Sunday 26 April 2015

Warm Weather Training. Is it worth it?

Around this time of year, many British athletes are out the country on holiday....sorry, I mean warm weather training. It is fashionable to go away training and add photos of you training in less clothing than normal to your Instagram feed. I often wonder whether or not these trips are all that beneficial, and if there are ways they could help the athlete more.

My understanding is that warm weather training allows you to carry out training sessions that cannot be done in cold - and possibly wet - weather.

Twenty years ago in the UK, the concept of an indoor training venue was an unrealistic dream for most, if not all, athletes. There was no escape to training in the evenings from November to February, and it could be pretty miserable. Conditions are often cold, wet, dark, sometimes icy and occasionally snowy in the UK at that time of year, sometimes forcing tracks to be closed. Given these conditions, a getaway to a warmer climate for training makes absolute sense to me. Swap -5 degrees for 25 degrees, and swap the three layers of lycra for a pair of shorts, and allow yourself enough recovery between reps to get some quality training done without risking frostbite.


Around the turn of the century, indoor facilities started popping up in various places around the country allowing sprinters to train in the dry year round. Whilst the facilities are not what you would describe as hot, they are certainly warm enough to allow high intensity sprint sessions off long recoveries to take place. Therefore, my belief is that warm weather training is largely unnecessary for athletes with access to an indoor training facility. For athletes not based at an indoor track, there are now enough of those facilities to allow most athletes to visit one weekly, if they are prepared to drive for up to an hour to get there, which isn't too tall an order if the athlete is as committed as they would like people to believe from their tweets about how hard they are training at their warm weather venue.

I could be convinced that  a 200 metre or 400 metre athlete would see more benefit, as it would allow high quality runs off longer recoveries around the bends of a 400 metre track, which of course competitions would be held on in the summer season. However, for a 100 metre athlete, who has access to a 110 metre straight in an indoor facility, then any required training can be done so at home, or if not, the variations are extremely subtle (replacing 120 metre reps with 110 metre reps won't destroy a season).

So far, I haven't even factored in the cost of the trip. Florida seems to be a popular destination for these camps. A quick google search has indicated that flights from London to Orlando range between 300 and 500 GBP (my Arabic keyboard has no 'pound' emblem). Add in accommodation, transport and living expenses, and factor in the fact that you may have to take unpaid leave from work (unless you receive holiday pay or are able to work remotely) and it becomes a very expensive endeavour. 

I'm not completely against the idea of warm weather training, and I don't believe it has too many negative impacts on performance (although I have heard athletes complain that it was too hot for training and that they were unable to follow their usual diet). My question is more along the lines of, 'is it worth it?'. I believe there are some benefits to warm weather training, such as removing the stresses and strains of everyday life. For example, often the food is prepared for you, the rooms are cleaned for you, so it can make for a more relaxing day to day life away from training, which can potentially have a positive impact on mood and recovery. Additionally, in the case of The World Athletics Center in Arizona who offer a coach education scheme, camps can allow coaches and athletes to learn from various experts, which could positively impact their training whilst away, and continue to do some once they return home. Considering all this, if you are on a funded programme that offers expenses to cover such a trip, then I would probably recommend taking up the offer.  However, I have not heard of Jamaican groups, or groups based in the southern states of the US going away on a training camp (please let me know if I am incorrect), yet sprinters from these regions tend to dominate the global scene. Therefore, if the benefits of a change of an environment are large, then it would be interesting to see how they could perform if they did go away! Or, in my opinion, the more likely scenario is that these benefits are marginal at best.

I attended a university with an indoor training facility, and my best performances over the three years took place in the only year I did not go away on a training trip. So for me, there was no huge gain to be had from going away in terms of performance, but I did enjoy it. As a recreational athlete, the trip can be an enjoyable experience, which in itself is a good enough reason to go, although I'm not sure how many athletes would admit they are going away training simply because they enjoy the experience, as opposed to them needing to go away in order to have a good season.

I question whether or not April is the best month to go away on a training trip. The argument for it could be that there are competitions taking place at the destination at that time of year, so there's a chance to compete. However, in April in the UK, the worst of the weather has passed, so it becomes far easier to do the aforementioned high quality sprints outside. Would it make more sense to go away earlier in the year (depending on whether or not an indoor season features in your plans) to avoid a period of time in the UK when outside it is not possible to perform 'speed work'?

My advice to those contemplating a warm weather training trip would be to carefully consider their reasons for going, is it for pleasure or performance? If it is for performance, is the athlete's performance improvement likely to be able to justify the hundreds or possibly thousands of pounds spent. Could that money be spent more effectively elsewhere? Possibly medical support? If after all this, warm weather training still seems like a good choice, I would carefully choose when would be the most effective time to plan this trip.

For those of you that have been away training and disagree with me, please let me know your thoughts and reasons. Whatever your opinion, I hope your 2015 season starts, or has started, well!

Friday 3 April 2015

A chat with Greg Rutherford

For this week's post, I was lucky enough to catch up with Greg Rutherford before he jets off to Arizona for a training camp, so we could discuss his training and the season ahead amongst other things. For those of you that don't know (which I imagine is very few of you if you are reading this blog), Greg is the reigning Olympic, Commonwealth and European long jump champion. Last year he jumped a personal best of 8.51 metres, ranking him number one in the world for 2014. After a solid indoor performance, in which he jumped 8.17 metres in his only outing, Greg is positive about the upcoming season.

Greg leaping to victory in the London 2012 Olympics.
The first thing we discussed was his weight. The BBC commentary team mentioned a couple of times that Greg had put on weight since last year. Greg explained that he had gotten stronger over the winter and had focussed more attention on his lifting. He reduced the weight he was lifting slightly, but increased the number of repetitions completed, citing examples such as five sets of ten cleans at 70 kilograms with two minutes recovery between the sets and five sets of five cleans at 90 kilograms also with two minutes recovery. He also continued with some of his higher intensity, lower volume type lifting, including pairs of cleans at 110 or 120 kilograms. All of this culminated in a new one rep max of 137.5 kilograms. In addition to cleans, Greg's main lifts have been box step ups and deadlifts. Following his lifting sessions, Greg often completes some single and double legged plyometric exercises whilst wearing a weighted vest. He explained that he has noticed more muscle bulk on his legs after this winter's training block.

Nutrition wise, Greg has often been a fan of intermittent fasting, but this year he has been eating three meals a day that are high in protein and low in carbohydrates, a strategy that has still been successful in allowing him to get lean. Greg now weighs in at 90 kilograms, a couple of kilograms more than he would usually compete at, but he explained that when he did runway tests prior to the Birmingham indoor meeting, he was still running very quickly. In fact, in Birmingham, he hit 10.9 metres per second three metres from take-off, the fastest he has ever recorded in an indoor competition, and 0.3 metres per second faster than he recorded the previous year. Clearly the extra weight has not had a negative impact on Greg's speed.

Throughout the winter, Greg has usually run four times per week, but the vast majority of these sessions have taken place on a set of steps in a woodland area behind his house, as opposed to the track or hills (which Greg has often used in the past). Greg explained he would do up to 10 fast sprints up the steps off a short recovery if he was feeling good, but on days where he felt more fatigued, he may do as few as six runs. He still kept in touch with his hill running, doing a few sessions throughout the winter, but interestingly he only completed two sessions on the track in the lead up to his competition. One of these was a jumps sessions off a short approach, and the other was a session focussed on the run up. I asked Greg if there were any issues with his run up as he only practised it in that one session and he explained that because his running speed was higher than usual for this time of year, it was more in line with how fast he runs during the outdoor season, which meant his run up was very similar to last summer's.

Greg's plans leading in to the outdoor season start this week, as he heads to Arizona to visit his former coach, Dan Pfaff, for five weeks. Dan coached Greg to his Olympic title, and has worked with many successful athletes at the World Championship and Olympic level in the sprints and jumps. Greg explained his training would become more specific during this trip with more track based sessions and more technical work. Last year, after April 12th, Greg did no jumping sessions outdoors due to a knee injury, but still had his best season to date, having largely focussed on his run up. Therefore after his return from the United States, he will likely avoid jumping in training again. He believed that the attention he gave the run up helped him ensure he was hitting the necessary positions for take off, and this is an approach he plans on taking heading into the 2015 season as well, as he hopes to build on last year. His first two scheduled jumping competitions are the Manchester Street City Games on May 9th, and the Shanghai Diamond League on May 19th.

Greg accelerating down the run way in Birmingham last year.
After six rounds of jumping last year, and in a pair of borrowed spikes, Greg ran 10.44 seconds for 100 metres. With a personal best of 10.26 seconds, I enjoy seeing him sprint, so naturally I asked if there was any chance of that this season. He explained that he may do so whilst in the United States, possibly at the Mount SAC Relays, but only if he felt ready. His 2015 jumping schedule is already planned, in which there are a couple of two or three week breaks. He views these as opportunities to potentially sprint competitively.

When asked about what lessons he learnt last year, he referred back to jumping less in training. Previously he feels has been too obsessed with this aspect of training, but the break from it lessened the stress of his spine, hamstrings and knees. He explained he's able to load up in the gym in what he feels is a safer way. Greg also pointed out that he won two major titles only 17 days apart.  Usually he would expect his body to shut down after a major competition, but this has given Greg the confidence to go straight to the Diamond League Final after the World Championships in Beijing with high expectations, despite there only being a short break in between.

The final point we touched on was Greg's son Milo, who was born in October, and the impact that has had on Greg in terms of his athletics. He explained that he has found it helpful when it comes to striking a balance in his life. It has become easier to switch from athletics whilst he is home playing with his son, which has also enabled Greg to enjoy the sport more.

I don't want my opinions to influence the readers' (if there are any) thoughts about Greg's preparation for this season. The only thing I will say is that this is another example that shows me how many different approaches can work when it comes to producing a successful athlete. It sounds very cliche, but the more I learn, the less I know and the more I realise that an extreme opinion on any facet of training usually demonstrates closed-mindedness. I hope Greg won't mind me saying that his approach is not conventional, particularly in terms of his running, but it clearly has helped him get in very good shape. I am beginning to learn the importance of athletes doing the work they are happy with and allowing them to do what they feel works for them. The psychological benefit due to this could very well be greater than we (or I, at least) think.

I'll close by thanking Greg for his time and wishing him the best for what I'm sure will be an exciting season for him. Victory in Beijing would mean he has won everything there is to win in his event!

The interviewer and the interviewee.