Stride Pattern Workout

The following workout is one that I use with my 300 hurdlers in the early part of the outdoor season. It’s designed to help them establish a stride pattern in the first part of the race. I have found over the years that long hurdlers tend to waste a lot of energy stuttering or reaching in the early stages of a race, leading to breakdowns in the latter stages of a race. So workouts like the one below help to eliminate the guess work. Doing this workout early in the outdoor season makes for more efficient races and helps to improve late-race strength throughout the season.

[am4show not_have=”g5;”]

[/am4show][am4guest]

[/am4guest][am4show have=”g5;”]

Setup:

• Set up the first 5 hurdles of the 300h race, or the first 6 hurdles of the 400h race, depending on which race you’re training for.
• In spikes, from starting blocks (or 3-point start if blocks aren’t available).
• Coach or another reliable person gives start commands.
• Full recoveries between reps.

Goal:

• To develop/establish an early-race stride pattern.
• To develop the ability to make quick decisions on the fly without stuttering or reaching.

The Workout:

• 2 reps over the first hurdle to establish a definitive stride pattern to the first hurdle.
• 2 reps over the first two hurdles to work on the transition between hurdle one and hurdle two.
• 2 reps over the first three hurdles to work on maintaining the stride pattern established between hurdles one and two.
• 1 rep over the first four hurdles to decide whether or not to maintain stride pattern or to add another stride (or two). For 400 hurdlers, work on maintaining the stride pattern established between hurdles one and two, and two and three.
• 1 rep over the first five hurdles – same as above.
• 1 rep over the first six hurdles (400 hurdlers only) – same as above.

Notes:

• Because long hurdlers are constantly making adaptations to their stride pattern as they move toward peaking, this workout allows the coach and athlete to decide on a stride pattern strategy for that week’s meet. Ideally, therefore, this workout will be done two days prior to a competition.
• The amount of steps taken to the first hurdle will largely dictate the stride pattern desirable for the first half of the race. If the hurdler takes 24-25 steps to the first hurdle, then s/he will want to take 17 steps between the hurdles for the first four (300h) or five (400h). If s/he takes 22-23 to the first hurdle, then 15 steps would be preferable for the rest of the first half. For hurdlers who can alternate lead legs efficiently, an even number of steps may also be viable.
• A coach or another reliable set of eyes should count the strides. Athlete should focus on running and “feeling” the rhythm.

Variations:

• Depending on how the athlete progresses, you may need to continually adapt the workout as you go. Let’s say, for example, the athlete is having trouble with the first hurdle. Should s/he take twenty-three steps or twenty-two? Should the right foot be in front in the blocks or the left foot? You may need to do more than two reps over the first hurdle before moving on to a second hurdle. If that’s the case, then do more reps over one. That first hurdle must be set in stone before moving on to the second one, as the first hurdle sets up the whole race.
• If the quality deteriorates after doing reps over the first hurdle or first two or first three, then it’s best to cut the workout short than it is to have the athlete do reps that are sloppy.
• If you already have the first hurdle down pat from previous workouts and/or races, then it may make more sense to skip the reps over one hurdle so you can add another rep or two on the other end of the workout.

[/am4show]