Elitetrack: Sport Training & Conditioning

So there are basically two different types of sprinters; explosive runners (Im thinking good starters - Asafa Powell) and, for want of a better word, “floaters” (i.e. less good starters, generally have less muscle - Lemaitre or Christian Malcolm).

Would there be a difference in how you coach these two athletes? Would you different things in the track or gym? Would you focus more on strengths (to keep them strong), or on weaknesses?

Ill start this off with an observation - Ive noticed that the real power athletes can lift much heaver for 1-3reps than they can for 5-10 reps, whereas the other athlete type don’t have such a large difference between the two. I call this power-reserve, and the larger the power reserve, generally the more explosive they are.

I think at an elite level the differences in physique between most 100 and 200 m runners is quite noticble which could influence what type of runner they are. I’m looking forward to seeing what others think about this, good post.

With the “Floaters” I’m sure I’d direct them more towards the 200m. In the GPP, I’d focus on putting on muscle.I’ve hear Lemaitre can only clean 50 kgs, which is a problem for any power athlete in my opinion.  Other than that, I’d focus on maximizing their strengths as opposed to correcting their weaknesses. On the lifting for reps, that seems intresting.It would make sense that power athletes who explode for short periods would be more suited towards 1-3 reps. I wonder if that would stick for long sprinters..

I think that for all athletes you want to spend 2/3 of your training time building on their strengths - and the remaining 1/3 on improving their weaknesses.

This would probably involve slight variations in both the weight room and on the track.

Owen - 20 February 2012 07:03 AM

I think that for all athletes you want to spend 2/3 of your training time building on their strengths - and the remaining 1/3 on improving their weaknesses.

This would probably involve slight variations in both the weight room and on the track.

That seems like a good split.

Zack Trapp - 19 February 2012 07:11 PM

With the “Floaters” I’m sure I’d direct them more towards the 200m. In the GPP, I’d focus on putting on muscle.I’ve hear Lemaitre can only clean 50 kgs, which is a problem for any power athlete in my opinion.  Other than that, I’d focus on maximizing their strengths as opposed to correcting their weaknesses. On the lifting for reps, that seems intresting.It would make sense that power athletes who explode for short periods would be more suited towards 1-3 reps. I wonder if that would stick for long sprinters..

So do you think Lemaitre could run quicker if he lifted heavier?

Craig Pickering - 21 February 2012 09:29 AM

Zack Trapp - 19 February 2012 07:11 PM

With the “Floaters” I’m sure I’d direct them more towards the 200m. In the GPP, I’d focus on putting on muscle.I’ve hear Lemaitre can only clean 50 kgs, which is a problem for any power athlete in my opinion.  Other than that, I’d focus on maximizing their strengths as opposed to correcting their weaknesses. On the lifting for reps, that seems intresting.It would make sense that power athletes who explode for short periods would be more suited towards 1-3 reps. I wonder if that would stick for long sprinters..

So do you think Lemaitre could run quicker if he lifted heavier?

Without doubt. His start is horrible, and it could most likely improve if he was more explosive. I’m not saying he needs to be a heavy lifter, but 50 kg is just ridiculous for a pro athlete. If he got that up to say his body-weight or higher, his start would most likely be better. But then again, who am I to say he’s doing anything wrong when he’s the first white guy to break 10 seconds. Obviously he’s doing something right!

So do you think he lifts 50kg cos he is weak (i.e. thats all he can lift), or he is under-trained, or do you think that they don’t focus on cleans (or weights in general)?

Personally, I’m not convinced he needs to get that much stronger. His (relatively) weak start might be helping him to faster 100m times, as it allows him to save a bit of energy at the beginning, or potentially hit top speed later than everyone else. He has also gone sub-6.6 for 60m quite a few times, which is pretty decent.

Obviously, being a good starter is important in all the sprint events, but in the “floaty” athlete body-type, I think its more important to be efficient at the start, and rely on this general efficiency to make up lost ground towards the end of a race.

Craig Pickering - 21 February 2012 11:56 AM

So do you think he lifts 50kg cos he is weak (i.e. thats all he can lift), or he is under-trained, or do you think that they don’t focus on cleans (or weights in general)?

Personally, I’m not convinced he needs to get that much stronger. His (relatively) weak start might be helping him to faster 100m times, as it allows him to save a bit of energy at the beginning, or potentially hit top speed later than everyone else. He has also gone sub-6.6 for 60m quite a few times, which is pretty decent.

Obviously, being a good starter is important in all the sprint events, but in the “floaty” athlete body-type, I think its more important to be efficient at the start, and rely on this general efficiency to make up lost ground towards the end of a race.

You just made me think a bit. His 50 kg clean might not just be a 1 RM. Maybe they train for bar speed. Likely they do not focus on weights, nor should it be the focus for his type. However, he should still improve on a performance as week as that.
On the matter of getting stronger, it depends. If he is going to focus on the 100m, then he should put a bit more focus on training the start and becoming more explosive. However, if he is going to be more of a 200m guy, which would suit him more, he doesn’t need to put more focus on it. Either way, what matters is that what he is doing works for him.

Craig Pickering - 19 February 2012 05:32 PM

Ill start this off with an observation - Ive noticed that the real power athletes can lift much heaver for 1-3reps than they can for 5-10 reps, whereas the other athlete type don’t have such a large difference between the two. I call this power-reserve, and the larger the power reserve, generally the more explosive they are.

Actually power reserve would mean the opposite. If an athlete has high power or strength reserve, he can do more reps closer to his max. In other words, based on his 1RM, he can usually outperform the RM tables. I had discussions wit Charlie Francis about Ben on this very subject. Ben could do 6 reps with 600lbs., (actually looked like he was short of parallel on the videos I have seen) and Charlie said he didn’t think Ben could do much more for that. He was doing 6 reps at a weight that would be calculated to be more like a 3-4 rep max. I asked Charlie if this could be strength reserve resulting from Ben’s very high level of training, and he agreed, I think correlating to something like speed reserve.