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Clinic Notes Coach John McDonnell University of Arkansas "Prevention of Injuries"
Posted: Sun Apr 07, 2024 3:19 pm
by George Payan
I was go through my storage boxes and I found a number of clinic notes, I will be sharing these gem clinic notes. For your information regardless of
archaic information that's in the past, coaches with experience or new you can pick-up some ideas and added to your program and it will show benefit improvements in your athletes.
Coach George Payan
Clinic Notes Part 1 Coach John McDonnell University of Arkansas "Prevention of Injuries"
Posted: Sun Apr 07, 2024 5:45 pm
by George Payan
Clinic in Orange County, California, John McDonnell, Head Track & Field Coach & Cross Country Coach at the University of Arkansas. Spoke on Distance Running on "The Prevention of Injuries" He mention there has been a great deal of physical breakdown of distance runners. He said the breakdown obviously can be traced to over training and over racing with a high density of injuries occurring to the foot, knee, and hip areas. The result has been in many cases a curtailment of development (or an end to it) and some cases tantamount to personal tragedy to the individual athletes in "missing the big day". The runner's schedule has included frequent trips to the trainer or therapist, the physician, or more recently the podiatrist. Treatment by professionals when an injury becomes severe can be quite expensive and often the recovery or cure after much financial outlay becomes nothing more than rest and no training at all.
When it comes to the area of training and racing the athlete must do certain quantity of training and engage in a certain number of competitions to develop top performance. In this situation, the coach often feels that "we are damned if you do train intensely and you are damned if you don't". Either way may cause success. However, hard intense work and numerous races are gambles to the future of the athlete. Coach McDonnell said the purpose of this clinic is to suggest some preventive and remedial actions in order to bring the athlete to his or her "big day" physically healthy and injury free. Coach McDonnell also said in 1973, the University of Arkansas has developed several fine distance runners, National and World Ranked.
Principles of Development
1. Develop cardio-vascular system endurance through long aerobic running and anaerobic interval of fartlek running.
2. Develop strength and muscular endurance through weight training and calisthenics.
3. Work hard on flexibility.
4. It is far more important to stay on a regular program than to work hard and then have to ease up or stop due to fatigue or injury.
5. A much greater portion of your running will be the aerobic system (slow where oxygen is in supply to the body processes).
6. Anaerobic system or other types of interval training should be starting and carried gradually throughout the year on a once a week or every two week basis.
7. For beginners, a mile or two each day for three weeks followed by calisthenics. Increase the mileage and begin a weight program a long with running.
8. Two-a-day runs will bring development more quickly if done easily. Remembering morning runs of 25-45 minutes is good. Two-a-day should not be started until six or eight months of running have been accomplished.
9. Along with the strength development program of the upper body pay specific attention to foot, ankle, knee and hip strength. Proper shoes can assist in preventing injuries to this area along with the strength development recommended.
Clinic Notes Part 2 Coach John McDonnell University of Arkansas
Posted: Sun Apr 07, 2024 7:05 pm
by George Payan
1. If you are after high mileage, make it moderate. It will pay big dividends over the years.
2. Carry a training cycle over more than one year with some meets if you don't have meets run time trials as an incentive to keep going.
3. Take age and development level into account when setting up the training program.
4. Try to take easy days or moderate days at least 4 of 7 days a week.
5. Morning runs are easy runs with only more developed athletes taking them. A forty-five minute run at 7:00 mile pace is adequate.
6. Be careful on constant hard interval track training.
7. Take a day of hard training every week followed by an easy day on grass.
8. Do weight training of 12 repetitions for the entire body two days a week. This will strengthen muscles and the joints. It is important to keep up the weight training during the competitive season.
9. Knee extensions or quadriceps curls are a must to prevent knee pains and injuries associated with the kneecap and surrounding tissue. Two days a week starting at 15 pound lifts doing 10 times each leg separately. Go up in weight as strength increases. Fifty pounds is a good general strength level.
10. Along with the knee extensions, hamstring curls will act as preventive to injury for faster running in late season. The hamstring injuries occur as a result of an imbalance in the quad-hamstring ratio. This means only that the ratio is out of balance. The weight of the hamstring curl will always be far less than the knee extension. Begin with 10 pounds and do ten repetitions on each leg separately.
11. Flexibility works in all joins including the back will serve as a great preventive. Many distance runners neglect or dismiss this type of work as unnecessary to successful running.
12. Care of footwear is important. Many injuries to knees and hips can be attributed to the wearing off of heels or sides of running shoes or to the interior of the shoes. The athlete has to realize that one pair of shoes in use at a time many cause injuries. At least two pairs in use at one time will be a great injury prevention.
13. Prolonged fatigue from over training lowers resistance. Lowered resistance is an invitation to illness.
Note: There is more information and few more continue pages to come from Coach John McDonnell, University of Arkansas.
Clinic Notes Part 3 Coach John McDonnell University of Arkansas
Posted: Sat Apr 20, 2024 9:11 pm
by George Payan
Coach John McDonnell suggested regarding competition are geared to bring the athlete to top condition and to prevent unnecessary injuries throughout racing:
1. Limit the number of meets to cover one week with no more than eight or nine meets. Total.
2. If the buildup season is long, keep it gradual and hold down the intense workouts.
3. Usually he said, he looks for top performance in the late season meets.
4. Some meets will have to be low key while others will demand a top performance.
5. In track avoid too many doubles.
The following is a weight training program that is conducted throughout the year.
Circuit weight training has become very popular in the past years. Coach McDonnell have been using this system at Arkansas.
A sample circuit is as follows:
1. Inclined Press
2. Double chest
3. Biceps
4. Triceps
5. Pull overs
6. Bent knee sit-ups
7. Double shoulder
8. Bench press
9. Chin up
10. Push-ups
11. Lat pull downs
12. Dips
Coach McDonnell said we do fifteen seconds on each station with a 10-12 seconds recovery between each.