Dehydration Danger to Endurance Athletes

Dehydration Danger to Endurance Athletes
by Steve Bennett
www.oztrack.com

Just a warning to Athletes to avoid dehydration ever. I have recently been
diagnosed with dehydration damage to my Kidneys. This the Kidney Specialist
has explained is a result of dehydration possibly on <6 occasions. Once
during a Marathon that i ran in 1984, a couple during long 30km runs and a
couple on long walking treks. Now here it is over 25 years later and the
damage is showing an effect. I have 69% Kidney function which is good
enough, but it could have been worst. The Dr also told me he sees numerous
athletes with far greater damage.

Drinking plenty of fluid is important in the long terms. So dont just think
drinking enough water is a trick to performing better.

Middle Distance Speed Training - what do we mean by the term?

Middle Distance Speed Training - what do we mean by the term?
By Steve Bennett
www.oztrack.com

When an athlete says that they have speed training on such and such a day,
it appears that what they may be describing can be very different from coach
to coach. The term can mean many different things depending on the coaches
philosophy.

I was recently speaking to a coach and former superstar athlete who used the
term "Speed Training Kills" and I was puzzled at what this term was meant to
mean from him. What type of speed training kills? What kinds are safe?

From what I have been able to research there are a variety of problems that
may be caused by speed training and it all comes down to the athlete and
what methods of speed training are being implemented.

The problems that may arise from some varieties of speed training and
sometimes situations are detailed below:

1/ Maximum speed training - eg max velocity sprinting experiences - higher
peak forces when the athlete is fresh when compared to when the athlete is
tired. Also enhanced risk when the athlete is sprinting maximally from a
standing start on achilles tendons. This is why most MD aths do running
start repetitions. Max speed sprinting is even higher risk when the athlete
is already sore from previous fast work or is stiff from high volume
training. Athlete who sprint with bad running form face even higher risks
when doing maximum velocity training.

How can this form of training be made safer? Do small amounts regularly at
slightly lower speeds than maximum. The athlete needs to maintain really
good running form and limit total volume of the experiences at high speed to
small amounts on days when it is safe. It could be argued that max velocity
training is unnecassary in MD athletes and even in 400m athletes - however
it is important that they can sprint at maximum effort when in the closing
stages of their races (but at a speed which is not their true maximum
velocity)

The athletes in my squad do a small amount of running regularly throughout
the year at speeds near those used in the backstraight of a 400m race. They
do this when fresh early in their sessions. I believe that not doing this
would mean the athlete would rarely ever be practising good running form and
would have greater difficulty transitioning to higher speed training when
entering the pre-competition phase.

2/ Highly acidosis running - The kind that causes loss of good running form.
This is a situation where athletes often collapse into a running position of
increased pelvic tilt (to bum out) and use hamstrings - backs etc. in
positions which are not anatomically safe. My squad do a variety of sessions
but avoid highlu lactic work that would cause form loss - however they apply
many of the principles outlined in "Maintaining Form" and expand their
ability to train at higher intensities with good running form.

3/ High volume track sessions - some track sessions can be very high in
volume. This can also cause problems. It is important to build the intensity
and volume carefully.

4/ Fast Track sessions done when already stiff or sore from other training -
including the effects of long runs. This is especially true when athletes do
high volumes of slow running. When running slow athletes legs are often
quite bent in the support phase which means the athlete runs low. Then when
they attempt to run fast they have to lift their centre of gravity to run
higher which is stressful on glutes and adductors. This can cause problems
for athletes. Athletes who stay low strike early with a bent leg and this
can cause numerous problems -as well as making speed training less
effective. Some athletes get injured during speed training because of this
and then dont want to do it anymore.

5/ Plyometrics - especially when done incorrectly or in high volumes. Do a
small amount <30 contacts per leg and start with safer activities such as
alternate leg bounding. Do in racing flats , always impact with a flat
active footstrike. Recognize that hopping , depth jumps and over hurdle hops
are more intense. Aim for activities that have fast contacts that dont cause
soreness. The idea that athletes need to do high volumes of this sort of
training is incorrect I have seen athletes improve a massive amount in
elastic power training off a very small volume in each session - just once
to twice a week. Do them perfect and regularly and I believe that this can
prevent injuries due to the positive effect on muscles of eccentric
training. Eccentriuc training of any kind is great for building muscle
resilience.

The main injuries
that are common from speed training are having problems with:
- hamstrings - prevention is to optimize core stability and mobility as well
as optimizing running mechanics. This means practising smart more often and
throughout the year- not just for part of it. Hamstring problems do not go
away with rest - they have to be treated and prevented in a multi-faceted
way.
- achilles - prevention is best - develop strength especially eccentrically
in gym, wear flats and very importantly do not follow the old myth that when
sprinting run "up on your toes". Keep the ankle joints really loose (they
tend to lock up in many athletes and then can cause achilles problems) and
get treatment of problems in this area very early.
- knees - take care when running downhill and also when bending down.
Strengthen vastus muscles with smart gym work including lunges etc. Optimize
biomechanics and run as much as possible in off-road situations.
-backs - optimize core stability and posture when running. Train to develop
both strength AND endurance of all midtorso muscles in multi-movement ways.
Don't think that situps and back extensions are enough - they are not. Look
at any acrobat in a circus - that is just how trainable our strength,
endurance and control in the mid-torso could be.
- feet-arch- don't just run in shoes - run/walk barefoot and maintain tone
of muscles in the feet. This is why Kenyans reportedly have far less
problems than us with shin, foot problems.
- shins - strengthen shin muscles - do heel/toe walking at multiple angles
at most track sessions. I have seen a dramatic drop in shin problems even
though my squad do regular plyo training. Also keep the calf muscles long
and loose - stretch for a few minutes on a wedge each day.
-stress fractures - increase bone density - optimize hormones, do weight
training - avoid hard surface training. Do small regular amounts of vertical
impacts. Pool training may be good for conditioning, strengthening and
recovery but it does not stimulate bones to harden. Weight lifters have the
hardest bones and as long as their hormones are OK this is also true for
females. Athletes must listen to their bodies and stop at the first signs of
a bone stress response and nlot let it build into a true stress fracture.

Speed Training with Safety
I know that athletes can develop far greater speed capacities without doing
unsafe amounts of the high risk speed training varieties by focusing on
developing more strength, mobility and power. They can do this in a large
variety of ways which are fun and some are detailed in "Maintaining Form" or
in kids with the principles discussed in Training Kids for Speed

The type of speed that comes from powerful strides is very trainable in any
athlete. The kind that comes from fast legs is more of a nervous system
effect and is also useful but not as possible to improve as much as the kind
that comes from increased stride power.

Speed Training is any method that can be employed to improve the athletes
"ease" of running at race speeds either when fresh or when fatigued (like in
a race). There are some varieties of speed training that are very safe such
as sessions when an athlete simply practises running at race speeds (without
aiming to develop endurance from the session). I believe this kind of Race
Tempo session is the most undervalued and underused session in Training for
400-800-1500m athletics. It is what makes athletes more economical and ALSO
more injury resilient when running at these speeds during any situation.

The common way an athlete gets hurt is when they become sore from doing
something that their bodies are unfamiliar with and then when coming back to
training with a sore body and ignoring the signals and adding soreness to
the soreness.

Watch Iron Status closely

Watch Iron Status closely
By Steve Bennett
www.oztrack.com

I got this great info from http://endureplus.com/irondepletion.cfm

Zhu and Haas, Iron depletion without anemia and physical performance in
young women. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 66:334, 1997.

"In the United States the prevalence of iron deficiency anemia in woman is
only about 2.3%. However, the prevalence of marginal iron deficiency
without anemia and depletion of body storesis about 16%. Women who are
physically active are likely to have a higher risk of iron deficiency. This
greater risk may be due to increased iron loss associated with exercise,
along with iron loss in menses, and low dietary iron intake. Because iron
has a critical role in oxygen transport and use, its depletion may impair
aerobic performance.

When most people think of iron deficiency they coincide it with anemia.
However, before anemia rears its ugly head, other damaging consequences of
iron deficiency can occur first. Before going any further it is helpful to
define anemia. Anemia is a condition, not a disease but a symptom, in which
there is reduced delivery of oxygen by the blood to the tissues. It can be
caused by many things including increased destruction of red blood cells,
excessive blood loss, or decreased production of red blood cells, as occurs
with iron deficiency.

In iron depletion without anemia, the hemoglobin value is above a specified
cutoff point for anemia and the oxygen carrying capacity of blood is
generally not affected. However, impairment to utilize oxygen in the muscle
cells may still exist. A decrease in the activity of iron-containing muscle
mitochondrial oxidative enzymes and respiratory proteins has been observed
in iron-deficient animals. Endurance capacity was reduced in these
iron-deficient nonanemic animals. It is thought that the impairment in
endurance was likely caused by reduced aerobic oxidative capacity and was
intervened by increased reliance on other ATP synthesis pathways, such as
anaerobic glycolysis and phosphocreatine breakdown, an increased dependence
on carbohydrate as the substrate for energy and decreased use of fatty
acids.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relation between iron
deficiency without anemia and physical performance in healthy active woman.
Iron status of the subjects was assessed by examining hemoglobin,
hematocrit, transferrin saturation, and serum ferritin values. Dietary iron
intake was also examined by using frequency questionnaires.

Compared with the iron-depleted group, the iron-sufficient group had
significantly higher hemoglobin, transferrin saturation, and serum ferritin
values. The iron-depleted group had a significantly lower mean VO2max score
compared to the replete group. This difference was closely linked with serum
ferritin concentration; hemoglobin value was not a significant indicator.
The researchers concluded that reduction in VO2max in nonanemic women with
iron depletion was likely caused by factors related to reduced body iron
stores but was unrelated to decreased oxygen-transport capacity of blood.

As an endurance athlete, you may in times suspect that your ailing
performances in training and racing may be due to poor iron status and
perhaps anemia. However, you should never let yourself get to the point of
anemia. Proper nutrition consumption of adequate amounts of red meat and
supplementation of erythropoietic nutrientsand correct training should keep
you safely away from any of these concerns (see Feb. 1996 for more on this
subject). Unfortunately, in the real world this is not always the case. If
you do suspect that you may be hampered by iron depletion, have your doctor
take blood samples to check for hemoglobin, hematocrit, transferrin
saturation, and serum ferritin. The first two tests should weed out anemia
and the last two tests should determine the status of your iron stores. If
the first two tests rule out anemia but the second two tests indicate
lowered iron stores, then you may be experiencing an impairment in the
ability to utilize oxygen within the actual muscle cells. A decrease in the
activity of iron-containing muscle mitochondrial oxidative enzymes and
respiratory proteins may be the cause of your hindered performance, not
burdened oxygen deliver in the blood. Consuming plenty of read meat, your
best source for the very bioavailable heme iron, should be a priority in
your athletic nutrition program."

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Symptoms that i have noticed in athletes of Iron Depletion have been
- unexplained drop in performances.
- An athletes who fails to stay on pace early in a race eg 200m into a 800m
just feels leg tired.
- Higher Training heart rate than normal
- Lowered ability to back up for training or races after a hard day.

I believe the situation is very common.

Treatment
Usually causes a good turn around in mildy depleted athletes with 3 weeks.
Athletes need to re-measure Iron Stores early in treatment to ensure that
Iron Overload does not occur. ( a rare but dangerous situation in
individuals prone to it). Typical treament is 2 stronger Iron eg FeFol
Tablets a day with Vit C. Some say last thing at night away from Calcium.
Nevertheless it may be best to follow a Medical Practitioners Advice on
treatment strategies.

Recovery for Optimum Improvement in Endurance Running.

Recovery for Optimum Improvement in Endurance Running.
By Steve Bennett
www.oztrack.com

In our fast paced world it is easy for athletes to get run down many
things outside of training itself. Living a balanced life and at the
same to reaching your potential in athletics is a challenge.

Many athletes:
- need to work full-time or study full-time.
- live in Cities without a variety of trails on different surfaces to
run.
- face many opportunities to socialize at times that challenge the
sleep needs of training.

Reaching your potential means producing over a long period of time
maximal adaptation. To do so means performing consistent high quality
training. We all can relate to days where we have trained badly in the
afternoon because of draining activity earlier in the day.

So OK what can we do about it. What follows are just a few ideas.

Sleep
-Have a consistent wake-up time. If you have a late night which should
not be very often. The best way to aid recovery is to have a 30min
snooze early afternoon and get a slightly earlier night. Researchers
have found that sleeping in more than an hour is bad for sleep rhythms
and is counterproductive.
- You should be aiming for at least 8hrs sleep each night but more
ideal would be 9hrs. Joaquim Cruz and Jose Luiz Barbosa whose training
plans I have seen had their bed times specified as 10pm bed and 7am
rise.

Massage.
All athletes should aim for 2-3 massages a week on at least the key
areas. Learn how to massage effectively by paying for some professional
massages for as long as budget lasts. Then train your own support
people to help inh this area.

Diet
All athletes should have their diet studied and optimized. Consuming
too small an amount of Carbohydrates is common and can leave an athlete
fatigued through muscle fuel depletion.

Recovery
-Go easy on easy runs they are performed to speed up recovery not to
add more fatigue.
- Swim for recovery - you do not need to swim for fitness just have
afloat around.

Physiotherapy
Visit physiotherapists and learn techniques for maintaining muscle
looseness from them. A popular area now spreading is the use of
acupressure triggers. I find that this is a great way to loosen tight
and sore areas.

Scheduling
make sure you have easy weeks regularly and allow more recovery than
the usual.

Live-Work-Training
It makes the most sense to live-work-train as close as possible.Talent
can be found in difficult circumstances but I am sure the World Elite
have it pretty simple in this way.

Conclusion

Training harder when already tired is of no value. To gain maximum
adaptation an athlete needs to train very hard when fresh enough to
perform at high quality and then rest really well so that this process
can be done again and again. Resting is always a race the quicker you
can recover the harder you can train and the closer to your absolute
potential you will reach.

Intensity & its relationship to overtraining

Intensity & its relationship to overtraining
By Steve Bennett
www.oztrack.com

I have been doing a considerable amount of research of training programs
used by everyone and assessing comparing the key issues.

The idea that has grown is that the simplistic argument of athletes doing
either
1/ A low volume program that has high intensity - the supporters of these
styles of programs talk specificity and aim for developments in particular
in the anaerobic system.
2./A high volume program of lower intensity (so that the volume is
manageable). The supporters of these sorts of programs will talk about
longer term development and the risks associated with excessive intensity
and anaerobic work that is too big a part of other peoples programs.

It seems very apparent that both extremes have key points and weaknesses.
However I believe that a smart combination of both is the answer not one or
the other. The solution is also not simply intermediate volume and
intermediate intensity. Although a successful program for an athlete may
look like this.

There is huge benefits in a Lydiard like program - where athletes build up
their capillarization and mitochondria density from a large volume of steady
work. Also adding into this recovery runs at an intensity that is so low
for them to be true recovery runs. I believe most athletes do these too fast
initially. The key training element needed to be added to a Lydiard type
program in the 21st century is sessions all year aimed at improving race
pace economy. This means running some reps at race pace relaxed and with
enough rest that the session could not be considered to be a lactic session
of any kind eg. 3 x 4 x 150m rest 3min at 800m pace with 6min between sets.
This could be an easy session and would be run well within the athletes
ability almost all year. The other addition to a Lydiard type program would
be to make the most of technology and sports medical services such as
physiotherapy to ensure the athlete is in optimal biomechnical condition.

Athletes who are used to high intensity lower volume training could also
benefit I believe by having at least 4 months of the year operating at a
lower stress intensity and integrating some longer runs into their training
maybe 2 x 60min runs and a 90min run. These can be performed a any
manageable intensity. This will prevent the athletes from missing out on the
gains in capillarization that comes from this form of training.

Statistically it seems that most of the worlds top athletes who also have
longevity come from higher volume programs of possible a slightly lower
intensity.

There are shortcuts to made with intensity to get to the top but possible as
the athletes try to train more and more intense that a point can be reached
pyschologically or physically where extra improvement is prevented by the
overtraining stress. The athletes in many countries that have excelled do
seem to be athletes that have accumulated a large volume of training base of
many years with many African athletes maturing first.

I know Andrew Bucher was performing a program with a good mix of intensities
and volumes a few years ago. He was training for 800m with more than 140km a
week during parts of the year, later on doing heavy weights and good plyos
for power and ofcourse all the intense speedwork necessary to run 1:42

In summary,
beware of intensity only in a program
beware of excessive volume at expense of runing form and ease of race speed
dont discount the value of doing low intensity speed work at race pace not
all speed sessions need to be intense and targetting energy system
development.
beware of extremes and avoid overstressing the athlete - sometimes more at a
lower intensity is easier for the athlete to cope with.

regards
Steve Bennett
www.oztrack.com

Lactic Tolerance vs Lactic Power Training

Lactic Tolerance vs Lactic Power Training
by Steve Bennett
www.oztrack.com

There is an essential difference between lactic tolerance training and
Lactic Power training. That is to do with their effect on efficiency
development. Athletes who spend too much time & over a prolonged period
training with high levels of lactic acid that is experienced while they are
running will likely steadily decrease their efficiency.

Examples of a Lactic Power sessions are:
3 x 500m with a 8min rest
4 x 600m rest 5min
2 x 800m rest 15min

Example of Lactic Tolerance sessions are
3 x 3 x 200m rest 60s/ 3min
400m rest 3min 300min rest 3min 300 rest 3min 200m rest 1min 200m rest 1min
200m rest 1min 200m
3 x (300m 1min 150m) 5min
3 x (300m rest 30s 300m) 5min

Ofcourse all of the above sessions will train both Lactic Tolerance & Lactic
Power but the categorization is to do with just how extreme the effect is.

The Lactic Anaerobic system supplies energy for sustained speed and is
essential for 200m-1500m the latter because of the required need to finish
fast as well as sustain a pace that is above VO2max. The unwanted side
effect of this energy system is decreased ph (increased acid) of the blood
in the working muscles.
This provides a challenge to the athlete to be able to co-ordinate and run
fast with high & increasing levels of acidosis in their legs (& arms). This
ability to co-ordinate can be improved with training hence the use of Lactic
Tolerance sessions.

When an athlete has hardly done any fast training their Lactic Anaerobic
system will usually be quite low in its capacity to provide energy. This is
why Lactic Power sessions are performed to stimulate the system to increase
its output and hence the associated acidosis will increase. Lactate can be
measured in the blood of athletes to measure the output of the Lactic energy
system. It will known that athletes like Michael Johnson could produce far
greater peak lactate values than any elite marathon runner who have a far
smaller capacity Lactic Anaerobic system.

I believe athletes as they are preparing for their race seasons should focus
on the development of the output of this system in a way that does not
overly stress lactic tolerance. The reason being that the loss of running
form that can be produced in an athlete during a hard lactic tolerance
session can become habituated. This results in decreasing the athletes
efficiency. I believe Lactic Tolerance training has its place in a small
part of the precompetition phase and should be as much as possible isolated
toward shorter distance reps of 100m-300m. Racing is the best Lactic
Tolerance training an athlete can do.

The effect of training with Lactic Power sessions is that the athlete will
have early in the season the ability to start fast and run well for the
first 80% of the race but then their deficiencies in Lactic Tolerance may
cause them to fade in the final stages of the race. However after a few
solid early season races and some smart use of Lactic Tolerance training the
athletes will have that aspect of their races covered. I believe the final
stage of the race is the icing on the cake.

The way to strongly impact on the athletes ability to work hard during
Lactic Tolerance sessions without the problem of decreasing efficiency is to
work all year on improving running form and the ability of the athlete to
maintain it. There are many ways to do this outlined in my book Maintaining
Running Form During Middle Distance Racing. Its content applies also very
well to 400m.

There are many extremely intense sessions that elite athletes can safely
perform because they have highly developed ability to maintain good running
form. They can do these sessions without decreasing their running
efficiency. However when less well conditioned athletes perform these
sessions they will wind up injured and with decreased performance. eg Wilson
Kipketer 2 x 10 x 200m in 26s (800 pace) with a 30-60s rest between reps.
Try this with a developing athlete and they will not be able to move
smoothly after a few reps. But any athletics enthusiast would guess that
Wilson would perform this session looking superb.

Cathy Freemans common Lactic Tolerance sessions were
3 x (300m rest 1min 150) 8min
6 x 200m rest 5-4-3-2-1

but she also did sessions which were more Lactic Power oriented such as
300m rest 7min 300m rest 15min then some 200m reps 2min apart.

I think it is too common for people to get in the habit of doing too much
Lactic Tolerance training rather than Lactic Power. In MD athletes it is
essential that work be maintained at high quality to stimulate VO2max. Some
Lactic Power work with longer reps eg 4 x 600m rest 5min doubles as a good
V02max stimulator as well. There is also no denying that an athlete does not
stimulate gains in Lactic Power from hard reps off long rests of 1000m even.

Speed Development Ideas for Middle Distance Athletes

Speed Development Ideas for Middle Distance Athletes
By Steve Bennett
www.oztrack.com

Just a few ideas that I thought i would share that I have been using with my
squad.

Speed Bounds
We have been doing 10m running start and 20m speed bounds. I count the
number of steps and also time the 20m interval. The athletes aims to improve
by decreasing their score. The score is the number of steps x the time in
seconds eg 7.5 steps and 2.6s is 19.5.
The advantage of speed bounds over normal bounding is that ground contacts
are quicker and even more so with a running start. This makes them a more
specific activity. Athletes usually only have 3-5 attempts at the start of a
session. This is usually done in the pre-competition phase of the year.

Relaxed Bounding
Usually performed on grass in flats. Athletes can do 60m of relaxed bounding
and maybe build up from 5 x 60m to 2-3 sets of 5 x 60m. The maximum volume
may take up most of the athletes capacity within a training session.

30m sprints from a 3 pt start
Athletes can sprint maximally for 30m and reach speeds well in excess of
what they will reach at any stage of a race of 400m or more. Sprinting
reaching high speeds for a very short duration is much safer than trying to
hold good sprinting form at maximum effort over longer distances eg 60m or
more. Athletes may only do 3 x 30m sprints at the start of a session.

Speed Drills
Once learned and shaped to the right model of movement can be then performed
very fast for much greater gains in speed.

Endurance of Speed Training
A good way to prepare to be able to do very fast training 400s i.e. at
speeds that are as fast as the first lap of an 800m. The athletes can start
at shorter distances at their target speed and move up in distance as their
sustainable speed develops within the season. The ability to sustain higher
speeds at distances further than 200m is very training specific and is
something that can be acquired quite quickly. The faster the speed the
shorter the distance needed to develop it. Even 100m sprinters need to work
at developing their endurance of near absolute maximum speed. No amount of
training at lower speeds over longer distances can have a big enough effect.
The activities need to be at the target speeds of the event.

Weights
Improving maximum strength can steadily make a big difference to athletes
maximum speed , ease of race speed and the ability finish strongly.
This needs to be varied throughout the year and culminate in light power
development work. I believe in improving strength and power in the gym and
leaving the endurance training for the track and circuit work done in
sessions at the track. The only endurance work done at the gym is usually
mid torso training.

Low Hurdle Plyos
The aim is to develop quick contacts with the track. So the hurdles are kept
low to allow this to happen.
Also this should be done in low volumes only eg 10 sets of 3 contacts with
double legged bouncing.

Background
Base training usually involves plenty of hills and bounding up hill.

Changing Pace
Changing pace needs to be practised to be developed. Simulating race pace
conditions is great fun for the athletes.

Middle Distance Talent Identification

Middle Distance Talent Identification
By Steve Bennett
www.oztrack.com

Someone has asked about my thoughts to do with MD Talent Identification.
Some of the athletes that I have developed from a basic standard to National
standard have had led me to summarize as follows:

They need to display decent cross country ability even though they may have
done very little training. This may simply mean that they could represent
their area and not necessarily excell. eg a 15yr old girls with 12:00 3000m
ability.

But they all have shown reasonable speed potential eg a 15yr old girls with
14.0s ability in 100m. I have one girl in my squad who 2 years ago had the
above and had run 2:25 for 800m she now has 2:09 at age 17.

Boys can emerge very late but also follow the same as the above. I have in
my squad at present a 16yr old with 1:55/4:02 ability but 2years ago he was
a 2:16 athlete. The thing here may be never to underestimate how much
someone with desire and talent can improve.

A few years ago I had a boy develop over 2years into running 47.30/1:48.01
at 20. He entered the sport late with initial ability across the board, he
had played with the sport and other sports but had never really trained
until 18 . He initially had 100m 11.20 PB although without regular racing it
would have been 11.60 and what attracted my attention was his PB just
playing in a 1500m of 4:25 and he was a big guy. He displayed decent XC
ability although not strong talent, however his range was impressive. In the
first few months he improved rapidly from his PB of 50.0/1:59.8 to
49.0/1:52.7 and then after a 9months build-up was able to run 47.3/1:49.3

Another situation was a girl with 2:16-2:20 ability who had done a little
bit of local athletics where she had focused on sprints and developed a time
of 58.5 in the 400m and low 26s in 200m. At age 16 she had been training
herself with running around her streets over 15min a couple of times a week
and walking a hilly route to school. What impressed me was the 2:16 done off
almost no training other than a couple of short runs a week and obvious good
speed potential. She started training in January 1998 and by March had her
PBs down to 57.3/2:10.8/4:34 and then after a further 6 months to 2:06 and
then 6months later to 56/2:05.4/4:21

I have a number of athletes developing. two examples are:
- a girls just 13 with PBs 58.5/2:17.9/4:48 had phenomenal 61.2 400m speed
at age 11 and can excel right up to XC events. Her VO2max at 12 was already
60. She is strong and will likely develop great 400m ability as an adult
and/or may end up as a great 800m athlete. Her brother age 10 has run
2:23/4:56 and jumped 1.48m in the HJ which is 15cm above his head. Both love
training in every way. It is a long road from this age so it is great that
athletes love variety in training and racing. Both not surprisingly are
sought after by other sports.

The other area to look for in Talent ID for MD or really for any running is
body dimensions i.e.. anthropometry. Not necessarily a way to count out
anyone because there is great variability amongst good athletes. But some
characteristics are helpful and I believe make it easier for talent to
emerge:
- Long legs
- narrow hips
- good posture
- good feet (no need for orthotics)
- low body fat

Other areas are helpful such as
- home access to good training environments such as continuos running
trails, a good track and gym.
- family diet which is healthy - this avoids problems later in controlling
fat %
- supportive family
- tough personality - someone who may have overcome some adversity or is in
the process of it.
- healthy - not regularly sick.
- settled and making good progress at school - indicates they can make
commitment to details.
- minimal history of injury.
- knowledge of athletics history - this shows interest

Athletes need to have a very strong desire to be good so they can be
committed to what needs to be done. They will not make it to the top by
accident. Being talented is not necessarily motivating enough to help an
athlete make it in the long haul. They have to love what they are doing in a
multi-faceted way. This may be something they are led to "like a horse led
to water that actually drinks like mad".

New Research Plyometrics and Middle Distance Running

New Research Plyometrics and Middle Distance Running
By Steve Bennett
www.oztrack.com

An exciting development for Middle Distance running is that research
performed in Sydney at the University of Technology by Robert Spurrs and
other researchers. It has revealed that Plyometric Training can have a
strong positive effect on performance in endurance running events. Seventeen
male distance runners with a training history of average 10 years were
randomly assigned into an experimental (Plyometric training) group (E) and a
control group (C). The experimental group then completed a 6 week plyometric
program (first 3 weeks 2 sessions/week, second 3 weeks 3 sessions/week).
Both groups continued training normally (60-80km/week). The Plyometric
program progressed from 60 total contacts each session in the first week to
180 each session in the final week. The intensity also progressed from
exercises such as squat jumps, double leg bounds in week 1 to alternate leg
bounds, single leg hops, depth jumps, double leg hops and single leg hurdle
hops in the final 2 weeks.

Both groups were tested prior to and after the 6-week training period for
all variables. The testing resulted in the following:

Group E improved 13.2% in the Counter Movement Jump, Group C no significant
change.
Group E improved 7.8% in the 5 bound test, Group C no significant change.
Group E improved Running Efficiency at 6.7% at 12kph, 6.4% at 14kph, 4.1% at
16kph , Group C no significant change at any velocity.

Group E improved Musculotendinous stiffness at heavy loads by 11-15%, Group
C no significant change.
Group E improved Maximal Isometric Force by 11-13% , Group C no significant
change.
Group E improved Rate Force Development by 14-15%, Group C no significant
change.
Group E improved 3km Time Trial by 2.7% which was in reality an average of
16.6s, Group C had no significant change.
Group E & C both showed no significant change in VO2max , Lactate
accumulation or Lactic Threshold

The improvement in 3km running performance occurred without any change in
VO2max and Lactate Threshold while body mass showed no change in pre and
post testing. It was concluded that improvement in Running Efficiency had
lead to the the significant drop in 3km time. It was also suggested that the
increased Musculotendinous stiffness and the resulting increase in maximal
force production of the lower limb had transferred into improved Running
Efficiency. Similar has been reported by other researchers eg Paavolainen et
al.

Many International athletes have used Plyometrics as an important part of
their program. It has been reported that Hicham El Guerrouj does 300 impacts
using a variety of jumps on a weekly or fortnightly basis in the
off-season.Svetlana Masterkova regularly performed 10 reps of bounding over
100m. I have also observed Wilson Kipketer doing a session of relaxed quick
contact bounding over 80m while training in Sydney.

A great article on the preparation of Steeplechase athletes described a way
of integrating weight training and plyometrics. It was interesting that the
authors highly recommended that the athletes complete a moderate pace 6-8km
run after all speed strength training sessions.This was most likely an
attempt to transfer neural gains from speed-strength training into the
endurance running action.

I have seen athletes in my squad improve their finishing kick and mid-race
acceleration by a large amount after we have seen gains in Plyometric
ability. This has also been reported by others eg. de Swardt.

From a physiological basis, if a muscle is pre-stretched or made to build up
high tension, it will concentrically contract with a much greater force.
Plyometrics make use of this factor. The key in performing plyometrics is
that the response from the ground must be immediate. Otherwise the exercise
turns into a concentric contraction and does not involve the stretch reflex.

Any kind of Speed-strength training can have a temporary negative effect on
an athlete's nervous system and therefore their current level of
speed-strength performance. Vern Gambetta has commented that any activity of
high nervous system demand (like Plyometrics) will take twice the recovery
time as compared to a similar load of metabolic work. However, rapid
improvement occurs after the load volume has been reduced and changed to a
maintenance regimen. Positive changes of a greater magnitude occur after a
certain amount of time has passed following the reduced training load. It is
very important to plan the situation so that the highest level of
speed-strength capacity occurs during the peak competition period. Some
international athletes that use Plyometrics for a big part of the training
year stop doing it at least 4 weeks before the main competition period.

The physiological theory behind plyometric training is to develop efficiency
in the stretch/shortening cycle of muscle action. During the stretch
(eccentric lengthening phase) of muscle action, a greater amount of elastic
energy is stored in the muscle. This elastic energy is then re-used in the
shortening (concentric) muscle action that follows, to make it stronger. The
key is to shorten the switching time i.e. the time it takes for the muscle
to change from the eccentric lengthening phase to the shortening work phase.
The fundamental principle of plyometric training is that it is the rate, not
the magnitude, of the stretch that determines the utilization of elastic
energy and the transfer of chemical energy into mechanical work.

Ideas for Young Talented Athletes

Ideas for Young Talented Athletes
by Steve Bennett
www.oztrack.com

There are many very young (9-13yrs old) extremely talented athletes out
there. Some of them like Australia's Georgie Clarke can make great
progressions at an early age. 800m age 11 2:12 age 12 2:08 age 13 2:05 age
14 2:02 ....age 16 Olympic Semi Final in 1500m . In the early years she was
on a very minimal and varied program and still performed brilliantly.

You only have to watch any young Athletics Championships. Some of them are
showing talent because they are simply early maturers or they have already
done plenty of specific training. BUT there are some that are showing the
necessary qualities required to really do something big and have done very
little specific training.

The Question is what do we do with this latter group of super talented
athletes?

The answer to this question is often full of distractions most of them
seeded in jealousy and rivalry. eg. Accusations of athletes being trained
too hard are common.Even when the athlete is a good variety in training. We
have to recognize that many other sports start their preparation much
younger than Athletics.

If we want athletes with good qualities as adults our young athletes need
good preparation. Siting down all day watching TV or at school ,wearing
shoes all day , only exercising in competition and not having a variety of
experiences of the positive effects of exercise are just some of the
obstacles we face. In African Nations the children do alot of variety of
activities as part of their lifestyle that gve them strength and
conditioning. If we want our athletes in any sport to have a chance we have
to provide them with variety when they are young or we will have to play
catch up later to keep our athletes healthy.

These super potential young athletes need a broad base of training stimuli.
They need coaches that are willing to arrange it for them. Not Coaches that
will focus ONLY on the areas that give good results fast. Adrian Faccioni
and Di Barnes presented some great information at the 2001 Australian Track
& Field Coaches Congress.

http://www.faccioni.com/lectures/juniorcondition.PDF

Athletes at this stage of development should have great variety in their
programs.

What follows are some examples and ideas:

Swiss Ball - training sessions - great for mid-torso development and
balance.eg 20min session maybe 1-2 a week, follow videos or do a class.

Pilates - do a floor class or follow a video - similar to above. Maybe even
integrate some of these exercises into a warmup phase of a session. -maybe 1
a week

Gym - Train with free weights only and avoid max weight lifts. It is
important for young athletes to develop strength. However, good guidance and
supervision is needed. Variety in the program is needed. Start with a small
duration sessions - maybe just 1 a week.

Steady Running - run on grass, dirt and mixed uneven terrain at varied
speeds, make it fun. Kenyan athletes who are in their 30s in many cases are
athletes that were playing on their farms (strength training) and play
running 100+ km a week to get tho school on uneven terrain from age 6. The
trick is NOT to structure it and have young athletes pound out the steady
continuos runs at an even pace on even terrain (road) or on a track!!. If we
got Kenyan youngsters to do this they would not last long either. There is
no reason why our young athletes cannot do regular play like runs of 30min
on uneven surfaces combined with walking or long all day bushwalks etc. Make
it as natural as possible - search out trails and stay off paths and roads.

Bushwalks - a great way to build base stamina and strengthen legs. A very
natural exercise mode. There are some great ones in any National Park.

Other Sports - Participation in avariety of other sports is good for all
round developm both physically and psychologically. We just need to make
sure that in whatever other sport they play that the training and
competition should be very varied and appropriate. Many other sports are
years behind athletics in using methods that are the best in training for
running.

Athletes that prepare for Athletics following the general philosophy
presented here will be prepared brilliantly for other sports that may play
or later specialize in.

Medicine Ball - med ball exercises can be performed that are good for
everything from balance, strength, power etc. Maybe even help our athletes
not get knockedover as easily. Be creative. (www.faccioni.com has some great
medball exercise ideas
also)

Foot/ankle/lower leg conditioning - walking on toes, walking on heels , wals
on soft sand, foot strengthening eg roll up a towl, pickup pencils etc.

Plyometrics - bouncing exercises of varied intensity in different
directions. Maybe over obstacles or up onto obstacles. Do standing Long Jump
tests. Play hopscotch.Ease into it gently and design other fun games to
play. Whatever athletes are used to doing will generally not be a problem.

Competition - DO NOT overcompete. Young athletes should enjoy the process of
all aspects of this sport. It is common to see under prepared athletes (that
are supposedly being looked after) overcompeting by going in multiple races
a few times a week. Athletes cannot work on technique when under pressure.
Competing alot may be fun but is the quickest way to create future
problems.When athletes do compete compete in a variety of settings against
athletes of varied ages and levels, and in different events. Spending all
day at track meets or Gala daysis not everyones idea of fun so try to spend
quality time at the track. Not hours waiting for the next event.

Speed improvement - this is an important age for the development of speed.
To not work on it now may mean missing the boat. Increasing cadence and
improving co-ordination are very important.

Technical improvement- This is paramount to longevity. Young athletes must
spend enough time each week improving their technique. The common way to
compromize this development is to compete too much (no athlete will be able
to change an old technique during max effort situations) or do too much of
one type of training eg focusing only on aerobic development.

There are many talented athletes that fail to make it or develop chronic
injuries that prevent them reaching their full potential. I believe that
with these athletes we can maximize their chances of avoiding problems by
providing them with a varied program and ALWAYS focusing on improving
technically and being patient. Never let one type of training dominate the
others. When the athletes are mature then it may be more appropriate to let
certain kinds of training dominate the program ESPECIALLY if as a young
athlete they were exposed to a few years of multi lateral training and now
have excellent posture/technique etc.

In the meantime athletes that train with variety will likely meet success
off relatively small volumes of training in every area and show good
performance improvements anyway.

The best way to judge a program is that the athlete should improve steadily
technically. There may be hickups as the athlete has a growth spurt for
example BUT generally the athlete sould be improving technically throughout
their foundation years.

"Saving kids for later" by getting them to do next to nothing in a low key
program is a myth that will never produce talented athletes that are
resilient as adults.

Core Stability and Conditioning for 400-800-1500

Core Stability and Conditioning for 400-800-1500
By Steve Bennett
www.oztrack.com

To reach their potential an athlete may need to develop:
1. A better postural position. This may involve improving flexibility
dramatically and then setting out very seriously to change body position.

2. Higher levels of balance, which is provided by both the nervous system
and many fine muscles, positioned near the spine. This system of body
position control must be challenged in a variety of ways to develop this
area to high levels e.g. Swiss ball, wobble board, Med Ball catching &
throwing, foam rollers etc. This is also the way to further re-enforce a
better postural position.

3. The qualities of Endurance, Strength & Power in the trunk. There should
be much more variety in trunk conditioning than simply sit-ups, crunches and
back extensions.

Athletes need to be able to hold their bodies in the ideal postural position
for the complete duration of their event. To achieve this goal will require
the strength in the right muscles to hold body position as well as the
endurance to maintain the position. Athletes like Wilson Kipketer, Hicham El
Guerrouge , Marion Jones, Frank Fredericks, Michael Johnson etc. have their
trunks conditioned well enough to achieve the goal of maintaining ideal body
position for the entire race almost every time they compete.

This season, many of the athletes that train here in Sydney with me have
followed a comprehensive Core stability & conditioning program. This has
involved:

Weekly
3 x 20min Swiss Ball conditioning sessions (following Paul Cheks Swiss Ball
Video 'Better abs,buns,backs')
3 x 20min Pilates (following a Pilates floor exercises Video)
1-2 x functional Gym Training eg Single leg lifts - all free weights -
posture enhancing exercises

Some have also done extra exercises on different days for
-lower abs eg straight leg lowering - maintaining a neutral posture - 3 x 10
maximal load contractions. The goal is to eventually be able to lower
straight legs to floor while maintaining a neutral spinal curve.
-upper abs eg swiss ball crunches with a heavy weight - easy up to 80lb 3 x
10
- external oblique's - across body cable pulls in a standing position eg 3 x
10 both down and across each way then 3 x 10 up and across each way
-back extensors.- hyperextensions on a back extension machine. and also
reverse hypers. 3 x 10

For Drills at the Track athletes have simply concentrated on 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.

Most track sessions have ended with some relaxed 150s at about 800 pace.
Where they can practise relaxing and running at a decent speed in the right
postition.
The effect

* I have noticed usually within 6 weeks that athletes are moving differently
and with improvement of their ability to maintain good pelvic position under
conditions of high fatigue.
* Athletes have had good gains on maximum speed. Some athletes have improved
their standing 60m time by as much as 0.6s. Some athletes that had poor
speed now have developed much higher maximum speeds.
* Athlete contact times have decreased.

Conclusion
All athletes should invest the time to perform a great variety of exercises
to improve core stability and posture. My experiences have shown me that it
is a very worthwhile exercise. Following video sessions of these types of
training is very popular and effective. It is also not that time consuming.

This type of training will well prepare athletes to make extra gains through
being able to do more fast speedwork safely with less risk of hamstring
injury particularly and will also be a great thing to add plyometric work
to.

The value of Plyometric Training for MD Athletes

The value of Plyometric Training for MD Athletes
by Steve Bennett

This article will include a variety of ideas that may be of value to MD
coaches, there is plenty more to this topic than follows but I hope that the
following may be a good starting point for re-thinking the use of
plyometrics for some.

Plyometric training stimulates a special quality of muscles that involves
them storing energy and returning it like a spring. It is therefore to a
certain extent free energy for an athlete.

To improve say 1500m performance requires improving aerobic energy
contribution of the athlete and also the ability to access Anaerobic energy
systems appropriately. Having both systems contributing maximally at the
same time of the year in a peak season reason is the ultimate aim. Another
concept that impacts on how fast an athlete is able to run with all this
energy is the athletes efficiency or "ease of speed". This I believe is the
major weakness in many programs due to either too many slow Km or too much
of a focus on highly lactic anaerobic work especially when an athlete is
running with loss of form.

To improve efficiency requires practising perfect often without a fatigue
component and then as success is developed in this area loading what is a
good motor pattern with fatigue. This needs to be done at and above race
speed.

Plyometrics fit into this picture by developing athlete specific leg power
so that to run at a given speed requires less effort. Quicker contact times
will be noticed which also represents less energy wasted in slowing the
athlete down.

I believe this is an area that can improve considerably in most athletes
with steady and integrated work. It should also to minimize trauma be done
at lower intensity levels than a sprinters plyometric program.

Some ideas include:

Progressing from something like

1/ Double leg impacts just landing and stopping

2/ Double leg impacts just bouncing over low hurdles with a small jump in
between

3/ Double leg impacts just bouncing over low hurdles with quick contact
times

4/ Hops just landing and stopping

2/ Hops over low hurdles with a small jump in between

3/ Hops over low hurdles with quick contact times.

The above ideas could start on grass in training shoes and progress to
synthetic in racing flats.

I usually count foot contacts in a session and have had no troubles at all
up to 100 impacts per leg in combination with other running work. If the
intensity is raised too high or on hard surfaces problems will arise , so
factor it into the athletes ability to adapt.

We have also integrated plyometric training with endurance training with
good effects eg

2 x 5 x 300 rest 60s over 100m via 6 low hurdles that are double leg bounced
over.

After slowly introducing this sort of session athlete have tended to hold
themselves higher and have faster contact time even when tired.

Recognize how nice it would be to have an athlete "stay bouncy" in the late
stages of a race.

I believe that training on very soft surfaces like grass and especially sand
may increase strength and muscle endurance at the expense of plyometric
qualities of the muscle. So I tend to stay away from sand but I guess that
it would be OK if it is cycled in the micro and macro cycles smartly.

In conclusion

I believe it is well worth planning plyometric training for any athlete and
saving some adaptation ability so that it can provide good benefits without
the risk. Some research has suggested that plyo-training can also decrease
muscle soreness during other running on hard surfaces and in running
downhill if performed even just once every few weeks.

El Guerrouge is reported to 300 impacts in a session of a variety of jumps
every week along with high volume training , this believe may be fundamental
to his brilliant ease of speed, I have seen Wilson Kipketer in Sydney doing
a session of nothing but what could best be described as low intensity
bounding.

Avoiding Overtraining

Avoiding Overtraining
By Steve Bennett
www.oztrack.com

I have been gathering information about avoiding overtraining in athletes.
The fundamental finding is that it seems quite clear that intensity is more
often the culprit than volume.

Athletes can certainly improve very rapidly from high intensity repetitions
on the track but eventually a plateau is reached where further gains in a
season or before the race season start can only come from the athlete
performing training at higher and higher intensity. The quest for more
intensity can be made easier by decreasing total volume of weekly training
as well. However eventually a point is reached where athlete performance
will start to decrease and then there is almost nothing that can be done
other than backing of the intensity of rebuilding the base with lower
intensity training. The problem for the coach and athlete is timing it right
BUT this is almost impossible when the athlete is on a higher intensity
lower volume program for most of the year.

It is much easier it seems and probably much more effective, especially in
the long term to build a moderate to large volume base for at least half the
year and then play catch up with the high intensity work. The key to doing
it this way is to make sure basic speed is available wich means doing some
regular fast work over 40-150m where mechanics can be optimized BUT stay
away from INTENSITY which means stacking them close together or do longer
faster runs. Intensity in my book is to do with the levels of acidosis that
is generated. It is best for the first half of the year or so to work at
intensities at mostly Anaerobic Threshold which is believed to be near
Lactate 4mM and lower. Even Marathon pace which is nearer to 2.5mM is still
a decent pace to be run at for most people & in someone like El Gurrouge
this would be under 3:00/km.

In the past my own squad have operated with a low to medium volume higher
intensity program for most of the year. But I have grown to believe it is
better for 800/1500m to stay away from high intensity work and perform
higher volumes like 100km for Women and 130km for Men to build a base and
then to slowly decrease volume and phase in more and more intense work.

One of our sessions this year is initially 8km of reps at near to AT pace
eg.
3000m rest 3min 1500m rest 3min 1500m rest 3min 1000m rest 3min 1000m - all
at AT pace

This will likely change to
3000m jog 3min 1500m jog 3min 1500m jog 3min 1000m jog 3min 1000m - all at
AT pace
Then to
2000m jog 3min 1500m jog 3min 1500m jog 3min 1000m jog 3min 1000m - all at
10km pace
Then to
2000m rest 3min 1500m rest 3min 1500m rest 3min 1000m rest 3min 1000m - all
at 5km pace
Then to
1500m rest 3min 1500m rest 3min 1000m rest 3min 1000m - all at 3-5km pace
Then to
5 x 800m rest 3min - at 3000m pace or better
Then to
4 x 600m rest 5min - at 1000m race pace.

The main theme is start with AT pace while on high volumes and venture to
higher acidosis sessions later in the year when the base is built. Not to
make a big change to faster pace work quickly.

Polar Overtraining Test
I have also found a great way of monitoring & detecting early signs of
overtraining. It involves the use of the orthostatic test which is laying
down with a HRM band on and then standing up with it on. The highest level
of the Polar Monitors can gather data which can be analysed by the Polar
Precision Software and provide information about how well training is being
absorbed. It uses the change in laying down heart rate to standing up as
well as the change in inter beat variability to analyse athlete overtraining
status.

Endurance Training: Intensity vs Volume

Endurance Training: Intensity vs Volume
by Steve Bennett
www.oztrack.com

For many years now debate has raged between advocates of the two extremes of
training for middle distances. We have had athletes who have been on well
over 160km a week running great times in 1500m and also some running very
fast off a much smaller volume of in some cases less than 100km a week.

Both extremes of training can work for an athlete. What the high volume
athlete lacks in intensity can be 'made up' from the benefits of the slow
stimulus of volumes of aerobic running. What the lower volume athlete lacks
in volume can be 'made up' for with extra intensity. There are trade-offs
and risks of both extremes however and this is essential when working out
what is best for a given athlete.

The high volume athlete runs the risk of overuse injuries and this is
especially so if the training includes a high percentage on the roads. They
also run the risk of lowering unning efficiency at race pace if good form
work is not done to compensate for the potentially damaging effects of
running slower most of the time. The athlete can lose speed & ease of speed.
Some would argue though that increased mitochondrial density and
capillarisation brought about in a more extreme fashion by high volume
training will in fact improve efficiency - as will the extra muscular
conditioning of the lower legs from running slowly with minimal knee lift.

The low volume athlete because of the higher intensity will face a much
higher risk of overtraining and burnout both mentally and physically. I know
of athletes whose immune system has let them down and they became repeatedly
sick because of a the steady regime of highly anaerobic work they were doing
for most of each year. I believe athletes dont last long like this.

Many of the best athletes in the World that lasted for the longest were in
fact higher volume athletes like John Walker.

I believe the answer to the debate is to do both , periodize the year
smartly, build to high volumes in the offseason on softer varied surfaces,
be cautious with highly lactic speedwork save it fot the pre-comp period.
Let athletes aim for goals that are within the next 3 months XC races etc.
But in base building period train at intensities that are certainly well
within the coping capacities of the athlete. Do good running form - "ease of
speed" development sessions most of the year but keep the volumes and
intensities at a level that fits with the volume the athletes are doing. By
intensity I mean lactic intensity eg 4 x 150m at high speed is ot near as
intense as 4 x 200m at the same speed. The extra 50m puts the athlete into
the lactic zone uch more just like 4 x 300m at same speed would be much more
intense again. Speed can be developed and maintained safely in term of
musculoskelatal injuries from sessions of faster shorter reps with a total
session volume of reps of less than 1000m eg 4-6 x 150m at a good speed with
plenty of rest is an effective speed development and form workout that is
not that intense (especially if rests are longer like in excess of 5min)

With sessions like 4 x 2000m rest 3min there are many ways to run it.
They can be run at 5000m pace or faster i.e as hard as the athlete possibly
can.
They could also be done at 10000m pace which is a bit above Anaerobic
threshold pace. The 10km pace version is much more sustainable over many
months of base training and can easily be preceded by a long warmup and a
long warmdown. The faster eyeballs approach to the session is certainly not
something that an athlete can sustain for many months ven though gains in
Vo2max may be high. Training is all about having optimal adaptation not just
quick adaptation. Sometimes slow adapatations from many areas can add up to
elite performances because the athlete can be sitting at a level where just
2 months of comp prep intense training combined with racing can lift them to
a super high level FROM what was a pretty low intensity regime of
significant volume.

I believe now that especially with female athletes transitioning from
juniors to seniors that we need to increase the volume be wary of intensity
but continue the speed development. Most will last better as long (as their
bodies suit it) on 100km a week of steady than 60km of hard.

It is essential that athletes all do both volume that their structures can
handle and intensity that their physiology can cope with. Eventually their
ability to maximally adapt to both at the right time is the key to optimal
performances in MD events.

Food Choice & Training

Food Choice & Training
By Steve Bennett
www.oztrack.com

I have been doing alot of research recently to do with food choice and
athlete recovery & performance. The athlete has been testing blood glucose
often throughout the day ie. before meals and after training. This has
provided some good information about what foods keep blood sugar more steady
throughout the day.

Following the principals of Glycemic Index certainly foods with a low GI
have a marked stabilising effect on blood sugar. There is a good database of
foods that have been tested at www.glycemicindex.com . The lower the GI of a
food the slower it burns and the more stabilizing an effect it will have on
blood sugar. It is important that athletes eats low GI carbs not just hi GI
carbs.

It is also very important that athletes have a good intake of protein spread
throughout the day at each meal. In the vicinity of 1.3g/kg lean body
weight.

Also it is important that athletes have an intake of good fats. A great
source of good fats is Flaxseed OIl particularly Udos Oil www.udoerasmus.com
. Both good fats and protein have a stabilising effect on Blood Sugar. There
is a time to have an intake of hi GI carbs like Lollies and that is straight
after training particularly after prolonged training but an athletes diet
should be based on a high intake of low GI carbohydrates.

This entire area of science is so complicated because human biochemistry has
so many feedback mechanisms. Each individual is also different in the way
they respond and also their preferences for food with effect things. Many
vitamins and minerals also effect the process especially Potassium, Zinc,
Copper, Iron & B Vitamins.

It is a mistake to think that a high carb, low fat , low protein is good for
an athlete. It is not that simple. Modern life has gotten in the way of that
and made many people overdo the consumption of hi GI carbohydrates.

More Tips & Tricks

More Tips & Tricks
by Steve Bennett
www.oztrack.com

* Cold water before Racing warmup first then have a cold shower (maybe 5
blasts of 5-10s+) recover with warmer water. Experiment in training but you
may notice you feel lighter on your feet and may sprint measurably faster. I
find this is good to do on very hot days or on days that an athlete feels
lethargic eg after a late night or sleep in. It however would most likely
help on any occasion.

* Sprinters should use racing flats not heavy joggers. There are many models
available but not usually in stock in non specialty stores.

* Pilates is an area worth investigating if you want to improve your
performance in running and/or you have hamstring or back problems that are
effecting your running.

* Circuit Training and Body pump is a great conditioning opportunity
available in many Gyms. Get really fit early in your training year in this
way before really going for maximum strength in the gym.

* Do not neglect performing some Plyometrics regardless of your event. It is
an area that will stumulate your muscles to utilize more of the energy that
is associated with gravity. Not only can it improve your power and speed but
also your efficiency. Start with low intensity and do a regular but
increasing volume along with your regular training. This is a neglected area
of training in Australia especially in Distance athletes.

* Read about how GI of Carbohydrates is important.

* Only go to Medical support staff that have plenty of experience with
serious athletes. There are huge differences in treatment regimes and going
to the most convenient support could shorten your sporting career.

* Sleep is when we adapt to training so resting is as important as training.
Establish a waking up time and a regular sleep pattern of about 9hrs a
night. If you have a late one get up at the same time and have a 30min
snooze mid afternoon and get an early night.

Track Training Ideas

Track Training Ideas
by Steve Bennett
www.oztrack.com

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

Training Ideas 800m to Cross Country for the Developing Athlete

Training Ideas800m to Cross Country for the Developing Athlete.
by Steve Bennett
B.Sc (Physiology)

* It is much more important to improve balance, posture and stability of the
trunk than it is to improve leg or arm strength. To generate high levels of
acceleration and speed requires a trunk that can transfer the force. Almost
everyone has a standing body alignment that is not ideal and also have an
inadequate ability to maintain good body position ie Trunk stability.

* Distance athletes should aim to develop the ability to relax when running
at race pace. The focus should be on running quietly over the ground and
with minimal effort from the upper body.

* Fingers should be relaxed and elbows should be held close to the body and
swing behind the plane of the body. (This may require improved shoulder
flexibility in some athletes)

* The shoulder girdle should be loose and allowed to bounce not be held down
in a fixed position.

* The athlete should not try to lean forward ( a very slight lean in fine.)

* Arms should be held with relaxed and the main focus of effort should be a
downward & backward stroke. They should also not move very far forward from
the body (as this causes athletes to overstride late in the race)

The 800m event needs special training at the 800m race speed. The ability to
relax and use little energy is important at race pace.

Some sessions to improve performance in the 800m are:
A/ 10 x Flying 100m at 400m race pace rests 3min
B/ 2 sets of 4 runs over 200m at slightly quicker than 800m race pace with
rests 90s and 4min between sets.
.C/ 3 x 400 at 800m race pace rest 10min

800m athletes should also complete much of the endurance training
suggestions that follows later in this article. They do not need to do as
much steady running as the longer distance athletes but more of the time
they spend each week should be on sprinting and race pace practise.

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. (Running on it is not recommended). Training should be conducted
in very light simple shoes. Simple lighter more flexible shoes called Racing
flats from the Runners Shop are much better than joggers for training in.
Some coaches worldwide have reported an increase in the frequency of
injuries in athletes with ultra supportive "high tech" shoes this has been
suggested to be because these shoes gradually allow feet to become less
functional.

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. Keeping warm immediately after training is one of the secrets of
avoiding being sick less often in the winter months.

Training for endurance needs to consist of 3 to 10 steady runs during each
main training week. These should be of similar duration and involve starting
off slow and gradually running faster ( the speed depends on how you feel on
the day). Start at 20min and buildup slowly as the athlete matures to 30min
and then later 40min. Aim to run on all kinds of surfaces with a high
percentage on trails and grass. Make sure there is some running on harder
surfaces as well as this will prevent problems caused by racing on hard
tracks and roads when it happens. Complete some race pace strides over 60m
during or near the end of most steady runs. eg An 800m athlete could do 5 x
flying start 60m runs at about 800m race pace with a comfortable recovery.
The focus on these is on relaxation at race pace.

Each week should include about 2-4 sessions that are not steady runs. These
sessions can include any of the following:
-Races (not too often)
-Long bushwalks
-Sprint Training
-Tempo Sessions eg
1/ Race pace practise not high stress eg 6 x 200 at 1500m race pace with
comfortable rest in between.
2/ 4 sets of 5 flying 60m runs at 400-800m pace very relaxed. Rests 2min
between and 5min between sets (activity with medicine ball)

-Aerobic Power Sessions eg.
1/ 2 sets of 6 runs over 200m at Cross Country Race pace rest 30s between
each run and 4min between sets.
2/ 2-3 sets of 3 runs over 300m at Cross Country Pace rests 45s walk/jog
100m and 4min between sets.
3/ 3 x 1000m at about 3km to Cross Country race pace rests 8min
4/ (Advanced) 2 x 1500m at slightly slower than 1500m race pace rests 20min

Sprint Training for the Developing Athlete.

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.

Much more info is in my ebook Training Kids For Speed

Important Training Principles for Sprinting

Important Training Principles for Sprinting
by Steve Bennett
www.oztrack.com

* Core stability is an area of strong focus from the start of any athletes
career. The better their stability and posture the less problems they may
have, the more effective they will be and the harder they can train.

* Stronger Abs & Back by Brittenham & Brittenham has a great range of
exercises and explians trunk training brilliantly. The program recommends a
large variety of trunk exercises performed perfectly. Athletes should aim in
their programs for a good mix of core stability exercises possibly with a
swiss ball and to progress from Ab/back conditioning exercises to strength
exercises (as their condition improves) and then possibly for some athletes
to Ab/back power exercises. The days of considering 3 sets of 50 situps as
good ab work are gone.

I consider this a key area in helping an athlete to prevent trunk related
injuries eg Hamstring tears. A stable trunk should also provide better
balance and relaxation at high speeds.

A comprehensive trunk program involving the use of various exercises as well
as Pilates and Swiss Ball is presented at
http://www.oztrack.com/trunk.htm

Some other stability exercises

1/ On Right side on elbow use trunk to lift body straight - Hold it for
30seconds
2/ On Left side on elbow use trunk to lift body straight - Hold it for
30seconds
3/ On back on elbows use trunk to lift body straight- Hold it for 30seconds
4/ On Front on elbows use trunk to lift body straight- Hold it for 30seconds
5/ Legs up on a chair and straight as possible laying on back use hamstrings
to lift body straight- move steadily up and down 5 times
6/ On right leg squat as low as possible while maintaining a straight trunk
hold for 15 seconds.
7/ On left leg squat as low as possible while maintaining a straight trunk
hold for 15 seconds
8/Stand on right leg and balance but make it difficult by swinging your arms
around in patterns. Use stabilizing muscles to maintain your position. Do
this for 1min.
9/Stand on right leg and balance but make it difficult by swinging your arms
around in patterns. Use stabilizing muscles to maintain your position. Do
this for 1min.

Sprinters should have regular assessment from a Physiotherapist and follow a
structured stretching program to develop flexibility as well as have this
information influence the design of their Gym program. Stretching should
include a variety of stretches both dynamic and static.

Speed Drills as promoted by Loren Seagrave of Speed Dynamics are very
effective at improving cadence and posture when performed correctly. You
can't do drills properly (and effectively) unless perfection is pursued. 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. Most athletes do them far from correctly.

Lately my squad have been simply using just two drills as follows:

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.

Biomechanics

We follow two of the following principals of Modern Running Technique

* Dorsiflexion - big toe as close to shin as possible. The foot should
recover this position as quickly as possible , recover in that position (so
that it makes the leg a shorter lever) and in the downswing stay dorsiflexed
. Many athletes lose their dorsiflexion before impact , losing their
pre-stretch (losing power) , this increases contact time and allows them to
contact the ground early. Every time an athlete hits the ground the first
part of contact involves losing momentum. This can be minimized by
maintaining dorsiflexion and having a fast moving backward (active) foot.
* Early recovery - athletes should minimize letting their hips tilt backward
after impact. This will be evident as a less butt out running posture. Doing
this will have two benefits it will allow the athletes hips to be more free
to lift their knees easier and will allow less backswing of the upper leg. A
large backswing/recovery is much slower and puts load on the hamstring that
acts to help this sort of big recovery. It is much better to recover early
under the body. Athletes that do this will not have the soles of their shoes
face the sky or have vertical thighs as their foot comes close to their
butt. Their thigh will already be forward as the foot comes close to the
butt. (Marion Jones and Maurice Greene show this action).

The two drills used by my squad are focused on these two principals. Note -
We do not do butt kicks as a drill anymore for this reason.

Development of Maximum Speed

The theory exists that it is better to develop maximum speed first then
later in the season add endurance of that speed. Endurance work can be done
but not work that involves all out efforts that could result in the athlete
practising poor form. Any kind of speed endurance work can especially as it
becomes more intense result in decreased efficiency and maximum speed. Every
time an athlete makes maximum effort they program that exact motor pattern
at that velocity as being what the brain reproduces as maximum speed..

To Develop maximum speed short distances are used ( usually involving an
upper limit of 3-4s at maximum speed) eg. 30-40m or up to 60m from a
standing start, Flying 20-30m runs off a 25m run in or
In & Outs & In (an example follows)
25m acceleration phase breathing in slowly
10m at maximum effort breath held
20m at high cadence less effort breathout and in as final approach to next
zone occurs.
10m at maximum effort breath held
Ease out

The athlete may build up to 9-12 runs in sets of 3-4 with minimum rest
between being 3-5min and full recovery between sets.

Once the athlete reaches a speed plateau and seems to have difficulty moving
to a new higher level. Then something different needs to be done. To gain
speed the athlete can look in these areas

* Flexibility improvement - Especially in areas that may decrease stride
length.

* Lose Weight- If the athlete has excess weight losing it will speed them
up. Lean body weight should be at least maintained.

* Become stronger or develop more power in the Gym- Improving specific
strength in the Gym should help the athlete become more powerful. Excessive
bulk is bad, as is loss of flexibility. A program needs to be developed to
suit the individual. The right program is needed for running the athlete has
only so much time in the week and they need to recover for their high
quality running sessions.

*Improve Power- The athlete could sprint up short hills, tow sleds, tow
other athletes or run with a weighted belt. The recommendation is that the
athlete when running resisted with the aim of improving maximum speed should
not be slowed by more than 10%. The most recommended way to do this is with
a weighted belt. They are comfortable and can even be worn all day. They
help the athlete maintain a higher centre of gravity and may enhance the
plyometric effect of the muscles. Towing a sled or hills are effective
mostly at improving starting power. The biomechanics of these situations are
very different to maximum speed mechanics.

* Improve Plyometric effect of the muscles- Plyometric exercies are
effective but the best ones are specific. They need to be built up slowly in
volume and are effective. We start with standing start 4 bounds and jumnp
into a sandpit. We measure each attempt and aim to improve this distance.
Then we progress when the athlete has good technique to running start 4
bounds and a jump. We also expand the program to include double leg bounds
over hurdles eg 6 x 3 hurdles only up to a height where the athlete can
bounce with quick contacts. We also do speed bounds i.e bounding for both
speed and distance over 20m or 30m. We also do these initially from a
standing start and then from a running start. We aim to keep the total
number of foot contacts under 40 in a session. Which is far less than is
often recommended. Intensity without injury is the aim as it is intensity
that produces higher results. All plyometrics should aim to have all of the
foot impact the ground do not have athletes bounce off the toes this will
risk injury.

* Increase Cadence- Overspeed Running is the icing on the cake and can have
large gains in Maximum speed. It is however, accompanied by higher risk. The
athlete should already have high levels of trunk stability and be running
with good form. Any defect will be exagerated by overspeed and injury can
easily occur. The are various ways for the athhlete to be assisted to run at
a speed above their natural maximum. The limitation is one that mostly
involves Nerve Signal pathways that can be "programmed" to happen quicker.
If the brain can get used to a higher cadence the athlete will have it
without assistance. The danger factor is that the athletes posture can
collapse, they could injure themselves in a fall if they can't keep up or
they could pull a muscle becuase it did not relax quick enough at the higher
cadence rate.
Overspeed can be done by running down a very slight slope, running with an
assisting wind or by being towed. I safest and most effective methods I have
found is to use a simple pulley system and tow the athlete from a standing
start over 40m. The aim once again is for the athlete to never exceed 10%
faster than natural as there are no extra benefits and a very high risk of
injury. One of my athlete capable of about 11.87 for 100m can run 5.00 from
her first movement over 40m from a standing start. When towed he is running
about 4.40-4.60. Start with 2 tows when the athlete is fresh and feeling
good. Build up to 4-6 tows but always follow tows with at least 1 fast
unassisted run while the athlete is fresh. When they start to slow from
fatigue the session is over.

A common session that I think is very effective is 40m from a 3 point start
then 4 tows over 40m 5-8min apart , then rest 5min followed by 2 x flying
start 80m rest 2min between. The athlete then is able to develop both speed
and speed endurance at a high speed in the one session. We have had very
good gains from this session.

Starting

Athletes need to get full extension out of the blocks and run with a pushing
action for as far as possible. To be able to do this as far as possible
means staying very forward with the whole body , keeping the head down will
help this.

Athletes should aim to impact with their lower legs (tibia) pointing
backward.

I have found that lightly resisted rubber band resisted starts from blocks
are fantastic for training athletes to stay forward and push.

Most athletes are far from strong enough to be able to able to follow these
principals very far at all. This is another story.
Starting uses Quads more , where maximum speed is much more Gluteus.

Some other ideas include neural considerations. Athletes have a limited
neural ability to fire muscles at high cadences/ high power. To optimize
speed over 100m means conserving neural ability by decreasing cadence early
in the race. Big straighter arm swings and big full extension pushing steps
for as far as possible decrease cadence early and allow athletes to maintain
higher cadences later in the race.

Athletes as they approach the finish should increase stride frequency even
further and allow stride length to shorten to minimize overstriding. You may
have noticed some sprinters look to be running faster at the end, it is the
increased cadence that you have noticed not the loss of stride length.