Sprint Training — track and field

Sprint Training On Different Surfaces While discussions about training workload progressions are commonplace, rarely do people talk about how their use of different training surfaces change over time. Should you run on the track all year, or should you use grass or turf? Because surfaces differ in their firmness, consistency, and rebound, athletes can use variations in surfaces as a way to add variability to their program, to constrain certain physical outputs, and to bring a slightly different feel to the training that we perform on a daily basis. Pro Sprinters Use Grass Usain Bolt and other Jamaican sprinters are...

What are shin splints? If you’ve ever stepped onto the track, only to feel your lower legs throbbing with every step, it is likely you’ve experienced one of the injuries that are commonly referred to as shin splints. Typically referred to as Medial Tibial Stress Syndrome, shin splints are a chronic overuse injury which typically affects runners and jumpers. What are the symptoms of shin splints? Most commonly, shin splints presents are sharp or dull throbbing pain in the lower leg which is aggravated by walking, running, jumping, etc. The pain is typically felt in the medial or inner part...

What is the point of a warm up? The first goal of the warm up is, as alluded to by the name, to raise the body's core temperature. This takes approximately 8 to 10 minutes of continuous activity to accomplish. Once the body is warm, the next goal of the warm up is to tune in motor qualities, improve coordination, and maximize force outputs so that the work you perform is as high quality as possible. Typically you will be least coordinated right when you wake up, becoming more coordinated as you become more alert and move around. A proper...

As discussed in my previous video, Power Force Velocity Profiling is a great way to gain insights into what a sprinter might need training wise in order to improve their sprint acceleration. Knowing whether you have a force deficit or velocity deficit is important, but this information can only be of use to the athlete or coach if they can then generate a plan which works to correct these deficits and create a more balanced force velocity profile in the athlete. Even more important, is knowing which types of training are more suited for beginner or advances athletes. Today we...

Most of us understand that high performing sprinters do certain things differently than slower sprinters, but determining what it is that constitutes these differences can at times appear elusive. Once you identify the proper way to sprint, you must then go about implementing this proper technique into your sprint training program. Previously we’ve discussed how the best sprinters exhibit a hammer-like, whip from the hip action of the leg in their sprinting technique, which is especially visible from mid-acceleration and into upright sprinting. The idea is that by throwing the leg to the front side in a certain way, we...