While I am not a fan of a bunch of work in the middle, I do agree with this statement. I’ve been hearing my peers say, “We’re getting old,” since around 28-years old. Everyone who has said that has gotten slower each season. If it were not for a pretty severe injury hampering my training, I would have done the exact same stuff the last few years. The main changes to training are to account for additional stresses in life–higher demands at work, fatherhood, etc. Other than backing off a bit due to those, all else should remain the same.
The hardest thing for me in the last couple years has been remaining as consistent as I need to be. This has largely been due to the other demands taking precedence at times. The key is then not to bite off more than you can chew. If you know that other important things will come up, don’t expect to do 10 things every week. Rather, plan to do 8. But then don’t budge from those. Make sure you get them in. Create that consistency.
In an effort to keep things simple and consistent, my weekly rules are as follows:
Sprint 2x per week
Deadlift 2x per week (usually on sprint days)
Aerobic Conditioning 2x per week (usually 1 day extensive tempo and 1 day jump rope / medball)
These are the rules. Period. The optimal week will have 4 training days and 3 rest days (2 high, 2 low). In cases where I can’t hit the weights on a sprint day, I will get the deadlift in on a third HI day. This is a very manageable program, while still balanced across the main elements. Plyometrics (and other lifts) will be a part of speed days and could also make up a third HI day in the week if it feels appropriately. But I can’t add a third HI day before I ensure 2 tempo days will be completed.
Work in the middle can be misleading… You have the typical D3 middle work ex: 5x200 24-26s r 2-3mins, my middle work would be similar to Bill Collins where those same 200’s would be 4-8mins of rest. This type of work allows you to get more reps practicing your skill and can be useful for athletes of our ability. Instead of always doing 2x150 resting 15-20mins ill do 6x150 resting 6-8mins still fast but getting more volume.
Collins does have a speed session of 80m reducing down to 50, 30, 20 from week 20 to 50 each week.
His endurance work looks like 800m runner reps rather than extensive tempo (ie harder) and will provide solid fitness.
Although the volume looks scary he is actually only running 3x per week and alternates running and weights days. I hope he does some of the long reps on grass rather than track to protect the legs.
But I can see how it could work for some people.
I dont like the other one though:
The old white guys are running 5 days per week most on the track I guess. Plus the rest of their training. That`s a lot of foot contact. Programme looks excessively complicated and I cant see an obvious pattern of LS or SL.
This is a great thread. I just started doing some sprinting again with my son. I’m not talented and I’ve been doing boxing training the last two years. After a month of sprinting I have my volumes up close to what I’ve done in the past but I’m not doing any tempo running, instead I’m doing my boxing training on lo days in the form of shadowboxing and technical drills followed by lots of calisthenics and medball or LSU style low int weight circuits. Basically a very high volume of low intensity work on lo days. I pretty much just try to get in high volumes for an hour straight at mostly a continuous pace.
I can tell that my aerobic capacity is better than it has been when I was doing ext tempo and my joints are thanking me. I “feel” faster when sprinting lately, which probably means I’m actually slower though.
Takeaway is:
I think low intensity/tempo days can include pretty much whatever you want as long as the volume is high and you are working the low end/cardiac output component. In fact there is probably benefit in not doing a running workout, even if low intensity since there is the very real negative of repetitive stress. I always had problems from hi int sprinting and lo int tempo from a pounding and repetitive stress perspective. I had the same issue with boxing in that even though a technical day may be lo int, you are still moving and punching from the same plane you are on high days.
I had tons of mid back, hip and knee issues all on the rear side. I’m orthodox. It really creates an imbalance and I rarely have seen many trainers address that. Now that I’m sprinting and doing more general work that has started to work it self out. No more lateral knee, hip or mid trap/back pain on the right side.
At the elite level of both sports, the athletes train 6 days per week specific to their sport each day it seems. Maybe they have to due to the high level of skill but the repetitive stress gets real at the 30+ age.
How much speed work are you doing? I haven’t done much for fitness in this block because my feet are usually beat up after the speed sessions. I still see value in tempo runs but at this point in my career the speed work is the most important, it will also develop any specific fitness I need. Not changing much at this time esp with my times improving each week. Unless you are fat or extremely unfit we could argue against the use of tempo runs for most older non-elite sprinters. Warming up and upper body are my low intensity days, upper body work is therapeutic for me. I’ll add in some basic cardiac work next block and as my body adapts to the training I’ll add in tempo runs.
Below is what Joel recommended on his recovery days in a typical strength block.
10-15mins Cardiac output
10-15mins Lower body concentric only (sled, hict, mb)
5-10mins Upper body concentric only (sled, hict, mb)
What I’ll probably do next block:
15-20 cardiac work on elliptical
Static/Dym stretching
Rowing tempo: 3x(60/90)
Upper body wts
Abs
I’m around 250y total volume and will probably take it to 300y. This is just 10-60y runs.
Is that Joel’s recommendation from the 8 weeks out book?
He usually recommends a lot more for volume for fighters. That’s mainly where I got the “do continuous work” for around an hour. Sometimes I break it up with continuous for 45 min and then end with 15 min of tempo type or HICT work.
I do one day of cardiac power or anaerobic threshold one day per week that is usually boxing specific so I can at least keep the ability to spar a few rounds when I want to.
Did 300 total volume today. Smoked. Should’ve skipped the last run.
I like that low int day from Joel:
I do a cardiac power day once per week and did sled pushes for 60s and then fininshed with hict with the sled. One hard push, rest 3 sec, repeat then a hard pull, rest, repeat.
I don’t right now. I have a free lap device form years ago but it quit working and I haven’t tried it in years.
He’s 9.
I’m having him do around 200m total volume plus 15-20 throw or jumps. Then the next day technical baseball hitting plus GS circuits or multi jump circuits, etc. So…
Day1 - sprints jumps or throws
Day2 - hitting
Day3 - off
Day4 - sprints jumps or throws
Day5 - hitting
I usually do a day of just playing catch so those skills don’t erode.
Some days instead of jumps and throws i’ll have him do 20-30 long toss baseball throws and we’ll take it out to 150-200’ for the last few. That’s after sprints.
Is he only playing baseball? Once I get my laptop back from geeksquad - I’ll post some of the plans I have for my son once he turns 9. I have my son in swim class, he will start gymnastic this fall and maybe soccer and martial arts next summer. We will probably start the training process at 7 - no later then 8.
He seems completely fine with it. Tolerated it better than me.
I think a big influencer is that we do it together and we go over technical aspects together. I coach him before his runs and tell him what to coach me during mine. I think that makes a HUGE difference. He knows the model from watching Asafa and others and we try to coach to that.
We do some jumps or weight throws before runs, go over the proper positions and what they feel like. For fun, we will throw in some baseball specific things like a leadoff or turn and run to catch a deep fly.
I even alternate taking BP with him when I’m in town.
My son did gymnastics at a really young age, it was great.
He broke his femur a couple years back and it set it held him back a lot. Same
Thing happened to me.
He was pretty athletic before that. He will be a natural corner kid, since he has a strong arm and power. On travel teams he will play 3rd, catcher, RF, closing pitcher, maybe first.
What da hell was he doing that he fractured his femur?
Doing long jump from 5th floor?
To brak that bone you have to do some crazy stuff, I only know one person who fractured femur, guy had a serious car accident.
An older kid kind of threw him down from behind after Jiu jitsu practice.
I broke mine as well. I was older but still preteen. There was a leak in the ceiling at a gym where I was playing basketball and we couldn’t see the water. I slipped and broke my femur.
It ruined me for sports in high school. I was bed ridden for 6 months, couldn’t walk for about a year and couldn’t run really well for around another year.
1: A different sport for each season - fall/winter/spring/summer…
2: Exercise intensity bodyweight up to 10% max. Don’t be in a rush to add resistance.
3: Don’t forget these skills at this stage - gymnastics, tumbling, martial arts, bw/mb drills.
4: Training freq 2-3 times a week, 30-90mins max.
1: Primary strength training will be bw/mb drills.
2: Primary jump training: Jump rope, box jumps, jumping up stairs, pogo jumps and other low intensity jumps/jump circuits. This is a great time to get “good feet” (agility ladders, dot drills, different low intensity hopping etc)
3: Primary speed work: will be there sport or other games and relays. No drills or serious speed work until they are strong enough to get in proper position.
4: General fitness: Mb core, mb tempo, running tempo, games etc. Tempo runs are kept to around 15-30yds.
Typical week may look like this:
M/F:
Warmup
Explosive mb and jumps
Strength training
Mb tempo
Cooldown
Before he can progress to the next level of training:
1: Mb ball tempo 2-4lbs - 600 throws run 30yds btw each throw for 3 sets
2: Pass the bw strength circuit 5 trips - 10 exercises.