Just got my copy of the GPP DVD. It was a real eye opener for me on the amount of conditioning work advocated by the CFTS. In the past i’ve not done much of this as I was concerned it would have a negative impact on my speed work, but the DVD has opened my eyes and made me realise the amount of work ive been missing out on.
I found the section on ab work and medicine ball work the most useful as this is an area I seriously lack condition due to neglect in the past. The DVD is an excellent suppliment to my previous purchses of the forum review, CFTFS manual and Speed Trap as I think actually watching the athletes perform the workouts gives more of an indication of the volume of work required.
I can now understand Charlies theory on gaining seconds available at the end of a race by increasing general conditioning and endurance, rather than the tenths available at the start.
Am I right in thinking that sled work can be substituted for hills if no hills available?
Am I right in thinking that sled work can be substituted for hills if no hills available?
from personal experience and obviously charlie’s word, i would say no. For beginers at least since hills are not just a means of resisted running but also help “build” proper mechanics
They can be a substitute bc they allow the runner to get into a deeper angle (i.e.leaning forward with the whole body) but it is not the same thing as running hills; however, if hills are not an option, sleds and isorobic exercisers can be substituted in their place. When using a sled the athlete can stay in this forward position (like he just came out of the blocks)longer than he otherwise would be able. The sled prevents you from falling over as some beginners might if they don’t have the adequete strength to get out of the blocks.
A better alternative if no hills are available there are still stairs as an alternative and there must be some stairs where you live!
I think you can use a sled to replace hills if absolutely necessary (weather etc) I prefer the hills as they can be on grass and are easy to regulate. The sled must be timed to judge the load and watched carefull to ensure the maintenance of good form (no bending the torso forward above the sled’s line.
I just got the DVD in the mail yesterday and gave it a good watch. I’ll watch it again tonight after the OC.
I just wanted to comment on a couple of things.
When the title “Warm ups” came up and it showed the girl doing static stretching I almost freaked out. I didn’t really hear them mentioned though. Were they just put in there to show them or do you really advocate static stretching before any sort of body warmup? I’m pretty sure what the answer will be but I just want to clarify.
Also with the tempo runs that are done almost stationary I’ve never done them before. So are there a few points to watch for like how far to bring your arms up and your knees etc. I have no experience in this area at all.
Also is it just me or can anyone else hear Derek chewing gum while giving instruction?
I usually jog for 3-4 laps on the outside. Incedently Kelly Holmes held a training camp for young, british, female middle distance runners recently, during which she advocated the use of 10min low intensity running/jogging during warm up, she stated it was a good way of increasing endurance and overall fitness in runners without producing “slow” runners through excessive endurance running.
Most sprinters usually need 7-10 min of jogging to warmup properly anyways! When they do weightlifting afterwards they again need 10min of warmup if the break between the track and weightroom is more than 15 min! I never go by how many laps I do but by time bc one athlete can do three laps around a field in 5 min while another might take 9 min!
Appologies if this has been previously mentioned, but how would sled work be timed to judge the load?, am I right in thinking the weight used must not slow down the athlete by more than 10%?
I agree with what you are saying but I think its best to go by laps. Then if you forget your watch (like I do) then you are not restricted. Using laps standardises your warm up and helps you to ascertain your readiness more easily.
That’s true if you’re doing your GPP work at a track, which is often not the case. Time the laps you normally use and then transfer this time to any other location.
Is jogging absolutely necessary? How about some slow tempo runs that progressivley get faster (approach maybe 50-60% max speed) followed by stretching, drills, and progressive sprints? I’ve always felt that any kind of jogging just tightens me up. Does anyone else have this experience?
Jogging is not absolutely necessary at all and can be replaced with progressive activities such as you describe. It is, however, just as important that you quantify the activities so you can be sure that your warm-up is repeatable.