Drill Progression Workout

Sometimes, drills can serve as the basis for an entire workout. I often like to emphasize drills as the main course of the hurdler’s workout meal. It’s a way to combine all three elements essential to hurdling success: technique, rhythm, and speed/aggression. The drill progression workout is designed to gradually increase the intensity while instilling (for beginners) or ingraining (for advanced hurdlers) the fundamentals of hurdling technique and rhythm and the all-important component of always being in attack mode.

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Marching walk-overs over 6 hurdles

• Hurdles should be spaced approximately 8 feet apart (females) or 10 feet apart (males) for a marching three-step between the hurdles. Focus is on getting the knees up, staying on the balls of the feet, and keeping the hips square.
• Do three reps each of trail leg, lead leg, and over the top

Quick three-step (bunched) over 6 hurdles

• Hurdles should be spaced approximately 15 feet apart (females) or 18 feet apart (males) for a quick three-step rhythm in between the hurdles. Approach the first hurdle with high knees, then speed up a little bit right before the first hurdle. Emphasis is on keeping the legs cycling and reacting quickly to each hurdle.
• Do six reps, all of them over the top

Quick three-step (regular quick-step spacing) over 6 hurdles

• Hurdles should be spaced approximately 21 feet apart (females) or 24 feet apart (males) for a quick three-step rhythm in between the hurdles. Approach the first hurdle with more speed than with the previous bunched drill, but still speed up right before the first hurdle.
• Do six reps, all of them over the top.
• Force yourself to be crowded. This drill can be done slowly enough that crowding doesn’t become an issue. But the idea is that you want crowding to be an issue. Get close to the hurdles and force yourself to react.

Starts over one hurdle

• Change from flats into spikes.
• Do a practice start without hurdles to establish the block start and to begin incorporating the speed/aggression factor. In all the previous drills, there was time to think. Now the key will be to be in attack mode.
• As part of the drill workout, the starts can be done without commands, but if someone is available to give commands, that would be preferable.
• Do two reps over one hurdle.

Starts over two hurdles

• Same as above, except now we’re adding one more hurdle, still focusing on speed and aggression, but now also focusing on the transition from hurdle one to hurdle two.
• Second hurdle should be moved in one foot.
• Either do four reps over two, or do two reps over two, followed by two reps over three, depending on the quality achieved in the first two reps. Don’t add a third if the athlete is not looking sharp enough in the transition from hurdle one to hurdle two.

For all drills, height of the hurdle should be one click below race height. Starts should be at race height, with the possible exception of college/professional males, who should probably keep them at 39 to avoid injury.

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