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)

 

 

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The Triathlete's Training Bible : A Complete Training Guide for the Competitive Multisport Athlete by Joe Friel

 

 

 

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The Courage to Start : A Guide to Running for Your Life by John "The Penguin" Bingham

 

 

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4 Months to A 4 Hour Marathon
by Dave Kuehls
Cleveland Plain Dealer
"Makes running a marathon sound like a wonderful idea."

 

 

 

 

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High-Powered Plyometrics
by James C. Radcliffe ,Robert C. Farentinos and Rob C. Farentinos

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Explosive Power and Jumping Ability for All Sports
by Tadeusz Starzynski , Henryk Sozanski ,Tadeusz Ph.D., Henryk Sozanski & Thomas Kurz

 

 

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Sprinting : A Coach's Challenge
by Samuel James Freas

Customer Review

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Nutrition for Serious Athletes
by Dan Benardot

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Athletic Woman's Sourcebook: How to Stay Healthy and Competitive in Any Sport
by Janis Graham, Lisa R. Callahan

Community Service
Track Training Ideas
by Steve Bennett

Updated Feb 2006

Background
My training ideas have developed from many sources. I have had discussions with many of Australia's best coaches as well as coaches of Elite internationals such Luiz de Oliviera (Cruz and Barbosa),Said Aouita, Loren Seagrave and some Elite Athletes eg Bucher, Wilson Kipketer,Rich Kenah, Staffan Strand, Kevin Sullivan and the the manager of a number of the best Kenyan athletes.

I have followed athletics closely since the age of 9 have competed in Track athletics at metropolitan level and spent most of my young adult years playing State level squash .

Important Training Principles

It is important in some event groups (notably Middle Distance) To plan the year in such a way as to perform at your best for the 6 week peak of the year. This is especially important in the formative years. But does not mean the athlete should expect to perform poorly at any stage in the year. They should be only 4-6 weeks away from good race performances all year.

One months active rest each year after the peak is of great value. The athlete should make sure that they maintain as much fitness as possible in this time but with minimal Physical and psychological effort.

Recovery In the first 4 months of the year we follow a 4 week cycle with every 4th week much easier. or a 3 week cycle with every 3rd easier.

Relaxed speed sessions are done all year to stay familiar with fast cadence and full range of motion.

All athletes do a core strength program that is mostly done to improve posture and trunk stability.

Pelvic stability and postural improvement is an area of strong focus. See the page of Core Conditioning

I also recommend Medicine Ball throwing and catching to help stabilize the trunk.

Athletes are encouraged to get a massage from a local sports massage therapist as often as possible and to self massage.

Plunge pool use is also very good. This involves 3min in warm water followed by 10-30s in colder water. This is alternated 3 times. This aids in recovery.

They should also have regular flexibility assessment from a Physiotherapist and follow a structured stretching program to develop adequate flexibility as well as another program to perform at the track. The stretching should include a variety of stretches both dynamic and static.

All athletes should maintain good levels of aerobic power which may involve structured or unstructured fartlek or long track sessions for sprinters.

Racing every weekend as routine is not recommended. Training and adaptation are number 1 priority. Time trials or testing can be performed about once every 4 weeks throughout the early stages of training. They are a test of progress and keep the athlete closer to race fitness. There are that many races available every week that it would be easy for the young athletes to rest and taper all year. This would lead them to injuries and mediocrity. When the real season starts the athletes should feel eager to race and be able to race hard. I am concerned that too many athletes race too often at levels below their best and weaken their ability to really spend themselves when they want to.

Speed Drills as promoted by Loren Seagrave of Speed Dynamics seem effective at improving cadence and posture. I think it is also good in that it gives the sprinters an opportunity to practise being perfect. This is an attitude that needs to be valued. You can't do drills properly (and effectively) unless perfection is pursued. My athletes do speed drills as part of the warmup period at least once per week all year. The sprinters do them at least twice. Each drill is done 3-6 times for 4seconds. The Video Drills for Speed is a must have if the Drills are to be learned properly. To develop the skill seems to take at least 3 months of practise for most athletes to master.

My own squad lately has simplified their drills to just two:
1. Ankling - circular movements of lower leg maintaining dorsiflexion. Do 6-8 of these over 6-8s.
2. Quick Recovery High Knee Running - they catch their leg early bring it rapidly up underneath and keeping their pelvis stable lift their knees as high as they can without 'sitting'. They do these at varying speeds maintaining good form which means no extra bum out or sitting as well as keeping their feet dorsiflexed. They do about 6-8 of these over 6-8s at varying speeds.

I have had problems with Iron deficiency with a few athletes. They now all have routine FBC and Iron studies done to make sure all is OK. From what I gather ferritin needs to stay above 40 for an athlete to be well in the clear. My endurance athletes now take supplements 85mg once or twice per week.

Most training mostly follows a Hard-Easy day approach. My younger athletes take longer to recover after hard sessions . The challenge is to get the athlete to do everything possible to rapidly replace muscle glycogen and with that taken care of design the training to suit the athlete.

The extra factor that is now being revealed in Science is that of Neural Fatigue. Any high intensity training may have lasting negative effects on maximal performance that are not the contribution of muscle fueling or unrestored energy systems. Pay attention to how you or the athletes you coach are effected by any high intensity training. You may notice that you feel energetic but your ability to generate high cadences is impaired.

The question often asked is whether it is the athletes recovery methods (or lack of) or too hard a training load when fatigue is evident. Hard training requires top class preparation ask any Marathon runner or Triathlete!

Lately I have structured most training weeks
Mon- Track Session (hardest day)
Tue - Gym/Steady session
Wed- Track Session (hard day)
Thu- recovery day
Fri - easy day
Sat- Competition or Training
Sun- Longer medium intensity session or Easy+Gym

All athletes are encouraged to fuel up after hard sessions with high carbohydrate source drinks etc. some research has found that there is a window of opportunity immediately after training within the first 15min for the body to rapidly replenish Glycogen if Carbohydrate is ingested.The recommended amount is about 1.5g/kg bodyweight of preferably Glucose Polymers.This can be repeated again 2 hrs later.

Low Glycogen is the first thing I look toward if the athlete is not sick but is feeling tired from training. After being reminded to eat more and at the right time they become and stay much fresher.
There are also reported benefits of ingesting some protein immediately after training to enhance repair and growth. The Science behind the theory is to do with higher levels of Growth Hormone and Testosterone that result after from hard training. This amy be a Growth and Repair window in addition to the Glycogen window.  

The quest to be a Great Athlete
A Key Idea

The athletes need to set goals and believe in themselves.
To really achieve usually means doing something that others believe is impossible.
The spirit of an athlete that is aiming for the top needs to be developed and protected from influences that could destroy it. If a potentially great athlete is always in the company of athletes with no real commitment toward a similar dream. Then problems discriminating between what everyone else is doing and what needs to be done will arise. Strong Desire is a must.
Top athletes must be determined and committed.This should be obvious in the way they approach the hard and technical sessions.
It is very easy for an athlete to gradually lose that fire and settle for being a good State level athlete.
Most of our youth are used to being very comfortable and usually don't have to wait very long to get the enjoyment they want. The emerging strong nations in athletics have large numbers of their youth with strong desire, self belief and may not have the problem of being distracted from top level

Steve Bennett

Oztrack has released the following 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

An E-book of all Oztrack Training Information is now available. It contains 70 A4 pages formattted for printing.

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.