Turning Sprint Training Convention on Its Head

The traditional sprint training methodology of going from slower, longer runs with short recoveries to faster, shorter runs with longer recoveries has formed the basis for the majority of sprint athletes’ training programmes for many years. However, should this be the case?

Recently it has been suggested that the ‘slow to fast’ methodology of training a sprint athlete is flawed. After all coach and athlete may spend all the training year getting the latter into peak speed capability in August only to make them ‘slower’ from October to June (assuming a single periodised year). Why not, goes the ‘short to long or ‘fast to faster’ approach’, maintain as much of this speed at the end of the training year as possible and build more of it onto this ready for speedier performances the next? Coaches such as Charlie Francis (see box), have been at the forefront of such a shift in thinking. This approach emphasizes sprint speed all year round and builds more specific speed on more specific speed. This is seen to:

1)Maximise speed development physically

2)Optimally stimulate the central nervous system (CNS)

3)Reduce injuries - very often athletes pick up injuries, particularly to the hamstrings, when attempting to sprint after months of much slower work

4)Allow for more speed peaks

5)Minimise the negative effects of de-training fast twitch muscle fibre

The short to long /fast to faster approach to sprint training can be seen to reflect the undulating periodisation theory of training planning (UP) - of which more later.

How much of an aerobic base does a sprint athlete really need?

Aerobic fitness underpins the development of most other types of fitness. The more efficient an athlete’s body is at processing oxygen the quicker they will be able to recover between efforts. In the past it was reasoned that developing good aerobic condition in a sprint athlete would boost speed development. Thus it was not unknown for sprinters to go on 20-40minute runs at the beginning of the training year. The logic of this approach however, is somewhat derailed when one considers the actual aerobic/anaerobic content of the sprint events, for example the 200m is at best 5% aerobic and 95% anaerobic. Most of the work done by these athletes is anaerobic. Too much of an emphasis on aerobic work will blunt speed. This results from an unnecessary increase in the oxygen processing capabilities of slow twitch muscle fibre and a ‘blunting’ of the speed and power generation capabilities of type II a and type II b fast twitch fibre muscle fibre (1&2).

In contrast prolonged training with a specific speed emphasis will change fibre type in the direction you want for increased speed. Sprint athletes obviously require a proliferation of fast twitch fibres and the short to long approach never loses sight of this. It will maximise the opportunity for changing fibre type to express speed - a top class sprinter’s leg muscles will posses 70-80% of fast twitch fibres.

So how much aerobic training is necessary in a speed/sprint training programme?

Charlie Francis recommends that for the training mature 100/200 and 400m runner the development of base fitness, with an aerobic element requires relatively little attention. He advocates only a short 6-week period where this conditioning element is given any kind of ascendancy at the beginning of the training year. Training immature athletes (0-4 years of consistent sprint training) will require a greater aerobic conditioning emphasis and Francis identifies an 8-12 week development phase at the beginning of the training year for them. Both these durations should allow sufficient time to plan a double or even a triple periodisation sprint programme, using much more specific training (of which more later). In terms of building a base of sprint running fitness tempo running is recommended (again, of which more later).

Maintaining speed in-season for speed athletes

Undulating periodisation offers the sprinter and their coach probably the most effective way to maximise the manifestation of speed. UP basically mixes and matches all the relevant training ingredients needed to condition the sprinter together. Strength, power, agility, endurance, speed, technique work and flexibility are all carefully over-lapped and fused together to keep and develops the sprinter’s speed. This requires careful and consistent athlete appraisal on the part of the coach/coaches (this is something that Francis emphasises with his sprint training) to ensure that the athlete does not become over-trained or injured. Particular attention is placed on the effects training maybe having on the sprinter’s central nervous system. In the light of this it is crucial that the coaches realise that no two athletes will have exactly the same training needs and that a ‘one size fits’ all approach will not work. Individual training programmes will need to be produced (although this may be difficult for coaches working with numerous athletes).

Intensity not volume is the key to improved sprint performance

Although nearly all athletes increase the volume of their training as they progress year to year, for sprint athletes it is the training variable intensity that must have the ascendancy. Intesnity should increase with a potential reduction in volume. Sprinting faster and faster over the athlete’s competitive lifetime is the obvious goal. The coach needs to carefully monitor the volume of intense work being performed by the athlete and the recovery that is needed to allow progression and reduce injury. The short to long approach allows the athlete to never be too far away from absolute sprint conditon at any time in the training year.

This is why for sprint athletes, double and even triple periodisation is possible. The latter would allow a sprint athlete to peak for the indoor season, mid-outdoor season and late-outdor season for Olympic or World Championships, for example. Note: each peak should elicit a higher level of performance than the previous one - the long to short approach is seen to fail to provide a real opportunity to achieve 2/3 optimum speed peaks. This is because it is argued that too much time will be lost ‘returning‘ to previous speed levels rather than, buidling new superior ones. An exacting sprint coach will, for example, attempt to blend all the ingredients of perfect sprint performance into the third peak, for example, start reaction, accelaration, absolute speed, speed endurance, strength and power.

The importance of power

Power is crucial for the sprinter; the short to long method keeps power on the boil throughout the conditioning programme. Francis, for example, ensures that complementary training takes place at all time. For example, he advocates maximum strength work in the gym during tempo running phases and even workouts. He would not combine flat out sprint work with near maximum weight lifting, due to the contraindications of the two training methods and the ‘strain’ this could place on the central nervous system.

Interestingly Francis does not advocate a weight training ‘channeling’ phase. This would normally use sport-specific weight training exercises, performed with increasing speed, such as strep up drives and single leg squats, to ‘deliver’ the strength gained from more general weights exercises, such as the squat into sprnt performance. Rather he sees sprinting itself as the ultimate ‘channeler’ (plus plyometrics).

Sprint speeds as conditioning ingredients

In order to develop optimum sprinters coaches need to carefully blend sprint speeds. In terms of absolute speed it’s recommended that running intensities never fall below 75% of maximum speed. Speeds slower than this will not have a sufficiently strong stimulatory effect on fast twitch muscle fibre. Many coaches fail to divide up, in terms of their effects, the percentages of speed that can be generated between 75 and 105% of maximum speed (105% refers to the speed that can be generated through the use of over-speed techniques, such as downhill running and the use of bungees – see The Coach issue …...

Various terms have been applied to sprint running speeds, such as tempo runs, speed endurance, lactate endurance maximum speed runs and so on. Table 1 defines the key types.

Table 1: Sprint speeds as a percentage of maximum speed

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Speed endurance training

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