Back to Back Starts Workout

Championship meets that have multiple rounds of multiple events require a level of endurance that athletes don’t have to bring forth during the spring season when most meets are either small weekday meets or weekend invitationals that feature timed finals or have two rounds at the most. As a result, late-race strength – the ability to maintain speed, rhythm, and technical precision for all ten hurdles and through the finish line – can be a factor to a degree that can catch hurdlers off guard.

Also, getting out to a good start with a powerful drive to the first hurdle and through the first zone can also become difficult as the body fatigues and the mind wanders through the course of a three or four-day meet.

With these thoughts in mind, I recently concocted a workout that addresses the fatigue and focus issues that occur during meets that take place over a period of several days.

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Set-up:

Place the first five hurdles of the 100/110m hurdles on the track, with the first hurdle on the regular race mark, and each hurdle thereafter moved in half a foot. Hurdles should be at race height.

Workout:

With starting commands from a coach or another reliable person, the athlete sprints over the five hurdles at full speed, out of the starting blocks, in spikes. Athlete then walks briskly back to the starting line to do another full-speed start over the same five hurdles while still fatigued from the previous rep. Total rest time between completion of first rep and “take your marks” of second rep should not exceed one minute.

Both reps should be timed, from the “go” to touchdown off of hurdle five. The goal is to get the second rep within .5 of the first rep. If you want to have the athlete practice the run-in off the last hurdle, then include a finish line for a full 55m or 60m time trial.

For a full workout, have the athlete do 3 or 4 sets of these back-to-back starts, with a 6-8 minute rest between sets. I have found that using the first set as an untimed “warm-up” set helps the athletes to get a feel for the rhythm and demands of the workout before the “official” reps begin, because I hate wasting reps.

Other Considerations:

A full pre-race warm-up should be done prior to beginning this workout.

This workout can be done with teammates racing side by side. But the athletes must be of comparable ability levels, or else neither athlete benefits.

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