STRENGTH & CONDITIONING PROJECT 1

Strength and Conditioning for Long Sprinters in Track & Field

Mathew L. Ferris

Master of Science - Physical Education: Coaching of Sport

Strength & Conditioning Project
July 2018

Southwest Minnesota State University

Education Department
Marshall, Minnesota 56258
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Introduction

High school track and field in Minnesota has multiple events including the following:

100m dash 100/110m hurdles, 200m dash, 300m hurdles, 400m, 800m, 1600m, 3200m, 4x100m

relay, 4x200m relay, 4x400m relay, 4x800m relay, discus, high jump, long jump, pole vault, shot

up, and triple jump. How the running portion of track and field works is the athletes check into

their event than go to the races start line. Once at the start line, the starter will give the athletes

one or two commands (depending on the race) which will be “runners to your marks” than shoot

the gun or “runners to marks,” “get set” than shoot the gun. The gun shot is the start of the race.

The fastest time wins the race. How the field events portion of track and field works is the

athletes check into their event than they get three jumps or throws. The top eight athletes who

have the best jumps or throws go onto finals. Once in finals, the best throw or jump will win the

event. In high school, track and field starts around the middle of March and around 12 track

meets a year not including state. The average high school track and field team will have 2 meets

a week because the season is short.

The athletes I will focus on will be junior and senior boys in high school through the high

school. Junior and senior boys are usually 17 and 18 years old. The skill level of these boys

depends on the individual. Some boys have matured compared to others and some boys are more

athletically gifted than others. Also, the commitment and motivation level of the athletes depends

on what they want to do with their future. The athletes who show no interest in competing at the

college level show less commitment and motivation than those athletes who show interested in

competing in sports at the college level.

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Needs Assessments

The sports needs for track and field consist of throwing, short distance sprinting, mid-

distance running, long distance running, jumping, hurdling, and handing offs batons. All of the

major muscle groups are emphasized in track and field but with special attention to core strength,

grip strength, hip power/strength, and hamstring and quad power/strength. Common injury sites

in track and field are feet, shins, knees, hips, hamstrings, low back, shoulders, elbows, and

wrists. The energy demands vary on the event being discussed. For immediate events the ATP-

phosphocreatine system (Ratamess, 2012, pg. 106-126) is used. For short events the

anaerobic/lacate system is used (Ratamess, 2012, pg.106-126), and for long events the aerobic

system are all used within track and field (Ratamess, 2012, pg. 106-126). The fitness needs in

track and field are muscle power/strength, endurance, sprinting speed, pace setting, reaction

time, body coordination, and reduced body fat percentage. There are no equipment restrictions.

Track and field athletes should workout 4x a week. An athlete must have some experience in

resistance training to distinguish between good and bad technique. The workout will be a total

body workout with Olympic style lifting, basic strength lifts, and sport specific exercises.

In track and field, athletes are always pushing their bodies beyond the body’s point of

exhaustion. When training, an athlete develops more motor unit recruitment which means once a

motor unit has already been recruited it will take less energy to be recruited again. This means

that the energy once used before will no longer need used this time and can be used elsewhere

which helps the body become more efficient. Training also increase the firing rate of the number

of times per second a motor unit is being discharges (Ratamess, 2012, pg. 47).

In track and field, a 400m runner would want Type IIa muscle type. A 400m is a long

sprint which means the runner needs fast-twitch muscle fibers which are explosive/fast
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movements (such as sprinting) but the runner also needs the perfect blend of slow-twitch muscle

fibers for the aerobic portion of the races even though it may not be much (Ratamess, 2012, pg.

65). Another type of change is more beneficial for jumpers, hurdlers, sprinters, and jumpers not

muscle hypertrophy. Most of time, mass does not equal speed or does not fly. Muscle

hypertrophy would be beneficial for throwers. Nutrition is important for all athletes to reach the

next level, especially in track and field. I’m not a nutrition expert so I’m not professionally able

to really assess someone’s diet or tell someone what they can/should eat. For starters, I would

suggest following the “My Food Plate” guideline to get an all-around good nutritional diet.

When training, muscle size, strength, endurance, and power increase but can only be

maximized when the supporting structures adapt correctly (Ratamess, 2012, pg. 73). What does

this mean? The connective tissue needs to increase their strength, size, and endurance as well.

Connective tissues consist of bones, tendons, ligaments, fascia, and cartilage. With proper

connective tissue adaptations, athletes are able to absorb force properly to bone, joint stability,

and injury prevention. When creating a training program, coaches should create a full body

strength training program which includes major and supporting muscle groups. For example,

major muscle groups may include squats, RDL’s, lunges, etc. For supporting muscle groups, for

example, exercises may include hip extension, flexion, abduction, and adduction. Age has a

major influence on this process. Bones grow in length and width (Ratamess, 2012, pg. 76). Each

bone has its own rate of metabolism which means bone may take up to 18 years or 25 years to

grow. Every person is different. Training an athlete who is 12 years old is different than training

an athlete who is 24 years old. Lifting weights early in lift will help bones grow healthier and

stronger.
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According to Ratamess, hormones are a chemical messenger released by the endocrine

system to transport the chemical to targeted tissues, and eliciting a chain of events leading to

requested function (Ratamess, 2012, pg. 85). Some of the hormones that will influence athletic

performances are testosterone, growth hormone, cortisol, estrogen, and progesterone.

Testosterone is important in athletic performance because it helps build muscle mass and bone

density which will help an athlete to become stronger. Growth hormones help the body

synthesize protein, glucose, and amino acids. Also, growth hormones have an effect on ligament

and tendon strength. Cortisol helps regulate the body’s metabolism, blood sugar and water/salt

levels. Also, cortisol helps the body to reduce inflammation which is important in the recovery

process of athletic performance. Estrogen, smaller portions in boys/men, will help reduce muscle

damage, control inflammation, and make fuels from fats which is important because the body

needs to burn fats instead of protein. Progesterone, smaller portions in boys/men, helps regulate

brain activity, blood sugar levels, and helps build bone density. An athlete’s age, sport, gender,

and level of competition does have a specific influence on a person’s hormonal state.

Professional sports will have a higher demand on the body compared to youth sports.

For track and field, depending on the event the athlete is compete in, the athlete will rely

on a different task. For a 400m runner, the athlete would need a high intensity task (85-90%)

with a small amount of endurance (10-15%). Based off of what a long sprinter (400m) needs,

he/she would need to be trained a special way compared to a short sprinter (60m, 100m, 200m)

or a mid-distance runner (800m). For a long sprinter, the dominant energy system being used is

the anaerobic system (85-90%) and the secondary energy system will be the aerobic system (10-

15%). Describe, in detail, the important aspects of your dominant metabolic pathway and oxygen

consumption in relation to training and performance.

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Outline the cardiorespiratory response your athletes have to training. What is the average VO₂ of

your athletes? Will increasing the different measures of cardiorespiratory performance influence

athletic performance? Describe if and how you would use pulmonary and ventilator training with

your athletes.

Training Plan

Macrocycle, Mesocycle, & Microcycle Training Plan

Months Sept Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May
Macrocycles Indoor Season Outdoor Season
Phases Preparation Competition Preparation Competition
Periods General Specific Pre- Specific Pre-

Comp.
Comp.
Prep. Prep. Comp. Prep. Comp.

Mesocycle 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
(months)
Mesocycle
Technique

Synthesis

Synthesis
Capacity

Strength

Review

Themes
Speed
Work

Peak

Peak
Microcycle
13-16

17-20

21-24

25-28

29-32

33-36
9-12
1-4

5-8

(weeks)

My plan is broken up into two season, indoor and outdoor (macrocycle). From there, I

break my plan up into two phases for indoor and outdoor season which are preparation and

competition. Once again, I broke the training up into different themes throughout both season

(mesocycle): work capacity, technique, speed, strength, synthesis, peaking, and reviewing.

Finally, I broke my themes into short four week training blocks (microcycle). Work capacity is

getting the athlete’s body into shape. Once the athlete is starting to get into shape, than they will
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work technique. Once technique is developed, athletes will work on their speed and strength.

Once the preparation work is complete, the athletes will combine the work they’ve put together

the past months to compete against other individuals and teams. Once indoor is finished, athletes

will take a small recovery and retool for the outdoor season.

Warm-up:
- 800-1600m
Dynamic Stretching (20m):
- Walking toe touch - Butt kicks
- Skipping leg swing - High knees
- Quad pull - Jogging leg cycles
- Lateral lunge - Walking heel to toe
- A-skip - Ball of foot walking
- B-skip
- C-skip
Sprints:
- 30m, 60, 90m
Pre-Season Workout
Workout Repetitions Time (seconds) Rest (minutes)
200s 6 32-34 2

Cool Down:
- 800-1600m - Neck rolls
- Static hamstring stretch - Shoulder rolls
- Standing quad pull - Cow face pose
- Static groin stretch - Cross-body arm stretch
- Butterfly
- Kneeling hip flexor stretch
*1 day a week complete core exercises (300) & 1 day a week complete a plank circuit

Once practice starts, everyone will do their warm-up which is typically anywhere from 800m

to a mile (depends on their event). We do a warm-up to shake out any of the tightness from

previous day’s work, get the blood flowing to different muscles in the body, and build up a little

endurance. Next, we go onto the dynamic stretching listed above. The reason we do dynamic

stretching before we start a workout is because we want to get the muscles warm and loosened
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up. Also, we do it because sprinting is an active exercise so we want to do an active warm up.

We want to warm up our body and muscles the same way we are going to train them. The

stretches listed will hit every major muscle group in the body. Once our dynamic stretching is

done, we will complete out pre-season workout which is 6x200s at 32-34sec with 2min rest. We

are doing this workout to get athletes into a running pace and rhythm. It’s an easy workout to

help runners develop self-awareness of their own body. Since the workout is at a slower pace, the

athletes heart rates won’t increase too high and won’t need much recovery time. Upon

completion of the workout, the athletes will cool down as listed above. Again, the stretches will

hit every major muscle the athlete used while working out.

Training Components

Flexibility training will be incorporated into my training plan two ways. First, during the

cool-down. During the cool-down while the athletes are doing their cool-down static stretching

they will hold their stretches for 30 seconds which will help stretch the muscles for an extended

period. Over time, this will help develop flexibility. The second way I will have my athletes do

hurdle drills. Hurdles drills will help develop hip flexibility which in track and field athletes is

extremely important because the hip is always going to hip extension. Flexibility will help the

athletes develop more range of motion which in return will decrease the athlete’s chance of

injury and flexibility will allow muscles to work more effectively. The most beneficial flexibility

and stretching exercises are any exercises which involves the lower half of the body. For

example, any exercises including the hips, hamstrings, quads, glutes, calfs, and groan. The focus

on flexibility will not vary depending on the time of season. The focus will vary on if the athlete

is responding to the exercises. For example, if Athlete A responds to the exercises than he/she

may advance to more difficult exercises or will hold the exercises longer. If Athlete B doesn’t
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respond to the exercises than I need to find different exercises for the athlete. From Runners

World, Amby Burfoot mentions that the only athletes who truly need flexibility are figure skaters

and gymnasts. Also mentioned in the article, flexibility doesn’t help prevent injuries but may

cause injuries because of the excessive overuse of range of motion. Injuries may be prevented be

better warming up, resistance training, and stretching.

For a 400m runner, 80-85% of the training should be anaerobic and 15-20% of the

training should be aerobic. Depending on the time of year will determine the volume, frequency,

and recovery time of the training intervals. The training will adapt over the season by starting off

with slower interval times and receiving a decent amount of rest. As athletes start getting into

shape, the interval may become faster or the rest time may get short. As the season gets closer to

the championship season, the interval times will be anywhere between 90-100% effort but their

rest time will increase to nearly full recovery, if not than full recovery.

Age, skill level, and hormonal development is always a factor in training. The older and

more talented the athletes are the more in depth a coach can become. When athletes are younger,

coaches should focus their attention on technique more than weight because without proper

technique athletes may cause serious injury. The appropriate level of intensity, repetition, and

resistance of my athlete depends on where they are at during the season. For example, during the

off-season and preseason my athletes will lift heavier to build strength but when the season gets

about six weeks away from championship season the athletes will tend to lift lighter weight. The

reason they go from heavy to light to because strength is already in place so now we need to shift

our focus to light, fast, more sport specific repetitions. As far as intensity goes, there should

always be high intensity. For equipment, I like to body weight, barbells, free weights, dumbbells,

kettlebells, and resistance bands. As mentioned before, it depends on what time during the
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season it is depends on how many repetitions and sets my athlete will have. As mentioned

before, technique is my #1 role in training. Not only do my athletes need to have proper

technique while training but the facility needs to be safe. For example, the floor can’t be ripped

up making an uneven ground to train on. Also, the facility should be clean.

Plyometric training is a big part of training for track and field. I will make sure there is at

least one day a week where we involve plyometric training. Plyometric training is included into

my training because track and field athletes need to have some spring in their step and these

athletes don’t spend a lot of time on the ground compared to other sports. During sprinting,

athletes spend about 90% of their time in the air. When sprinters make contact with the ground,

they need to be able to absorb as much force as possible than push themselves off of the ground

into the air as fast as possible and this is what plyometrics does. Plyometric training is where the

muscles exert maximum force in a short amount of time than quickly produces force.

Plyometrics training benefits track and field because it’s sports specific to what track and field

athletes complete in throughout the sport. Throughout the macrocycle, plyometric training will

vary depending on where we are at during the season. We will always be doing plyometric

training but when we get about six weeks out from championships season than athletes will be

doing more sport specific training. Getting closer to championship season means we want to get

our athletes to become more explosives and to exert more force. Will equipment be required?

While doing plyometric training, equipment isn’t necessary, but it depends on the athlete. We

want plyometrics to be quick and explosive, so some athletes may only need body weight to keep

these exercises explosive while others may use dumbbells, kettlebells, or even barbells with

weight. Like every exercise, age, ability, and technique are a factor. Without proper technique,

an athlete may cause serious injury. These exercises are taught to absorb force through flexion
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and younger athletes may not understand this concept. In my opinion, plyometric training is great

for training athletes to teach them to absorb force and develop force but only if taught in the

correct manner.

According to Ratamess, there are the five components of sprinting and seven main

aspects of agility. The five components of sprinting are reaction time, acceleration, stride length,

stride frequency, and max speed and power. I incorporate reaction time into my training plan by

having athlete close their eyes and I clap together two wood boards connected by a door hinge

which I called the “clapper.” Once I clap together the clapper than the athletes react to the sound.

This will simulate the start of a race. I incorporate acceleration into my training by creating

starting off small than working my way up the ladder. For example, I will do a standing start,

push-up start, and a three-point start. Also, I will do repetitions with only the first step

progressing into the three steps progressing into about 10m than 20m. This ladder will continue

until about 50m. I implement drills I call the “sprint progress” to help with sprinting technique

such as stride frequency and length. This sprint progression will benefit performance because

it’ll help athletes reach optimal sprinting angles. Max speed and power are created by resistance

training which is done all year round minus a month after the season is over because the athlete

needs to recovery their body. I tend not to incorporate any agility training into my training

programs. I don’t do agility training because track and field athletes do not have a reason to

change direction due to straight line running. With sprinting, I think it’s important to watch

where the athlete’s trunk is while sprinting. While watching an athlete’s trunk, a coach will be

able to tell if the athlete is going to have specific problems such as the lack of knee drive which

will cause a short stride length. So, I coach athletes to run with a vertical trunk which allows

access to proper knee drive. If an athlete “masters” an exercise I challenge them by adding more
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advancements to it whether it is more weight or a second portion of the exercise. Athletes get

bored easily, especially if they’ve “mastered” the exercise, so as a coach I need to keep them

engaged.

Program Summary

In track and field, 400m runners are special. A coach cannot train them to be strictly

sprinters because they won’t have the endurance to finish strong. A coach cannot train them to be

strictly mid-distance runners because they won’t have the speed to compete with other athletes.

This is why 400m runners are special. When training an athlete who runs the 400m, remember to

train them 80% anaerobic and 20% aerobic. The aerobic side of training will let the athlete

become strong and have the endurance to finish stronger. As a coach, we need to put our athletes

in a position to succeed instead of fail. By properly training an athlete, as I have previously

mentioned with the different training cycles, an athlete will run their fastest times during the

right time of the season.

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References
Ratamess, Nicholas. (2012). ACSM’s foundations of strength training and conditioning.

Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

Bernstien, Sean. (n.d.). Training theory and considerations. Retrieved from

https://seanbernstein.com/trainingtheory/

Butfoot, Amby. (2004, August 25). Does stretching prevent injuries?. Retrieved from

https://www.runnersworld.com/health-injuries/a20845445/does-stretching-prevent-

injuries/