I’ve never worked with hurdlers before, only sprinters. Now I am coaching a junior in h.s. in the 110s, and 300s. My athlete has never really had any coaching in his previous 2 years of hurdles, but is a potential state qualifier in both events.
I have read all the past hurdling topics and they have helped but i am still a little lost, so any help, suggestions would be great.
I will set up his training following charlie’s concepts just like a sprinter, but am unsure of when, where, and how to put in hurdling (things like technique work over hurdles, and drills)
That really depend on the level of your hurdler. Could you tell us a little bit more about him? PBs, body height, basic speed, long jump background, flexibility level…?
A couple of things to consider.
Assuming you are now in the competitive season, I would suggest Monday for your acceleration and rhythm work on high hurdles. After warmup and hurdle drills, work full speed from blocks over 3 to 5 hurdles 5 or 6 times, using a full recovery between (at least 5 minutes). When doing this, move the hurdles closer together than normal by 1 to 3 feet per hurdle (except hurdle one. Hurdle two would be two feet closer, hurdle three four feet closer and so on). Sometimes, lower them a notch. What you are aiming for is a target rhythm that is as fast or faster than race pace between hurdles. You’ll need to time lead foot touchdowns between hurdles to determine this. Moving the hurdles closer together ensures an emphasis on quickness and more closely approaches race conditions. If you have time, you can cap off this day with some flying 20s and 30s for MaxVelocity work. Then plyos. Then weights.
Do tempo on Tuesdays and Thursdays. You could do some technical hurdle work on these days if needed but nothing at high speed.
On Wednesdays, focus on the 300s. This will be more like special endurance work. All you want here are 2 or 3 high-quality repeats over the first 3 to 5 hurdles. Full recovery. Work on stride pattern and target some touchdown times to match race goals. When done, do some drills, especially focused on the opposite lead leg.
Rest on Friday. Race on Saturday.
This is fairly general but should return good results.