400m Back-to-Back Events, Weight Training & Nutrition

[jetlag]

I am interested in sprinters retaining their muscular strength while doing so much work. Should I encourage the sprinters to take more protein or consume high protein foods to accomplish this? What should a sprinter eat the night before, morning of, just before, and during a meet where they will run 2-3 events?

Also, in most track meets I will probably put my quarter miler as the anchor leg of the 4x100 because of the style of running. Unfortunately, the 400m is right after this event. It took all season for the sprinter to recover. It is difficult for me to believe the sprinter could have run faster without the 4x100 preceding the 400m. What are some ways of working thru this dilemma?

During the championship phase, what should the weight and plyometrics workouts consist of, how often and how close to a meet? Do you think that the gradual decrease in these workouts will produce a peaking effect for sprinters?

[George Payan]

The attachment below will address your questions on nutrition. The following will address your sprint questions.

Is the conditioning and training program preparing the athlete for these back-to-back events? Is the athlete getting proper rest?

Take a good look at the conditioning and training program for this athlete. The only way he can recover from these back-to-back events is to develop his lactic acid tolerance. The higher his tolerance level, the quicker the recovery so he can run back-to-back events. The conditioning and training program should duplicate the circumstances in competition.

If this athlete is the fastest sprinter, place him in the second leg, the straight away, of the 4x100. If he is not the fastest, place him in the first leg because he is strong and can take the curve. Either of these positions will give him more rest before the 400m race. Running back-to-back is extremely demanding and there is no justice in this. If he does not run the 4x100, the expectations can be higher in the 400m. If he is expected to run back-to-back, keep him in this same situation in all meets so that the tolerance demands are met.

Sample workout:

Warm-up:
The first month of training, stride 50 meters and walk 50 meters and do this for 3 laps, or jog 1 mile.
The second month, stride 100 meters and walk 100 meters and do this for 3 laps, or jog 1 mile.
The third month, stride 150 meters and walk 150 meters and do this for 3-4 laps, or jog 1 mile.
The fourth month and for the rest of the season, stride 200 meters and walk 200 meters and do this for 4 laps, or jog 1 mile.

Flexibility:
Every day for 25-30 minutes after the warm-up.

Drills:
Specific drills for hip flexor development every day after flexibility.

Accelerations:
Work on ten 10-40 meter accelerations every day. Start with 10 meters one week and add 5 meters every week until 40 meters is reached. Accelerations can be done either after drills or at the end of the workout.

Sample workout:

Monday
2x500
3x300
2x200

Tuesday
10x200

Wednesday
3x350
3x200

Thursday
1x400
1x300
1x200
1x300
1x400
6x100 strides

Friday
12x200
15x60

Weight training and plyometrics:
Three days a week the first two months. Two days a week after two months. In the latter part of the competitive season, weight train one day a week without plyometrics.

When weight training and other training are included in workouts, they are performed in the following order:

Warm-up
Flexibility
Drills
Accelerations
Technique
Speed
Plyometrics
Strength

In the Sprints section of the web site, there is an article entitled “A General Workout for Sprinters” that I recommend.

Coach Payan
www.CoachesEducation.com

[Mgoblue]

About 7 years ago I had my best sprinter run the 4x1 and the open 400 back to back and it nearly killed him - of course I'm exaggerating. In big meets where there is more rest time I don't think it's a big deal but if it's in a dual or tri meet with fewer athletes and heats and very little rest I think it's a mistake. Given the chance, I would never do it again. He was a good kid, worked hard, had a full ride to a Division 1 school and has even competed in two world championships and the Sydney games for another country in the 4x1. He described the feeling after the 400 as if his heart was going to jump out of his chest. This kid was in shape and even split 48.6 in the 4x4 as a high school sophomore, so I don't believe that a lack of conditioning was the reason that it was such a tough task to go back to back.

[George Payan]

I agree, back to back events are a tough task for any athlete. Since the question was what are some ways of working through this dilemma, one way is to condition (train) the athlete in the same situation to build up a tolerance not only physically but mentally.

Coach Payan
www.CoachesEducation.com

[Guest]

I agree that's a very tough thing to pull off and, in my opinion, it's not a reasonable thing to expect of any athlete (that is, without a significant time gap between the two events) that you would presumably want to perform well. Any specific conditioning that would allow such a performance, though obviously at levels well below what the athlete would be capable of in the 400 under better conditions, would probably be to the detriment of the athlete in terms of developing intensive tempo endurance rather than specific special endurance.

You have to ask yourself if preparing/conditioning an athlete to perform better in these conditions is good for the specific scenario presented or good for the development of the athlete? I think it is just the former rather than the latter, though I am sure some feel as though it could do both.