Tempo and Speed

Clemson, I am in total agreement with you. I speak with other coaches who feel that 75% is the beginning point in tempo training. I see too many athletes not recovering from work that is near mid-distance pace, not fast enough to stimulate CNS, nor slow enough for recovery.
I agree that the intensity should be lowered enough to fit the athlete’s situation. Rest time doesnt need to be extended, the intensity should be looked at.

I thought charlie referred to tempo work as 70% of your best time. The CFTS states that a 22 second 200m runner would go no faster then 30 seconds for tempo. Clemson why would he then want to go faster then 30seconds? Also I think Clemson is referring to intensive tempo which curtis frye of south carolina uses. But why. Could someone show me why we need to go faster then 70% for tempo at anytime in the season. Im completly neutral on this so any thoughts would be appreciated.

On tempo days i do 16-20 x 100 yards in 16 seconds with a 30 second interval. Any comments on this? Tim, what do you think?

Posted by Charlie
John Smith doesn’t do tempo the same way? Where’d he get the big circuit from then?

Charlie I am going mainly on the video tapes he has out on the market. Could you tell us more about the big circuit. One of videos shows mike marsh doing tempo and it looks like he is resting for a good amount of time.Also It has them warmup up with 7-10x100m tempo before speedwork??? But on atos site he has specific sprint workouts warmups. Both long and short are completly different then the video. Not sure if he is actually telling us accurately what they do. What are your thoughts on rest time and percentage value for tempo for both highscool and elite athletes?

Mj I hate to comment on anyones workouts do to the fact that is sort of unfair without seeing the whole training program package and progression, recovery, supplement program and all the other factors which go into it. How many tempo sessions are week are you doing a week. And do you vary from 100s-150s-200ms. I would say that your workload seems very high for tempo. Have you ever tried to cut back. I have actually seen a sprinter cut tempo completly out of his program and still achieve prs. But while doing a high load of tempo his dash times werent as fast. Maybe Charlie could comment further on your tempo program. Mj post your basic program I would be interested to see it.

[quote]Originally posted by Timothy Lane
I thought charlie referred to tempo work as 70% of your best time. The CFTS states that a 22 second 200m runner would go no faster then 30 seconds for tempo. Clemson why would he then want to go faster then 30seconds? Also I think Clemson is referring to intensive tempo which curtis frye of south carolina uses. But why. Could someone show me why we need to go faster then 70% for tempo at anytime in the season. Im completly neutral on this so any thoughts would be appreciated. [/quote

Tim, 30sec is actually 70% for a 21 flat 200m sprinter. But, you can’t believe 30sec would also be 70% for a 20sec flat 200m sprinter. So there is a time to run faster than 30sec. Also, as an athlete’s conditioning improves the only way to make the tempo more challenging is to shorten the rest, given you want to keep it extensive(70% max).

I was referring to the 22 second 200m runner going faster then 30.

posted by theone
Tim, 30sec is actually 70% for a 21 flat 200m sprinter. But, you can’t believe 30sec would also be 70% for a 20sec flat 200m sprinter. So there is a time to run faster than 30sec.

My calculator has a 22 seconds for 200m at 70% going 31.4 for tempo. Did I do the math wrong.

22.0 divided by .70 = 31.4

Clemson,

I agree with Timothy Lane that quality sould be emphasized also in Tempo Sessions.In the Sport of swimming maybe even more than on the track,where stride frequencies and forces are so dramatically different at Low and High Intensities.

With my Swimmers I use two main distances for Tempo:
25m and 200m,both at 75% or less.
25’s are main stroke and form-oriented (costant number of strokes,no form-straining,race breathing pattern);200’s (usually no more than 6x) are F/S with some limited breathing to allow for better body position in the water,costant swimming times.

Rest periods are to allow for the goals of the set to be achieved,and are never too short anyway…
I actually found a very low intensity level, moderate volumes,and rests between 45" and 1’30" being well suited to establish basic conditioning,and most useful in building a most desired efficiency base.

Giuseppe Gueli
Milano,Italy

What about tempo for kids that are total beginners - what amount of cns recovery is a kid gonna need when their 100m pb is 18.0 secs and their 200m is 40.0 secs .
I’ve got a couple of kids who just come along cos they enjoy it ( no talent / had probably never even jogged b 4 lol but they try hard and add to the team spirit )
Is there any case for a larger quantity of speed endurance in this case or intensive tempo ? -
I know cns stress is relative - but when max speed is so slow does the the 65% rule still apply for tempo ?
65 sec 200m x 10 with walk back omg save me lol

p.108 cfts

It is important to maintain tempo work during the entire year. Even during the competitive phase example 10x200m on grass at 75% intensity…

p.104…tempo or rythmic running is done at 65-75 per cent of maxium for speed

Question: In another part of cfts it talks about tempo as being 75%-80% of max…my question is which one is it and how do you go about tellilng the athletes to change speed?

I hear a lot about the volume being discussed here, but i’m still not sure if these volumes are for your 100m only. Or if they apply to everything from the 100 to the 400. I honestly don’t think that 8x300 is too high in volume. Or better yet(I know i’m gonna hear it) 3x10x100. Maybe it’s the 200/400 in me but it just doesn’t seem like it’s excessive. I usually do those 8x300’s in around 48-50sec. With about 3 min between each one. I do the 3x10x100 @ 16 sec with 1 min between reps and 3 or 5 min between each set. I can’t remember, I haven’t done them in a while. Does it matter if the athlete can handle it or not or is there a limit. Cuz I remember posting a speed work out (3x5x60) and Charlie said the volume was too high. I agreed with him. But it was just the fact that I was always able to do the work out with no problem. It was a bit much, even though it didn’t feel like it. But I still cut it in half as you can see below.

Sample week:

Mon. 3x5x30 (now i’m only half the man:()
Tues. 8x200
Wed. 3x5x100
Thur. 3x250
Fri. 100-200-300-200-100

Which one is it?

between 65 -75%, don’t go to 80 %, mostly 75% though