I’m surprised that there has not been more reaction to this thread as there are some interesting discussion points:
1.They go Long to Short even though some have concluded on the forum based on the early season 400m times that Powell was on a Short to Long programme. However as Charlie indicates about l-to-s and s-to-l that sometimes it is just a matter of interpretation.
2. Single periodized year Well this really does go against the general philosphy of this forum but the success of the MVP cannot be argued against. The closest thing to this on this forum is Charlie’s 12 week 400m Short to Long programme where the athlete missed Fall and Winter training and was able to produce a 50.xx relay split. I can only conclude that some form of sub-periodization is occurring in the single periodization.
3.One long peak for maximizing velocity from April to September This again seems counter to what is deemed possible (though it does depend on how we interpret the term “peak”). If by peak he means within 1-2% of ultimate season best then I suppose this is possible. Anyway the success of the group within this method is difficult to argue against (again as Charlie likes to remind people, we are talking history here not theory).
4. 10 day taper is just 30% of work they have been doing Is this simply it. I assume that he is talking about the high intensity elements only.
5.Do not do much low intensity work There does appear to be at least some tempo (10x300) that is a constant. He also includes abs (which I assume for the large part is of the low intensity variety). However it appears he is not doing the 65:35 low intensity:high intensity ratios mentioned by Charlie.
6. Single leg exercises (no squats) and cleans mainly from hang Not a system of strength training that is widely advocated on this forum though if you are strong enough you could possibly rack-up some reasonable numbers on the split-squats (which are not strictly single leg). Whatever one feels about it, the strength system in place does seem to support the track work.
His long to short includes a lot of acceleration work up to 40m year round. I’ve seen how he lays out his GPP, but theres no mention as to how he progresses from there. Thats to say, do his acceleration days progress to speed workouts? Do his special endurance workouts progress to speed endurance?
Seeing as it is a single periodized year, he must progress from one element to another much slower than typically seen. If they start racing in Feb. than its possible thats when they start to work on speed. Asafa’s times would certainly indicate that speed is not the emphasis until he starts racing (10.2-9.7).
I think i’ve seen them do deadlifts as a core lift. The heavy sleds and hills would provide great specific strength.
I think his 2x accel/wk year round workouts are what make his athletes stand out at the start.
I think it’s a matter of interpretation. Clearly the vol of short hill work and sled work (previously described as up to 960m of 40s plus the short sled vol) exceeds the volume of long hills (either 450 or 400m), and the increasing intensity/rest is common to all approaches. Likewise, wouldn’t slow speed end be tempo by another name?
As for the weights, again, this is a matter of interpretation. I don’t call split squats or step ups single leg exercises, and, obviously, cleans aren’t either. As they do bench press, it is a general lifting program.
It appears that the sled work is tough and would lower the program requirement for lower body lifts.
How about the extended peak period (April to September). During this period heavy lifting seems to be going on rather than strictly maintenance. I recall the commentator on Eurosport in 2005 when Asafa broke the 100m world record (9.77) stating that he was surprised as Powell had done a heavy, and quite intense, weights session two days before. Does this mean that MVP are mixing max strength lifting during the early part of the season for the relatively low key early meets? Or is it maintenance from April and it is the step-up in intensity of the track work off-setting the effect that the losses in max strength may have on speed?
His program look very similar to the Jamaican couple that workout at the track I train at. They do tons of sled pulls, runs in the 150-300m for example 6x300 in the fall, general weight program, stj, slj, bounds etc. They put a huge emphasis on over distance training.
What’s your thoughts on the over distance work on Tue/Sat. It look more like basic ext tempo work I can’t remember you going out to 300-400m range with your crew
Would Stephen’s approach be considered concurrent? It seems to me that it resembles Dan Pfaff’s set up, with 2 accel, 2 special endurance/ week all year long.
Its odd how he says he avoids doing anything over 40m because thats when people tend to pull up with injury. Isn’t this a little counter intuitive?
You are what you train, how do these guys get so fast by avoiding true speed work?
I am a believer also, my gpp will look very similar to there setup. I am debating if I should have long hills on wed or a controlled speed session. Tue will be tempo 300-400’s and Thur tempo 200’s.
I guess I was thinking that those ext tempo days could have been special endurance if they’re running them fast enough. I thought form runs and slow endurance would have been considered the tempo.
How valid is the " it’s okay to train at a high intensity on consecutive days( 30 accel / SE )because we’re training different energy systems?" Might be emphasizing different energy system but it’s with the same CNS and hamstrings.
I understand the risk/reward about max testing with weights but wouldn’t watching the athlete just train give you an idea? Or even do a 3rm? We all know the role max strength plays in rep tests, but is it fair to use it as a predictor?
Ive read his answer to that question before. I believe he has said he doesn’t consider those single leg movements because both feet are supporting the weights. He views One legged squats, single leg dead lifts and such as single leg movements because only one leg is supporting the weight. Correct me if I mistaken.
Split squats I can see, but step-ups, probably not as the majority of the lift is single support. I do not like single leg squats and have never found value in them. I wouldn’t even consider a single leg deadlift.
Without wishing to be overly provocative, what is sprinting other than a series of alternative single-leg impulses, so you can see why some coaches think derivative squats such as single-leg movements are appropriate.
Personally I think single-leg unloaded squats are probably related more to core-strength and stability than actual leg strength.
I coached a young woman who could do 10x single-leg deep squats off each leg (with the other leg triple extended in front but not touching the ground) but she was hopeless doing double-foot squat with a barbell.
On the other hand, I had the chance to work briefly with a footballer who squatted 246kg but could not do one rep unloaded single-leg squat. He could go down, but could not stand back up.
