I know that speed workouts first thing in the morning aren’t optimal, but what about if that is the only or best time of the day to get it done for your situation? Is there anything you can do to help the body get ready for this?
From searching on the forum, I have gathered that you should be awake for at least 5 hours before speed. If morning is the only time it will work out, are there some things we can do to help off set the negatives brought on by working out too soon?
-Lengthen Warmup
-Take Stimulants/nootropics with with Breakfast (Legal ones of course) to get the CNS firing
-Contrast shower (however this may be miserable in the AM)
-Keep the speedwork submax/decrease rest/increase volume
AM contrast might require longer first hot cycle.
Charlie what is your take on morning training a few hours after waking vs in the afternoon/evening? Is it feasible and a good idea?
I prefer afternoon as you really should be awake for 5 hrs to perform optimally
What about the nike commercial with gat waking up early in the morning and jogging to the track and doing speed workouts.
Also read an article from 03 where trevor said gat was pretty good about getting up early saying if he has to be up at 6 then he would do it.
They trained early- around 9 to 9:30 start time I think but I prefer later.
In Speed Trap on page 201 it says Ben did workouts in the morning. And Charlie mentions he has no desire to push his work week from 70 hours to 90 hours, so it seems these are the track sessions.
Maybe this was more like 11am or something though.
I know it’s not the ideal situation but what if you did some weights in the morning and hit the track later in the day? Is there a way to make that work?
HSI and some other groups will lift light in the morning and then load up on carbs immediately after. I don’t think they do this all season, but they do it at some point.
i heard they lift always lift before speed workouts till a couple weeks before big meets.
How does the carb loading effect things?
I don’t know. It has been posted here and other places that is what they do. Reasons? Probably many, but I don’t know them exactly.
Ben often did a warm-up type workout near his house in the AM but the track sessions were in the afternoon.
enhance recovery.
This is a tactic used by some- session in the AM followed by carb loading/breakfast, then a break till the afternoon. I think the minimum break period for this to work would be 4 hrs but prob best with a significantly longer break- perhaps as much as 7 hrs. Of course, there are many factors to consider. the weights selected for this may be general in nature (away from the main power development lifts) and then the afternoon session can contain the sprintwork and the primary lifts.
What is the reasoning behind this?
What about a person who is going to work on their feet all day or be doing a manual labor type job and would therefore be a little drained by the afternoon? Would this warrant getting the speed work out of the way in the morning when more fresh? I assume it depends on how drained one would be by the afternoon session.
From an interview with John Smith published in 2000 (in Finland):
“We always lift before sprinting because sprinting comes naturally to these guys, lifting doesn’t. In the gym as well as in other training too the main idea is to maintain and develop the natural explosiveness that these guys have.”
They lift at 11 AM and have track workouts at 2PM. They lift on M-T-T-F (Wednesdays off) and they do it all season (until comp at least). From Ato’s log from 2000, the weight sessions seem light, though.
(In case you’re wondering, no, I do not lift before sprinting, and I’m not recommending it. Just trying to answer the question.)
Every circumstance must be considered. If an guy’s going to be on his feet all day then AM work seems a clear option.