Due to unforeseen circumstances, I have had to sell my Olympic weightlifting set and will therefore have an indefinite lay-off from lifting. Shitty. In the meantime, I’ve decided to start sprinting so as to maintain lower body strength and explosiveness (plus sprinting’s just plain fun). Anyway, I’m not sure where I should start. I want to center my training around sprinting, rather than complement a program with sprints. Any suggestions?
Hill Sprints, Hill Sprints, Hill Sprints… Weighted Stair Runs/Climbs… Hill Sprints, Hill Sprints, Hill Sprints.
A safe way to start. Enforces correct arm and knee drive and promotes proper upper body postioning and mechanics.
Plus, it’s hard as hell.
Thanks, I’ll definitely give it a shot. But any suggestions in terms of volume, frequency, etc.? I know that one usually does acceleration, max velocity, and tempo sessions, but I really don’t know what these consist of or how to go about it.
Acceleration:
Sprints of 0-30m
Hill sprints
Pylo’s
Max velocity:
Sprints of 40-60m
Flying sprints
Extensive tempo:
Help recovery and fitness, can be used the day after hard sessions.
Ran at 75-85%, work on form. And also shorter rests than intensive tempo
Intensive tempo:
Speed endurance at near maximum effort, 160m x 4 with 8 mins rest between for example. More recovery than extensive tempo.
Hope that helps and gets you started!
Thanks for all the info! This’ll make for a great start! On top of that, you wouldn’t happen to have any tips on warm-ups and technique would ya?
A fairly standard track warm up from brianmac.co.uk is as follows:
- 5 to 10 minutes jogging - increase body temperature to the point of breaking sweat
2.10 to 15 minutes dynamic stretching
3.10 to 15 minutes drills - 4 to 8 easy run outs or progressive accelerations over 30 to 60 metres
followed by main session of the day
You can argue about the jogging (is it movement specific?) and the drills (do they actually carry over to
sprint form?) and despite current thinking you will often see plenty of static stretching at the track but the above is not unrepresentative of what you may see at an athletics track and should be sufficient to be getting on with.
[quote]OooahhhCANTONA wrote:
Acceleration:
Sprints of 0-30m
Hill sprints
Pylo’s
Max velocity:
Sprints of 40-60m
Flying sprints
Extensive tempo:
Help recovery and fitness, can be used the day after hard sessions.
Ran at 75-85%, work on form. And also shorter rests than intensive tempo
Intensive tempo:
Speed endurance at near maximum effort, 160m x 4 with 8 mins rest between for example. More recovery than extensive tempo.
Hope that helps and gets you started![/quote]
Nice post. Most track coaches couldn’t come up with something like this outline.
[quote]rockandrollsoul wrote:
Thanks for all the info! This’ll make for a great start! On top of that, you wouldn’t happen to have any tips on warm-ups and technique would ya?[/quote]
Make sure the warm-up gets you working a bit so you’re going into sprinting with a bit of a sweat on.
The warm-up should involve getting the pulse rate up, perform exercises such as bodyweight squats, lunges, leg swings etc. Other mobility drills as well, mountain climbers and groiners to make usre the hips are loose.
Once you’re high rate is up and the muscles and joints are lose.
Then the next part of the warm-up gets the CNS going, quicksteps for 10 yards, walk 10 yards, quicksteps 10 yards x2.
Highknees in the same format, 10 yards on, walk, 10 yards on x2.
You might have a couple more specific drills to help with form etc.
Technique:
Relax when sprinting, focus on good arm drive as well as legs.
Keep low for the first 0-40m and gradually come up.
Always focus on the technique, running flat out with bad technique won’t get you anywhere, running with good technique will lead to fast times.
[quote]OooahhhCANTONA wrote:
Technique:
Relax when sprinting, focus on good arm drive as well as legs.
Keep low for the first 0-40m and gradually come up.
Always focus on the technique, running flat out with bad technique won’t get you anywhere, running with good technique will lead to fast times.
[/quote]
A good reason why one should dabble in Hill Sprints before sprinting on a track… they definitely promote proper sprinting mechanics such as fuller ROM and power in the arm and knee drive; they encourage one to lean forward more (especially in the initial drive); and teach one to correctly run on the balls of the feet.
Plus, they are much safer on the knees and posterior chain as the slope of the hill nearly eliminates braking and the jolting effect of bad sprinting technique in beginner athletes. When you finally do hit the track you’ll be surprised how easy the flat surface feels with a solid sprint technique under your belt and you’ll definitely understand and feel what you have been taught via the hill sessions.
Word of caution:
Never run downhill if you can help it. Make sure to take care when walking back down the slope and remember that uneven running surfaces such as grass, dirt, and/or sand may be great at activating those pesky smaller muscles (stabilizers) in the legs but beware of the risk that lays therein which demands situational awareness at all times as one can twist or sprain an ankle or knee mighty quick. So stay on your toes and be ready to skip/hop out of an uneven surface or misplaced foot strike. Always review and walk a new sprinting spot for any hazards or hidden obstacles.
Good luck!
Thanks for all the advice guys!
I’ve put together a program using all the great info you guys have given me. I’d like to perform all the acceleration sprints on hills, but finding one will be a task (I live in FL). Anyway, let me know what you think.
Monday (Acceleration)
3x10m
3x20m
4x30m
Box jump, 3x3
Ballistic push-up, 5x3
Pull-up, 4x6
Tuesday (Max Velocity)
4x40m
2x50m
2x60m
Planche, 5x
V-sit, 5x
Pistol, 4x8
Wednesday (Tempo)
4x200m @ 75%-85%
GPP
Thursday (Acceleration)
3x10m
3x20m
4x30m
Long jump, 5x1
One-arm one-leg push-up, 4x5
Chin-up, 4x8
Friday (Max Velocity)
4x40m flying
2x50m flying
2x60m flying
Planche, 5x
V-sit, 5x
Walking DB lunge, 4x5
Saturday (Intensive Tempo)
4x160m near max, full rest
GPP
Find a set of straight up stairs at a park, parking garage, or at a high school/college stadium…