…tkaberna
Ouch… on thoughts #1 and #2
but no worries on #3 as she’s been involved in sports year round (or nearly) since she was in elementary school. She ran indoor & outdoor w/her high school (Jan-May) and then ran summer track (USATF/AAU) until August this year. She also cheers for football & basketball (which includes competitions) – where she cheers & tumbles. Fat she ain’t…
Her coaches philosophy is that lower body work is largely achieved through running & plyos (with the exception of previously mentioned calf work and squats). They feel a mileage base is essential for her success & to prevent injuries.
The focus on upper body weight training is they feel that the upper body is the first thing that breaks down in a race. The goals is for them to be able to “pump” their arms an entire race.
The strategy is for her to be able to run 3 miles in 23-26 minutes before the track season begins – feeling that if she can do this – she should be ready to run fast 300’s.
Overall – the coaches feel that this method of slowly building a base has been successful in preventing injuries and in the success of their sprinters and middle distance runners.
I realize there are many roads that lead to Rome – and each coach has a unique philosophy based on past experience, knowledge, etc.
Specifically – from a training science point of view – what are the concerns of this type of training protocol vs. that proposed by dbandre? In other words – “why” is one program likely to be more effective than the other?
rcfan:
As we have discussed. There are many faults in their logic, methodologies, and “fuzzy” science.
#1. The arms are the result and counterbalance to leg action. Trying to work on enhancing arm pumping actions will not enhance performance of the legs on the ground. This nonsense needs to addressed and removed from the mindsets of the coaching community in the US. If you do enough of my multi-throws sessions, you wouldn’t have to worry about their arm work in the weight room. The lower body work would enough in and of itself to strengthen the arms and shoulders. Kill 2 birds with stone and eat them on the way to Rome. There are many roads, but some are better than others.
#2. 3 miles of running at 8:00 minute mile pace will build a base for a 1.5 mile run at 7:00 minute pace or a 1 mile run at 6:15-6:30 pace at the most and maybe a 2:50 800m, but the aerobic benefit at 400m means you are still likely to only run 400m at most in 66-68s, not too bad for a girl to start a season at indoor, but what’s the potential to improve on that time? It’s not much, maybe 2-3s.
#3 What you ultimately are wanting to work towards is a consistent power output over 300m intermediates at 47s or better, hopefully getting to that 45s barrier. That is done by enhancing the ability to replicate power at intervals of less than 45s. You also want to increase her strength and power.
see my blog on power endurance on my site at sprenten.com for more information or the power endurance thread on this site.
#4 As far as injuries go, The lower volume, higher quality work of the program I outlined will be far more beneficial and less prone to injury than the 3 mile running one. In fact, your athlete will likely get stronger, more powerful, and be able to generate that enhanced power for a longer period of time than under 3 mile setup without risking injury. The bones will respond better to higher loads of lifting weights and plyos and it’s likely if there is good muscular balance throughout the legs that shin splints will be less likely to occur. Pounding out 3 miles at 8:00 pace won’t help overcome the stress forces of hurdling over 100m or 300m on bones, muscles, fascia, tendons, and ligaments. I would do only enough upper body work to support the increased load which the upper body needs to perform the lower body work without failing on max reps.
#5 Which is one of my biggest pet peeves. The coaches who talk about base building like it’s a distance race. She runs 400m maximum. How much aerobic base does she need? Not very much and what she does need she can get from other sources and higher power output. If anything it would be better to recommend that she do 600m-1k runs at about 5:30-6:00 mile pace efforts building that to 3000m max. The Base (Work Capacity) is all about power-endurance or building max strength and max power.
#6 Bottom line is you are just as likely if not more likely to have injuries late in the season from their prescribed method while with a program like I presented in a traditional ends to middle or even short to long program you likely only have to bear witness to injuries in fall or winter. Injuries happen and you reduce them by testing athletes and monitoring how well they are adapting. If they aren’t adapting, then they aren’t getting adequate rest for the work they completed.
