I know nothing about his actual run workouts, nor is it my place to. He just recently hired me to help with the strength training aspect of his training. I really have no idea what areas I need to focus on in the weight room, as I have never dealt with a 400mg runner before, or any track athlete for that matter.
also of note, he is 47, and competes in some masters division/series, im not sure exactly. He has some very mild weight training experience, but never any sort of Oly lifts.
The general recommendation here is something like 3-5 sets of 3-5 reps of 3-5 exercises 2-3 days per week on a 3 weeks high/1 week low intensity format.
Something like
clean - 3-5 x 3 (85,87.5, 90, 85% wk 1, 2, 3, 4)
squat " "
bench" "
- latpulldown/seated-row/bent over row
+/- shoulder press
- high rep abs
For someone with “mild weight training experience” I would concentrate the efforts towards higher reps initially 3-4 sets of 8-12 reps though if interested in doing olympic lifts do only clean pulls/mid thigh pulls for high reps, not power cleans/power snatches. Approx. 4 wks or so of this type of rep range before moving onto lower reps/higher intensities that will do more to develop strength/power.
Firstly i would suggest you need to discuss the training your athlete is already doing to get an idea of how much weight training to prescribe.
Regarding rep range i would agree with pioneer. And, regarding Oly’ lifts, they are probably overrated; the time to learn the technicalities of the lifts probably out way that advantages over other lifts (if there are any) such as jump squats etc…