Mach Drills for HS athletes

Expert Discussion Advanced Sprint Training
1

I was taught that the Mach Drills helps the athletes with their for sprinting. I was reading here on this site that it only helps in their sprint endurance. What do we give them to help with their for, and what type of drills do we give them…

2

Here are a few ideas (none of which are mine, most of which are Charlie’s), that will help with sprinting form for developing athletes.

  1. Have them with their stomach and nose on the track with their hands by their side. On cammand have them run as fast as they can to 10m or 20m. This will help them with proper angles (as their strength allows) and form in their start without slowing them down with worrying about technique.

  2. Hill running. Running up hill also helps with the strength aspect fo starts and puts them on the proper angle when they are not strong enough to be there on their own.

  3. At the beginning of the yearly cycle, if the athlete is going to run 50m, then put a cone at 20m and have them accelerate up to the cone, and then hold their form for the rest of the 50m. As they are able to hold proper form for longer, then move the cone further and further from the start so that when they near competitions, they can accelerate up to the normal distance.

  4. 20m fast, 20m relax, 20m fast. Using that pattern, mark out whatever distance you want (usually no more than 100m with developing athletes). This helps the athlete to work on their top end speed.

3

I also notice that their breathing is also a problem, I tell them to breathe through thier nose and then their mouths. Try to give them drills like 10m in and 10m out etc. Am I on the right track? Again thanks

4

I would never worry about their breathing. That is WAYYYY too much for them to think about. As far as breathing is concerned, take a breath in on set, and then breathe out on the gun…BUT…if this is what they are thinking about, then their starts will be crap. Have them standing with their arms hanging down. then SMACK a couple of pieces of wood together to simulate the sound of the gun. Repeat this up to 12 times. They can breathe in on Set, and then BANG! They should be thinking about the arm moving forward (not back). In fact, all they should be thinking about is their arm moving forward, and not breathing, but for practice you can get them to think about the breathing till it becomes automatic. For the most part, have them concentrate on the arm. Here is a slow motion animation of the drill.

5

Interesting idea Herb, I have been experimenting with walking through the 100m at the end of every session going through the race and pointing out all the little things that need to be focused on during each section (Similar to the HSI TV spots where Mo walks through it and explains what he is doing).

After 4 weeks of this it is becoming pretty automatic. And now as I stretch my distances out to the full 100m I find myself staying lower for longer and maintaining form better in the last 50m. Not sure if this is placebo or not but it doesn’t seem to hurt!

6

Thanks again. This is what I did yesterday, I had them come out of their start with their head down and their arms to their sides, they thought it was funny which it did look at first but the position of their bodies were correct. Before they were just popping up instead of coming right out and they were not usiing their arms. The breathing issue, you are right , that is way to much for them now, the less complicated the better I agree with you… I will have girls and boys 14- 18, some coming out of High school Regional and State track meets ,I will have them for the summer. They are already in somewhat good condition now I will have to see how they are when they come to me for summer training. I will take your advice. Would speed development runs like 30-60m runs with block on M,W, and tempo runs with 150-300 runs on Tues & Thur work for them? I am just trying to see if I am on the right track… I have the sprinters 100-400 runners.

7

Do you mean 150-300m tempo runs, or 150-300m high intensity runs? With athletes under the age of 18, I like to keep my runs at 150m or less. I don’t focus too much on Special Endurance.

400m runners should train like 100m sprinters except for their once per week special endurance runs, which depending on the athlete could go up to 2 x 300m with 15-30 minutes rest in between.

8

Tempo runs about 70-80%. Now you have me thinking. Im thinking that these runs should be with intensity with 95% max. Yes I have some good 400m runners that can run 47.5 - 56.0 . Freshman and the Seniors running the 47 - 51.0.
Thanks again for your help. There is sooo much to know about this sport…

9

If it’s for tempo runs, the intensity could be a bit less than what you are saying (i.e., 75% as an upper limit).

If it’s for Speed Endurance, then yes, 95% should be ok.

10

Thanks for all your help, I think I have a pretty good base to start with…