In my last newsletter, I mentioned the top 3 requests I get through personal email were 1. custom training programs, 2. changing coaches, and 3. injuries.
So here is a detailed training video series on How to train high school 400m runners that’s worth taking a look.
The high school level requires a slightly different set of variables than found in Collegiate, post-College or Elite level 400m programs. I can think of several challenges.. multi-sport sprinters, shorter track season, mid-week dual meets, and younger training ages are a few. How about weather and indoor facilities?
The other challenge would be the “Long to Short” vs “Short to Long” debate. This is one of the oldest debate for long sprinters.
Do you train long to short (like Clyde Hart and Bud Winter), build endurance and over-distance early in the fall, and then add speed later in the spring and summer?
Or do you train short to long (like Dan Pfaff and Charlie Francis), start with acceleration development from Week 1 of practice, and then add “distance to speed” over the course of the season?
In this video package, Latif Thomas takes you through setting up your annual program, details his entire workout progression for an entire 12 week season (including training around mid week dual meets!), breaks down his system for developing more self confident athletes, and gives detailed race plans for all the “long sprint” events and relays, indoors and outdoors.
He even gives you his top three favorite workouts, broken down by training quality.
But the most valuable part of the program is his offer to answer all of your training questions. Because this is an online program, you just post your questions under the video you are watching and Latif will answer them. This is like having a personal coach.
Here is a quick overview of his program:
- Annual Plan Template (General, Specific & Competition prep)
- Strength & Power Development
- Sample Workouts
- 12 Week Annual Plan
- Race strategies
The price is currently $125 but it is on sale now for $97 until Friday September 21 at midnight.
>> http://speedendurance.com/go/400metertraining
I know Sprinters are the most impatient people, wanting “instant gratification” all the time (we all check our stopwatches immediately at workouts and races, right? We all play video games, right?) So being a digital product, you have access to it right away.
September is the perfect time to get started for racing next summer!
I think people keep asking for workouts because everybody is doing the same thing and not getting the expected rests and two the next question is injuries because people are getting injured.
What they need to know is how to run the 400. The typical ray over the last 100m or float during the backstretch, get out hard for the first 50,attack the curve and so forth are pretty common themes and concepts but are not truly instructions. What do you do to get out hard over any other race? Do you not get out hard in the 200, 800 and so forth. Float or relax, cruise and so forth down the backstretch, how do you do that? Attack the curve, be aggressive, how? Pick up the pace, how? Just relax during a race, how? To just run workouts and expect a good outcome is really not working. What needs to change to improve times more consistently for a larger populations of runners is better instruction during workouts.
Touche Adarian, very true! You can only read so much but to turn that into action on the track is another thing. ‘Floating’ how the *!*! do you do that. Do people who do it even know? I watch 200 runners and see nothing different at all on the alleged ‘floating period’!
By the way, re; Latif answering questions…..I left one one his own site enquiring which programme would be best for me and 6 months later still no response. I will probably just buy the CH dvd’s.
To touch on floating, if you have ever ran at competive level college and up then you know what floating is. Yes, it is very hard to get across to younger athletes, but the return is great. What I have found is doing 30m ins and outs (accelerate/float/accelerate/float) has helped with the concept of floating. I always demo at the beginning of each session. The real key is pelvis tilt and striking the ground under the center of mass.