Track and Field Toolbox

The following is a listing of all posts in the category of Middle Distance for our site.

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600 Meter Repeat Workouts

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This post was provided by Complete Track and Field

By Scott Christensen

Prescribing 600 meter repeat workouts for middle distance runners is a staple in any program.  The training effects of this length of workout will tax the aerobic energy system, place huge demands on the anaerobic energy system, increase the cross-sectional diameter of Type 1 (slow twitch) muscle fibers, increase the cross-sectional diameter of Type 2 (fast twitch) muscle fibers, increase the volume of aerobic and anaerobic enzymes, increase myoglobin volume, improve running economy, and increase the buffering ability of the cell—all dependent on what intensity is prescribed to the 600 meter interval session.

Middle distance runners think they alone control the intensity of a 600 meter repeat workout and they do to a point.  The athlete’s brain analyzes what the goal of the workout is based on prior experiences and then sets up a pace that ensures nothing catastrophic will happen to the body.

* Coaching Resource: The Mile: Successful Coaching Strategies

But, the coach also has a big influence on the intensity of the work because the coach controls the recovery interval.  A short recovery interval means low intensity work and a high level of recovery means high intensity during the runs.  While maintaining the work distance of 600 meters for three types of work, let’s look at the differences in session implementation based on the projected outcome of each workout.

 

1.  The first 600 meter workout example stimulates aerobic energy system development through improvement in running economy. Aerobic work is mostly low intensity, so the recovery will be short.  The workout is 12 x 600 meters with 20 seconds recovery between.  Because the skill level varies so much in middle distance runners, the target times for each 600 meter repeat must also be varied based on Table 1.  The constants are the workout distance and the recovery interval.  Because this session is aerobic in nature, target times are determined to be 85% of present day vVO2 max (2 mile) pace.

2.  The second 600 meter workout example stimulates mostly aerobic energy system development through improvement in aerobic power. This workout is more intense than the first example so the recovery interval will be longer.  The workout is 10 x 600 meters with recovery equal to the work period as shown in Table 2. Because vVO2 max pace skill level varies so much in middle distance runners, the target times for each 600 meter repeat must also be varied.  If doing this workout as a group just use an average group recovery time that is close for all the runners.  The target times are based right on individual vVO2 max pace times for the current date.

3.  The third 600 meter workout example stimulates mostly anaerobic energy system development through improvement in anaerobic capacity and lactate tolerance. Because it is anaerobic the runners date pate 400 meter time should be used to set up goal times and not vVO2 max.  The 600 meter work velocity should be set up to be 88% of current date 400 meter pace as shown it Table 3.  The workout is 5 x 600 meters with 5 minutes recovery between each bout of work.

* Additional Teaching Resource:  The Training Model for High School Middle Distance

 

The same workout distance can be run several different ways by merely adjusting the recovery time between bouts of work which directly influences the intensity of the effort.


Quantifying Training Effort: Middle Distance

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This post was provided by Complete Track and Field

By Scott Christensen

Most distance running coaches know that training for a 5-kilometer race involves a mix of aerobic and anaerobic workout sessions that will adaptively lead to improvements in a runner’s metabolic system.  The work is varied, combined, and sequenced over a season in a way that is specific to the energy demands of the 5k race.  Workout loads and session sequences designed for the 5k are similar to those of the 3k and 6k, but look far different than what is done for the 800, 1500, and 10k events.  We can safely say training is event-specific in the distance events.  While volume is stressed in events longer than the 5k, the intensity is stressed in the events shorter than the 5k.  Today we well focus on quantifying training effort of the middle distance runner.

What is very fast work in one event, is not so fast in another.  What is running far for one type of runner is not so far for another.  And how does a coach define terms like “medium” pace or “short” distance so that an athlete understands?  Descriptive training words must be in the context of the situation, and many times do not describe the message very well at all.

A science-based training program must include two assumptions, first, the training is replicable, and will yield similar results if the same variables continue to be controlled.  Second, the training load, and evidence of result, is quantifiable.  Quantifying results is easy, the stopwatch, heart rate monitor, or lactate analyzer will do that part.  Quantifying the training load a coach prescribes each day is not so easy.

Coaches commonly want to explain and define a workout’s intensity and volume to their athletes with familiar terms such as jogging, easy, medium, tough, super-tough, short, long, etc.  All these words need lots of contexts to make their meaning clear.  Even prescribing paces with scenarios like “conversational pace” to describe aerobic threshold long runs (AT) or “can barely talk” to describe lactate threshold tempo runs (LT) can vary widely from runner to runner.

 

* Coaching Resource: Speed Development for Distance Runners

 

What runners really need from their coaches each day is a number to shoot for in their prescribed efforts, using quantifiable terms such as vVO2 max pace, heart rate values, scaled lactate numbers, or a rate of perceived exertion (RPE) number such as you would get off of the Borg Scale come.  This is quantifiable training that takes no interpretation.  It is crystal clear what the effort should be.

Actually, any of these four numerical values could be used to quantify effort for the same workout.  For example, in a fit 1500-meter runner, heart rate at race pace, lactate number at race pace, vVO2 max at race pace, and RPE at race pace should all correlate with one another for that individual athlete.  The same could be said for any workout that runner is prescribed to do whether is above or below their race pace.  Some experience for a runner would be needed to be able to self-quantify work so that they can perceive what a 170-bpm heart rate feels like, or what a 9.0 mmol/L lactate number pace feels like, or what 75% vVO2 max feels like, or what perceiving work on the 6-20 Borg Scale feels like (so that everything does not feel like a 20).

Heart rate, lactate level, vVO2 max pace, and RPE are the four quantifiable scales that are most effectively used to predict, self-assess, and evaluate workloads in running.  Pick one of the four methods and interact with your athlete in discussing workouts using the preferred scale of that method as your marker.  Fortunately, sport scientists have done considerable work already on this topic for assessing human performance, and have come up with means of cross-referencing data between the four quantifying markers.

Quantification of the metabolic stress of running effort can be measured in the four different ways described.  Generally, the amount of effort to maintain a given speed in a trained individual is consistent with relative heart rates and lactate levels in the blood.

 

* Additional Teaching Resource:  The Training Model for High School Middle Distance

 

Running coaches can use reference Table 1 for prescribing and measuring training loads. The table considers several factors and uses an equation developed in 1994 by David Swain Ph D

(% HR max = (0.64 x % VO2 max) + 37. This promotes predictive and measurable training intensities, particularly when used in conjunction with the rate of perceived exertion (RPE) as measured by the Borg Scale.

The ability to understand training loads and to know how they “feel” while doing them is important for middle distance runners continued development.  At first, all they know is that running is hard.  But, as running gets easier because of improvements in power, efficiency, and capacity, the perception of how it feels changes.  Words used to describe these feelings are meaningless.  Like establishing goals, the best training must be measurable and quantifiable for it to be most effective.


Bad Weather Options for Track and Field Practice

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This post was provided by Complete Track and Field

By Boo Schexnayder

One of the greatest dilemmas facing any track and field coach is what to do when the weather is bad and you have no legitimate indoor track facility in which to train. I get asked the question all the time, and often it seems I am expected to offer a perfect solution. The fact of the matter is that this is a compromised situation, and you can’t operate at top efficiency when forced to be training in the hallways or gyms. Yet, there are ways to improvise and make significant progress.

The Musts

When facing a bad weather/limited facility situation (when you’re training in the hallways) you can be successful…in fact, you can be very successful. But there are two absolute musts.

  1. Clearly View Your Goals. It is critical that you have a very well organized list of athletic abilities and qualities that you want to train, and that you have a firm understanding of what each entails. This knowledge is prerequisite to creativity. Far too many indoor workouts become busy work, as opposed to purposeful training, because the coach’s goals for the session are not well defined. Go into each session with a purpose, the same purpose you would have if it were 80 degrees and sunny outside. Only the activities of the session differ, not the session’s purpose.
  2. Have A Can-Do Attitude. It’s easy to punt on first down when you see piles of snow outside that won’t be gone until April. Great coaches are grinders. Use creativity to find ways to do things, rather than finding excuses not to.

Problem Areas

Usually it’s not too difficult to find places to do warmup activities, plyometrics, or strength training. However, run training and technical training require space, and are the most difficult forms of training to accomplish when weather is poor. We will center most of our discussion on these.

Safety

Cramped quarters increase the risk of collision and injury. When designing indoor, modified workouts, consider not only where athletes will run and train, but also the return path after the exercise’s completion. Schools with square or rectangular hallway patterns are convenient for this reason, athletes can continue around the hallway’s perimeter to get back in line for the next repetition. Always think in terms of a loop. When running indoors, make sure to leave room for deceleration. Most shin splints result not from the harder surfaces, but from the more abrupt stopping. Also, arm and hand injuries are likely if athletes must place their hands on the walls to help themselves to stop. It’s better to run a meter or two less, leaving a few more room for deceleration, to keep things safe.

Flexible Microcycles

If the possibility exists that weather might be mild enough to get outside, observe some flexibility when planning your weekly training. Design them with an eye on the weather forecast, ready to jump outside when the opportunity presents itself. Keep in mind that even then, colder weather results in hardened track surfaces and caution must still be taken.

Warming Up

Seldom should the warmup be a problem in these situations. A warmup jog need not be a warmup jog. In fact, combinations of forward running, backward running, and side shuffling are more productive and can be adapted to any venue. Typically a place can be found to stretch and do dynamic flexibility work. Sprint drills can be done in halls or gyms. I know many coaches who keep 6-8 hurdles in their classrooms, so that they can easily be brought into the hallways after class hours to do hurdle mobility and hurdle drills.

Acceleration Development

Training acceleration can be a challenge in modified indoor situations. Ideally, acceleration work takes the form of sprint or resisted efforts of 10-30 meters. While 30 meter sprints are tough in most hallway situations, the shorter stuff can be done in hallways or gyms. Then, supplement this with other related activities to enhance the training effect. Stair running is technically very similar to resisted accelerations. Skip every other step to produce a slight forward lean and a more forceful, extended pushoff. Lunge jumps activate practically the same muscle fibers and employ the same firing patterns as accelerations, and are another good supplementary tool. Stepup jumps are great as well. If you are in a gym, you can train a bunch of athletes at once on the first step of the gym bleachers. Indoor blocks are also available for technical rehearsal of the block start.

For example, once I set up an acceleration circuit where athletes sprinted up a staircase to the second floor, then sprinted down the hall (about 15m with 5 meters to decelerate), went down a different staircase, then sprinted back across to the original staircase. Everybody finished with a few sets of lunge jumps.

Speed Development

True speed development requires space… athletes must be brought to top velocity for a second or two, so normally 50-60 meters are needed, along with place to decelerate. This is seldom available in these compromised situations. However, dissecting speed performance can enable the coach to train many of the elements of speed, making considerable progress so that improvements occur much more quickly when you are finally able to get outside.

Coaching Resource: Complete Speed Training 3

First of all, the positions of maximal velocity sprinting must be taught. These can be done using sprint drills or shorter technical runs. One of my favorite ways to teach these positions and postures is using stair running. Since maximal velocity sprinting involves vertical postures and pushing, have the athletes hit every step (as opposed to every other step when training acceleration). Quick, vertical force application is the hallmark of maximal velocity sprinting. For this reason, vertical jumps with short contact times such as pogo jumps, vertical bounds, or hurdle hops should be part of a speed development unit.

When speed development work is done outside in a traditional manner, the recoveries are fairly long (3-5 minutes). These long recoveries can work in your favor. I have often had athletes warm up inside, bundle up, then go outside to do a 60 or a 90 meter sprint-float-sprint effort. After the run, they immediately return inside and resume light warmup exercises, before exiting again for the next effort.

Speed Endurance.

True speed endurance work requires space… athletes must be brought to top velocity for several seconds, so normally 80-100 meters are needed, along with place to decelerate. While certain components of speed endurance cannot be adequately addressed in tight spaces, many can.

The best way to approach speed endurance work in compromised settings is to use broken runs. For example, if the ideal outdoor workout would be 120’s with 6-8 minutes of rest, indoors you can have the athlete run four 30’s with practically no rest in between. Then allow the 6-8 minutes of rest, before resuming the next broken-up 120. This can be done in a down-and–back format, or around the perimeter of a rectangular hallway. Speed endurance sessions can be enhanced using the same vertical jumping exercises as used in speed development. Also, indoor warmups can be mixed with outdoor runs as previously mentioned.

Endurance Development

The hard surfaces and pounding typically associated with improvised indoor training mean that it will be very difficult to achieve high volumes of run or jump training. For this reason, the run and jump training you do must be of high value. It’s a waste to do tons of longer running for endurance purposes, nor is it wise to do extended hops and bounds in such tough training conditions. Save as much of your weekly running and jumping volumes for speed and high quality work, keeping your run and jump training short and sweet. Accomplish your endurance goals using circuit training.

To do this, combine general strength (bodyweight) exercises into circuits with are tough enough to challenge the athlete’s fitness levels. By carefully selecting the work and rest time increments, you can create a situation that is very challenging. Very short sprints can be mixed into enhance the fitness effect.

One of my favorite such circuits is a scramble circuit. I’ll line up the athletes on the baseline of a basketball court. I’ll have them do some general strength exercise. Then, after 20 seconds or so, I’ll shout out “sprint!” and they immediately and quickly scramble to their feet and sprint to the opposite baseline, then reset for the next (different) exercise. I allow 40 seconds from the sprint command, to the start of the next exercise, and a circuit consists of 12 exercise-sprint combinations. You can use the same premise with simple jump exercises.

This circuit typically has them begging for running workouts… the moral is that a creative coach can develop fitness using circuits, thus reducing the run and jump related pounding on the body and limiting chances of injury.

Preventing Lower Leg Syndromes

The key to surviving hallway run training is keeping the work intense but of low volumes, and maintaining flexibility and mobility in the feet. The feet act as the body’s shock absorbers, and repeated pounding on hard surfaces reduces their pliability and shock absorbing ability.

Finish each session with barefoot exercises like heel walks, toe walks, and walks on the sides of the feet. I like to use several foot mobility exercises that I stole from ballet and dance teachers. Self-massage can also be used at the completion of the session to maintain softness and pliability in the feet.

Technical Training – Hurdles

There are a myriad of hurdle drills that can be adapted to modified indoor training to assist athletes in developing familiarity with the movements of hurdling. Our tougher challenge comes from the necessity to train hurdles in a competition specific way. When using hallways and gyms, the challenge is more often scheduling and safety than accomplishing the hurdling itself.

I have often accomplished sprint hurdle workouts over one and two hurdles in these situations, but traffic control around the venue is a must. Scissor style hurdles are a must as well, since they fall apart upon impact and are much less likely to produce a fall.

Technical Training – Jumps

There are many exercises and drills that jumpers can use in limited spaces to address the fundamentals of preparation, takeoff, and even flight. While actual event specific practice might be impossible to accomplish, typically these exercise are actually more appropriate to early season training anyway, and frankly are underused in many jumps training programs.

Power skipping, gallops over very low hurdles, and repetitive takeoffs present the chance to train nearly all aspects of horizontal jump technique. These, combined with curve running, form a very adequate high jump preparation program.

The same exercises done with a medicine ball held overhead become pole vault specific. Combining these with jogging plants (pole top sliding on the floor) and spotted takeoffs against a gym wall form a nice preparation program what lessens the time needed to get the athletes vault-ready.

Coaching Resource: Boo Schexnayder’s Jumps Training

Technical Training – Throws

Modified Implements are the answer when considering adapting throw-specific training to such circumstances. None of the following would cause damage or danger if thrown against a gym wall. Medicine balls are excellent to train the shot put, and can even be placed inside a towel to train hammer, weight, or even discus movements. Cones are great way to train the discus and javelin. The no-bounce version of lacrosse balls can be used for javelin training as well. There are a number of specific commercial implements available as well for each throwing event.

 


The 6-5-4-3-2 Workout in Middle Distance Training

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This article was provided by Complete Track and Field

By Scott Christensen

During specific preparation and pre-competitive training periods there is a tremendous amount of work to be done to achieve future competitive season fitness for the middle distance runner.  These two blocks of time are also the most crucial for including a close monitoring of workload by the coach in regard to under-recovery challenges.  Middle distance coaches have many competitions to fit into the track & field meet schedule beyond the work sessions at this time as well.  Considering this, today we will discuss the value of using the 6-5-4-3-2 workout in middle distance training.

One of the least desirable approaches is to do too many work sessions that require 48 to 72 hours to recover from.  With so many training things to do, and so many meets to compete in, recovery sometimes takes a backseat.  This is a recipe for danger.  For this reason, a longer microcycle is so desirable for middle distance training, as it allows time for everything to be done before the workouts began repeating themselves in the next microcycle.

Workouts that build the highest lactate levels, or keep the system under a higher than threshold acidosis level for a long time, require the most time to recover from.  For that reason, the workout that is prescribed better pack some punch to deliver the stimulus needed for adaptation as the athlete recovers during this time of the year.  Middle distance coaches constantly seek these workouts.

Some of the most stressful work sessions for middle distance runners are those that cross between Special Endurance 1 and Special Endurance 2 workout types.  While this hybrid style of work is not recommended for runners in the novice training group, those runners in the emerging and experienced groups will find great adaptation if done at least 20 days out from the most significant competitions.  Milers and 800 meter runners with training ages of more than two years will find the double-variable aspect of the following demanding workout to be especially effective if done in the portions of the macrocycle that characterize high levels of work.

This hybrid workout is called the 6-5-4-3-2 work session because the demanding aspect of the unit are run at those distances – 600 meters, 500 meters, 400 meters, 300 meters and 200 meters.  The athletes go through the cycle twice per session for a total volume of 4000 meters of fast running for the day.  Combined with 4000 meters of slower, recovery-style jogging, makes a total for the day to be 8000 meters for this work unit.  Adding in a 5000 meter warm-up and a 3000 meter cool down makes a grand total of 16,000 meters for the entire training session, or about 10 miles.

This workout is called a double-variable training unit because there are two aspects of the session to consider, emphasize, time, and include in the athletes’ profile.  The first design aspect are the times prescribed and run by each athlete in the various repetitions of work.  Because the prescribed work is anaerobic in nature, the prescribed times need to be based on their individual anaerobic capacity.

For example, let’s set up a workout for a miler that owns a current date 55 second 400 meter time.  In data that can be used for this workout, that pace is the same as 0.13 seconds/meter.  The athlete cannot run 600 meters at 400 meter pace of course, nor can they sustain anything near date pace 400 meters for much of the total workout.  So, let’s have this athlete run at 80% of their 400 pace or 0.16 seconds/meter which will be the pace for all the various repetitions of this specific workout (about 64 sec pace).  These are known as intensive intervals because of the percentage they are run at.  The math, using the aforementioned 0.16 seconds/meter would be: 600 meters = 1:36, 500 meters = 81 seconds, 400 meters = 64 seconds, 300 meters = 49 seconds, and 200 meters = 32 seconds.

Like any prescribed interval work this session is nothing without the recovery period necessary to achieve these times as the unit unfolds.    For the first time doing this workout in each macrocycle, rather than set a timed recovery interval, have the athlete use a slow jog equal to the just completed repetition distance (i.e. run 600 meters hard then jog 600 meters, run 500 hard meters then jog 500 meters and so on).  Have the jog recovery a sensible pace and not what looks like a fast walk.  Once the athlete has progressed through the ladder once, have them start again on the second half of the ladder.  This would be another 600 meter (following the recovery from the 200 meter effort) and then just finish repeating the descending distances and the recovery jogs.

The coach should monitor each of the ten fast efforts from both portions of the ladder and compare with the prescribed goal paces that were set beforehand, and also from previous data accumulated from this workout in the athlete profile.  How well the athlete handles each of the ten segments is the first statistical variable of this workout.

The second variable for the coach to analyze is the total time used for the entire workout – start to finish.  For this data, use a second watch and start it when the runner begins the first 600 meters, keep it running throughout, and then stop the watch after the final 200 meter jog recovery.  The goal is to get a little faster total time each time the workout is done.  Some of this time will be from a slightly faster hard effort pace as the runner gains fitness, but most of the time improvement will come from faster jog recoveries while still maintaining target goal pace.

 

* Additional Teaching Resource:  The Training Model for High School Middle Distance

 

For example, the first time it is done by a good middle distance runner in the spring, the entire work unit may take 42 minutes start to finish.  The next month it may be down to 40:30 and so on.  By the end of the runner’s career it may be down to 37 minutes for the entire 8000 meters.  Doing it in less time, while still maintaining pace, is an important aspect of this workout.

Finding new workouts for middle distance runners is difficult.  Not only must the workout be specific to the event, but also individualized to the athlete.  The 6-5-4-3-2 workout satisfies both requirements.


Middle Distance Strength Workouts

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This post was provided by Traning&Conditioning

Middle distance runners can benefit from a strength program that not only improves performances but also helps keep them injury free.

By Matthew Ludwig

Matthew Ludwig, SCCC, CSCS, is an Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach at the University of Washington. He can be reached at: [email protected]..

Last year, I was given the job of creating a strength and conditioning program for our middle distance runners here at the University of Washington. I quickly learned that the task had a few built-in challenges. Most middle distance runners haven’t spent much time in the weightroom, and many of them are skeptical, thinking that strength training will bulk them up and cause more harm than good. In addition, many middle distance runners compete in both outdoor and indoor seasons, so soreness and overuse injuries are always a concern.

I set to work designing a program that would get our middle distance runners excited about strength training, improve their performance, and help keep them injury-free. They responded by bringing home NCAA Division I outdoor titles in the men’s 800 meters and the women’s 1,500 meters. One of the keys to our program’s success has been starting off carefully and building a solid foundation. Another has been open communication between myself and Head Track and Field Coach Greg Metcalf, to ensure that the work we do in the weightroom complements the training athletes do on the track. In this article, I will outline our strength and conditioning program for middle distance runners, and detail the logic that went into its design.

SETTING GOALS

In our strength training department here at Washington, we like to work closely with our sport coaches to develop programs. Therefore, my first step in setting up the middle-distance runner workouts was to meet with Coach Metcalf. We talked about the team’s strengths and weaknesses, the athletes’ past experiences using the weightroom, and previous training they had tried. We also discussed our philosophies on the biomechanics of the sport and energy system needs. At the conclusion of our analysis, Coach Metcalf and I set the following goals for the program:

Make it doable. We wanted to develop a program that would keep our runners coming back for more. The greatest strength-training programs ever written are the ones that get done! You can pour your heart and soul into a training program, but if the sport coach does not support it or the athletes give minimal effort, you will get minimal results. Therefore, we keep it very simple in our weightroom and rely on the principle of progressive overload to establish strength throughout full ranges of motion.

Shin splints, knee pain, foot and ankle pain, calf and achilles pain, and hamstring and low back pain are common in middle distance runners because of the high volume of impact on their lower bodies. Athletes who are hurting aren’t going to be motivated to keep coming back, so we monitor muscle soreness and adjust our program accordingly, and we talk to the athletes often to find out how they are feeling. The more we show we care about them, the harder they work for us.

Establish a base. Many middle distance runners are unfamiliar with the weightroom, oftentimes because strength work isn’t stressed and because of misconceptions that lifting weights generates hypertrophic muscles that will make them look like football players. We explain to our runners that science has shown many times over that being involved in an organized strength-training program promotes muscle balance, enhances metabolic adaptations, and improves force production, joint stability, performance output, recovery rates, flexibility, structural stability, and motor development for improved balance. To receive these benefits, they first need to establish a base. Our program for middle distance runners consists of two or three workouts a week lasting 45-60 minutes each depending on the time of year.

Improve flexibility. Any time a muscle repetitively performs an action in a limited range of motion, it gradually becomes limited to that range of motion. Distance runners run straight ahead and rarely utilize their full stride length with maximal hip flexion and hip extension. Consequently, they end up with tight hamstrings, hip flexors, glutes, calves, internal and external hip rotators, and backs.

Incorporating static, dynamic, and PNF stretching into a runner’s training program can have astounding results. Our athletes always come to the weightroom after they have trained on the track, so we don’t have to spend time warming up. Instead, we focus on improving flexibility. As one form of dynamic flexibility training, we train every movement in the weightroom using the fullest range of motion possible. We finish the workout with static flexibility training and a PNF (contract-relax) program using elastic bands.

Improve core strength. To build core strength, we believe it is most important to teach the athlete to move their limbs throughout a full range of motion in space before introducing balls, gadgets, and other resistance- or balance-manipulating devices. Although these are all great tools for training, we take the time to first generate motor unit recruitment in the core through sport-specific movements like squatting, pulling, lunging, and steps-ups. In addition to these exercises, we incorporate weighted abdominal work, physioballs, and static abdominal work.

Stweak and lagging muscle groups. Although middle distance runners use their legs for most of the work they do, a large portion of their lower extremities are often underdeveloped. Common areas of lower body weakness in middle distance runners include hamstrings, hip flexors, hip abductors, and hip adductors. Most middle distance runners also display some level of weakness when asked to perform any unilateral exercise. Upper-body weaknesses typically consist of weaker posterior chains compared to their anterior counterparts. Therefore, we focus our program on strengthening these muscle groups to avoid imbalances.

GETTING STARTED

After we gather information through our needs analysis, it is time to get athletes into the weightroom for preseason conditioning. Simply introducing a training program for middle distance runners, as easy as it sounds, has proved to be more challenging than I originally thought. Track athletes at the University of Washington are very in tune with their bodies, and know two things: “The better I feel, the better I will run,” and “the stronger I am, the faster I will run.” This influences my approach to their training.

We begin by introducing basic movements to establish an understanding of the motor development the athletes currently possess. Muscle soreness has to be very limited as to not have a detrimental effect on performance. We know the first four weeks of learning a new exercise are mainly neurological, but if the muscles are being asked to perform in an unfamiliar range of motion, the risk of micro tears increases.

Remembering another of our goals, to create a training program that keeps our runners coming back for more, we are careful to not get overzealous on day one. You can always add to a program, but it is extremely difficult to undo overreaching in a short amount of time. I start with very low volume and very low intensity and slowly raise the volume from week to week. I don’t progress the athletes to more volume or more intensity until I feel they have established a sound comfort level with the load they are initially assigned.

For example, when introducing squats, we start with sissy squats holding a 10-pound plate across the chest. Sissy squats allow the athletes to keep their torsos in an upright position, and promote maximal range of motion without limitation. Hamstring strength for distance runners tends to be very weak after the first 45 degrees of hip flexion. By placing the athletes in a position to use the quads and get maximum depth, we build up to performing a back squat.

Week one consists of the following exercises to begin strengthening the lower body. Each exercise is performed with one minute of rest between exercises and sets.

Sissy squat: Three sets of five (between each set stretch hamstrings statically for 20 sec.)

Body weight step-ups: Two sets of five on each leg using 90 degrees of hip flexion (focus on using glutes and hamstrings for hip extension).

Standing single-leg hip flexion with knee extension: One set of eight each leg.

Hanging knee-ups: Two sets of 10.

At five weeks, we are able to increase the volume using the same loads to minimize muscle soreness and show the athletes that strength training can be done effectively with minimal muscle soreness. Week five training goes as follows, with 30-45 seconds of rest between exercises and sets:

Sissy squat: Three sets of 10 reps.

Body weight step-ups: Three sets of eight reps on each leg.

Standing single-leg hip flexion with knee extension: Two sets of 12 reps each leg.

Hanging knee-ups: Three sets of 15 reps.

Using this program over the first five weeks of their training in 2005-06, our athletes improved their overall ability to do work from the original baseline in week one of 53 reps to 123 total reps. During the five weeks, the load never changed. This is a very basic approach to improving general physical preparedness and diminishing recovery time.

BUILDING ON THE BASE

The training year for our middle distance runners is divided into six mesocycles: off-season, preseason, transition, in-season, transition, and postseason. Below is a detailed look at a year-long macro cycle and how we have designed the strength-training program for each phase.

Off-season (mid June to September): We conduct two full-body workouts per week, Monday and Thursday. This training cycle focuses on recovery, restoration, and repair from the high-intensity loads experienced during the season that just ended. The athletes cut back on the majority of total running volume in June and gradually increase from July to September. Strength training focuses on building strength endurance starting in week one of the off-season program with a total volume of 298 reps (excluding core work) per week and building to 520 reps by week 18 (see “Off-Season Conditioning”). Many of our middle distance runners compete in outdoor competitions in September and October, so we try to enhance both their ability to metabolize lactate and their metabolic response to training by improving oxygen consumption and fuel utilization.

Preseason (October to mid December): We progress to three full-body workouts per week. Training is now focused more on improving overall muscle strength and forcing production in preparation for the indoor/outdoor seasons. During this time period, the athlete’s volume stays at or under 120 total reps per workout (excluding core work). Set and rep ranges consist of two to four sets of five to 12 reps, depending on the exercise being performed. Athletes also spend more time with their sport coach working on their running economy and efficiency and building cardiovascular endurance.

Transition (last two weeks in December): Continuing with the three full-body workouts per week, the transition phase is a short deloading period lasting one to two weeks that allows the body to recover from off-season and preseason training. A strength-training program is still in place, but the total volume of work drops to less than 80 total reps per workout (excluding core work.)

In-season (January to May): We go back to two full-body workouts per week. The inseason is long and hard for our middle distance team, which competes in both indoor and outdoor events for five solid months. We perform two workouts per week on Mondays and Wednesdays to allow for full recovery in time for weekend events. During this time, the weightroom is more of a tool for active recovery and restoration, maintaining flexibility, and prehab or rehab work. In-season is a time of specified training on the track and the intensity must be high at every practice.

Transition (one week in May): Athletes are off from training for one week to allow a mental and physical break. This is a time for those who are competing in conference, regional, and national events to freshen up mentally and disengage for a brief period.

Postseason (second week in May until nationals): Weightroom activities are voluntary during this time, but flexibility training after every track practice is strongly encouraged.

COLLABORATE FOR SUCCESS

Throughout the season, we strive to improve communication between myself, Coach Metcalf, and our athletic trainers. Each person involved with the progress of our athletes needs to be on the same page. The success of our program revolves around open communication.

As a staff, we meet weekly to discuss current injuries, practice plans, and each athlete’s progress in the weightroom. This ensures that we avoid overtraining and that we utilize the knowledge of our sports-medicine staff to help validate our training plans. We also revisit our overall needs analysis at least twice a year, once before the indoor season and once at the conclusion of the outdoor season.

Our program at the University of Washington works very well for us and we are proud of the athletes who have dedicated themselves to it. When a middle distance runner steps on the track for competition, they know they have trained hard and can compete to their fullest ability.

Sidebar: OFF-SEASON CONDITIONING

During the off-season, our middle distance runners complete two strength-training workouts per week. Listed below are the exercises performed on each day, along with the reps and sets performed on Week One. To see a copy of the complete 18-week program, visit: http://huskystrength.ica.washington.edu.

Week 1

MONDAY

    • Back Squat: 3×8
    • Bench Press: 4×4
    • DB Step Up: 2×8, each leg
    • Wide Grip Lat Pulldown: 2×12
    • Triceps Pushdown or Push Up: 3×8
    • DB Rear Fly: 2×8

Core Work

    • Straight Leg Sit Up: 3×15
    • Seated Russian Twist: 3×15
    • Superman: 3×15
  • Lying Hip Abduction: 2×15, each side

THURSDAY

    • DB Incline Bench: 2×12
    • DB Walking Lunge: 2×10, each side
    • DB Military Press: 3×8
    • RDLs With Barbell (Hold 2 sec on bottom): 3×6
    • One-Arm DB Row: 2×10
    • Shoulder Complex*: 2×8, each exercise
    • DB Curl 3×8

Core Work

 

  • Elbow Bridge: 3×30 sec


  • Side Crunch: 2×30 sec


  • Alternating Pointer: 2×12, each side


  • Standing Hip Flexion w/ Knee Ext.: 2×10, each side


*(The shoulder complex consists of Front Raise, Side Raise, and Upright Row. Athletes do all three exercises in succession, then rest.)