GPP please critique

Expert Discussion Advanced Sprint Training
1

Hi i’m new here, i’m a 15 year old male and i have become interested in pursuing sprinting as my sport of choice and have done some research over the past couple of days and have decided to put together a solid year-round program through the use of the CFTS method (w/ the limited knowledge that i know of it). I will be running track for my school next year and since it will be my last year in highschool hope to do my best.

So here goes:

Preseason: Nov-March
GPP - 12 weeks

GPP Micro 12 Weeks
Day 1 (High Intensity): Sprints, Weight Training, abs
Day 2 (Low Intensity): Circuits, Extensive Tempo, abs
Day 3 (High Intensity): Sprints, Depletion Work
Day 4 (Low Intensity): Jump Rope Work, Extensive Tempo,
Day 5 (High Intensity): Sprints, Weight Training, abs
Day 6 (Low Intensity): Circuits, Extensive Tempo, abs
Day 7: Off (stretch)

Day 1 (High Intensity):
Sprints:
510m, rest 4 minutes b/n sets
420m, rest 4 minutes b/n sets
Weights:
Squat - 1x8, 1x8, 1x6, 1x4, 1x4
Bench - 1x8, 1x8, 1x6, 1x4, 1x4
GHR - 3x8
Chinup - 3x8

1x25 crunches, 1x25 leg raises, 1x25 twisting crunches, 1x25 v crunches - rest 1-2 minutes between each set (4 total)

Day 2 (Low Intensity):
Circuit: Done continuously 3 times through
30 jumping jacks, 10 burpees, 30 line hops

Tempo (slowly make harder after each workout):
Set #1- 110+110+110
Set #2- 110+110x2+110
Set #3- 110x2+110+110x2

The “+” sign means slowly walk 50 yards, or walk across a football field. In between each set walk 110 yards, or the length of a football field. 110 is the entire length of a football field. 110 x 2 means you run one direction, then turn around and come back the other direction.

1x25 crunches, 1x25 leg raises, 1x25 twisting crunches, 1x25 v crunches - rest 1-2 minutes between each set (4 total)

Day 3 (High Intensity):
Sprints:
3 10 yard accels standing, lying, back (2 min recovery)
2 flying 20’s (2.5 mins recovery)
1 20 yards lying face down starts (3 mins recovery)
1 20 yard run prone
1 flying 30’s (3 mins recovery)
1 30 yards on your back starts (3 mins recovery)
1 30 yard on stomach start (3 minutes recovery

Depletion Work:
7 sets of 10 pushups (last set to depletion), 3 sets depletion assisted pullups w/ 90s break

Day 4 (Low Intensity):
Jump Rope
6x3 Minutes, 1 minute rest after each set
Tempo (slowly make harder after each workout) : 4x100m / 4x200m alternating at 75%

Day 5 (High Intensity):
Sprints:
510m, rest 4 minutes b/n sets
420m, rest 4 minutes b/n sets
Weights:
Deadlift - 1x8, 1x8, 1x6, 1x4, 1x4
Bench - 1x8, 1x8, 1x6, 1x4, 1x4
Stepup - 3x8
Chinup - 3x8

1x25 crunches, 1x25 leg raises, 1x25 twisting crunches, 1x25 v crunches - rest 1-2 minutes between each set (4 total)

Day 6 (Low Intensity):
Circuit: 4x30 seconds nonstop
Jumping Jacks
Line Hops
Pushups

Tempo (slowly make harder after each workout): 4x200 at 75%

1x25 crunches, 1x25 leg raises, 1x25 twisting crunches, 1x25 v crunches - rest 1-2 minutes between each set (4 total)

Day 7 (Off):
Full Body PNF Stretching

**After six weeks, go to longer runs (tempo) and lower weight reps if felt needed.

SPP - 8 weeks

Inseason: April-June
What goes here? Some tempo work and light weight training?

Offseason: July-Oct

Also do i just do another GPP phase here, or what?

Also links with information would be really helpful and appreciated. All comments are well taken good or bad. Thank you.

2

Your GPP phase is too long. You can do searches on the forum and in people’s journals to get a better idea.

BTW, In case you haven’t done this, buy the GPP essentials DVD as well as both Vancouver seminar DVD’s. The money spent on the products is well worth it! Your SPP should be longer. I like the split you have with High Intensity and Low intensity days. I would like to help you more but I would be plageriasing. If you can only pick one, pick the GPP essentials DVD as a starting point!

Also, make sure the jump rope on the low intensity day is low intensity and not high intensity. Also Make sure that you are doing wts on all 3 days that you sprint. I would even include a fourth day on Saturday before tempo (this is where I disagree with some forum members). I believe you need multilateral work in order to create a solid foundation for wt work later on. List the exercises/sets/reps on your wt work and we’ll go from there.

3

what if you tell me through pm i won’t tell anyone :wink:

And for the GPP since i’m a beginner i feel i need more to help me get in the best shape. And it’s usually split in two 6 week cycles, but i put it as one whole 12 week so during my training at teh 6 week interval i would see my training results and change the next 6 weeks accordingly.

I don’t think i could buy those as much as i owuld love to that’s the thing.

4

Have another look at my original post, there has been some changes.

5

ok so “wt” meaning weights? I was also thinking of doing lowerbody on Mon/Fri and upperbody on Wed.

I don’t think i really need the depletion work, but any thoughts, do you think i should just add in a workout session?

and for SPP, is that where i focus on one aspect of sprinting, like say the start and try to perfect it?

and for inseason what do i do there and in offseason, those are my main questions, but if you have any questions regarding what i have, please ask.

And by jump rope being low intensity you just mean that i should do it at a slow and steady pace?

6

I think really it looks fine as you originally wrote it, although I have to ask a few questions first.

  1. how long have you been training track?
  2. Do you plan on playing any other sports? and how long have you played them
  3. Are you fast? Are you Strong? Are you fat slow or weak? (relative to your training age, not relative to elite!)

These are very important questions. I will use myself as an example.

  1. 4 years-ish this is only my second as a true sprinter (100m-200m). I originally did 400-800m, then found out I could Pole Vault, and and once I graduated High School, did not have an oppurtunity to PV, so moved to true sprints. I’ve gone from an 11.1 to a 10.9, and a 24.9 to a 24.1
  2. Yes, in fact, I don’t really compete at track. Its just recreation. I don’t really compete at anything, but I do enjoy flag football, soccer, basketball, and racquetball as well, and always like to be competitive.
  3. I am naturally fast and explosive. I am naturally skinny and weak. I am not naturally jacked. My improvements have come largely from technique. My 40 time has gone from a HT 4.5 to a HT 4.4. I can determine this b/c my strength, although slightly improved, is not greatly different, and my VJ remains unchanged at 27." My conditioning is fine. My biggest improvements will come from consistent strength training, moving toward a program based on Max V, and a better diet.

I will guess that you:
-Haven’t specifically trained track before (this is fine)
-Want to play one other sport
-Are relatively fast, but also relatively weak, and could use better conditioning.
My suggestions would be

  1. DO NOT SPECIALIZE in the sprints, or even track! you are only 15. you must become an athlete before you can express it. Try something else - anything. The mental break from the grind of track training will be a good thing too, as will the continual development you will experience. Thing of it as putting arrows in the quiver of your athletic prowess.

  2. Build strength slowly… ask yourself, Can I do 10 Pull-ups, 50 Push-ups, 100 sit-ups and 15 Dips, perfectly? If not, you are not ready to touch a weight. To avoid plagarizing, check out elitefts.com, look in their archives, and find “GPP for High School Freshman.” Excellent article. I have personally used it to my own benefit, this past spring in fact.

  3. Do not condition for conditioning’s sake. This used to be my downfall. Your time is better spent resting (which is a TRAINING mode), eating, getting stronger, or getting FASTER, which is the reason d’etre. I have found that extended warm-up sequences, even at the cost of actual tempo, sufficiently satisfy my conditioning needs. Just something to think about. Do not limit conditioning to rote tempo either. Give your legs a break and hop in the pool occasionally.

Ok, that’s about all I got. Hope this helps.

7
  1. I have never done track except for cross country in the 7th and 8th grade :rolleyes:
  2. I play many sports recreationally but plan on training only for sprinting. I play basketball, soccer, football but just with friends.
  3. I am considerably weak in the upper body but i think i have strong legs. I don’t think i am explosive b/c my natural vert is only in and around 21".

I will guess that you:
-Haven’t specifically trained track before (this is fine)
TRUE
-Want to play one other sport
As a recreation TRUE
-Are relatively fast, but also relatively weak, and could use better conditioning.
TRUE

  1. But i would like to as next year is my last year in HS and would like to do something in the way of sports, i haven’t competed in anything and find that i’m doing myself an injustice if i leave HS w/out competing in anything.

  2. I can’t do 10 pullups, can do around 35 pushups, can’t do 10 dips, and can do tons of sit ups. Thank you for the reference i will definetly look it up.

  3. I don’t quite understand are you saying just going out for a jog is good enough? I mean in my workouts if i find i’m too tired or something is too rigorous i will not do it, i’m not planning on killing myself.

Thanks for your informative post.

**lol oddly enough, i have already visited that article you mentioned but i didn’t read through it, i’m doing it right now. Just thought it was worth mentioning, lol.

**so say for the first four weeks of my GPP i should plan it something like this:
Day 1 (High Intensity): Calisthenics, med ball work
Day 2 (Low Intensity): Ext. Tempo
Day 3 (High Intensity): Calisthenics, med ball work
Day 4 (Low Intensity): Ext. Tempo
Day 5 (High Intensity): Calisthenics, med ball work
Day 6 (Low Intensity): Ext. Tempo
Day 7: Off (stretch)

does that seem reasonable? And if i don’t pass the test 4 weeks later i will stick to this maybe? But should i incorporate sprints into it, somewhere?

8

You’re 15 and this is your senior year? wow…
RE: Conditioning - Not really - what I’m saying is that don’t try to become Ironman fit. Monitor Tempo volumes against sprint performance closely. sprint performance improves, feel free to add some volume. The day sprint performance suffers, cut back on volume. Make sure everything you do has a purpose and is done purposefully. By extended warm-up sequences I mean taking a HOT shower before I even head out to train, a nice slow 800m jog so I can get my head right, full joint mobility battery, full dynamic battery, full calisthenic preparation, some prehab work and abs, finally some build up strides — this should take 30-45 minutes, decreasing in time as condition improves. You might want to do a search for Seagrave’s warm-ups or check out carl’s article at T-mag.

RE: Competition - That’s exactly what I’m saying! try to make the soccer and basketball teams. Compete in as many things as you can. Sure, you’ll focus on track, but the experience of the other sports will help you out.

RE: Template.
um… more like…
1: Hills, Med ball (High)
2: Ext. Temp, Cals
3: Accels, Med ball (high)
4: Ext. Temp, Cals
5: Intro to Max V (in-outs, cone drills, flying, etc type runs), Med ball
6: Cals (opt- feel good do it, if not, can it)
7: OFF

And yes, stick to the cals until you can get it. It will come very quickly.

9

ok will look for that article on Tmag. For the Hills i don’t have any close to me, what’s another thing i can do as a replacement? And for the medball work, i won’t be able to have a partner, is it necessary for a partner? and where can i get def. of those Max V workouts?

I see, looks nice. So it would be like this:

Day 1 (high intensity)
Day 2 (low intensity)
Day 3 (high intensity)
Day 4 (low intensity)
Day 5 (high intensity)
Day 6 (low intensity)
Day 7 (off)

like that along w/ what you posted?

And next year i will compete in as many sports as i can. And for a warm up, could i possibly play some basketball or something instead of joggin 800m? And for just conditioning, a good pick up game or two of basketball is a good conditioner right?

Thanks for all your help.

10

why are these guys both banned?

Just wondering, please don’t ban me if i can’t ask this.

11

I guess you have to be a moderator to know?

12

Hello, this is the former poster: blaze! I wasn’t banned but rather advised to remake a new account b/c someone alreayd is using the name: “Blaze” my apologies to him.

But in regards to my thread and the questions posted, and the replies, anyone else w/ any other ideas/views/or suggestions?

Thanks.