High Volume Sprint Workout
This month’s workout is a “pre off-season” workout for those athletes who are not competing during the summer, but want to stay in shape before they start fall training. Those of you looking to peak right now will want to look at the workout in last month’s issue.
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The Workout:
16×200
Purpose:
The purpose of this workout is to build speed-endurance in a sprinter-friendly fashion, as most sprinters and hurdlers don’t like running miles, and running miles can lead to ingraining poor sprint mechanics. Workouts of this type are preparing you for the faster workouts you will be doing when the season starts.
Pace:
Pace should be 10 seconds slower than your 200m personal best. So if your personal best is 25.5, you’ll want to hit these in the 35-36 range. And you want to be in that range consistently, so that you develop a body clock. You do not want to just average in that range, with some reps being significantly faster and others significantly slower.
Recovery:
Jog a 200 on the balls of the feet as recovery between each rep.
Ideally, each recovery jog will bleed right into the next rep with no pause. However, if heat is a factor, a quick sip of water or Gatorade prior to the start of each rep is acceptable. Just make sure your water bottle is at the start line so you don’t have to interrupt the workout by walking somewhere to get a drink.
Other Things to Consider:
Because of the volume involved, this workout should definitely be done in flats.
While one continuous set is preferable, and is the ultimate goal, this workout can be broken into 2 sets of 8, or 4 sets of 4, if heat is a major factor and/or if conditioning is not where it needs to be. If you break it into sets, there should be a 4-minute break between sets.
Emphasis is not on speed, but on endurance and maintaining proper sprint mechanics. Stay tall on the balls of the feet, keep the chest pushing forward, maintain full range of motion with the arms.
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