Fall Training Ideas
With track increasingly becoming more and more of a year-round sport, the idea of there being an “off season” is becoming obsolete. It has gotten to the point where this is almost equally true for the high school athlete as it is for the collegian and professional. With scholarship money at stake, high school athletes can no longer afford to take time off from training. Those who fall behind get left behind.
But the problem this scenario creates is that burnout becomes much more possible. Running track and training for track twelve months a year can be too much for many high school athletes. Their bodies are still developing, they have interest in other sports, and they value having a social life.
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My point would be that it is not inconceivable that a year-round training program can be enjoyable and stimulating, in addition to being challenging and demanding. This article is directed to the high school athlete (and the coach of the high school athlete) who competes indoors, outdoors, and in the summer (either in USATF Junior Olympic meets or AAU meets – or both, in some cases). By the time August rolls around, there’s a sense of relief that the season is finally over, no matter how the season went.
But by September, it’s time to get started on next season. Even in August, you don’t want to let yourself fall out of shape, since nothing is harder than getting back in shape. For this article though, the emphasis is on fall training, starting in September. The focus will be on those athletes who don’t play other sports in the fall and winter, but I will also provide suggestions for those who do.
For hurdlers, the key is to have a hurdler-specific plan in place from the very beginning. Many off-season programs de-emphasize hurdling, tending to put off any hurdling activity until the onset of the indoor season. While I see the logic of this approach, I can’t say I agree with it, except at the professional level. But for high schoolers in particular, it’s a good idea to clear as many hurdles as they can. The rationale behind not hurdling too early in the fall is that the body needs to prepare for hurdling first, that a base must be built based on weightlifting, speed-endurance work, and probably some distance runs for the 300/400m hurdler. Back in my day I used to do as many as 16×200, sprint one / jog one, hitting each rep consistently in the 32-34 range. Once a week I ran three miles on the track to test my fitness level.
I don’t have my hurdlers do that kind of volume in their running. I like for my hurdlers to get their significant volume in through hurdle workouts. I like to train the body to do what it will ultimately have to in races. High volume sprinting workouts, I have found, don’t give a hurdler what a hurdler needs. A hurdler needs to execute the hurdle movements, strengthen the muscles needed to execute those movement, and ingrain rhythm and technique along the way.
I have two pet workouts that serve to improve the athlete’s hurdle endurance. (And I define “hurdle endurance” as the ability to execute the movements consistently, even when fatigue sets in). For 100/110m hurdlers, I like the quick-step workout, and for 300/400m hurdlers I like the back-and-forth workout. The quick-step workout involves setting up a minimum of five hurdles (maximum of ten), in the range of 21-24 feet apart for a quick three-step rhythm. (For four-steppers, I’ll either move them a little further apart for a quick four-step, or I’ll have them switch lead legs each rep). The hurdler clears all the hurdles, turns around, jogs slowly back to the start line and goes again. Usually I’ll have them do two big sets and a third half-set. So, it would be something like two sets of ten reps over five hurdles, then a third set of five reps, for a total of 125 hurdles. Rest would be five minutes between sets. I might up that to six or seven if the athlete is showing fatigue and I want to maintain quality.
With this workout, we’re not focusing on volume for volume’s sake. The key is for the athlete is to continue to execute the movements efficiently when fatigue sets in. Throughout the workout, we’re addressing technical flaws and experimenting with various ideas that might come up regarding different parts of the body. Doing this workout once a week, adding hurdles, adding reps, hurdlers can gradually increase the volume while still maintaining the quality. The goal would be to get up to 250 hurdles, which would be two sets of ten over ten, followed by a third half-set of five over ten. Trust me, you’ll be feeling dizzy seeing that many hurdles in front of you time and time again. Your ability to focus and adapt will be challenged tremendously. But you will know, when it comes time to add speed to the equation, that fatigue will never be an issue for you – not in workouts and not in races. Also be aware that you’ll need a day off after this workout, or a weight day that focuses only the upper body.
With the back and forth workout, five hurdles are set up facing the finish line, and five more are set up in the lane beside them facing the start line. The hurdles are set up at the even numbered marks of the 100/110 race. So, that would be hurdles 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10. They should be at race height for the 300/400h – 30 inches for females, 36 inches for females. From the start line, the athlete runs over all five hurdles on the way up, turns around after crossing the 100/110m finish line, then clears all five hurdles facing the other way. This is not an all-out sprint. Seven steps between the hurdles would be all-out. We want this pace to be nine steps minimum. Eleven, or even thirteen, is okay, depending on the natural speed of the athlete. The key is to stay consistent with the stride pattern. If you start with nine steps between hurdles one and two, you want to stay with nine steps for the whole rep. No falling apart and taking eleven or thirteen by the end. Athletes who alternate might find that an even number of steps works best. Eight steps will most likely be too fast for the volume required in this workout, but ten would work, as would twelve.
For starters, this workout would consist of five reps, going back and forth one time each rep, with three minutes rest between reps. That’s a total of 50 hurdles. As the athlete’s conditioning improves, the number of hurdles he clears – for each rep and for the workout – increases. A “rep” will increase to where the athlete goes back and forth one and a half times, then two times, all the way up to three times. If the number of reps stays the same (five), then that would be thirty hurdles per rep, for a total of 150 hurdles. That’s how I usually go about it. However, the rest period will increase by a minute after each set. So, three minutes after the first rep, four minutes after the second rep, five minutes after the third rep, six minutes after the fourth rep. Only one hurdler I’ve ever coached was able to get up to thirty hurdles per rep, and that was Johnny Dutch back in the day.
This workout is also a once-a-week workout, and should be done at least three days after the quick-step workout.
As for the other days, one day should be devoted to plyometric, leg-strengthening types of exercises. Bounds, lunges, etc. Two days should be devoted to speed-endurance running. I still like 200’s, but unlike with the hurdle workouts, I’ll start with higher volume, but slower speeds. So, we’ll start with, say, 10×200 at 35 – do one / jog one – then gradually work our way down to 6 at 30 by December. The 300/400m hurdlers should also have a 600 (300m hurdlers) or 800 (400m hurdlers) day. One day should be reserved for cross training. That can be a “fun” day where the athlete plays pickup soccer, basketball, or something similar that involves a lot of running but also provides a bit of detox from the grind of training. Another option, instead of cross training, would be to add in a day devoted exclusively to hurdle drills (walk-overs, cycle drill, marching popovers, one-steps, fence drill, etc.). Finally, one day should be a rest day. Stay in the house and do some homework.
The fall is also the best time to introduce a weightlifting regimen. Personally, I’m not big on the more advanced lifts that will become vital in college. High school athletes’ muscles are still developing, so I like keeping things basic but effective. Squats and half-squats, calf raises, hamstring curls, bench press, incline bench press, bicep curls, tricep extensions, shoulder shrugs. Certain gyms have the adductor/abductor machine, which I like a lot for hurdlers, although I generally prefer dumbbells and barbells to machines. Body weight exercises can also be very effective. The key is to get into a regular routine, figure out which body parts to address on which days (based on your running workout schedule), and to focus on gaining muscle endurance. In the fall, you should be able to do three sets of fifteen reps of each exercise, or else decrease the amount of weight you are lifting. High school athletes should lift three times a week in the fall, although four can be okay if you have a good trainer who knows how to balance the lifting with the running.
As the fall bleeds into the winter, the amount of reps will decrease, and the amount of weight will increase, as the need to become more powerful and explosive will increase.
For the high school athlete who plays another sport in the fall, my suggestion would be to get in some hurdle work once a week, if you can find any way to fit it in. For the 100/110m specialist, do the quick-step workout once a week. For the 300/400m specialist, do the back and forth workout once a week. For kids I’ve coached, Sunday afternoons usually prove to be a reliable time. And it’s amazing how effective just one day of week of hurdling can be over the course of a season. A lot of progress can be made and a lot of muscle memory can be developed.
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