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Dwain Chambers on Usain Bolt, Asafa Powell, Stride Length and Stride Frequency

Jimson Lee — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 06:00:25 +0000

Here are some quotes from the original article on timesonline.co.uk, and some commentary and analysis that follows it.

On Extrapolating 60 meters performances to 100 meters

Charles van Commenee, the new head coach at UKA, has said that Chambers is welcome back and the sprinter is hoping that this message will lead to a change in thinking. Having run 10.00sec at the Olympic trials, he believes that he could have won a silver medal behind Bolt in Beijing.

“It was gut-wrenching to watch because I could have been there and got the fifth [British track and field] medal,” he said. “I can run 9.8s. I ran 6.54 for the 60 metres and that equates to 9.89 [over 100 metres].”

He is training alone, with no coach, because he wants to stay close to his family, but he watches regular videos of Bolt.

I get asked this question all the time during our Seattle indoor winter meets where they race the 60 meters distance:

“Coach, what do I have to run for 60 meters to break 10 seconds in a 100 meters?”

I say, “You have to run 9.99 for the 100 meters to break 10 seconds in the 100 meters.”

While there are conversions for 100/200, 200/400, and even 400/800, I don’t think there is a correct conversion to extrapolate a 60 meter time to a 100m time. There are too many factors to include, and speed endurance is one of them. For an in depth look at splits and calculating theoretical potential, see my previous article on track and field conversions.

The 60 meter and 100m performances are not a fair comparison. The 60 meters is purely Alactic Anerobic, where the 100m is both Alactic Anerobic and Lactic Anerobic. Plus indoor 60 times do not have the wind factor like the outdoor 100 meters. I also think the indoor 60 meter race has a psychological factor of sprinters slowing down too early before crashing into the padded wall.

According to the splits from the past World records, it would take a 60 meter split of approximately 6.47 to 6.53 seconds to run the entire 100 meters distance under 10 flat. This assumes the last 40 meters between 3.52 and 3.46 respectively (at a rate of 0.88 to 0.85 seconds per 10 meters).

I’m sure Track Statisticians can look up the all-time world rankings for men who ran faster than 6.47 and didn’t break 10 flat. Moreover, there are some men who broke 10 but had a 6.54 or slower 60 meter time, or simply never raced 60 meters indoors.

If my numbers are correct from above, then a 6.54 is roughly a 10.00, which is exactly what he ran at the Trials. To run a 9.89 based on his 60 meters, he would have to run the last 40 yards in 3.35, which is faster than Usain Bolt’s splits. This would be an incredible demonstration of exceptional speed endurance - a rarity in world class 100 meter sprinters, but they do exist.

So if you really wanted a 60 meter to 100 meter conversion, a rough guideline would be multiply by 1.53 or 1.54. Take my PB of 7.16 for 60 meters multiplied by 1.53 makes 10.95; my PB for 100 meters was 10.94 way back in 1991.

Below, later in the article, he talks about how he can beat Usain Bolt.

On Asafa Powell being the Fastest Man on Earth

Chambers says that there is “no way on earth” that Bolt should have won the Olympic 100 metres final in Beijing. The British sprinter says that Asafa Powell, the previous golden boy of Jamaican athletics, had the ability to take the title but blew the mental battle.

“I don’t give a damn how fast Bolt ran, Powell should not have lost that medal,” Chambers said. “I watched his last leg of the 4×100metres final and that was awesome. He’ll get the world record back again next year. It will be crazy with Bolt there, too; I want to be there hanging on to their coat-tails.”

True, Asafa Powell has the World’s Best for the 100 meter relay leg: 8.7 seconds anchor leg compared to Bolt’s 9.0 on the curve with two baton exchanges.

But I do believe Asafa could run sub 9.70, given the right conditions. He ran 9.72, right? It’s a good thing Bolt slowed down in Beijing, otherwise he would have run 9.64.

In 2009, Usain Bolt will be the man to beat.

On Drug Speculations

Chambers worked with Bolt in Jamaica in 2006. Given the sport’s reputation and Jamaica’s lack of an anti-doping body, eyebrows were raised after Jamaica dominated the sprints in Beijing, so what does Chambers think? “Well, they haven’t tested positive,” he said. “That’s all you can say.”

In our judicial system, we are innocent until proven guilty. Sadly, our sport has become the other way around. You are presumed guilty if you suddenly break 10 seconds in a 100 meters. Or win an Olympic Gold medal in the 200 meters coming out of nowhere, then repeat again the following year at the World Championships.

On Stride Length and Stride Frequency

Chambers, who says that “attention to detail” in coaching has been the key to Jamaica becoming the sprint capital of the world, is confident of beating Bolt in 2009.

“Usain can do the 100 metres in 41 strides,” Chambers said. “I would take 43 or 44. But I have better stride frequency: 4.96 per second compared to 4.65. To beat him I need to maintain my frequency and improve my stride. Beijing was his time to shine, but he’s only human.”

In a way, Dwain is correct. He should “improve his stride”, but not at the expense of lengthening the stride, as that would either (1) cause a braking effect (2) increase the air time. In both cases, that would be bad. Usually, average and elite athletes of the same height and limb length have similar stride lengths.

But Usain Bolt is 6 foot 5 inches.

He could increase his stride frequency, but that would involve taking smaller steps, and that may not help either.

So the only option to “improve his stride” is to reduce his ground contact time while maintaining stride frequency and stride length. Even a 0.01 second improvement over 43 strides is 0.43 seconds. That’s like taking a 10.10 sprinter down to 9.67! Enough to beat Usain Bolt.

Comments and Feedback

So there you have it. If you enjoy this type of commentary, where I breakdown an article with further discussion and analysis, please let me know, and I’ll do more in the future.

Usain Bolt Puma Cell Mio - Where are They Now?

Jimson Lee — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 04:57:34 +0000

Commercialism. Isn’t that what the Olympics are all about?

On the day before Usain Bolt set his record breaking 9.69 100 meter win in Beijing, PUMA announced the exclusive release of 180 pairs of Usain Bolt’s Puma Cell Mio on August 19th.

An updated version of Puma’s Cell cushioning and energy retention technology were used on this shoe. Inscribed on the upper shoe are goals and positive statements and phrases Bolt used to remind himself of success and victory. Times three. It even has his world record of 9.72 set on May 31, 2008.

The original shoe is all black with a white stripe and a bright blue translucent Cell sole.

Immediately after reading this press release, I put an alert on eBay, wondering when these will become available as collectors items. I already own a Michael Johnson limited edition Swatch watch from Atlanta 1996. (Thanks, Derek!)

For over 3 months, I’ve heard nothing. Not a peep. Zilch. Then last week, an alert finally came in via email.

Two versions are available. Both black, with a gold or light blue stripe.

Check them out on eBay!

Reaction Time, Usain Bolt and the Pareto 80-20 Rule

Jimson Lee — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 04:51:00 +0000

The 100 meters can be broken down into 3 parts:

reaction time,
acceleration to top speed,
speed endurance,

If you take Usain Bolt’s 9.69 time from Beijing 2008 as a percentage of time, you get:

Reaction time = 0.165 (1.7%),
0-60m without reaction time = 6.155 (63.5%),
60-100m including celebration = 3.37 (34.8%),

The term “Acceleration”, or roughly the first 60 meters or up to 7 seconds in Elite male athletes, is commonly broken down into 4 components: strength, power, power speed, and speed. Females reach top speed sooner around 50 meters as well as intermediate or a young developing sprinter. If you plot velocity over time, you will notice that the high top end speed is a result of accelerating farther into the 100m race.

Using the Pareto’s 80-20 Rule, what would you focus on?

Two-thirds of the race is pure speed and acceleration, which is why we focus on speed sessions 2X per week, and speed endurance 1X per week.

For our 400 meter athletes, depending on the athlete, we prefer 2X per week speed sessions, and speed endurance 1X per week early in the annual plan, but shift that to 2X per week speed endurance, and speed 1X per week for race specificity usually around April.

So, how do you practice reaction time without doing too many starts using blocks?

How to Practice Reaction Time (but please don’t over do it)

I’m not saying reaction time, or practicing reaction time is not important. How much, and when to do it are my two biggest concerns.

I’ve seen coaches practice endless reaction drills to their athlete prior to a race in the warm up area. One or two is fine, but 30 minutes of reaction time drills and starts is way to much.

The drill I’m going to describe is not as destructive on the legs as doing real blocks. It simply practices the reaction time, and possibly getting familiar with the rhythm of the starter’s command. Of course, you should never try to cheat and anticipate the gun. Always REACT to the gun. Do not LISTEN to the gun.

If I have the luxury, I take advantage of the prior heat IF you have access to the competition area, and do a “practice start”. Of course, the Olympic final is impossible. Some sprinters fuss about their block positions, but if you bring a tape measure, you are always guaranteed the right settings. And besides, they won’t start the race without you if your blocks aren’t ready.

In the WMA2007, you can see me do a practice start just for the reaction drill. I call this the standing pike drill.

I am inside and back of Lane 1, standing in Lane 8, dressed in all black. Dressing in black helps keep me warm. I am bent over in a standing pike position, and I react to the the starter’s commands and the sound of the gun. Unlike a real start, no leg movements are used. That’s it. I flick my left hand and arm forward, and my right arm reacts with a swing in the opposite direction. All my energy is saved for the actual race.

Video of Heat 5 - prior to my race.

While I get a terrible start according to my standards in my race (Heat 6, Lane 6), the point I’m trying to make is to simply use the preceding heat to practice your reaction time (Heat 5) with the starter’s commands. Especially when the commands are not in English!

That’s it. Only one practice start, and I saved my legs for the race.

Video of Heat 6 - my race.

I’m not terribly impressed with the race, but considering my PB as an open athlete is 10.92, running a 11.95 16 years later at the age of 44 isn’t bad either.

Comparing 100 meter Freestyle and 400 meter Sprinting

Jimson Lee — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 08:09:10 +0000

The 100 meter freestyle in swimming resembles the 400 sprint in running.

Their Elite times are in the mid 40’s second range and both events have similar energy systems: Alactic anerobic and Lactic anerobic.

Between 1968 and 2004, only 7 men has run under the magic 44 seconds barrier for the 400 meters (and two of them were at altitude!). Since then, two new stars, namely Jeremy Warnier and Lashawn Merritt were added to that exclusive list. That makes a total of NINE since 1968.

The 100m freestyle record first went under 48 seconds in 2000. For the next eight years, 48 seconds was the magical “barrier” which only one man could break. Remember Peter van den Hoogenband of Holland? His 100 m world record stood until March 21, 2008 and was broken by France’s Alain Bernard’s 47.60 performance. Since then, ELEVEN men have swam 47 point.

The current World record for the 100 meter freestyle is Eamon Sullivan of Australia with a 47.05 from the 2008 Beijing Olympics. I’ll bet we’ll see a 46.9 pretty soon.

In fact, Jason Lezak of the USA swam a “come from behind” 46.06 relay leg to win the 4×100m Gold at Beijing.

Why the sudden change? New improved LZR speed suits? Resistance stretching?

It wouldn’t surprise me if the 100 meter freestyle is faster than the 400 sprint in the next 10 years.

As I was going to St-Ives

How many ways can you do an event? In able-bodied track, we have two: running and walking. Some may even dispute race walking belonging in Track and Field, but I’ll save that rant for another article.

In wrestling, you have two: freestyle and greco-roman.

In cross country skiing, you have two: freestyle and classic (with the sticky wax under the chamber).

In swimming, you have FOUR ways to cover the same distance: freestyle, breast stroke, butterfly and backstroke.

Plus swimming has all the different relays. Usain Bolt could never win 8 gold medals in the same Olympiad, unless you add a 4×50m, 4×200m, 4×100 medley with race walkers and backwards running, a 200 Individual Medley “IM”, and a 50 meter “splash and dash”.

Don’t get me wrong: Michael Phelps feat was truly superhuman, just like Mark Spitz’s seven gold medals in 1972.

But we all can agree on one thing. The relays are one of the most exciting events in sports! Even the 4×10km cross country is my favorite event next to bobsled and hockey.

Obituaries - Herb McKenley 1922-2007

Jimson Lee — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 08:36:31 +0000

This article was guest blogged by Philippe Neron of Incrediblesteps Records

Today is the one year anniversary of the passing of Jamaica’s Herb McKenley.

Sometimes, you get better with age. Michael Johnson repeated his Gold medal victory in the 400m in the 2000 Sydney Olympics at the age of 33. Mike Larrabee was 30 years old when he won the gold in the 1964 Tokyo Olympics.

Although Herb McKenley of Jamaica didn’t win an individual Gold medal in the Olympics, he, too, was 30 years old at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics where finished second to 25 year old teammate George Rhoden. Both ran 45.9.

McKenley had just lost to a photo finish in the 100m four days prior to the 400m final!

With the exception of Xavier Carter at the NCAA, doubling up in the 100m and 400m is a rare double.

If Herb McKenley raced on today’s synthetic lightening fast tracks instead of cinder, Jeremy Wariner and LaShawn Merritt would have a hard time catching this speedster in the first 200m, as McKenley normally went out fast and “hung on” as he did in the 1948 Olympic final. In the 1952 Olympic final, he ran a more conservative race trying to run even splits but ran out of real estate. The margin of 18 inches or 46 centimeters separated the two.

McKenley became the only man to ever to compete in the 100, 200 and 400m Olympic finals.

It took six tries in Olympic Finals to eventually win a Gold medal:

1948 Olympics London 200 meters - 4th in 21.2
1948 Olympics London 400 meters - Silver behind teammate Arthur Wint
1948 Olympics London 4×400 meters - DNF (Jamaica’s anchor leg pulled a hamstring)
1952 Olympics Helsinki 100 meters - Silver in a photo finish loss to Lindy Remigino. The first 4 finishers were credited with a time of 10.4 seconds
1952 Olympics Helsinki 400 meters - Silver behind teammate George Rhoden who also ran 45.9
1952 Olympics Helsinki 4×400 meters - Gold in a new world record of 3.03.9. It was McKenleys amazing 3rd leg that caught the Americans on the final exchange.

An interesting side note is McKenley was third in 100m, 200m and 400m at the 1951 Pan-American Games

Dynamic Warm Up vs. Static Stretching Controversy

Jimson Lee — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 08:27:59 +0000

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 eye.

It is fair to say The NY Times has a very large and diverse readership. There will always be an audience for articles targeted to the beginner athlete.

Back to Stretching

I don’t know the big deal about the article on stretching. Warming-up and stretching (or, specifically Dynamic Warm-Up and Static Stretching) are becoming highly controversial topics. Just like drinking out of plastic bottles, but we’ll leave that out for another day.

If you throw a bucket of water on a sleeping cat, the cat will leap forward. Did you see the cat stretch beforehand? How about a Police officer breaking out in a full sprint after sitting in a car for an hour? And in police boots, too!

The old trend of static stretching and “holding it” is so old school. The new trend is dynamic stretching.

My take on Stretching or the Dynamic Warm-up? Here are 5 fundamentals or training tips that I adhere to:

1) Stretching should be called “Checking”.

Stretching is the wrong word. “Checking” is the proper word. When you stretch, what are you trying to accomplish? You are checking to see if the muscle is at optimal length, right? If it’s not optimal, then you warm up or loosen up some more.

What does that really mean? Getting your core temperature up, or doing a warm-up, right? You could also achieve this by lying down with 15 blankets on top of you like Percy Williams, or sitting in a sauna?

When I used to train in San Jose at noon during lunch time with friend Matt Bogdanowicz, our warm ups were cut short when the temperature was in the mid 90’s F (or mid 30’s C). We just felt loose. However, our water bottles tasted like hot tea without the tea bag.

Depending on the ambient temperature, you often find sprinters wearing several layers of clothing in the heat. Thus, warming up, whether its psychological or not, is key before performing any athletic movement. Half tights and cycling tights are ever so popular with sprinters, as we try to keep our hamstrings warm.

2) Dynamic Stretching

Dynamic stretching tries to incorporate more sport-specific movements.

A typical warm-up includes starting off with a walk, break out in a “Scarborough Shuffle” (Toronto or York University folks will get this joke), then to a light jog. You see more and more sprinters doing Butt Kicks, Side Shuffles, Hop Openers, Walking Lunges, or Backward Pedals, in their “warm-up”.

These are not to be confused with doing drills, such as the classic ABC Mach Drills or Clyde Hart H drills.

Again, it’s all a matter of getting the core temperature up, and feeling loose. The muscles must be at optimal length, and ready to perform the full range of motion required for the event.

3) Increased blood flow helps bring more Oxygen to the desired areas

In addition to oxygen rich blood going to the muscles, O2 and CO2 exchange (oxygen and carbon dioxide exchange) is equally important. Most of your Lactic acid is converted to CO2, so “cooling down” (the opposite of warming up) after a 400 meters with easy aerobic jogging will help “flush out” the lactic acid.

This is one reason why we do 2000 meters of sub max (65-75% speed) tempo intervals on our easy recovery days on grass surfaces. (i.e. usually 2×10x100 or 10×200m “turnarounds” or “greyhounds”) These workouts build the efficiency of your blood vessels and capillaries for O2 and CO2 exchange

In major competitions, you may be in the Control Room for over an hour. You can’t leave the area or else you’ll get DQ’ed. A more efficient body with blood circulation will keep you warmer and looser.

4) Microstretching.

I found this technique highly beneficial, but only at the end of the workout once I have showered and eaten. Usually I perform Microstretching while watching TV to cut down the boredom. These are very low intensity stretches, much less than 50% of exertion.

Why is a “low intensity” load required?

There are two specialized receptor tissues of the muscle and tendon: the muscle spindle fibers and the Golgi tendon organs. The muscle spindle senses muscle lengthening while the Golgi tendon organ senses tension. These two mechanisms prevents damage to your body to both muscles and tendons.

Do you remember your doctor asking you to sit down on the table while the doctor taps under your knee cap with a rubber hammer? This was testing the stretch reflex reaction. You body protects itself from over-stretching.

How long to stretch? There are several studies out there. Phil Campbell recommends 30 seconds stretch per hold, while Microstretching experts recommend 60 seconds stretch per hold. Whatever you choose, I recommend having a stopwatch that can repeat a beeper sound every 30 or 60 seconds.

5) It’s all about hip mobility.

You run with your hips. Tom Tellez quoted, “your hips are the engine to your body”. So many athletes including myself are super tight in the hips. The best example of “loose hips” was Cuba’s Dayron Robles 110 meter champion in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Examples of stretching and loosening the hips are standing leg swings, or the “scorpion drills” - lying down and swinging your legs from one side to another. Other drills include the “spiderman” drills, as well as “over-under” hurdles.

The bottom line on warming-up and stretching: what ever you do, just make sure your body is 100% ready to perform at its optimal state before the gun goes off.

Preventing ACL Injuries Videos

Jimson Lee — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 08:54:42 +0000

LA84foundation.org is the web site for the Legacy of The 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games that has several excellent Free Track and Cross Country Coaching Books.

There is a web-based lesson for athletes, coaches, trainers and parents on how to prevent ACL injuries. While it may appear to focus on soccer, it applies to any sports where ACL injuries are common, such as basketball or football. Here is the link to the videos (Quicktime required).

The lesson is a collaboration between the LA84 Foundation and the Santa Monica Orthopedic and Sports Medicine Research Foundation and consists of three parts:

video lectures by Dr. Bert Mandelbaum, team physician for U.S. Soccer (on the right page)
twenty-four videos showing exercises that can reduce the chances of ACL injuries (on the left page)
written information about the topic

The videos discuss the PEP program (Prevent Injury, Enhance Performance) and focus on:

avoiding injury
agility
strength
flexibility
proprioception

Who the heck is the LA84foundation.org?

The LA84 Foundation is endowed with surplus funds from the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games. Their mission is to serve youth through sport and to increase knowledge of sport and its impact on people’s lives.

The LA84 Foundation is a private nonprofit institution. The Foundation has committed more than $160 million to accomplish its mission since 1985.

Training and the 80-20 rule of Pareto’s Principle

Jimson Lee — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 05:13:37 +0000

Last month, I wrote about the Plan-Do-Check-Act components of the Deming Cycle.

Another theoretical concept that applies to training is the 80-20 rule of Pareto’s Principle. This is not to be confused with the Law of Diminishing Returns.

The 80/20 Rule is a general rule of thumb, or as I call it, a “guesstimate”. It may be 70/30 or 85/15. The basic concept is a small quantity of X results in a large quantity of Y.

Who the heck is Pareto?

In 1895, Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto observed something very interesting while studying the distribution of wealth in his country, as well as every other country he studied. 80% of all the land was owned by only 20% of the population!

Surprisingly, within the next 50 years, this particular distribution was emerging in other aspects of life.

Dr. Joseph Juran, a professional quality management expert working in the US in the 1930s and 40s (but not as famous as Edward Deming) recognized the above principle. He was quoted “the vital few and trivial many”.

Dr. Juran’s observed only 20 percent of “something” is responsible for a massive 80 percent of the “results”. This became known as the 80/20 Rule, or Pareto’s Principle.

Basically, Pareto’s Principle indicates that in any situation, only some (20 percent) are critical and many (80 percent) are insignificant. In the 80/20 rule, the input and output relationships are not balanced.

While Pareto’s observed the 80/20 ratio for land possessions, Juran’s case observed 80 percent of all problems were caused by 20 percent of manufacturing defects.

You see, you can apply Pareto’s Principle to almost anything.

Do you own a house? The same applies to simple things like those repair jobs and renovations around the house. Using Pareto’s Principle, in your list of ten to-do items, only two will prove to be worth at least as much (if not more) than the other eight projects.

What the heck does this have to do with Track and Field Training?

Out of all the training elements in your day to day training regiment, there should be really 2 out of the 10 elements you should be focusing on. For a Masters Sprinter, in my opinion, speed training and recovery & regeneration are your biggest 2 things to focus on for maximal results.

I’m not say NOT to do weights, yoga or Pilates. I’m not saying continue eating fast food and don’t take your supplements either; there are just some elements that will produce better results in the long run, and in this case, it’s PERFORMANCE that you want!

A lot of athletes focus too much on the little things, when at the end of the day, your training and recovery will result in the best performance. Everything else is important, but not as significant.

A Modern Day Example with Harvard University

Harvard University announced recently that from now on undergraduate students from low-income families will pay no tuition. In making the announcement, Harvard’s president Lawrence H. Summers said, “When only 10 percent of the students in Elite higher education come from families in lower half of the income distribution, we are not doing enough. We are not doing enough in bringing elite higher education to the lower half of the income distribution.”

So in this case of Elite higher education, they want to change their current 90/10 rule to be more like the 80/20 rule!

If you know of a family earning less than $60,000 USD a year with an honor student graduating from high school soon, Harvard University wants to pay the tuition. This prestigious University recently announced that from now on undergraduate students from low-income families can go to Harvard for free… no tuition and no student loans! Wow!

To find out more about Harvard offering free tuition for families making less than $60,000 a year visit Harvard’s financial aid website at: http://www.fao.fas.harvard.edu or call the school’s financial aid office at (617) 495-1581.

UK Training in Sports Hypnosis for Hypnotherapists

Jimson Lee — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 05:20:10 +0000

Certificate in Sports Hypnosis

Presented by Gary Baker
Director, The Centre for Sports Hypnosis
London, United Kingdom

Starts: Friday January 30, 2009, 09:00AM
Ends: Saturday January 31, 2009, 05:00PM
Event Type: Training / Seminar
Location: The Centre for Sports Hypnosis, Greater London, GB
Price: £245 - £295
Website: http://www.sportshypnosis.org.uk
Related Keywords: Hypnosis, Hypnotherapy, Hypnotist, Hypnotherapist
Intended For: Qualified Hypnotherapists
Organization: The Centre For Sports Hypnosis

This 2-day post-qualifying CSH Certificate course provides foundation level training in sports psychology and sports hypnosis for qualified hypnotherapists. The course is an even mixture of theory and practice, and plenty of opportunities are provided to practice various techniques. Assessment is by a short examination which you complete at home after the course.

The Certificate in Sports Hypnosis (Cert.SportsHyp) covers:

History of Sports Hypnosis
Assessments & case formulation
Sports psychology theory
Sports psychology interventions
Integrating hypnosis into sports psychology
Case Studies
Practical applications

For more information and to book your place, please see http://www.sportshypnosis.org.uk/training.html

About Sports Hypnosis

Hypnosis has been used in sport for at least the last 50 years, and has recently seen a renewed interest from both the research community and sports participants. Numerous well-known sports people have used hypnosis in the past, including boxers Frank Bruno, Steve Collins and Nigel Benn, former England cricket captain Mike Brearley, 400 meter sprinter Iwan Thomas, and golfer Ian Woosnam.

Sports Hypnosis combines hypnosis with traditional sports psychology to assist with many common sporting psychological problems. It is particularly effective for building confidence, overcoming poor past performances, and visualizing new or complicated techniques.

In addition hypnosis is highly effective when used to augment other psychological interventions for anxiety, motivation, mental blocks and competition preparation. Sports Hypnosis is now widely used in many sports to help both professional and amateur sportsmen and women with their mental training.

Sports Hypnosis is particularly effective for:

Competition Nerves
Mental Blocks
Overcoming Slumps in Performance
Building Confidence
Improving Focus & Concentration
Returning from Injury

PODCAST - 400 meter Training with Iwan Thomas

Jimson Lee — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 06:19:49 +0000

Iwan Thomas is the current UK record holder at 400 meters with a time of 44.36 seconds. His best year was definitely 1998 where he won the gold at all 3 major “championship meets” that year, notably the IAAF World Cup, European Championships and Commonwealth Games.

He also won a silver medal at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics 4×400 m relay, and 1997 World Championships 4×400 m relay in Athens.

In Athens, the UK team finished second by 0.18 seconds to the United States in a closely contested battle where the Americans usually annihilate the rest of the world.

However, in 2008, US team member Antonio Pettigrew, who ran the second leg of the final, admitted to steriod use. As of 2008, the International Amateur Athletics Federation (IAAF) statute of limitations for retroactive changes is eight years after the event. Pettigrew has since returned his medals, but the UK squad has not moved up a notch to the Gold.

Anyways…

In this podcast, he goes in detail about his training methods, speed, speed endurance, and focus. The UK concept of teamwork and unity is clearly shown in their approach to the 4×400 meter team relay.

It’s always interesting to see how world class quarter milers train and race, from weight training to race strategy.

His official website is www.iwanthomas.co.uk

The Canadian Athletics Coaching Center has a wealth of free coaching articles. Click here for a complete listing of their downloadable audio files.

PODCAST Info:

Iwan Thomas, MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire)
400 meter British Record Holder and 4 x 400m Olympic Silver Medalist
Interview Date: October 20, 2006
Duration: 40:26 mins
File Size: 37MB