[therealtmac]

therealtmac on March 18, 2007 at 10:48 pm #12886

Do sprinters train in spikes when doing workouts on the track? I do to maintaim form but I heard it's not good for your knees.

[Mike Young]

Mike Young on March 24, 2007 at 10:25 am #63635

I have my sprinters do almost all of my speed work in spikes. The only time they aren't in spikes for speed work is EARLY in the year or if they have some type of lower leg injury.

As for being bad for the knees, I've actually never noticed this to be the case. I've seen stress reaction type injuries in the foot and tib / fib but never in the knee. In these cases it was almost always because the jump to speed work in spikes had been too sudden or inappropriately (like when coming back from a different injury).

ELITETRACK Founder

[RunnerMan]

RunnerMan on March 24, 2007 at 2:46 pm #63636

The only time they aren't in spikes for speed work is EARLY in the year or if they have some type of lower leg injury.

Mike…you get your athletes to do speed work with lower leg injuries and its also implied with upper leg injuries?

[Beau Brehm]

Beau Brehm on March 24, 2007 at 10:43 pm #63637

[quote author="mike" date="1174712179"]
The only time they aren't in spikes for speed work is EARLY in the year or if they have some type of lower leg injury.

Mike…you get your athletes to do speed work with lower leg injuries and its also implied with upper leg injuries?
[/quote]

I don't think that's what he meant, but obviously it would be a case-by-case thing dependent on severity of the injury.

[Mike Young]

Mike Young on March 25, 2007 at 3:58 am #63638

[quote author="mike" date="1174712179"]
The only time they aren't in spikes for speed work is EARLY in the year or if they have some type of lower leg injury.

Mike…you get your athletes to do speed work with lower leg injuries and its also implied with upper leg injuries?
[/quote]We might do speed work if an athlete is on the tail end of complete recovery from a lower leg stress related injury (stress reaction or stress fracture of tib / fib or metatarsals). This work is initially done in flats and then spikes are gradually phased in.

It's practically impossible to do speed work with upper leg injuries. Also, stress related injuries of the upper leg are practically non-existant in healthy athletes (amenorrheic athletes are really the only ones who need to worry about this).

ELITETRACK Founder