Cone Workout

Introduction:

This workout is not to be confused with the cone drill, also known as the stick drill, in which cones or sticks are set up a certain distance apart to help athletes increase their stride length. This workout does also address stride length, but it is a workout, not a drill.

This workout was given to me by Hector Cotto, a 110 Hurdler who runs for Puerto Rico internationally, but who ran for East Carolina University collegiately in the mid-2000’s and attended Green Hope High School in North Carolina before that. This is a workout that we used when I was coaching him back in 2010.

The Workout:

Set up a cone at each of the 110h marks (or 100h for women). Do 10×110, with a 2-minute rest (walk-back) between each one. Have a target time in mind for each rep prior to beginning the workout, and try to hit the target time.

Okay, here’s the hard part, and here’s why the cones are set up on the hurdle marks. You must fit in eight steps (or seven if you normally take seven steps to the first hurdle) prior to the first cone, and you must fit in three steps between the rest of the cones. In other words, you have to run according to your hurdle-race rhythm. In any other sprint workout that includes no hurdles, you can open up your stride as much as you want and just run. But this workout is specifically designed for hurdlers who get crowded in races, as it forces them to keep their hands lower, their knees lower, their strides shorter, and to get their feet down quickly. In that sense, it is very demanding on the lower legs (shins, ankles, calves, feet) more so than on the upper legs (hamstrings, quads), although it is also very demanding on the hips and groin. And trying to hit target times while not being free to open up the stride naturally proves to be very challenging. The cone is supposed to be set up in the middle of the lane, by the way, so that it serves as a “hurdle” of sorts, and keeps the mind in tune with the race rhythm.

Meanwhile, for those hurdlers who aren’t so fast that crowding is ever a problem, this workout can still prove beneficial. Particularly, young hurdlers who tend to reach for their three-step and who tend to focus so much on the hurdle that they forget to actually sprint between the hurdles, this is an excellent workout to help break that habit. With the cones there, you have a visual aid to remind you of where the hurdle would be, but you don’t have to worry about getting mentally locked into the hurdle because the cone is low enough that you can just step over it. You can really focus on getting your hands high, your knees high, and being a sprinter.

Variations:

As explained above, the cone workout is designed to be an early season workout. Depending on the athlete’s level of conditioning, ten reps with no rest might be a bit much. So splitting into two sets of five is an option, with a five-minute break between sets. As a mid-season or late-season workout, the volume would be reduced, the speed would be increased, and the rest would be increased, as deemed appropriate by the coach and/or athlete.

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