Sprinters Maximum Strength

Training Powerlifting
41

Look at the components of the 400 as this: acceleration, max speed, metabolic conditioning, and strength to maintain form after you’ve passed the lactate threshold (second 200).

Acceleration isn’t as crucial in the 400. No one in the 400 every worries too much about their block starts. This is because sufficient acceleration will come naturally just from the top speed training.

Metabolic Conditioning is available to everyone through their interval training. This is really just a question of how hard you push yourself in interval work. No one can improve on this area drastically over anyone else. We’re all fairly similar chemically. After a certain amount of time (~30 secs) we’re all going to be completely saturated in lactic acid.

The real trick in the 400 is in these two remaining categories. As I mentioned, if everyone is hitting lactate thresholds at about the same time in seconds, then the person who can get further in that same amount of time with the same amount of perceived exertion is going to do better. This means improving your top speed. If you ran all out against Jeremy Wariner, you’d both start “feeling it” at about the same time, the only difference is when you start feeling it, you’ve just passed the 230M mark, whereas he’s all the way over at 280M.

Then of course, once everyone hits that threshold, those who have the core and overall strength to maintain proper form through those last 150m will be able to carry their speed much better to the finish line.

So during the off season, hit the weights. Get your max strength and explosiveness up, because as you mentioned, this will increase your explosiveness on each step, thereby increasing your stride length and your top speed. Looking at your strength numbers, you’ve got a lot of room for easy improvement in your strength. Hit the posterior chain, and your reactive strength (quads, calves, and plyos). As far as max strength vs. hyper trophy, you’ve got to cycle those. You’ve got to focus on max strength for a cycle, and then focus on volume for a cycle.

Then also get your core strength up to maintain form in the last 150m. If you’re upper body is a big wet noodle in the last 150, there’s no way your legs will be able to keep their running form with a big floppy weight on top of them.

Continue running workouts in the off season, but I’d try to focus more on the form and speed, just so your form adapts as your putting on muscle weight and strength. Of course also maintain some level of sprint conditioning, but I wouldn’t worry about really hitting the interval work hard until closer to the season. The real improvements right now can be made in top speed and strength.

42

When he carries enough power to run the 100M in a descent time, he probably will make over 30" on the VJ - why I said spend the 20-30 minutes a week for 6 months on VJ/Plyo and see if there is any carry over.

43

This is a decent discussion, good points have been made so let’s continue, even if it may turn into a pissing match.

I’m not jtrinsey, but I will answer the question anyway. Other plyos besides sprinting would be useful for other goals, for example, jumping higher. It does not depend upon a person’s body type.

You may need a GPP phase to prepare yourself for heavy lifting, or you may not, depending upon your current lifting schedule.

Djrobins, I agree with your point about getting stronger, but I don’t agree with the 20-30 minutes of vertical plyos once a week. It might be okay for maintenance, but that is not enough work to have a training effect. It seems like you are just tacking it on in the hopes it will do something, and not incorporating it into the overall program.

Beans and Joe Morelli, great posts. Could you give a sample workout plan for improving top speed for the 400? Should he alternate strength cycles and “top speed” cycles until track comes around again?

44

I had the plyos broken out into two to three sessions. Tacked in at least 4hrs before or 4 hrs after the sprint workout. I think before… The sessions are 15-20min.

45

[quote]djrobins wrote:
On the 2x + 3.5 formula…

I know more than one person who run around 11.8 for the 100M and get under 51 seconds for the 400M…

Some people can hold it harder.[/quote]

I don’t disagree but just as I said in that post, it’s not concrete nor absolute but the equation is usually fairly accurate, some might be able to go a bit faster and some a bit slower.

I can’t imagine someone running much faster than mid to high 50 with 11.8 speed(unless they were very tall and due to poor leverage just did not accelerate well)and I think that would be fairly exceptional. Even less likely that someone with 23.8 200 speed could run much faster, if at all, than that.

Though the 100 would be a good measure of basic speed, I think it’s importance in the development of a 400 runner is more relevant as it relates to the 200. The 200 would be a better indicator for 400 potential.

I have often had my 400 people run primarily 100/200’s early on during the outdoor seasons and then gradually bring in the 400’s in comp.

However, I do not believe anyone with 11.8 speed or 23.8 could run as fast as 48.5. That’s not enough basic speed to make that possible-no matter how well they could “hold it”.

46

There never really is one thing that works for everyone. With that said, in order to become a great sprinter, look at all of the people that you have known in your life that are fast. What do they generally all have in common?

They are strong all over, and lean. I’ve ran with a 6 time all american on the division 3 level. He’s good at that level, but in d3, his times are like high school times. What does this person lack to be a professional or olympic sprinter. Pure power and strength. He’s 6’3 and 160 lbs…maybe that much. What does he not have? Brute strength. How do you get brute strength? It starts from the core. The rest can come from simple compound exercises, with a major focus on the hips and hammies. How do you hold your top speed? STRONG mother effin hammies. Can you bust out 20 glute ham raises while holding a 45lb plate? No, ok…should a normal person be able to do this?

Hell no, but if you want to be a good sprinter you need stronger than a linebacker hammies to go with a core and overall body strength. So hit the weights when you can. Strength is always a limiting factor with power and speed. Think of strength as an amplifier. If you are limited by strength, and multiplying your weak strength by speed to have power, you’ll have ok power if the speed is there, but if the speed is there and so is the strength then watch out.

Get strong and don’t stop working on your top speed and being able to hold your top speed (hammies, form and a strong will).

I’ve run better than 50 seconds at 220lbs and 5’11. How did I do this? 20 plus ghr’s while holding lots of weight in my hand. Form doesn’t hurt.

Haven’t posted in a year.
Kir Dog

47

Kirdog -

On the glute hams, are they really that effective? I haven’t done em but imagine them working the high portion of the hams where they tie into the glutes.

48

Kir Dog,

Why not just squat instead of ghr? The squat trains hip exension, whereas the ghr trains primarily knee flexion (with iso hip extension), so isn’t the squat a more efficient training method for sprinting (especially as it stresses the core more too)?

49

For me GHR’s work best. Don’t get me wrong, squating is best thing ever and I have squatted 3x a week (overhead, front and back during my hardcore periods). Like I said earlier, compound exercises are the best for strength, something that many sprinters lack.

GHR’s work best for me because I can overload and isolate the posterior (especially the hams) with a great deal of weight. At times, I have weighed in the 220 range and have done GHR’s with 50 plus pounds for large reps. Kind of similar to 20 rep squats with the thrashing of the posterior. I have a tendancy to fry my CNS by overtraining because I tend to over do things.

During a sprinter’s career and training many athletes are always on the verge of overtraining. I would squat like a powerlifter and sprint like a track star and eventually get sick (that’s what happens to me when I overtrain). Squatting is great to build explosive power more relative to a 40yd or 100m athlete. A 400 meter sprinter needs to hold his speed more. In order to hold your speed you need freakishly strong hammies.

This can be done squatting (which steals your energy and this energy should be saved for sprinting), and this can be done by working the GHR bench which won’t fry your already overtrained body and you’ll recover better while still obtaining the strong hammies…which has been my goal as a sprinter.

I am big on squats and GHR’s. One has to know his body and athletes over a period of time learn what their body can handle and what we respond best to. Not one thing works for everyone, but in my opinion the universal theme for sprinters to be great, is that they have to have overall extreme body strength to go with their natural speed to become elite.

Kir Dog

50

He should be at sub 50 in less than one year if he does right.

There are many who run 51,52 as sophmore who are running 48,49 by jr and 46,47’s by sr year.

Larger jumps have been done.

I’m taking a stance that more top speed over the short distance will be more benefitial if your trying to be better at the 400M - especially if you already have incredible strength endurance, but just needed more top speed.

51

Kir Dog,

Thanks for the intelligent responce.

Have you ever over trained on purpose to make your “gas tank” bigger?

Have you ever over trained on purpose, rested and used the momentum off the rebound to pass a previous limit?

Just some stuff Im thinking of.

52

El0gic,
I think you know your body a little better than anybody else here. And if you haven’t been lifting regularly than you are more likely right about building a base strength.

Some of the pro sprinters programs involve basic squat variations at set reps of 3-5x5. The main squat they said they did were the ones where you stop at the bottom for 3 seconds then power up.

Add in clean & Jerks here and there and you should see improvement.

I would think you want to keep your workout simple and fast so you have more time to concentrate on the track.

53

[quote]djrobins wrote:
He should be at sub 50 in less than one year if he does right.

There are many who run 51,52 as sophmore who are running 48,49 by jr and 46,47’s by sr year.

Larger jumps have been done.

I’m taking a stance that more top speed over the short distance will be more benefitial if your trying to be better at the 400M - especially if you already have incredible strength endurance, but just needed more top speed.[/quote]

What I said was in response to your claim that this guy has enough 100m and 200m speed right now to run 48.5 to 50.0. There is no way a guy who runs 11.8/23.8 can run that fast at that time. Especially not 48.5. Long term, who knows but right now, no way.

About your claims of potential improvement for some people, I have no arguement with this. However, to think this guy is going to get to 47 in a few years when he is already 19 and has 11.8/23.8 speed is a whole lot harder to pull off-not impossible but very, very difficult.

If he was a 15yo high school freshman, than it would be a more likely scenario to see such improvements.

54

Joe,

With the pessimistic attitude it will be hard to “be wrong”.

I’m just pointing out what I experienced.

And most of the times improvements come from not being afraid and adapting to higher levels of competition.

On the 11.8 sec 100M speed.

There was a guy on my team that ran 51.x with 12.2 100M, and another that ran 50.4x with 11.8’s…

Why I said.

The improvements year to year were what was going on in the local school districts.

I’m sure in Florida, California and Texas the jumps are bigger.

Once I learned what they were doing at these other schools and the mentality, I began to understand it really is about the knowledge and level of competition you are around.

I believe many peoples subconsciously hold them self back, out side of the 10.0 and belows. But so many 11.5, 12.0 guys that think its over for them can do so much to improve it and as we learned here…

55

I dont know…I dont think this should be a big argument.

The kids should lift explosively using olympics weight lifts and for developing purposes he needs to squat but learn how to do it correctly.
In the offseason,work those hamstrings and work to prevent injuries.
as far as running work on your shorts sprints. Do fly and standing 30’s,in and outs, fly 100’s and 150’s.

Sometimes, you just need to run to get faster. You get better fitness and the results follow. But the lifting always helps…

56

[quote]djrobins wrote:
Kir Dog,

Thanks for the intelligent responce.

Have you ever over trained on purpose to make your “gas tank” bigger?

Have you ever over trained on purpose, rested and used the momentum off the rebound to pass a previous limit?

Just some stuff Im thinking of.

[/quote]

I have overtrained many times. I can’t really recall using it to get past sticking points in what my body can handle (such as in a total work out, a week of working out or even a season), but a lot of times it just happends that way to where I actually see my CNS being able to handle incredible amounts of physical abuse. You’ll adapt to the training most times, regardless of the occasional overtrained state.

Kir Dog

57

[quote]djrobins wrote:
Joe,

With the pessimistic attitude it will be hard to “be wrong”.

I’m just pointing out what I experienced.

And most of the times improvements come from not being afraid and adapting to higher levels of competition.

On the 11.8 sec 100M speed.

There was a guy on my team that ran 51.x with 12.2 100M, and another that ran 50.4x with 11.8’s…

Why I said.

The improvements year to year were what was going on in the local school districts.

I’m sure in Florida, California and Texas the jumps are bigger.

Once I learned what they were doing at these other schools and the mentality, I began to understand it really is about the knowledge and level of competition you are around.

I believe many peoples subconsciously hold them self back, out side of the 10.0 and belows. But so many 11.5, 12.0 guys that think its over for them can do so much to improve it and as we learned here…[/quote]

I just don’t see it-11.8 guy running a 50.4-not if 11.8 was a legit p.r.(i.e. not some guy playing around or goofing off in a race but running it hard) it’s very highly doubtful. Back to the 48.5-50.0 with 11.8/23.8 speed. That’s pretty much impossible.

As earlier the potential improvements you mention 52-47 would be more likely from ages 15-18 but this guy is 19 and unless he only ran one time for each race and he has almost zero training background you are very unlikely to see such improvements. Not impossible but not very likely even for a “late bloomer”.

Not saying he can’t improve and improve a lot just that is less likely to have an older athlete with a decent training background make drastic improvements. Not impossible but just not as likely as the younger kid.

58

[quote]smallmike wrote:
This is a decent discussion, good points have been made so let’s continue, even if it may turn into a pissing match.

I’m not jtrinsey, but I will answer the question anyway. Other plyos besides sprinting would be useful for other goals, for example, jumping higher. It does not depend upon a person’s body type.

You may need a GPP phase to prepare yourself for heavy lifting, or you may not, depending upon your current lifting schedule.

Djrobins, I agree with your point about getting stronger, but I don’t agree with the 20-30 minutes of vertical plyos once a week. It might be okay for maintenance, but that is not enough work to have a training effect. It seems like you are just tacking it on in the hopes it will do something, and not incorporating it into the overall program.

Beans and Joe Morelli, great posts. Could you give a sample workout plan for improving top speed for the 400? Should he alternate strength cycles and “top speed” cycles until track comes around again?[/quote]

As far as running workouts, I would think intervals in the 100-200 range. And things like 120M S-F-S, working up to 150M S-F-S. Sprint-Float-Sprints are done as follows (don’t know if these are called something else or not): sprint for the first third, float for the second concentrating on keeping as close to the same speed as possible with the least amount of exertion, followed by sprinting as fast as possible the last third.

That middle third is where you’re concentrating on that 400 pace floating speed, where you’re trying to move as fast as possible with the least wasted energy. Just think as smooth and fast as you can move.

Also work on hip flexor strength with hurdle skip drills. A stronger hip flexor will really help to lengthen your stride by created a stronger knee drive. At the same time, work on hip flexor flexibility, so that you can get better hip extension when pushing off.

Moderate hill running (an incline that you can still run up with form somewhat close to sprinting form) really helps with both hip extension and knee drive too, as well as giving your calves a real good workout.

For just a basic 4 day program, I’d do something like:
–Running day one: 100-200M interval workout, plyos for reactive strength and minimizing foot contact time, hurdle drills for hip flexor strength, core training circuit.
–Lifting day one: Olympics, Quad dominant legs (squat variations), upper body pressing.
–Running Day Two: <100M sprints, like 50-60M range, plyos, hurdle drills, core
–Lifting Day Two: Olympics, posterior chain dominant (deadlift variations, GHR, etc.), lunges, upper body pulling

Closer to season, the intervals at 200M+ ranges need to be added back in.

As far as cycling, of course the running workouts could be altered within those parameters pretty easily, with one cycle maybe aiming more towards sprint endurance with shorter rest intervals and another cycle focusing more on quality high speed work with longer rest intervals. Or this could just be slowly progressive.

For the lifting, I’d cycle between higher volume (like 5x5 on squats) and more max strength (like 6,5,4,3,2 on squats).

The first cycle, I would start with the sprint endurance and higher volume lifting. This would lay some good foundation work. When I say cycles, I’m thinking in the 4-6 week timeframe.

I’ve always done cycles of about 3-4 weeks since college, but I think usually the more beginner someone is, the longer a cycle can be benefitial for them, so cycles of as long as 6 weeks might be OK.

59

JoeMorello.

I don’t think this guy has ever “really ran” yet as evidenced by the 24" vertical.

I’m not trying to be negative, but on a pure technical sense.

I feel if he was able to tap into his explosive power that the vert would be over 30".

Why I said, I felt vertical jump and plyo training will help him tap into the power.
and hopefully it will carry back to the sprinting.

On the previous split times, I’m not lying or exaggerating. The guys at my school never ran as fast as they could, just that the other districts had better programs.

He’ll figure it out…

60

[quote]
As earlier the potential improvements you mention 52-47 would be more likely from ages 15-18 but this guy is 19 and unless he only ran one time for each race and he has almost zero training background you are very unlikely to see such improvements. Not impossible but not very likely even for a “late bloomer”.

Not saying he can’t improve and improve a lot just that is less likely to have an older athlete with a decent training background make drastic improvements. Not impossible but just not as likely as the younger kid.[/quote]

I wouldn’t say I had a decent training background. Sporty, sure, but I didn’t start sprinting until last october, and that was off-season 400 stuff. There was a year and a bit of xc before that, but no sprinting. So, in total, I’ve run 4 400’s and some relays, then I had to stop because of injury.

Djrobins, thanks for your optimism. I’ll get on the short sprints over the summer.

The reason I was asking about weights to start with was that over the summer, I will not have access to a weight room as I can’t afford it. I can move heavy things around at home, but otherwise it’ll have to be bodyweight. When I start uni again in october, I’ll have weights again, for about 10-12 weeks, then another break (shorter). I’m just not sure how hard I can hit the weights, given that I need to be efficient with my time.

As Airtruth said, I probably do know my own body better. However, I still don’t know how quickly I can start doing max strength on those weights. I know that it’s probably not too much of a factor, but I’d hate to get injured again and not run to my potential.