4×300 over Hurdles Workout

The following workout is designed to help 300/400m hurdlers build up speed-endurance and to prepare for the rhythm of the outdoor hurdle race at a time of year when they’re transitioning from the indoor to the outdoor season, as many schools will begin to train for outdoor meets in late February through early March.

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The Workout:

For 300m Hurdlers:

4×300

Rep #1: Clear the first hurdle, run the rest of the way without hurdles.
Rep #2: Clear the first two hurdles, run the rest of the way without hurdles.
Rep #3: Clear the first three hurdles, run the rest of the way without hurdles.
Rep #4: Clear the first four hurdles, run the rest of the way without hurdles.

For 400m Hurdlers:

4×400

Rep #1: Clear the first two hurdles, run the rest of the way without hurdles.
#2: Clear the first three hurdles, run the rest of the way without hurdles.
Rep #3: Clear the first four hurdles, run the rest of the way without hurdles.
Rep #4: Clear the first five hurdles, run the rest of the way without hurdles.

In both workouts, the idea is, by the last rep, to clear half of the hurdles you will clear in the race before running the rest of the way without hurdles.

Target Times:

The target time for all reps should be the same as the target race time for the first meet of the year. So if the athlete is hoping to run 44.0 in the 300h in the first meet but wants to get down to 41.0 by the end of the outdoor season, the target time for this workout right now should be 44.0. The greatest challenge of the workout is to continue to remain consistent in hitting the target time as another hurdle is added with each rep.  Workout forces you to finish strong, not to relax after you’ve finished clearing the hurdles, because you’re trying to hit the target time.

Recovery Periods:

Rest time should increases by a minute after each rep to give the athlete greatest opportunity for success in hitting the target time consistently.

For 300m hurdlers, a starting point, although you may need to make adjustments based on the athlete’s fitness level, would be as follows:

• Three minutes rest after first rep.
• Four minutes rest after second rep,
• Five minutes rest after third rep.

400m hurdlers would get one more minute than the 300m hurdlers:

• Four minutes rest after first rep.
• Five minutes rest after second rep.
• Six minutes rest after third rep.

This workout should be done in spikes. Blocks are preferable but not essential.

At end of the warm-up, athlete should do a full-speed rep over the first hurdle to establish tempo.

If, in any rep, the athlete goes around a hurdle or stops at a hurdle or puts his or her hands on a hurdle, that rep does not count. Give the athlete time to walk back slowly to the line and redo the rep.

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