Popovers and Block Starts Workout
by Steve McGill

With the outdoor season upon us, we want to prepare more specifically for the 110/100 meter hurdle race so that our hurdlers are prepared for the longer distance after running the 55/60 meter hurdle race throughout the indoor season. But we don’t want to rush into it; instead we want to ease into it, accepting the fact that the second half of the race won’t be as strong early in the season. This month’s workout is one that is designed to build late-race strength by adding more hurdles and more volume.

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So the workout consists of marching popover reps, followed by block starts. Details are as follows:

For the popovers, set up 7 hurdles at 33” for males, at 30” for females. (Seven hurdles is up from the usual number of five hurdles. For athletes who train year round, we’ll build up to 10 in the fall, then come down to five in the winter, then work our way back up to 10 in the spring). The hurdles should be spaced further apart than my usual 12 feet. I start with 13 feet and will build up to 15 feet by the end of the season. 

10 reps of marching popovers constitutes the first part of the workout. Here, we’re establishing race rhythm and ingraining the habit of bringing the trail leg to the front right behind the lead leg. If you’re working with an athlete who is new to hurdling and didn’t train in the fall or winter, then you’ll need to reduce the number of reps (and hurdles) so that you can do more teaching. You don’t want to transition into the block starts if the technique in the popovers isn’t at least adequate. The non-negotiables are that the lead leg must have a knee-first action and the hips must be pushing forward. 

For the second part of the workout, we put the blocks down. We always start with at least two reps over no hurdles, driving past where the first hurdle would be. Then we do a series of starts, beginning with just one hurdle, and building up to five, with the hurdles one click below race height, and all hurdles after the first hurdle moved in one feet or two feet, depending on the weather conditions and the quality of the surface of the track. For experienced athletes, we’ll do one rep each over one hurdle, two hurdles, three hurdles, four hurdles, and five hurdles. For less experienced athletes we might need to spend more time just on the first hurdle or the first two. 

For the last part of the workout, we raise the hurdles to race height and go through the same sequence. For more experienced athletes, I might skip steps so we can get in more reps over five. So, I might do a rep over hurdle one, a rep over the first three, and then three reps over the first five. For less experienced athletes, I wouldn’t want to skip steps, because I’m trying to build their confidence in addition to getting in some volume. If I put too much emphasis on the volume, I probably won’t get the quality I’m looking for. 

As the weeks go on, we’ll progress to 10 hurdles for the popovers (but fewer reps), and 8 hurdles for the block starts (also fewer reps). Throughout the progression, quality always comes first. It can be frustrating when athletes aren’t developing as quickly as you would like them to, but it’s important that you not allow that frustration to make you rush ahead when you need to hold an athlete’s hand a little more.

Below is a video of one of my athletes, Ayden Thompson, doing the workout that is described in this article. 

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