Did you do any tempo or weights in this time? I’ve always kept some tempo in there and thought you would probably loose some fitness if all you did was pure high intensity for 15 days straight.
Thanks, one of the athletes that I coach is producing a succession of times that he has never reached before.
In his special endurance sessions he has achieved the following:
66 secs 500m,
49 secs 400m
35 secs 300m with 15 minutes recovery between runs.
What would be the next logical step to progress him? I am thinking of cutting the runs to 400m, 300m and 200m ( 20 mins) or 450, 350, 250 (25 mins) then tapering down to 400, 300, 200 (30 mins) then 350, 250, 150 (30 mins) then 300, 200, 200 (30 mins) then 200, 200 (35 mins). Can you please critique my thinking?
After reviewing the DVD today, I can only second the comments made by KitKat and others on this product. Derek - a great concept and an exceptional production.
A few questions for now:
(1) How different, if any, would the track work be given the event was a 200? Curves vs. straights perhaps.
(2) How different would 3-point starts be versus the standing starts exhibited in the DVD?
(3) How much time was required for the athlete to return to training from the big meet?
Another CF product that will enhance my ability to understand and hopefully foster new challenges.
Thank you TMSSF. I felt that a real-life, real-time product would be most useful to coaches, particularly given Charlie’s ability to adapt to changing circumstances.
A follow-up DVD on this particular athlete may be warranted, given some of the changes we’ve integrated into our program.
I will post a video preview (trailer) for others to see so that they get a better understanding of the content of the Taper DVD.
Thanks again!
No. 2, is the athlete featured the Michigan grad. you’ve posted on previously?
Hahaha… I’m not going to answer that straight up as I don’t want to get him in trouble with the alumni association.
All I will say is that you have to buy the DVD to figure it out.
Also, I haven’t ruled out offering my services as a consultant to the U of M sprint program.
Yes, as possible, given travel etc.
I got the DVD yesterday. I thought it was excellent as it showed the return to glory of a guy whos PB was in high school 5 years ago and later (during the video) finally betters his PB under legal winds. A unique and valuable video as usual.
Yes, in that sense it gives hope and inspiration to everyone who ever got stuck in a rut somewhere along the career pathway. It shows that intelligent management can remove hurdles to performance progress.
Derek, I’m sure there will be plenty of interest - from those who have seen this video - in following the progress (hopefully) of the athlete featured in this documentary. You’ll have to keep us posted. Are you still working with him? What’s next for him?
Yes, I’ll make sure to keep you posted of our progress. We’re being very careful about which competitions we will be participating in, so as not to be confronted by any negative feedback (i.e. poor times due to poor weather).
There is a series of meets happening in May in San Luis Patosi, Mexico at over 6,000 feet altitude that we are exploring. It would be a good opportunity to get some good performances in and build confidence.
I tell you, those movie reviews can be such a downer. Just tell him to keep the sunglasses on when in public at all times and never read the film guides. 
Not sure about SLP as a comp site as it is very exposed to the wind. I suggested that they put up some sail-type wind blocks around the one open side but I don’t know if it was done.
It’s an incredible new training site- one mile of manicured woodchip and clay jogging paths with every possible hill angle. Indoor and outdoor Olympic pools. Huge weight and gymnastics facilities. 24 tennis courts and several soccer fields. Mean average annual temp of 80f and 5 days of rain per year! Brand new mondo track 10 feet from the hotel! Unbelievable!
When I went there, they must have seen my shock and explained: “Hey! This is Mexico! Not the athletic third world like Canada!”
Ok, finally got around to watching my DVD. I’ve written a review of it which can be found here:
http://www.charliefrancis.com/community/showthread.php?t=15623
I’ve done my normal blow by blow account… boring perhaps but it lets you know what you are buying!
That would be very interesting.
As stated earlier the improvement throughout the taper is dramatic.
Some of that has to do with the horrid conditions at the beginning of the outdoor season. Almost all of our meets were into headwinds, some with a torrential downpour.
The meet 10-days out yielded a 10.46 with the blocks slipping - so we were in the ballpark to run 10.3’s.
That place looks fantastic!
When did you the next seminar was?
I’ve had about 15 people buy the taper DVD and have had some great feedback from many of them. If any of you would like to start more discussion on tapering, now would be a good time (especially based on what you’ve seen in the DVD). I would be interested to hear what people have to say as we get into the meat of the track season.
I just ordered mine =) Can’t wait to see it.
How much of a difference would you think substituting complex lifts for the strength work that you had your athlete do? Say hang clean-push press-squat, for example.
Guys this is THE video to watch I’m surprised more people havn’t got it.
My question really is how much time each day did Charlie spend doing the massage?