Starts over the First Three Hurdles

All coaches have their favorite workouts, their “bread and butter” workouts that they come back to time and again. When it comes to race preparation and getting my athletes physically and mentally sharp for the 100/110m hurdles, my bread and butter workout is to have the hurdlers do competitive starts over the first three.

[am4show not_have=”g5;”]

[/am4show][am4guest]

[/am4guest][am4show have=”g5;”]

I was first informed of the value of this workout about nine years ago when I was doing research for a biography I was writing on 1972 Olympic high hurdle champion Rodney Milburn. One of the people I interviewed was Larry Shipp, who competed at LSU during Milburn’s last years at Southern University in Louisiana. Milburn and training partner Willie Davenport (1968 Olympic champion) would often invite Shipp over for workouts. Shipp informed me that they would often go over the first three hurdles together as a key component of their race preparation. Having been coached by the great Wilbur Ross, Shipp was well aware of the importance of establishing a rhythm and a good drive through the first three hurdles (the first zone) in order to put yourself in position to surge in the middle part of the race (the second zone) and to reduce fatigue and technical breakdowns in the latter part of the race (third zone). So, according to Shipp, he, Milburn, and Davenport, would compete over the first three hurdles for multiple reps when big races were looming.

So when you’re at that point in the season when there’s nothing more to be taught, it’s time to put the blocks down and go. This workout should be done two days prior to the first round of a major competition.

Objectives:

• Big-race preparation
• Enhance race-sharpness
• Develop mastery of the first zone
• Establish racing confidence
• Establish race-like intensity
• Ingrain drive to first hurdle
• Ingrain cadence in first zone

Set-up:

• Set up the first three hurdles. The first hurdle should be on the race mark. The next two should be moved in by half a foot. You don’t want to move in the hurdles any further than that for this particular workout. The competitive aspect of the workout should have the athletes’ adrenaline pumping. If one of your hurdlers is getting crowded in races, then do the jamming workout on a different day.
• Put a cone 15 yards beyond the third hurdle for a finish line.

Workout:

• Full warm-up; same warm-up as race day.
• Each hurdler should finish the warm-up with a couple individual starts, without commands, over the first two hurdles. That’s to establish the block start, the approach to the first hurdle, and the transition into the race rhythm.
• Three to five starts over the first three hurdles at race height.
• At least two hurdlers should be doing this workout together. Three would be ideal.
• Hurdlers should switch lanes each rep so they don’t grow comfortable.
• Coach needs to make sure there is no noise, no chatter in the start area. This workout requires a meet mentality, a meet environment.
• If block holders are needed, make sure enough are available.
• Coach should announce each athlete and his or her accomplishments if that’s what the announcer will do at the meet.
• Coach gives commands.
• Hurdlers are to clear all three hurdles and run through the finish line cone.
• Each rep should be followed by a 6-minute rest.
• If possible, have each rep filmed so that coach and athletes can evaluate each rep prior to beginning the next one.

Variations:

This workout can be done prior to meets throughout the year, not just before championship meets. When doing it during the competitive season, you can increase the reps to as many as ten, as long as the quality remains high.

[/am4show]