my speed workouts have been pretty spotty over the last 2 weeks or so. Been running about 2 or 3 times / week. I haven’t felt very fast in all but 1 of those days.
I work construction and its been brutal. Pouring concrete 6 hours of the 9total hours per day. My only option is to lift/run afterwards in the evening.
Also, I tried doing a squat workout one monday and was painfully sore until saturday! Didn’t get any speed work done from tuesday- monday.
Ultimatum: no more squats for the rest of the summer. Cant afford it. When I squat Im sore. And slow. And tired. Going to focus on speed at all times like I had been earlier. I plan on squatting again in the fall or winter.
If anyone reading this has some advice for general strength periodization phases… and would like to share… Im all ears. I have just beat myself into the ground with my bench press. Havent gone up in 2 years. To be honest, Im almost dumbfounded that a strength plateau can last that long.
Right now Im on week 7 of 12 in a 3 phase cycle.
Phase 1: 4x10
Phase 2: 4x6
Phase 3: 4x3
I felt a lot stronger in week 6 than i did in week 1, but in week 7 I didn’t see gains. It could just be an off week, but Im still concerned with my hypertrophy stage. I am feeling like Im losing what I had gained in the 4x12 phase. My muscle mass is reducing (not a good thing). Im set on completing the 12 weeks, but my next cycle, I plan to work like this:
Phase 1: 6 weeks hypertrophy (4x10)
Phase 2: 10 weeks max strength (5-3-1) doing the critical bench program. I might not go all 10 weeks though. See how it goes.
Anyway. Back to speed. As I am training for the 40y dash, I have set up a plan like this:
Hills 30m
Sprints 20-30m
Sprints 40-100m
Tempo 100-200m
Plyos and Jumps
Incorporates all speed components for the 40 yard dash trainee:
Speed all week long. 5 day split. Days listed in order above. No lower body weight lifting. Proper warm up and flexibility to be done afterward.
• Sled pulls and hills are an acceptable late-pre-season substitute for strength. Acceleration directed training. Strength + resisted sprinting. Low, take-off body angle. 100% effort, despite reduced speed.
• Sprints 20-30m transition from acceleration into maximal velocity. Sprints could be into a head wind. 100% effort, possible reduced speed with wind.
• Tempo: 65% effort. Very high volume. Used to condition the muscles for endurance. More effective than long distance runs.
• Maximal velocity sprints 40-100m. Speed Endurance. Volume TBD. 100% effort. Acceleration and start can vary. Work on maintaining top speed.
• Plyo jumps can be incorporated any day of the week. Said to positively affect each aspect of the race. From the explosive start and first step, to the acceleration phase, to the maximal velocity. Jumps should include: Both horizontal and vertical explosive hops and jumps on one and two legs. Sets and reps should vary daily by fatigue.
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