Drills and Starts Combo Workout

by Steve McGill

This time of year, when hurdlers are trying to balance technique work with race preparation, it can be hard not to lean too far in one direction or the other. With big meets coming up every weekend, technical issues can be addressed only so much, and devoting entire practice sessions is not a wise thing to do. However, working ony on race modeling when there are noticeable things to fix isn’t always the best option either. Therefore, a combo of technique/rhythm work and full-speed block work over hurdles can sometimes be the best approach.

I did such a workout with two of hurdlers last week. Here’s what the workout consists of:

[am4show not_have=’g5;’]

[/am4show][am4guest]

[/am4guest][am4show have=’g5;’]

• 2 reps of quicksteps over 8 hurdles, with a walk-back recovery between reps.
• Five-minute rest.
• 2 reps of quicksteps over 10 hurdles, with a walk-back recovery between reps.
• Ten-minute rest
• One warm-up start over no hurdles (past where the first hurdle would be).
• One warm-up start over one hurdle.
• One start over the first hurdle, with commands, preferably with a teammate.
• One start over the first two hurdles, with commands, preferably with a teammate.
• One start over the first three hurdles, with commands, preferably with a teammate.
• One start over the first four hurdles, with commands, preferably with a teammate.

For the quicksteps, the hurdles should be at race height, spaced 24-26 feet apart for males, 21-23 feet apart for females. I tend to lean toward the wider spacing this time of year, so the athletes have more room to sprint but still have to be quick. To the first hurdle, I’ll have the athletes start 33 feet (males) or 30 feet (females) from the first hurdle, and take a six-step approach to the first hurdle. First three strides are bounding, last three strides are quick, setting up the rhythm of the workout.

For the starts, I’ll give full commands, just like they’ll get on race day. Hurdles will be at race height, with all hurdles after the first one moved in one foot. I never practice with the hurdles at full spacing. I always leave a little room for the race-day adrenaline factor that cannot be reproduced in practice.

The high amount of hurdles in the quickstep portion of the workout helps to address late-race strength and being able to maintain form in the latter stages of a race. Therefore, when practicing the starts, focusing on the first part of the race is enough. The idea is that, on race day, you put it all together – the technique, the late-race strength, and the explosive start.

[/am4show]