John Smith’s 400 Meters Rhythm Workout

Watch any elite 400m race, and there’s one thing noticeable:
They all have rhythm for the first 250 or 300 meters.  These guys are smooth!
Thus, a good sense of pace and rhythm is therefore crucial.
If a 50 second 400 meter runner with a 23 second PB is asked to go out in 24 (followed by a [...]

Tom Tellez’ 5 Phases of the 100m Sprint

I mentioned the previous USATF SuperClinic in the article on Dwayne Miller, LaShawn Merrit’s coach.
Among the wealth of information provided at this clinic was a lecture and handout from Tom Tellez. 
Tom Tellez requires no introduction… you can read the article Sprinting: A Biomechanical Approach Part 1 (Part 2 is here) for a detailed look [...]

How NOT to do Sled Training

In the YouTube video below, we have Veronica Campbell-Brown training with Tyson Gay.  Two world class athletes.  Fast forward to the 1:20 mark and you will see VCB doing a variety of 4 drills with a sled or harness.
First, who am I to argue if these drills and exercise are crap, considering the success of [...]

Dwayne Miller – Coach of LaShawn Merritt

From the mailbag:
Jimson,
You’ve covered a lot of great 400m coaches on your website like Clyde Hart, Bud Winter and Stan Dowell. 
How about LaShawn Merritt’s coach?  What kind of training philosophy does he have?  Long to Short or Short to Long?

First of all, Dwayne Miller is LaShawn Merritt’s coach.
LaShawn’s last 4 years have been impressive [...]

49er Josh Morgan’s Track Workouts for Football

There are a lot of coaching experts out there who deal with sports specify.
And they all charge big bucks.
I simply look at any given sport and break it down to the fundamentals of training principles and sports physiology.
For example, I’d rather focus on the short speed of a Soccer player than to advise a 10km [...]

LaShawn Merritt, Jeremy Wariner 400m – Battle of Nike and Adidas

LaShawn Merrit and Jeremy Wariner in the 400m – The Battle of Nike and Adidas
Next to the Usain Bolt – Tyson Gay anticipated match up, the LaShawn Merritt Jeremy Wariner head-to-head match up comes next.
These two have been avoiding each other all year, and the meeting in Herculis Greece never materialized where LaShawn ran 44.73.
Head-to-head [...]

Usain Bolt Splits – 9.69 vs 9.58 – Can He Run Faster?

This is Part 1 of a 2 part series. Click here for Part 2 with 10 meter splits
.
Honestly, I didn’t expect Usain Bolt to run sub 9.60. 
I felt a WR was imminent after watching his SF, and I knew his chest thumping slowdown in Beijing showed me he could run low 9.60.
But a [...]

Peaking, Planning and Periodization

Timing is everything.
Can you really peak 2 or 3 times a year?
More recently, Jeremy Warnier’s 2004 season come to mind with his victories at the NCAA Championships, USATF Olympic Trials, and of course, the Olympic Games.  Each of these victories were personal bests, and he sure saved the best for last!
Did he really peak 3 [...]

400 Meters – Speed is the Key

Gone are the days where the 400 meters was an event for 800 meter runners who moved down in distance.
Today, I am convinced the short sprinters have an advantage over the “strength” sprinters like Lee Evans and Butch Reynolds.  I am referring to the successes of Quincy Watts and Michael Johnson.  In MJ’s case, my [...]

400 Meter Training Workouts – the 6×200 meters

I had a lot of email questions on the 400/800 Meter Training Workouts – The Beakdown, so I thought to add a few more of these workouts. (I wish readers would comment on the blog below the article so everyone can provide feedback)

The Clyde Hart 8×200 Workout

For men,

8 x 200m in 28 seconds.

as the [...]

A Total Sprint-Training Program for Maximum Strength, Power, Sprint Speed & Core Strength

This article is guest blogged by Jim Hiserman, author of the books Program Design Method for Sprints & Hurdle Training and Strength and Power for Maximum Speed

This is a 5 part series:

Part 1 – A Total Sprint-Training Program for Maximum Strength & Power, Core Strength, and Maximum Sprint Speed.
Part 2 – A Sprint & Hurdles [...]

400/800 Meter Training Workouts – The Beakdown

Here is a classic workout from my archives under the guidance of long time McGill coach Dennis Barrett.

We called them “breakdowns” for obvious reasons: 600-500-400-300-200. Recovery is “walk what you run” to a maximum of 400m:

- 600, walk 400
- 500, walk 400
- 400, walk 400
- 300, walk 300
- 200, walk 200

This is a long [...]

What is Speed Reserve? Part 2 – Training Methods

Click here for What is Speed Reserve? Part 1 – 400 meter Sprinter types

The news of Usain Bolt going after the 400 WR in 2010 inspired me to write this article.

What is Speed Reserve?

Speed Reserve, or Anaerobic Speed Reserve (ASR), is simply the difference between your maximum speed and your maximum aerobic speed.

The concept is [...]

Dynamic Warm Up vs. Static Stretching Controversy

Somehow, when the NY Times speaks, everyone listens. This stretching article was referenced in many Blogs with mixed reactions. Earlier this month, they had an article on Relaxation – The Key to Victory and Success. While this was not a landmark or pillar article, it did mention Clyde Hart which caught my [...]

Asafa Powell Coach Stephen Francis Coaching Seminar

If you enjoyed my casual and candid live coaching videos of John Smith with Jon Drummond demonstrating a drills session or Clyde Hart Drill’s session, you might find this series of videos informative from YouTube.

In these videos, we have Coach Stephen Francis explaining how to prepare for sprinting at a session. This was organized [...]

IAAF New Studies in Athletics – focus on 400 meters

The latest issue of IAAF New Studies in Athletics special edition focused on the 400 meters:

The 400 metres by Jurgen Schiffer
The aerobic mechanism in the 400 metres – by Enrico Arcelli, Marina Mambretti, Giuseppe Cimadoro, Giampiero Alberti
New Studies in Athletics Interview with Clyde Hart

The IAAF New Studies in Athletics is published quarterly in March, June, [...]

Clyde Hart at the European Athletics Coaching Conference

Every time you hear Clyde Hart speak at a conference, he provides incredible insight as well as humour to coaching 400 meters sprinters. Sometimes you leave the room with more questions than answers. This is good, as coaching should be a discovery on what works (and what doesn’t work) for your athletes.

If you [...]

How to Maintain Your Peak from the Trials to the Games – The 2008 USATF NPEP

The 2008 USATF National Podium Education Project takes place December 9-13 at the Tuscany Resort and Casino, Las Vegas, NV. The main focus of this year’s summit will be “How to Maintain Your Peak from the Trials to the Games“.

It follows the same format as last year with the conference broken down into 2 [...]

Plan-Do-Check-Act and the PDCA Deming Cycle

Today is Walter Deming’s birthday.

Who the heck is Walter Deming?

William Edwards Deming was born on October 14, 1900. He is most famous for Deming PDAC Cycle, otherwise known as the Shewhart cycle, or the Deming Wheel’s “Plan-Do-Check-Act” (modified to “Plan-Do-Study-Act”). Deming is widely credited with improving production in the United States in the [...]

Relaxation – The Key to Victory and Success

NEWSFLASH: Running and Swimming Relaxed is the Key to Victory.

This old news. Everyone knows this.

But when this concept makes the New York Times, and references Clyde Hart, the Director of Track & Field and 4×400m coach at Baylor University, I thought it deserved some feedback.

It doesn’t matter if you are a surgeon, public speaker [...]

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