Inside Workout
by Steve McGill
This time of year, for those of us not located in warm-weather states, it becomes essential to practice inside at least a few days a week. While many colleges in cold-weather areas have an indoor track for the track athletes to train on, such is not the case for high school and youth teams. As a result, workouts often must take place in the classroom building, utilizing hallways, the weight room (if it’s not too crowded) and the gym (if the basketball team isn’t in there. This month’s workout is one of those classroom building workouts for when the weather outside is frightful.
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Usually, when indoors, it is best to set up some kind of circuit workout, as the tight spaces and narrow curves don’t allow for opening up the stride very much. This month’s workout is a circuit that I like, as it serves multiple purposes. Before I elaborate, let me tell you what the workout is:
- 10 reps of upstairs sprints in which you sprint up the stairs two steps at a time, and then walk back down the stairs one steps at a time.
- 2x30m lunges, with emphasis on lifting the knees up as opposed to emphasizing covering ground. Don’t reach with the foot. Arms should be in sync with legs same as when you run.
- Single-leg hops over mini hurdles. Set up 10 mini hurdles spaced about 6 feet apart for single-leg bounds, emphasizing landing and pushing off the ball of the foot, minimizing ground contact time. Up and back two times each leg.
- Repeat the above circuit two more times for a total of three sets.
The upstairs sprints put the upper body in the forward position that we want it in when coming out of the blocks and when attacking each hurdle. They also help with ingraining the habit of driving the knees upward and pushing off the ball of the foot. The lunges are good for strength development in the hip flexors, quads, and hamstrings. The single-leg hops are good for developing explosive power in the lower legs.
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