Elitetrack: Sport Training & Conditioning

I thought that I’d share a training routine that I am implementing for 2 different high school girl athletes. Hopefully I can get some advice from the folks on this board as I go. Both of these girls’ best races were the 400m. One is a naturally gifted short sprinter, the other is built for the 800m. They will both be seniors. Here are current end of year marks, stats, and information for the girls:

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McKenzie:
Naturally gifted short sprinter. With little training she runs around 13.0 in the 100m, 25.85 in the 200m, and 57.19 in the 400m. She splits out a 12.1 in the 4x100m, low 25s in the 4x200m, and a 56.7 in the 4x400m. She has very little weight room training and has had to deal with very bad asthma her entire life. Also, she has something wrong with the arch of her foot so that she needs to have it taped every day. She is a true competitor and it is amazing to watch her reel people in on the 4x400m relay. Last year her season ended short due to an illness the day of the league meet. This year she made it to state and placed 2nd in the 400m and 5th on a 3:58 4x400m relay. When she ran 57.19, her last 100m was around 15.4 so she didn’t die terribly.

Bench: 65 lbs.
Power Clean: 75 lbs.
Back Squat: 145 lbs.

Goals:
100m: 12.3
200m: 24.2
400m: 54
Bench: 115 lbs.
Power Clean: 115 lbs.
Back Squat: 235 lbs.

———————————————-
April:
Mediocre at sprinting but worked hard on weights this past year. Over the last year we worked on her speed and she went from 14.0 to 13.2, 29.1 to 26.3, 61.49 to 60.06 in the 100m, 200m, and 400m respectively. She ran the 800m twice with her best being a 2:25.5. She beats herself up mentally because her 60.06 happened in her first 400m race of the year and she never improved in a meet—she ran 58.7 in practice with no pressure. Never had any serious injuries except for a grade 1 turf toe incident to finish out this year. She consistently runs 18 or 19 seconds for the last 100m of the 400m; she comes out too fast and really hits the wall.

Bench: 90 lbs.
Power Clean: 110 lbs.
Back Squat: 165 lbs.

Goals:
100m: 12.7
200m: 25.5
400m: 57.0
800m: 2:10
Bench: 115 lbs.
Power Clean: 135 lbs.
Back Squat: 245 lbs.

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I am going to be training April for a 400m/800m double and McKenzie for the 1/2/4. I haven’t ever trained an athlete for the 800m, so be kind! It will be a speed-based 800m training routine.

Summer training starts next week and here is the general setup for the running:
Monday: Acc. Development
Tuesday: Off
Wednesday: MaxV for McKenzie, Lactic-type work for April
Thursday: Extensive tempo for April
Friday: MaxV
Saturday: Off
Sunday: Off

For the weights I derived a program based heavily from Tudor Bompa’s book.
M, W, F
Primary Lifts: Bench Press, Power Clean, Back Squat
Other Lifts: RDL, Military Press, Upright Rows, Push-ups, Pull-ups

The overall idea is to keep it simple for these high schoolers. We had great success last year following a similar program so I won’t be changing it up too much.

My idea with this journal is to post a week’s worth of workouts at a time and if there is any advice or questions to address them before the workouts happen. I will post next week’s workout soon! Then, as the workouts happen, I will post results and other thoughts.

Would any more information on the athletes be beneficial? Did I forget anything that would help you all help me?

All days:
Warmup - 3 laps on football field, barefoot; sprint drills; 3 x 40m accels
Warmdown - 2 laps barefoot; shin exercises; 3 x 30 sec. leg lowering holds
Weights - bench w/cable rows, squat: 4x5 @ 75%; PC 4x5 @ 70%; military press w/chin-ups, upright rows, RDL: 3-4 x 6-8; push-ups w/pull-ups

Monday Acc. Dev.:
3 x 10m (blocks), 3 x 20m (blocks), 3 x 30m (blocks), 3 x 30m hills
2-3 minutes rest between each
Plyos - 2 x 10 ankle hops (single and double foot); 8 standing long jumps; 3 x 8 jump from box

Wednesday:
April: 3 x 300m; first 300m @ 85% (49s), the others @ 75%; 100m walk rest (up to 3 minutes); 20 min. run
McK: 5 x 20m flys, 5 x 30m flys (20m run-in); 2-3 minutes rest

Thursday:
April: 25 min. run, 20 min. of strides (100m @ 400m backstretch pace)

Friday:
5 x 20m flys, 5 x 30m flys (20m run-in); 2-3 minutes rest
Plyos - 2 x 10 ankle hops (single and double foot); 8 standing long jumps; 3 x 8 jump from box

Very thorough background.

Wondering about April’s Thursday workout:
20 minutes of strides at 400 pace? Is that a typo?

That seems really fast for the day right before MaxV.

Aaron,
No, that wasn’t a typo, I didn’t know any better. I was thinking about 15-16 seconds which is about 85% at the time I made the workout. I’m not sure what to do with the strides as I’ve never done them this way before. Do you think 75% would be a better pace? Any other suggestions?

If she is also an 800 girl I would say that would be a perfect pace. Start at about 20s now and gradually lower it towards goal pace as she comes into fitness.

I guess it really depends on what you meant by “20 mins of strides.”
What is the work-rest ratio there?

I feel like I’m jumping at your throat. Sorry if you get that impression! I’m just suggesting and starting discussion.

Aaron,
Okay, I’ll slow it down for her a bit. By 20 min. of strides I meant build up for 20m-30m to a nice, relaxed pace and hold that pace until the end of the 100m focusing on running technique…it definitely wasn’t meant to be a difficult workout. (It will probably actually end up being 100 yards on the football field.) Then, I figured she would take a minute or two rest and go again. I was hoping for 10-15 of them in the 20 minutes.

I’m glad you are helping out. Like I said in the first post, I’ve never trained anyone for the 800m before so any help or suggestions are appreciated.

On the schedule for today was:
Monday Acc. Dev.:
3 x 10m (blocks), 3 x 20m (blocks), 3 x 30m (blocks), 3 x 30m hills 2-3 minutes rest between each
Plyos - 2 x 10 ankle hops (single and double foot); 8 standing long jumps; 3 x 8 jump from box

Weights:
4 x 5 @ 75% Bench, PC, Squat
3 sets of 8 for RDL, Military, Upright Rows, Push-ups, pull-ups

I, unfortunately, am out of town on business travel so I couldn’t coach them through the workout today.

I chatted with McKenzie and she completed the workout. It sounded like she did really well. They didn’t use our timing system today, but I told her to use it on Wednesday. She didn’t tape her arch today (which scares me a little), but she said that it isn’t even bothering her so I’ll take it. Still going to make sure she is careful about it.

April is going to take this week easy by using the bike so that she is sure her toe is completely ready to go. This wasn’t a surprise to me, but I was hoping she would at least try running a little.

Today:
McKenzie: 5 x 20m flys, 5 x 30m flys (20m run-in); 2-3 minutes rest
Times:
20m flys: 2.38, 2.44
30m flys: 3.53, 3.77, and a 3.97 with a very strong head-wind apparently

Weights:
5 x 4 @ 80% Bench, PC, Squat
3 sets of 8 for RDL, Military, Upright Rows, Push-ups, pull-ups

McKenzie sounded great when I talked with her tonight. She seemed happy and said that she is feeling fast. Also, her foot is not bothering her at all which is better news than her times. We have our kids race each other (2 at a time) so we only measure, at most, half of what they have planned for the runs with our timing gates. The 3.53 happened on her last run and it sounds like she was very close to beating one of our boy 110m hurdlers (mid 12s for 100m open) which is fantastic! She is definitely a racer.

April is still taking it easy on her toe so nothing to report there.

We are in a GPP-type phase with the weights to phase the kids back into lifting so it is no surprise that I am being told it is easy for them.

Sounds like McKenzie has a pretty bad cold and will not be running today.

Weights:
6 x 3 @ 80% Bench, PC, Squat
3 sets of 8 for RDL, Military, Upright Rows, Push-ups, pull-ups

Edit: Found out today that April did run on Friday. She performed 1 20m fly at 2.62 and then stopped due to her toe. I’m not sure how long it is going to take for her toe to heal. Hopefully soon! I may have to rethink my training plan for her for the next couple weeks.

Running plan for next week is the same as this week.

Monday Acc. Dev.:
3 x 10m (blocks), 3 x 20m (blocks), 3 x 30m (blocks), 3 x 30m hills
2-3 minutes rest between each
Plyos - 2 x 10 ankle hops (single and double foot); 8 standing long jumps; 3 x 8 jump from box

Wednesday:
April: 3 x 300m; first 300m @ 85% (49s), the others @ 75%; 100m walk rest (up to 3 minutes); 20 min. run
McK: 5 x 20m flys, 5 x 30m flys (20m run-in); 2-3 minutes rest

Thursday:
April: 25 min. run, 20 min. of strides (100m @ ~18-20 seconds)

Friday MaxV:
5 x 20m flys, 5 x 30m flys (20m run-in); 2-3 minutes rest
Plyos - 2 x 10 ankle hops (single and double foot); 8 standing long jumps; 3 x 8 jump from box

Weights:
3 sets of 8 for RDL, Military, Upright Rows, Push-ups, pull-ups
Monday: 4 x 5 @ 80%
Wed.: 5 x 4 @ 80%
Fri.: 6 x 3 @ 85%
Bench, PC, Squat

Getting ready for a max test the following week to establish a starting point.

Monday Acc. Dev.:
3 x 10m (blocks), 3 x 20m (blocks), 3 x 30m (blocks), 3 x 30m hills
2-3 minutes rest between each
Plyos - 2 x 10 ankle hops (single and double foot); 8 standing long jumps; 3 x 8 jump from box

Weights:
3 sets of 8 for RDL, Military, Upright Rows, Push-ups, pull-ups
Monday: 4 x 5 @ 80%
Wed.: 5 x 4 @ 80%
Fri.: 6 x 3 @ 85%
Bench, PC, Squat

McKenzie was out of town today and April took it easy again. There were other athletes that ran today, though.

Man, Turf toe causes problems! Soon, I may have to modify my plan a bit to accommodate her recovery. It has been 2 entire weeks of zero running and she still isn’t 100%...how long will it take? I’m going to put her on the bike Wednesday and probably again on Friday for some more structured bike workouts. There is still a lot of time left until next season so I shouldn’t worry too much—gotta get her healthy!

Wednesday:
McK: 5 x 20m flys, 5 x 30m flys (20m run-in); 2-3 minutes rest
Times:
20m flys: 2.51, 2.45, 2.41
30m flys: 3.73, 3.67, 3.64, 3.75, 3.64

Weights:
3 sets of 8 for RDL, Military, Upright Rows, Push-ups, pull-ups
Wed.: 5 x 4 @ 80%
Bench, PC, Squat

McKenzie’s times were pretty good! Better, on average, than last week. Since school has been in session, the kids have been lifting before the running. Starting next week, that will flip-flop. It will be interesting to see if the times are affected at all (better).

April did a bike workout to try and mimic the planned running. 6 x 45 seconds (hard) with 90 seconds recovery.

Friday practice has been cancelled.

Next week’s plan:

Monday:
3 x 20m (blocks), 3 x 30m (blocks), 3 x 40m (blocks), 6 x 30m High Knee Focused Hills
2-3 minutes rest between each rep.
Plyos: Two foot ankle hop - 2 sets of 10, Single foot ankle hop - 1 set of 10 per leg, Standing long jump (into sand) - 8, Jump from box - 3 sets of 8
Addtional Exercises: Split Squat - 3 sets of 10 per leg, Leg Lowering Holds - 3 sets of 30 seconds

Wednesday:
April: 5 x 200m @ 29-30 seconds; 200m walk rest, 20 min. run
McK: 5 x 20m flys (20m run-in), 5 x 30m flys (20m run-in), 20 min. run
2-3 minutes rest between each rep.
Plyos: Two foot ankle hop - 2 sets of 10, Single foot ankle hop - 1 set of 10 per leg, Standing long jump (into sand) - 8, Jump from box - 3 sets of 8
Addtional Exercises: Split Squat - 3 sets of 10 per leg, Banded Leg Drives - 3 sets of 10 per leg, Leg Lowering Holds - 3 sets of 30 seconds

Thursday:
April: 25 min. run, 20 min. of strides

Friday:
April: 2 x (200m, 30 seconds rest, then 80m)
3-5 minutes rest between each rep.
McK: 3 x 20m flys (20m run-in), 3 x 30m flys (20m run-in), 3 x 40m flys (20m run-in)
2-3 minutes rest
Plyos: Two foot ankle hop - 2 sets of 10, Single foot ankle hop - 1 set of 10 per leg, Standing long jump (into sand) - 8, Jump from box - 3 sets of 8
Addtional Exercises: Split Squat - 3 sets of 10 per leg, Leg Lowering Holds - 3 sets of 30 seconds

Weights:
3 sets of 8 for RDL, Military, Upright Rows, Push-ups, pull-ups
Monday: Max Test for Bench, PC, and Squat
Wednesday: 6 x 4 @ 75%
Friday: 6 x 4 @ 75%
Bench, PC, Squat

The goal for this week is to get April running. Therefore, I may have to adjust the original plan as seen above to ease her into it. Also, the kids may compete in an all-comer meet on Wednesday night instead of performing the running workout listed above for that day. So far I have been very pleased with McKenzie’s times. Currently, I have not heard final word as to whether or not she will do cross country this year.

Warmup - 3 laps on football field, barefoot; sprint drills; 3 x 40m accels

Monday:
3 x 20m (blocks), 3 x 30m (blocks), 3 x 40m (blocks), 6 x 30m High Knee Focused Hills; 2-3 minutes rest between each rep.
Plyos: Two foot ankle hop - 2 sets of 10, Single foot ankle hop - 1 set of 10 per leg, Standing long jump (into sand) - 8, Jump from box - 3 sets of 8; 2-3 minutes rest between each rep.
Addtional Exercises: Split Squat - 3 sets of 10 per leg, Leg Lowering Holds - 3 sets of 30 seconds

Warmdown - 2 laps barefoot; shin exercises

Weights:
Monday: Max Test for Bench, PC, and Squat

(edit to add results)
Times:
McK:
20m w/10m: 2.18, 3.43; 2.15, 3.51
30m w/20m: 3.56, 4.85; 3.63, 4.90; 3.54, 4.87
40m w/30m: 4.78, 5.98; 4.92, 5.93; 4.78, 6.04
April:
20m w/10m: 2.14, 3.56; 2.25, 3.66
30m w/20m: 3.77, 5.07; 3.83, 5.19; 3.70, 5.06
40m w/30m: 5.06, 6.39; 4.86, 6.18
The times were taken using the brower timing system with another athlete saying, “ready, set, go” and hitting the touch pad.

Maxes:
McKenzie: PC: 75lbs to 100lbs, Bench: 65lbs to 80lbs
April: PC: 110lbs to 120lbs, Squat: 165lbs to 185lbs

Yesterday (Monday) was a very good day! April was able to complete the whole workout and didn’t mention her toe at all. Both April and McKenzie will be running in an all-comers meet on Wednesday so the workout probably won’t be done completely. Also, the weight room will be closed for maintenance for the rest of the week. I’m glad we found some maxes yesterday. (see yesterday’s post edit for results)

I noticed that April, out of the blocks, was standing straight up and she had an unusually high heel recovery—it made her look like she was spinning her wheels but not going anywhere. It isn’t something she did during the season. Maybe it is due to the fact that she hasn’t sprinted in about 3 weeks. Does anyone have any ideas as to why this could be happening? Any ideas to try to fix it?

McKenzie has mentioned that the outside of her knee (possibly IT band related) has been bothering her slightly. She wasn’t able to do squats, but her running didn’t seem affected by it. Does anyone have any ideas on how I can help her strengthen this area?

I’m very impressed that the weight maxes increased so much! The last time McKenzie maxed was on April 3rd and after that we did power focused lifting (5-7 sets of 6-7 reps @ 45-50%) for the rest of the season (5 weeks), the last 2 weeks of the season without any lifting (maybe 1 day of maintenance), and the most recent previous 3 weeks with easy GPP work. April followed a similar scheme, but the last time she maxed was March 9th and then 8 weeks of power, 2 weeks of maintenance, 2 weeks off (1 day of maintenance), then the last 2 weeks were easy GPP. It looks like the power workouts will help some athletes increase strength as well! This isn’t something limited to just these 2 girls either. Some of the other athletes that maxed recently have seen huge improvements in maxes!

McKenzie and April participated in an all-comers meet on Wednesday so there wasn’t any formal practice. It was really fun to watch them! April did alright considering her recent down time, I suppose, posting a 14.0 in the open 100m and a 13.2 split on a 4x1 relay. McKenzie was really impressive. She ran a 58.1 in the 400m which is only about a second off of her PR. Considering she hasn’t run over 50m since May 30th, I was impressed! She came by the 200m mark a 27.1 and 300m at 41.3 all by herself and made it look extremely easy!

Today is a 20 minute run for April followed by 20 minutes of strides @ about 18-20 seconds for 100m pace.

Cody