400m and 4x400m Training - PowerPoint Presentation

Slide1

400m and 4x400m Training

How to create an atmosphere that promotes 400m success and how to sharpen athletes for success at end of the season.Slide2

Why we’re here…

“I HAD TO DIG FOR IT…GO TO

THAT

DARK, DARK PLACE THAT ALL QUARTERMILERS KNOW”-Jack Wellenstein Slide3

Setting the Tone for Your Program

Why the 400m?Slide4

Why the 400m or 4x400m?

Why should the 400m be important?

The 400m is the great

uniter of your teamIt brings together hurdlers, distance and sprintersIt creates mental and physical toughnessWhy is the 4x400 important to your program?It is the most exciting race of the meet (not because it’s the last)

The rule of proximity rules when you have a good one, drives

performance when you don’tSlide5

How do you promote the event?

The 400m is scary for young kids

I make the 4x400 relay the primetime event of the meet

Do you make the event about pain or pride?I always focus on positivity when it comes to the eventWith new athletes I don’t talk about how much the race will hurt, but rather how tough they areOur program takes a distinct pride in excelling at the 4x400mThrough that we have been very consistent in the 400m and the other sprintsSlide6

Treat your 400m sprinters like SPRINTERS

Training your 400m sprinter should have a focus on speed, not endurance

This helps to recruit sprinters to try out the event

I make every one of my sprinters run a 400m each yearI NEVER tell a 400m guy to go out “relaxed”Mental cues have to match the expectations of the raceRelaxed = slowAggressive = fastSlide7

Finding your possible 400m guys

Is there an ideal body type for the 400m?

Ideal is great, but we deal in reality

Stride length, frequency and mechanics are more importantAttitude can make up for physical

“

short falls”

Desire is essential

Look for an athlete with something to prove

Mental toughness and patience

Plan for the future

I tab 2 – 3 freshmen each season that will be

in

the 400m projectSlide8

Training for the

Dark PlacesSlide9

Warning!!!

KEEP IT SIMPLE!

You may have all of the education and background as anyone, but an average 15 year old kid doesn’t care.

Be careful of making things more difficult than need to beDon’t be married to the plan! BE FLEXIBLE!Slide10

Pre-season

Speed development must be set up before you begin any type of endurance training. Speed is 25 times more difficult that endurance to develop

-Tony

VeneySlide11

Preparing for

healthy and efficient

sprinting

100m, 200m, 400m, hurdlers, jumpers…all train the same wayWe start in the beginning of December with learning the basicsTeach Teach TeachUse this time to teach your leaders so they can assist during the season with the young ones

Drill into them your dynamics and sprint drills for warm-ups

Use this time to focus on technique and skill acquisition Slide12

Warm-up

Daily Parts

Reflexive Performance Reset (RPR) (Chris

Korfist, Cal Deitz, Tony Holler)Sprint DrillsFocus on range of motion and qualityDoes it mimic qualities of good sprinting (high knee, good pelvic position, good posture)

Build-ups 6-8 x 60m (focus on strong arms and strong, powerful strides)

3-4 with standing start

3-4 with fall-in startSlide13

Warm-up

Special add-ins (1-2 times per week)

Wickets (start with wood slats, progress to mini hurdles)

Hurdle walkoversBooms (use different arm placements and movements)Toe pops (use different surfaces and focus on body control and reaction bounce)During season I add in warm-up quarters a few days a weekSlide14

Is the ability there?

Coordination/Rhythm

Important for any sprinter, especially a 400m runner

Smooth speed is crucial for a 400m (If your athlete can’t run a fast 200, then its hard to expect a fast 400)Is your athlete fast enough to hit the goals you have for them?We use wickets for thisDuring winter we use 8 wood slats

During the season we start with the mini hurdles and extend out to 16 – 20

Use to work on rhythmic speed and core stabilitySlide15

Where is the energy going?

Ankle Stiffness

A stiff ankle is critical for applying force from the hip through the foot into the ground

If your ankle joint deforms when it hits the ground you lose energyKey to acceleration, start and speed!Toe pops Done over varied surfacesDone for height, distance, back and forth, side to sideSlide16

Soul of the runner

Hip Flexors

Importance of the psoas

Asafa PowellBooms (quick, bringing knee above parallel, focus on good finishing position. The hammer down

also fires the glute

)

Hanging leg raises/incline leg raises/flat leg raises

Partner assisted leg raisesSlide17

Sample Workout for December/January

Monday: RPR, speed drills, 6 build-ups

4 x 10m, 4 x 20m, 4 x 30m (pure acceleration work)

Hanging leg raises, BoomsWednesday: RPR, speed drills, 6 build-upsWickets (straight through, pistols 2x, hugs 2x, arms up 2x, straight through)Depth jumps, Cat jumps, Split squat jumps, RDL – Step-upsFriday: RPR, speed drills, 6 x build-ups

Hand-timed 40

yd

with timed flying-10m (with

Freelap

)

Toe Pops (4 x 20m and 2x partner assisted

)

Goals: Learn and work on mechanics and prep the body for sprintingSlide18

Sample Workout week for February

Monday: RPR, speed drills, 8 x build-ups

4 x 10m, 4 x 20m, 4 x 30m (all from dead start, focus on acceleration)

Hanging leg raises, Toe pops (4 x 20m, 2x partner assisted)Wednesday: RPR, speed drills, 8 x build-upsBooms6 x 150m hills (done fast)Cat jumps, Depth jumps

Friday: RPR, speed drills, Wickets

Hand-timed 40

yds

with timed flying 10m (will

Freelap

)

Split squat jumps, RDL-step ups, Box

jumps

Goal: Start small preparation for anaerobic work.Slide19

Early Season Training/Goals

Test, Record, PredictSlide20

Energy Systems

The off-season I focus on the Short

T

erm Energy System, which is the explosive, powerful part of the sprint race. This is was lasts 5 – 8 seconds. (includes acceleration and top speed)Takes the longest to develop as you are training the central nervous systemDuring the season we continue to train the STES while starting to slowly work on the Intermediate Energy System, which is the anaerobic zone.

Is the painful part of training a 400m sprinter. The body is producing a supplemental energy system to get you the energy, but the body is unable to clear the byproducts, which makes the system more acidic. This creates the “burn.” Heart rate is a trigger, focus on belly breathing during recovery.Slide21
Slide22

Week One

First day: Teach warm-up to everyone (both old and new)

Testing: Hand-timed 40

yd with flying 10m (with Freelap)Standing long jump and standing triple jumpWednesday: 6 – 8 x 200m @ 75% every 3 minutes

400m Predictor Workout: (every 2 weeks for the first 5 weeks)

3 x 48 second max effort sprints with 15 – 20min recovery, goal is to be within 2-3% of previous one.

Great first check on lactate threshold and tolerance

Looking for 360 or more for top guys

340 or more for potentials

320 or more for freshmenSlide23

Indoor Season

During indoor I continue to focus on the STES (in spikes

) (M/W or M/R)

Transition from 10s, 20s, 30s to 20s, 30s, 40sContinue to test 40s and flying 10s90m pop-floats (15m on, 15m smooth, 15m on,…)48s or 23sI begin to bring in workouts to increase lactate threshold (W or R)

200s: 3 x 3 @ 75-80% run as 5 man continuous relays with 8 min between

400s: 4 @ 75 – 80% run as 5 man continuous relays

Broken 450s: 3 x 300 at 400PR + 7, 1 min rest, 150m hard, 10-12 min restSlide24

Focus on Goals!!!

My goals for every kid are to get faster, gain confidence, and grow.

I put the bar high. We start thinking about conference, sectionals and the state meet. Who will be on the relay? Who has a chance to qualify?

Why are these kids busting their buttsI believe that when the goals are put forth, kids will start to believe them and start to work towards them.Creating tradition, high expectations, and excitement is essential to long-term success.Slide25

Are your goals realistic?

Be honest with yourself about each athlete’s strengths and weaknesses.Slide26

Race Plan

Push out of the blocks as if a 200m. The longer the race, the more momentum that needs to be built up.

We focus on a strong drive from the start (60 – 70m)

The back stretch needs to be smooth but fastI don’t tell them to relax, but use cues like smooth and quickWe have a big focus on efficient arms to help with momentum and driveWe aim for the first 200 to be hit within 1.5 seconds of open PRFast times do not come from slow first halvesSlide27
Slide28

Race Plan (cont’d)

Second curve (200-300)

Athletes need to know where they are in a race and put themselves into a good spot

Use the curve to start to build up momentum coming off of itHomestretch (300-400)Huge focus on technique, arms, and efficiencyEyes forward

Need to try to teach patience and awareness of body and pace

Be consistent. I would not ask a frosh/

soph

to change their race plan or key off of another athlete.Slide29

Use the relay as a boost

I like to run as close to my top guys in the 4x400 all the time

Tinker here and there, but have continuity among the relay

Order (When an even distribution):Lead-off: My second fastest open 400m guy. Someone consistent and dependable2nd leg: My 200m guy. Some who can get the cut in while still relaxed

3

rd

leg: Need someone who finishes well and races well. More pressure than most think.

Anchor leg: My top guy. Isn’t afraid to go and get someone. Will not give up to

anyone

Always have a purpose for your relaySlide30

Outdoor Season

Remember that your greatest speed sessions are your track meets.

You have to adjust to your schedule, a Tuesday/Wednesday meet can be used as a great workout.

Run a kid in the 200m/4x400, 400m/4x100 or the 4x200/400m doubleHave each meet contain a specific focus. Could have the following:Saturday meet: 100m, 4x200, 200Tuesday meet: 400m, 4x400Friday meet: 4x100, 200mSlide31

Outdoor Season (cont’d)

Begin to increase intensity of workouts by the middle of April:

200s: 2 x 3 @ 85% in continuous relays, 10 min rest in between

300s: 4 @ 85- 90%, 8 min rest between Make it team goals (ex. Have goals times for each group and reward if they meet the goals)Pick a meet to really focus on running a fast 4x400, I usually pick one around the beginning of MaySlide32

Lactate Threshold Workouts

Hills

8 x 150, hard, walk back recovery

6 x 250-300m, steady, good effortTrack3 x 500m (Hit the 400m at 60) 10 – 12 minutes recoveryBroken 450s progression (200-250, 250-200, 300-150, 350-100)8 x 200m @ 80% start every 2:30120m Pop-Float-Pop with parachuteSlide33

Late Season Workouts

The Wednesday after our conference meet we do our last top speed workout (gives 5 days to recover before the Regional)

2 x 150m from blocks around the first turn @ Max Effort

2 x 300m @ 95 – 100% (around 36/37 seconds for a 50.0 guy)4 x 100m in a 5-man relay, fast.Assuming that all athletes are healthy, the importance here is the mental approach. Are your athletes ready to battle?Are they ready for the unknown to happen?

Do they believe?Slide34

Thank You!

John Troy

Franklin High School

franklintrackandfield@yahoo.comTwitter @saberstrack2018