i spent last season building a base to improve my 800m and was runnning around 85 to 100km a week, though i did lose a lot of my speed. this season i have dramatically changed my training and am concentrating on getting my speed and strength back. the km’s i run each week have dramamtically decreased to almost nothing. i have put on 5kg since i started the sprinting program, i know a lot of this could be muscle. i havent decreased my kj intake very much since i have decreased the distance i run.
i weigh 64kg and am 170cm tall, i want to get my wieght down to 57kg (i had my skin folds done and was told that 57 kg is a realistic goal) by the race season in a few months.
My training in aweek consists of:
monday: speed endurance, usually adding up to 1km of reps and a gym session
Tuesday: exercise tempo, which is 100m run thoughs with exercises between each, usually 2km worth of running
wednesday: max speed session and plyo (usually this is 20m, 30m, 40m, 30m, 20m and then bounds) and a gym session
thursday: exercise tempo
friday: rest
Saturday: gym
Sunday: exercise tempo
what sort of Kj intake should i be looking at having for losing weight?
Also if i am adding flaxseed (linseed) oil in to my diet should i be accounting for that in counting Kjs, because i have heard flaxseed oil has positive effects on your metabolism rate anyway?
Well if your weight is stable at present then you know what your base intake looks like (in terms of amount of food - rather than Kj).
I would start by reducing your intake slightly (perhaps the eliminating deserts for 4 out of seven days a week if you eat them or something similar) and recheck after 2 weeks.
Weigh yourself first thing in the morning before breakfast.
I would be careful about getting hung up over calories/Kj it can clound your mind from the real important issue at hand - fueling your body to cope with the demands of training.
As for counting flax oil in Kj - I wouldn’t bother, again it detracts from the main issue.
What kind of time are you looking to run? How old are you? Have you watched the Jane Project DVD - it features an 800m runner?
im 18 yrs old.
i ran 57seconds in the 400m when i was 13 but have not improved since, i think because of the long distance training. i consistantly ran 2:12 in the 800m. so this season i want to get a pb and run around 55 seconds for the 400m.
I have a 400m athlete who runs 2:10 off of 400m training and is running 55.2 in the 400m so your expectations sound plausible. Although I don’t know that much about 800m training and above I think that an 800m runner needs a good deal more speed training than they often get - at least in the uk. Ultimately speed limits thier training because while thier consistancy/endurance is good they can’t reach a high enough speed in the first place to reach the next level in performance. I hope the cut in your volume pays off for you.
At 18 you probably still have some way to go in terms of stength and to support that you need to eat well. The fish oil and flax oil supplementation is a good place to start in terms of diet - especially if you are cutting calories.
While you don’t want to be carrying too much weight you don’t need to be super lean to run 2:10/8 and 55. Maybe try dropping to 60-61Kg and see if it makes a major difference.
You may find you get better results (at this point in your training evolution) by focusing on general conditioning and strength work in the gym which will support other aspects of your training (and eating the same or more), as opposed to the focus on cutting calories which (unless you are careful) can halm performance in other areas (e.g. strength).
You have to consider where the greatest improvement in your performance will come from. While, fat loss will probably be some of it you have to weight up how this affects other parts of your training and if the cost benefit ratio is worthwhile. If you think it is, how much do you need to loose? Is 60Kg good enough for now?
last season i weighed about 59-60kg. im sort of a very muscular person and have done gym for the last 4 years. i didnt do gym last season and that did contribute to me being able to get my weight lower. since starting to do gym in the past few months i have put on a lot on muscle, but at the same time its obvious that i have put fat on as well because im not as like “cut” as i was before.
But first… if you are already well up on your gym work then the trick is to vary (periodise) your gym work in the run up to competitions. This is described via graphs in the CFTS and Forum Review 02 ebook. Once you have read this you can post questions in the forum.
If you are sure your conditioning is in place then as you move through the season your weight should naturally drop in reaction to the faster special endurance work.
If you still need a helping hand then you need to look at dropping about 0.5-1lb of fat or 0.25-0.45Kg (250-450g) a week. 450g of fat stores about 12,500Kj.
So aim to have a total energy deficit from reduced food intake (preferably the rubbish in your diet) and increased exercise of between 6500 and 12500Kj a week.
Under these guidelines 4Kg should take you about 8-16 weeks to drop (if you are doing it safely). Anything much more than this and you will probably feel the negative effects on your training.
Good luck.
TC
P.S. Other things that can help you are drinking more cold water (2Litres at least a day), eliminating fizzy drinks and break your food intake down into about 5-6 smaller meals a day and focusing on eating lower GI foods in general.