Sprint Training

800m Training

 Developing Aths
Sprints

Middle Distance

Trunk training

Pro - Coaching

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Flyers Track Team includes biographies of my Squad, Current training programs, Blue Mountains images and more.

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The Complete Book of Running for Women : Everything You Need to Know About Training, Nutrition, Injury Prevention, Motivation, Racing and Much, + more by Claire Kowalchik(Introduction)

 

 

Coaching Resource for Developing Athletes
Sprint Training for the Developing Athlete.
by Steve Bennett
B.Sc. (Physiology)  ATFCA Level II

This article is designed for younger athletes who have done little training. It contains the main points of a long term approach.

It is initially much more important to improve balance, posture and stability of the trunk than it is to improve leg or arm strength.

Sprinters should develop overall fitness in a way that does not involve jogging. They should however BE ABLE to jog for a long distance without a problem. Overall fitness can be acquired through dance, medicine balls, skipping etc. A variety is best. Progressive circuit training is great.

Improving the ability to have the type of speed that comes with little effort is the goal. Athletes need to always practise relaxing when running. The is a skill that must be practised from a young age. RACING can often be a time of practising the bad habit of trying too hard especially in the very young. The ability to run fast and have it look easy is of the highest importance. The quality of an athlete that can have very fast steps is the first thing that needs to be developed from a young age.

Sprinters should not be instructed to run on their toes or to pump their arms high.
-It is better to develop a foot that is moving backward before impact and a foot carriage that is as close as possible to the shin (Dorsiflexion).
-Arms should be held with relaxed fingers and the main focus of effort should be a backward stroke. They should also not move very far forward from the body.

Maximum speed is the most important quality to develop on a regular basis. This should be done with maximum speed experiences over short distances. eg Flying start 20-30m runs or Standing start runs over 30-40-50 or 60m. The athlete should perform these runs at maximum relaxed speed in sets of 3 with rests between of 3-5min where they stay active and between sets they should do other balance or trunk activities for maybe 10-15min. eg A maximum amount may be 3 sets of 3 runs over 60m. A good amount to do regularly (ie. 2-3 times/week) would be 2 sets of 3 runs over 40-50m. The athlete should never do more once they are getting slower within the session eg. If the times over 60m are 8.30, 8.20. 8.25, 8.30,8.60,8.80,9.00. Then they should have ended the session after the first obviosly slower run in the session and in the example that was the 8.60. Initially runners may be slowing after even the first run, but with training they may be able to 9 runs at the same speed.

The ability to develop the endurance to finish off a 100m or 200m race is best developed in races. Training at slower speeds to improve performance in these events is mostly of a little positive effect. Endurance is best developed while running at race speed If the athlete is really lacking in Speed Endurance at the end of these races they could do sessions like below:
- 2x 3 x Flying start 60m runs at high speed with rests of only 90s
- 4 x Flying100m very fast rests 3min.

The 400m event needs special training at the slower 400m race speed. The ability to relax and use little energy is important at race pace.
Some sessions to improve performance in the 400m are:
- 10 x Flying 100m at 400m race pace rests 3min
- 4 x 200m at 400m pace rests 5min
- 2 x 300 at 400m race pace rest 15min
- 400m athletes should also do more endurance training and can get by with more jogging especially in the off season. Maximum speed training is also of high importance.

It is important to have good foot function and for this reason it is useful for athletes to spend as much time as possible barefoot. Walking on sand is very good. Training should be conducted in very light simple shoes. Racing flats from the Runners Shop are much better than joggers for training in.

In Cold weather athletes must warm-up carefully and keep warm. Tights are great for training in as they maintain warmth during the frequent recoveries.

Training to improve muscle elasticity is very useful in all athletes eg. Games like Fly, Hop-Scotch, Skipping short distances, Leap frog and playful hopping and bouncing around are all great stimulation to the elastic qualities of muscle. Combining sensible amounts of these activities with balance challenging activites and relaxed movement practise would be ideal especially for very young athletes.

Any strength training should be restricted to the trunk until the athlete has optimal development of their posture and good levels of stability. Strength training is much more effective after this is developed anyway.

Young athletes lose flexibility as they grow and their bodies will naturally try to cheat to find ways to move to make up for the deficiency. Small amounts of perfect practise are better at decreasing the development of bad habits. Large amounts of high effort training during stages of decreased flexibillity and poor posture will result in the athlete learning a bad running style that will be more difficult to correct. Athletes need to have a smart stretching program designed persoannly for them during periods after faster growth. They need to be taught good posture and given feedback on what is good and bad posture when sitting, standing, walking and running. Most of our society have posture far below ideal.

Oztrack has created an E-book

Training Kids for Speed.
It contains the very latest Sprint Training Ideas explained in a way that can be used with Young Athletes.


A must read for any coach or parent.



Learn to run the modern way displayed by Marion Jones , Maurice Greene and other star sprinters.

More information is HERE

Body Control: Using Techniques Developed by Joseph H. Pilates
by Lynne Robinson, Joseph Pilates, Gordon Thomson

If you've ever wondered how ballet dancers get that graceful, calm-looking, perfectly postured stance, one of the reasons is a series of exercises named for the late trainer Joseph H. Pilates. Long a staple of dance studios, his techniques are becoming a staple in gyms as well. Body Control provides an excellent introduction to the Pilates method and easy-to-follow instructions for doing them at home, without the need for special machinery that instructors often use. The book describes 40 different exercises and explains how to relax and breathe correctly while doing them. Even more important, it explains what you may be doing wrong (since some of the exercises could worsen a painful condition if done incorrectly). The very clear illustrations, which mix photographs with line drawings, will allow most people to get the hang of it right away. Because it works muscles you may not ordinarily use that much, these exercises take more effort than you might think. And while they don't promise huge muscles, adherents say the method helps them stand up straighter and move more easily, without pain. Nothing can turn an ordinary person into a ballet star, but these exercises could make you almost as graceful as one.