John
July 2, 2010, 3:28am
16
Interesting to read everyone response. Great feedback and discussion.
One of the reasons I was prompted to raise the questions is I am always constantly amazed by the amount of talk and reading with an emphasis on what is taking place in the weight room. Just reading some of the athletes who blog on here about there training so much is described in detail regarding the weight lifted, sets and reps and exercises and there doesn’t seem to be as much description in their programs i.e. 6 x 60m (6min). How were they run, what was the focus etc. Obvioulsy we all like the weight room as we can get a quantifiable and real time feed back on how our strength is unfolding so no matter what happens on the track their is always one lift we can do in the weight room where possibly we can PB quite regulalrly.
I always find it interesting in talking to different coaches in track (who coach running based athletes) to see the difference in the language spoken. Lots of coaches I talk to in their 50-70s barely talk about what happens in the weights room and if anything is actually takes place in the strength area there is very little sophistication. Okay its a given the field of strength training has evolved in the last 30yrs quite dramatically and a lot of todays coaches have been well educated in preparing their athletes in the weights room. We get to the younger coaches 30-50yrs and its incredible to hear and see how much time is spent sophisticating their gym programs and then the track sessions seem to not be as detailed.
Maybe I am being simplistic and its not my intention to pigeon hole a specific age group or generalise a sport but I was just wondering…are many of us nowdays running and forgotten that we lift to run?
good points, the weight room is generally easier to quantify. That doesn’t mean it is less of a focus though. Whatever goes first should be the priority and if a sprinter that should in almost every case be speed work. One of Charlie’s true genius gifts is vertical integration in that all things have a part to play at all stages and it is the emphasis that shifts therefore where and at what volumes things are placed over time is a real indicator of things.