes with about the middle of the foot (3-5 inches). This is my fault. I heard a fb coach at a college clinic teach starts from a sprinter’s stance that way, and thought we could apply it to track. As I said, it has worked well, but we’ve also had quick kids I guess. I tell them the traditonal way, and this way, then let them decide for themselves. Should I make him try the other way?
Thanks again for your time.
oops… I meant ; with the medium setting the “front” foot stays on the block longer than it would with the bunch start setting, giving more push time.
[QUOTE=Coachf]Thanks for the replys.
Quik - I assume with the regular speed endurance workout, you are doing the runs at 100%? What about the ATP Speed Endurance? (Not that many HS kids really know what 100% is in practice anyway.)
QUOTE]
SPecial endurance should be done at 95-100% and short speed/speed end should be even closer to 100%. Even when it should be at 100% I sometimes tell my athletes to run at 95% because it tends to keep them relaxed and focus rather than trying to accelerate the whole entire rep which will cause them to tighten up.
Have them put on spikes and tell them these are all out but stay relaxed, and take it from there. Based on the times they are capeable of running at that point in the season dictates what speed they should be running at % wise.
if the 10.98 hand time is legit… perhaps he just tightened up a bit with the wrong kind of effort at the state meet. To a certain extent you can get away with powering through a 60m indoors, but the 100m and 200m can get to be awfully long if you are trying to muscle your way through the whole thing.
The start with feet close together is not necessarily a problem if it is natural for him. If he is comfortable starting this way and is not making any gross technical errors because of it, let it be.
As for how fast, keep Bud Winters in mind. 9/10s speed for 100% results.