Carrie Lane, Director of Speed and Strength Performance, Under Armour
Full video on Glazier Drive: Strength Outside the Weight Room: Effective & Efficient Strength Training
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OVERVIEW
This presentation covers how to structure strength training for track and field athletes using a three-category framework that applies across all event groups, with adjustments based on the specific demands of each event.
THE THREE CATEGORIES OF STRENGTH TRAINING
All strength work should fall into one of three buckets: plyometric training, general strength/bodyweight/calisthenic work (sometimes called pillar work), and heavy load training.
Coaches should evaluate their programs by asking whether they’re hitting all three categories in each session, though the distribution doesn’t have to be equal.
PROGRAMMING BY EVENT GROUP
The percentage split across the three categories should reflect the athlete’s event. Throwers might spend roughly 50% on heavy loads and split the remainder between bodyweight work and low-level plyometrics. A freshman distance runner, on the other hand, might spend around 75% on general strength and medicine ball work, with the remaining split between light plyometrics and an introduction to heavier loads.
A NOTE ON HEAVY LOADS
Heavy loads require a deliberate preparation phase that could take a full year before significant weight is introduced. Coaches should gradually build an athlete’s capacity to handle load rather than jumping straight to heavy barbell work.
SIX MOVEMENT QUALITIES TO TRAIN
When designing sessions, coaches should check their programming against six key movement qualities: hip-initiated movement, stiffness, elasticity, change of direction, posture awareness and pelvic positioning, and range of motion variety. Stiffness and elasticity work together — athletes need enough elasticity to absorb load and enough stiffness to push off efficiently through the stretch-shortening cycle.
USING THE WEIGHT ROOM TO COMPLEMENT SPORT DEMANDS
For distance runners who operate in limited ranges of motion on the track, the weight room is an opportunity to counterbalance that by exploring larger ranges of motion. General strength work is also a good vehicle for introducing rotational and twisting movements, since the torso rotates with every running stride and athletes shouldn’t be too stiff or too loose in that plane.
THE PROGRAMMING PROCESS
The recommended approach is to start by identifying which movement qualities need to be developed, then select activities from across the three categories that address as many of those qualities as possible within a given session.