Training
Part 3: Why can African’s close faster than their Western counterparts?
Part 3: Why can African’s close faster than their Western counterparts? It is astonishing to see a runner like Bekele close the last 400m in 53 during a fast 10k. It’s generally recognized that most Americans can not close that fast off of even slower paces. Off of comparable paces based on their PR’s, American’s…
Read MorePart 2: Should our athletes move up?
Part 2: Should we move our athletes up? Renato Canova has pointed out that there are basically three kinds of runners for each event. You have the specialist who responds to specific training for that event best. You have the fast event runner, who comes at the event from a speed perspective. And you have…
Read MoreAfrican’s vs. Westerners Part 1:Fun with Statistics
African’s vs. Western Runners: Why do they dominate and what can we learn: Part 1- Fun with Statistics Part 2- Should our Athlete’s move up in distance? Part 3- Why can African’s close faster than their Western counterparts? Part 4- Muscle Recruitment’s role Part 5- Putting Theory into Practice Part 6- Kick Development Powerpoint presentation-…
Read MoreHS training: Neuromuscular and speed work
Neuromuscular and “Speed” work: Having covered both specific work and aerobic work during the competition period, I’ll now move on to probably the most controversial and perhaps confusing part of training for cross country. Depending on the coach you listen to or the program that you follow there could be a very heavy emphasis on…
Read MoreHS training: High End Aerobic Running
High-End Aerobic Running: At the end of the summer we left off with some longer LT runs and a 7.5miler at about marathon pace. Having a developed aerobic system is the name of the game for cross country so we do not want to neglect high end aerobic running the season. Doing that is a…
Read MoreCC training:Specific Endurance Development
As you have hopefully realized by now, I believe in progression throughout the training cycle. There are no abrupt changes. Even when adding in or increasing the emphasis on a particular aspect, there is a gradual transition. This same principle applies when transitioning from the summer base phase into the in season competition phase of…
Read MoreHS Training: Summer Cross Country Training
Planning the season: Start backwards. Work the extremes. Bring it together. That pretty much sums up my training philosophy for HS kids. You aren’t trying to get every sap of talent and performance out of them. You want them to run well and be set up to continue running well in the future and become…
Read MoreHS Training: How to develop an entire training plan
Cross Country Training: How to develop a training plan: Part 1-Individualization Part 2- Base/Summer Training Part 3- Developing Specific Endurance Part 4- High End Aerobic Training Part 5- Neuromuscular/Speed Training CC training: A couple of people have asked about High School Cross Country training. At the end of their season, I’ll post the entire training…
Read MoreStrength Endurance Development- Part 2
To start with I’ll answer some of the questions I got on the topic: “What exactly is strength endurance?” I’ll go straight to my training guide notes for this one: “Strength endurance- preserving a high percentage of your strength. Increasing the ability to use a certain percentage of your maximum strength over a longer period…
Read MoreStrength Endurance Part 1:Lydiard Got it Wrong!!
Strength Endurance Series: Part 1- Lydiard Got it wrong Part 2- How to Develop Strength Endurance Lydiard Got it Wrong. Arthur Lydiard is practically a god in the realm of distance training. He revolutionized training in countless ways and helped to bring performances to another. His placement on the Mount Rushmore of distance coaches is…
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