Back & Forths over One Hurdle Workout
by Steve McGill

The usual back & forth workout for long hurdlers involves setting up five hurdles facing one way and five more beside them facing the other direction. That one is more of an endurance-hurdling workout. This version of back & forths that I’ll be explaining in this article is less hurdle-centric, and is built on the premise that hurdlers are sprinters first, and is part of a progression that I use over a series of weeks.

The foundational workout that this one is a variation goes as follows:

• 4 sets of 4×100. 
• Within each set, the athletes will sprint 100m in one direction, rest 30 seconds, then run 100m in the other direction. 
• After the fourth rep, the athletes rest for 4 minutes before beginning the next set. 
• Because the focus is on speed endurance, I’m okay with times in the 17-18 range for the average athlete, and maybe in the 13-14 range for elite athletes.

Here’s the workout I’m talking about now:

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• 8 sets of 2×100, with two hurdles at the 50m mark — one facing one way and one facing the other way.
• Within each set, the athletes will sprint 100m in one direction, clearing the hurdle that is facing in that direction, and then turn around and do the same thing the other way.
• The rest between reps is minimal. Slow down, turn around, and go again. Shouldn’t be longer than 10 seconds. 
• The height of the hurdle will vary. For girls I’ll start at 27 inches and work up to 30 over a period of weeks. For boys I’ll start at 33 and work up to 36 over a period of weeks.
• After each set of two, the athletes will rest for 2 minutes before beginning the next set. I’m always willing to add rest if I’m sensing fatigue, if I’m seeing slower times, if I’m seeing breakdowns in running mechanics. The maximum rest period I’ll give is 4 minutes. When doing this workout with my two athletes on my school team, I gave them two minutes rest after the first and second reps, three minutes rest after the third, fourth, and fifth reps, and four minutes rest after the sixth and seventh reps. 

Between the end of the warmup and the beginning of the workout, I’ll have the athletes clear the hurdle a few times. Some athletes prefer to run 50 meters from the start line so they can get a feel for the speed of the workout. Others might want to just bounce/run at an easy pace over the hurdle. Whatever they need to do to feel ready, that’s what they should do.

For hurdlers who specialize in the long hurdlers, the idea is to attack the hurdle with whichever leg comes up. For hurdlers who specialize in the sprint hurdles, the idea is to “get on the good foot” without stuttering. 

This is a workout I’ll use once a week this time of year, adding a new challenge every time. Increasing the challenge could mean reducing the rest period until we’re down to two minutes between all the reps; it could mean raising the height of the hurdle. It could mean adding a second hurdle and placing the hurdles at the 30m mark and the 70m mark. I generally don’t time the reps themselves, but just the rest. More so, I’m looking for athletes to maintain their body posture, their hand height, their knee height, all the way down and all the way back.

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