Letter from the Editor, June 2017
Hello readers, and welcome to the June 2017 edition of The Hurdle Magazine. Last month, the new issue came out right at Mother’s Day weekend, and this month our new issue is coming out right before Father’s Day weekend. So happy Father’s Day to all the dads and dad/coaches out there who are out there influencing the lives of young people every day. As per usual, this month’s issue features an eclectic group of articles, most written by yours truly, but with a little help from my friends.
In this issue freelance writer Teige West has provided us with another outstanding article on strength training, this one entitled “Upper Body Strength for Total Body Fitness.” In this article, West outlines a series of weight exercises that hurdlers can do to improve their upper body strength, targeting the arms, chest, and pectoral muscles. Guidance is also provided regarding amount of reps to do and how much weight to lift for injury prevention purposes as well as for building muscle endurance.
Fitness expert and freelance writer Melinda Burris Willms has also provided us with another health-related article, this one focusing on water intake in the hot summer months. In “Summer is Here! Check Out These New Take on Staying Hydrated and Cool!” Willms discusses the pros and cons of various types of infused water bottles; she also discusses how much water an athlete should intake on the day of competition, particularly on the days of long hot summer track meets that go on and on till the break of dawn and beyond.
In a blog post that I wrote about a month ago, I took a look at the hurdling technique of Omar McLeod – the leading 110 high hurdler in the world. In this month’s issue of the magazine, I take an in-depth look at the hurdling style of Orlando Ortega in an article that is entitled, simply enough, “The Hurdling Style of Orlando Ortega.” In this article, I break down the many strengths of Ortega’s style, as I consider him to be the best technician among elite hurdlers today.
“Dealing with Crowding Issues in the Sprint Hurdles” is an article in which I address that particular issue. Typically, this is the time of year when feeling crowded between the hurdles starts to become a significant problem, as the weather is warm consistently and the speed work is increasing. As I state in the article, only in the hurdles is getting faster a problem. In the article I discuss a couple methods I use to address this issue with my hurdlers.
This month’s workout, “Race Prep Sprint/Hurdle Workout” is designed to help the sprint hurdler prepare for big meets – both in regards to feeling fast over the hurdles and in regards to dealing with running more than one round. As the title suggests, the workout includes sprinting without hurdles and sprinting over hurdles.
For this month’s great race, we take a look back at the 1996 Olympic final in the men’s 400m hurdles, featuring a duel between America’s Derrick Adkins and Zambia’s Samuel Matete. The two men had been battling each other for several years up to that point, including the previous year at the 1995 World Championships. While Adkins emerged victorious in both races, the real story lie in the fact that Adkins was battling depression amidst celebrating his athletic accomplishments.
Enjoy the articles, and for all of you who are continuing to compete through the summer months, stay hydrated, and when you’re not training or competing, get in the shade! Or better yet, air conditioning. As always, thank you for your support, and again, Happy Father’s Day to the dads.
Steve McGill
