Dorsiflexion....underrated???

In my experience as a coach and as an athlete, I haven't seen too much emphasis placed on dorsiflexion by many coaches, and only one or two have explained some of the benefits in detail in my presence. I think most individuals involved in sprinting believe that dorsiflexion warrants some consideration, but I'm not convinced (this may be a sign of my arrogance) that all those individuals understand the reasoning. I wanted to provide some information regarding my understanding of dorsiflexion and some of the ways it can benefit a sprinter.


What is dorsiflexion?

Very simply dorsiflexion is a position in which the toes are pulled up towards to the shin.

A diagram showing the difference between dorsiflexion and plantarflexion.

Note the dorsiflexed position of the front foot held by both Usain Bolt and Justin Gatlin.

Shortening of lever length.

If you have studied any physics, you are probably aware of the principle that a short lever is a fast lever.  By dorsiflexing, you are, albeit minimally, shifting the centre of gravity of the lower segment of the leg closer to the knee, effectively shortening the lever. This then allows that segment of the leg to fold at the knee towards the femur more quickly. The knock on affect of this, is that now the centre of mass of the upper segment of the leg is now closer to the hip, effectively shortening this lever, which allows this segment to swing forwards more quickly, until the thigh blocks. Whilst flight times are relatively similar across sprinters of varying standards, it has been proposed that better sprinters prepare for subsequent ground contacts earlier in the stride cycle, which can make these contacts more powerful and efficient. Through this mechanism, the athlete is able to prepare for the next contact earlier.


Reduction of hamstring stress.

A basic understanding of anatomy is all that is required to understand that to move into a plantarflexed position requires a contraction of the gastrocnemius. To relax the gastrocnemius, dorsiflexion is required. The hamstring is used throughout a large proportion of the stride cycle, serving two functions, knee flexion and hip extension. However, if the gastrocnemius is relaxed, it can be untilised in knee flexion, therefore taking some of the onus away from the hamstring. It doesn't require too much of a background in sprinting to know that hamstring injuries are fairly common, so anything that can be done to take stress away from them is likely beneficial.

Knee flexion.

Hip extension.

A simple demonstration that coach Simon Duberly taught me makes it very easy to see the impact that dorsiflexion can have upon both the speed at which the leg can be moved through the air and the stress it removes from the hamstring. Have an athlete stand next to a wall and perform the same movement under two slightly different conditions. The athlete should be standing fairly upright with perhaps a slight forward lean. In both scenarios, the athlete will stand on one leg, using the wall to help them balance and with the free leg, they will lift their heel to their buttock ten times as quickly as possible, whilst keeping their knees together. In scenario A, ask the athlete to maintain a dorsiflexed position. In scenario B, ask the athlete to repeat the movement, but this time, ask them to maintain a plantarflexed position. The majority of the time in my experience, provided the drill is performed correctly, when you ask the athlete what they notice, they will give you two pieces of information without having to be guided towards the answer. They will tell you that in scenario A, they could lift and lower the heel more quickly, and that it feels easier on their hamstring.

Have the athlete start in the above position.

In scenario A, the athlete raises their heel, whilst in a dorsiflexed position, to their buttock and back down, ten times as quickly as possibly.

In scenario B, the athlete repeats the movement, but this time they will hold their foot in a plantarflexed position.

Increased knee lift.

Reciprocal inhibition is a condition whereby muscles work in antagonistic pairs. Think of the upper arm and the biceps and triceps. The biceps essentially allow the elbow to flex, whilst the triceps allow it to be extended. In order for either muscle to perform the movement as efficiently as possible, the opposing muscle group needs to be completely relaxed. If elbow flexion takes place whilst the triceps is still firing, the biceps will have to work that much harder to bring about the desired movement.

I mentioned earlier that the hamstring serves two functions during sprinting, knee flexion (both concentric and eccentric) and hip extension. In order to lift the knee, hip flexion must occur, but the hamstring acts as a hip extensor, an antagonistic pairing. However, referring back to dorsiflexion's role in allowing the gastrocnemius to assist the hamstring in knee flexion, thereby allowing it some recovery time and a greater degree of relaxation, the hip flexion can take place with less opposing muscle activity from the hamstring to overcome. The result is a higher knee lift, which allows for a more forceful downward movement of the foot later in the stride cycle, leading a stronger ground contact on the following stride.

In summary, these are three of the key benefits of dorsiflexion to sprinters. Furthers probably exist in terms of an Achilles pre-stretch and quality of force application upon ground contact. These are areas where perhaps I can develop my own knowledge. I stress the importance of dorsiflexion through all my drills as I believe it is a prerequisite position for a sprinter wishing to realise their potential.

Preparing for next season

At this time of year, many athletes and coaches already have the 2016 track and field season in mind. In fact, those involved with US high school and collegiate systems likely passed this point a couple of months ago. I thought it may be helpful to offer my insight into what I believe are the important considerations when planning how to prepare an athlete for their upcoming season.


1. Individualisation

What may work for one athlete may not work for another. In a conversation with Great Britain sprints coach, Dan Cossins, he discussed the theory that two thirds of a programme should focus on the athlete's strengths, with the remaining one third focussing on their weaknesses. By the same token, Charlie Francis suggested that generally, taller, lankier sprinters may do better on a long to short periodisation, whilst shorter, stockier sprinters may do better on a short to long periodisation. Perhaps this is a big generalisation, but the take away point is to figure out what benefits a particular athlete, and be aware that it may be different across the athletes you coach.

Carl Lewis on the left, Andre Cason in the centre and Linford Christie, on the right, all had very different body types, which could serve as a clue that they may respond differently to differing quantities of training elements within their programme.

Recently, companies such as DNAfit have allowed athletes to undergo an assessment of their genotype in genes that have been shown to be linked to sports performance and training response. This now allows coaches and athletes to make more informed decisions when planning training.


If you are an athlete with a coach who has one programme for the whole group, then I am sorry to say it is very likely that not all the athletes will be optimally prepared for the upcoming season. Gone are the days of the cookie cutter and the 'this is what you're going to do, because this is what I did when I was an athlete' approaches to coaching. Unfortunately, logistics in some cases make it very difficult to individualise training. There are also situations whereby the value of having athletes complete a session together offset that of individualisation, however, I would suggest this the exception rather than the norm.


2. Year round 'speed work'

When I first began athletics some twenty years ago, I often heard athletes say that they had not began speed work yet. Even as a beginner I found this an interesting concept. Speed is a highly desirable quality in a sprinter, so why wouldn't you train it all year long? Nowadays, it is more conventional for some aspect of speed work to be incorporated into a sprinter's training from day one. This takes place largely in the form of accelerations, as per the Charlie Francis school of thought.

Referring to my previous point, some athletes may require more or less speed earlier in the year, but I would argue that any sprinter needs to work on speed at all times, because being able to run fast is always of benefit in a sprint race!! If an athlete has a higher training response to endurance activities they may spend more time addressing those qualities than an athlete with a higher training response to power activities. However, completely neglecting speed for a training block will lead to to regression in a vital element of performance for a sprinter.


3. Technical proficiency

I wrote an article and recently re-shared it on social media addressing the fact that sprinting is a skill. Performance will be determined by how well rehearsed that skill is, as well as other aspects of physical preparation. I cannot stress enough that technical proficiency should be rehearsed at all times. I look for three key technical objectives with my athletes. Posture, dorsiflexion (keeping the toe pulled 'up') and high heel recovery (in maximum velocity mechanics-which is assisted by correct ankle positioning). I have seen coaches let their athletes perform walking drills with none of these issues addressed, and I have seen coaches demonstrate walking high knee drills with the same arm and leg coming forward together!! This obviously will not assist the athlete in optimally developing their technical proficiency, which will limit their performance come the season. Likewise, running an athlete into the ground in the winter to the point fatigue does not allow them to perform the skill properly could negatively impact their movement rehearsal. This is difficult to balance however, as an athlete will have to run under some level of fatigue to develop their energy systems appropriately. Perhaps this is an example where 'the art of coaching' comes into play.


4. Necessity

Are you setting your athletes work for the sake of setting them work? Can you justify everything that is on your programme? I have written a previous article on 'chasing the holy grail', and every successful coach I have spoken to agrees, no holy grail exists. If anyone tells you they have the secret exercise to help you sprint faster, they either do not know what they are talking about, are trying to sell you something, or most likely, both. In an age where anyone (including myself) can publish their ideas online and reach lots people through social media, it is easy to find a gimmick on YouTube or Instagram that in your desire for improvement, you may be tempted to use in training. Objectively assess this latest fad, and the vast, vast majority of the time, it will not make it into your practise.

Dan Pfaff, in a recent interview, talked of limiting the variables, so you as a coach have a better understanding of what does and does not work for an athlete. If there are too many things going on in a programme at once, it becomes more difficult to know what effect each element of training is having. Have your athletes master the basics and work on only what will make them better.


5. Recovery

It is widely regarded that the improvements from training are actually made in the subsequent recoveries, therefore recovery is something that requires serious consideration when preparing an athlete. Different physiological systems recover at different rates. For example, the central nervous system generally requires longer to recover than the cardiovascular system. Therefore different elements of training can be targeted more or less often as required within a programme. Stu McMillan discussed this idea in his blog on the minimum effective dose, and gave suggestions on how often some elements can be trained based upon his experience.

Recovery is again is a highly individual concept, with some athletes able to recover more quickly between sessions than others. In fact, this is another example where genetic testing can help the coach and athlete, as there are genes related to the ability of an individual to recover. It is fairly well documented that heading into the Olympics in 2012, long jumper Greg Rutherford, who went on to win the gold medal, was training hard only three times a week. As a sprinter, specific training is high intensity by nature, therefore in order to train appropriately, the athlete must be recovered to the point whereby they can train at high intensity. If they are not able to do so, the quality of the training is compromised, and as a result so is the performance in the upcoming season, and in addition, the injury risk is increased. There are different tools that can be used to assess recovery from the more advanced methods such as heart rate variability monitoring, to simpler and cheaper methods such as a questionnaire, which a strength and conditioning coach here in Dubai, Hamish Munro, introduced me to.

6. Don't be too structured

I used to be a coach/athlete who had to stick to exactly what was written down on a piece of paper, sometimes from months before (possibly my autistic nature leading me to such behaviour). In a recent interview, John Kiely talked about the process being more important than the plan. Dan Pfaff also talks about having contingency plans for unexpected circumstances. Unpredictable events will occur, and as a coach, you have to be able to account for them, and adjust your training as necessary. Don't be afraid to adjust and adapt as you go along. As a bonus, it can be a great learning experience.


The early part of the off season is a great time to address any prehab, muscle imbalance and body composition issues. Jimison Lee wrote on his blog at speedendurance, that it is better spend longer now addressing these types of issues, as opposed to having them linger and cause problems when you are well into your winter training.

I wish all the readers a successful winter, hopefully leading to plenty of PBs (or PRs depending on where you're from) in 2016. I hope that in a year's time, somebody can look back at this article and say that some of the advice has helped them to have a successful 2016.

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!

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.

'Magical' Quotes

Since Colin Jackson began commentating, the word 'magical' has lost all meaning. No adjective has been so abused by one individual. However, below are a few quotes I have stumbled on over the past few months from various places, including twitter and the World Athletics Centre website. Each of these statements have had a lasting impression on me, and have shaped my own coaching and training.

The twitter handles are written where appropriate and a special mentioned goes out to @MikeYoung for posting some of these quotes on twitter from a Speed Summit last August. If you're serious about sprinting, you need to be following these guys!

There is a work/rest ratio tipping point based on age/experience – less volume can often improve performance @PfaffSC

Read any interview with any Olympian over 33yrs old – first thing they say is “I changed how I trained ” @PfaffSC

When I finally figured out less is more, I learned how to manage my personal work habits @PfaffSC

It has been my experience that there are many non-specific factors that improve performance @bodybyobrien

“You don’t have to be perfect to be fast” @StuartMcMillan1

What is your genetic propensity to train? Potential for power? Recovery? Injury prev. @KoeniGator @athletigen

For top end speed, we need to look outside of the weight room....specific plyo types & sprinting are the most specific means

Extra weight is a bad thing if you're trying to maximize speed - Weyand

Volume has a place but needs to be balanced with high intensity load - Dugas

What abilities do you sacrifice by getting “strong in a hurry” – coordination, fine motor control. @CoachSanAndreas

Avoid fostering catastrophic thinking – don’t make every session, cycle, season a critical one. @PfaffSC

Over the years, training volumes decrease, and success seems to improve. @CoachSanAndreas

‘The grind’ can get you far into a career – however at some point it becomes the fatal flaw. @PfaffSC

The athlete is often the best judge of when they are feeling best. Listen.

“Better athletes spend more time in front side mechanics” - Dr Gerry Ramogida

Plan B protocols utilize dribble series to re-introduce sprint mechanics & velocities.

“POSTURE – a recurring focus – critical to be reinforced by both coach and therapist” - Dr Gerry Ramogida

“70 hours of sleep per week seems to fix many problems from a therapeutic perspective” - Dan Pfaff

Sleep, hydration, and nutrition are the platform on which high performance is built. @DrGerryRamogida

Resisted runs & hills are a more specific way of developing acceleration abilities in a manner that facilitates good mechanics

At moderate speed & faster, hip excursion (step length) doesn't change...so running faster occurs from decreasing contact time 

Less is more?

Around two years ago, I stumbled upon Stu McMillan's blog, and a concept called the Minimum Effective Dose (here's the article - http://www.mcmillanspeed.com/2013/02/more-on-med.html). I had often used the phrase 'less is more' when sprinters had asked me for advice.

My post 'To continue training or not?' considers training less from an injury prevention stand point, the idea being that doing less training allows you to be uninjured for a greater proportion of the training cycle, therefore allowing you to train more consistently. I also believe that this theory holds true in the context of performance, as when practising maximal velocity sprints, there is a finite amount you can do in a session before the sprints are no longer maximal. In one of my most successful seasons I had the privilege of working with Dave Lease who has a very 'cutting edge' approach towards sprint training. One of the sessions we would do would consist of three 'flying 30s'. A flying 30 consists of a slightly sub-maximal acceleration, where you gradually build up to maximum speed by the time you reach the first marker or timing gate. This maximum speed is then maintained until you reach the second marker or timing gate, 30 metres further down the track. These would be done with six minutes recovery. This example applies the concept of M.E.D. in terms of volume, whilst the intensity is maintained at a very high level. At the time, the volume of these sessions seemed surprisingly low and I would leave them not feeling like I had done a lot. However, in my first 60 metre competition that winter, I took 0.23 seconds off my personal best. Throughout the season, I then improved this by a further 0.06 seconds. When the outdoor season arrived, I took 0.4 seconds off my 100 and 200 metre personal bests. Of course there were many factors that contributed to those improvements, but seeing as my flying 30 time improved by 0.21 seconds throughout the winter, it would be foolish to neglect the possibility that those sessions were an important factor.

Recently I have been considering the concept of 'less is more', but in terms of intensity. In my last post 'The skill of sprinting', I touched on this idea in terms of myelination, and gave an example of a track session Pietro Mennea is reported to have done. I don't think that all training can be done at sub maximal intensities, as in order to sprint as fast as you can, it simply makes sense to practise sprinting as fast as you can. However, I think there may be something in holding back on the intensity at times. In the weights room, it is very easy to chase personal bests for a given repetition range, because unless you have access to some relatively expensive timing equipment, it is one of the few facets of training that is easily quantifiable. Therefore, it becomes easy to assume you are in 'better shape', because you have improved your one rep max in your power clean by five kilograms. A close friend of mine has a 100 metre personal best of 10.22 seconds. At the time he could clean around 125-130 kilograms. A couple of years later, he increased his clean to 155 kilograms! However, his personal best remains at 10.22 seconds. The reasons for this are beyond the scope of this article, but the point is that increasing intensity in the weights room does not always lead to superior performances on the track. Therefore holding the intensity back when lifting, which is also safer in terms of allowing for correct technique, and leaving the weights room less 'beaten up' may allow for superior training in the following track session and contribute to better performances in the competitive season.

PBs in the weights room don't guarantee PBs on the track.

This winter, I have taken a step back from the gym, and avoided chasing new rep maxes. I have also scaled back to only two track sessions per week, one of which has quite regularly been three or four flying 30s. The results of this remain to be seen, however, I have trained far more consistently and feel more confident than I have done for many seasons.

The skill of sprinting.

Before a certain Usain Bolt came around, if you asked the regular fitness enthusiast how they would build the ideal sprinter, I'm fairly confident not many descriptions would omit the term 'muscular'. The likes of Linford Christie, Maurice Greene and Ato Boldon all had the chiselled physique of a fitness model. In the early part of this century, Kevin Levrone, a body builder, challenged Dwain Chambers (who at the time could be mistaken for a body builder) to a sixty metre sprint, seemingly convinced he could turn over a world class sprinter. With all of this in mind, you could be forgiven for believing that sprinting is a strength endeavour. The logic being, the faster athletes tend to have more muscle, and therefore tend to be stronger. I believe it is correct that all else being equal, the stronger sprinter will win. But that 'all else' is very important.

I used to be of the over simplistic opinion that if F=ma (force = mass x acceleration), then provided I increased F and m remained fairly constant, a would increase. Each step would deliver more force, and I would run more quickly. Newton seemed like he knew his stuff, so follow his rules and you won't go too far wrong. A lot of elite sprinters looked pretty big, they could apply a lot force, so I would try and do the same. This, however, didn't account for the likes of Carl Lewis, Christian Malcolm and Frank Fredericks, all of whom were far more slender in their build.

I recently read Daniel Coyle's 'The Talent Code', in which he discusses the 10,000 hour rule, which states that in order to reach expert status, 10,000 hours of practise is required, and applies it to various activities. I don't believe this rule is appropriate for sprinting, and agree with Craig Pickering in his article 'Sprinting and the 10,000-Hour Rule'. If Usain Bolt and I both had 10,000 hours of practise, it still wouldn't be a nail-biting contest. However Coyle certainly offered me a new perspective in terms of how I viewed sprinting. I enjoyed the first part of 'The Talent Code' the most, in which Coyle discusses myelin, the sheath which insulates our neurons, allowing the signals to travel more rapidly. In it's wisdom the body detects the frequently used neural pathways, and insulates them with more and more myelin. The more you do a particular movement, the more myelin that gets synthesised around the relevant neurons, the faster and more accurately you can complete that movement. I now understood a mechanism behind skill acquisition and how 'practise' worked! This was great news for me, because unless I understand how and why something works, then I remain pretty cynical.

The myeline sheath coats the nerve.

Now I understood more about the 'all else', I felt more comfortable prioritising it. I saw more value in drills focussing on the key technical pointers, largely based around posture and foot position, with various other cues depending upon which race aspect is being trained. I also had an explanation as to why it may be beneficial to complete a higher volume of slightly lower intensity work, within reason. Pietro Mennea supposedly completed sessions such as three sets of five reps of 80 metres, followed by three reps of 100 metres, followed by three reps of 400 metres! This session is reported as being completed with two minutes recovery between the reps and nine minutes between the sets. Besides the volume of work being done, what struck me was that these runs would be completed at a significantly sub maximal speed (around 9 seconds for 80 metres and 11.5 seconds for 100 metres, for a 19.72 200 metre guy). In an interview, Hakan Andersson has been quoted as saying that completing 60 to 80 metres at 92-98% intensity allows impressive volumes to be completed with a technique that resembles maximal velocity 'pretty much without fatigue'. When you consider the myelination that could occur in such sessions, provided they are completed with competent technique, it is clear to see how the athlete could benefit. The neural pathways used become better insulated, and therefore movements become more automatic and can be completed more quickly.

Warren Weir demonstrating some well practised mechanics.

Often we see athletes produce performances indoors over 60 metres that seem superior to what they then produce outdoors over 100 metres (not to say the opposite is not also noticed). This could be due to a number of reasons, but two are relevant to this post. If a programme has an excessive focus on strength development and an inadequate focus on sprinting 'skill', this could lead to two reasons why an athlete may have a better relative 60 metre performance than 100 metre performance. Maximal strength plays a large role in the acceleration segment of a race, which contributes to a greater percentage of a 60 metre performance than it does to 100 metres. Secondly, in the 100 metres speed endurance comes into play. If the sprinters are less skilled, their movements may be less efficient, which could lead to a greater rate of deceleration.

I continue to value the importance of strength work for force application and injury prevention. But if you are able to apply all the force in the world, how helpful is that if it is done so in the wrong direction? Correct movement should be paramount and it needs to be rehearsed to make it more efficient and sharper. When you train are you making myelin work for you?

References:

Interview with Hakan Andersson http://complementarytraining.net/interview-with-hakan-andersson/

Pietro Menna's Detailed Training Workouts for 200 metres http://speedendurance.com/2010/05/10/pietro-menneas-detailed-training-workouts-for-200-meters/

Chasing the Holy Grail

For an athlete of my level (pretty low, just search for my performances on www.powerof10.info for validation), I have made a lot sacrifices to train in certain locations, with certain groups and learn from certain coaches. I have been extremely fortunate to be made to feel so welcome, so regularly, and to learn from some of the best coaches and athletes, not just in the UK, but in the world. I have travelled far and wide to try and find the 'perfect programme'.

Guess what?!

I could probably end this post right here!

I didn't have a lot of success in my junior years (it improved slightly as a senior), so as an athlete without a great deal of natural talent, I wanted to know exactly how to train. This would mean I would make no mistakes in this respect, thus maximising my performance. I spoke to lots of coaches, I searched forums but with such a variety of information available, my ideas became inconsistent and therefore so did my training. I became difficult to coach, because I would lose faith in the coach if his ideas didn't coincide with mine at the time, and I always believed I knew best (in hindsight, there's occasions where I'm pretty certain I did). I overcomplicated training, and would stress myself out with a piece of paper in front of me, trying to decide the exact volume, intensity and density of each session, whilst trying to write that perfect programme. I was becoming the definition of paralysis by analysis.

I must have had an epiphany, and realised how ridiculous this situation was. I started to relax a little and gained some perspective. I became less worried about the minutiae and realised that a thirty metre sprint too little or too many in the whole scheme of things was not going impact my performance, as long as I was doing some sprinting! A very important lesson was reinforced. The best athletes, or the best at anything for that matter, are often those who do the basics well. I realised that provided I addressed acceleration, maximum velocity, speed endurance and some strength appropriately, I would probably be okay.

This all led to training becoming significantly less stressful. I now enjoy it to the point that the highlight of my week is my Friday morning track session (I lead a pretty dull life)! I also began to stick to a programme consistently, because the fundamentals don't change. I believe this consistency is very important, which is why we become so frustrated when we get injured and can't train.

To sum up, the best programme will always be the programme you are not doing. I suspect this mentality becomes more prevalent in less successful athletes, as the more successful athletes are already doing well without having to search deeper for answers. Usain Bolt is probably not looking at my programme and trying to convince his coach, Glen Mills, to incorporate parts of it into his own (if he is, then I can provide a very reasonably priced consultation!). As an athlete at a club level, it is very enticing to want to copy what the elite do, but when their programmes contradict each other, what do you do? To avoid this, concern yourself with the basics and make sure you are doing them well. I'm pretty sure that will take an athlete a large percentage of the way to success.

I eagerly await your email lads, the address is at the top pf the page.

To continue training or not?

WARNING: If you're a 'CrossFitter', this article may go against your philosophy.

Whilst not particularly gifted in the realms of sprinting, I possess a large amount of determination and I can be stubborn. That sounds reasonably admirable I think, but please read on. For the majority of my time as an athlete I have been self-coached. I have written my own programmes, which were based upon the assumption that I was fully healthy, and my mentality was, if something was written on a piece of paper I was going to follow it to the letter, no matter what. I refer to this, quite arrogantly, as having too good of a work ethic.

I have worked under the misguided premise that if I outworked the naturally more talented sprinters than myself, I would close the performance gap. I have seen these better athletes skip reps, sets and sessions, and so surely, if I were to simply complete the set session for a given day, I would be one step closer. I may feel a slight pain behind the knee, or in my Achilles, but I was going to finish the session, or run to the point where I was forced to stop. Meanwhile, the more talented athletes were either not training enough to develop any pain or discomfort in the first place, or if they were, they stopped before it developed into a serious issue. Therefore, whilst I felt sorry for myself for three to six weeks, waiting for my hamstring to recover fully, they were stringing sessions (or parts of sessions) together with some consistency. Consistency of training, I’m sure many will agree, is an important factor when performance improvement is concerned. To make things worse, I may not have been able to resist the temptation after two weeks to head to the track to ‘test’ my hamstring, at which point the inevitable happened. I got re-injured and missed a further couple of weeks of sprinting. I explain to my athletes it is better to miss a rep or two at the end of a training session as opposed to several weeks of training. It’s a similar idea to that of delayed gratification.

Staying injury free can contribute significantly to performance increases.

Now whilst I may have just come across as a bitter blogger (I have now written two articles), spending my time writing because my composition of slow twitch fibres allows me to do a better job of that than sprinting, I do have a point. I should also point out here, that I am aware, whilst these athletes are more talented than me, that they do work incredibly hard, and reach intensities in training that I am unable to attain. Returning to my point though, when is the right time to call it a session? American coach, John Smith reportedly pulls his athletes out of sessions once technique begins breaking down. Not only does this mean that all training runs are done in a way that reinforces sound mechanics, it could also prevent any issues from developing that could result from poor mechanics. British sprinter, James Dasaolu explained, in an interview after the Zurich Diamond League meeting, that he does not run if he has any issues whatsoever. One of the things that has reportedly attributed to his improved performances, since he began being coached by Steve Fudge, is that he is injured less frequently. In the gym in which I lift, I was speaking with an Olympic weightlifter who was telling me about Khadzhimurat Akkaev, a successful Russian weightlifter, who at the first sign of any discomfort, would apparently end his session. More anecdotal evidence to support my argument cans from an extremely successful 400 metre runner, who once told me that he believed forced rest led to the best season of his career. He saw it as a blessing in disguise. However, would resting by choice not be more ideal?

As with most things, I think there is a balance. If any time you were to feel any type of untoward sensation whilst training, you may never get any training done! However, when I read Henk Kraijenhoff explain that keeping an athlete healthy is fifty per cent of the battle, then it makes sense to listen to your body and rest if you need to. If you were to look at this concept as a spectrum, at the one end, you would have athletes who try and train ‘no matter what’, and at the other end, you may have athletes that look for excuses not to train. I have started to learn whereabouts I am on this spectrum, and subsequently, this year I have reduced my training load by possibly twenty per cent, allowing me to train more consistently. However, I can still do a better job of applying this knowledge, so that on more occasions, I am willing to stop training before I am forced to stop. I have began to make the appropriate shift towards the middle of the spectrum, the region in which most athletes should be. The question is, from which point on the spectrum do you need to move? Do you need to be more aware that pain or discomfort are signals to rest? Or are you minimising your adaptations by not getting enough work done?

How convenient is training?

The depths of the British winter seem like a bit of a distant memory to me now, and I'm happy to keep it that way. I would wake up at 6.15, in the dark of course. After a thirty minute drive, I would be at school for 7.30, ready to prepare myself for a day of teaching. At around four o'clock, I would then drive for forty-five minutes for training. By the time I had finished training, it would be usually around seven o'clock and I would begin my forty minute journey back home. Then I would cook, shower and do all the things that needed to be done to make sure I was ready for the same routine again tomorrow. Reflecting on this, I became frustrated that I drove past a track five minutes away from school, and still have a further thirty-five minutes of driving before I reached 'the' track. This was beginning to make less and less sense to me. If I was gifted enough to be a full-time athlete and warrant funding, meaning that I had an extra eight hours in my day, then sure, the extra travel time would have not been an issue. I could have been travelling to a superb facility, to receive superb coaching. However, this was my dream, not my reality. I was travelling to train with a friend, provided we both happened to arrive at the same time, at an outdoor track which was likely no warmer or lighter than the track I had driven past over half an hour earlier.

Compare this to my current situation. I travel twenty minutes to work, twenty minutes back. Living in an area of Dubai called Sports City, I'm sure it's not surprising to learn that I am close to some sports facilities which include a track and a gym. In fact, I could, or perhaps should, walk to training, given that if it wasn't for an apartment block behind mine, I would be able to see the track from my roof. I'm sticking to my reasoning that the dry, desert heat would drain me before my session. I am lucky that this is an affordable area in which to live, and I am also lucky the gym that has recently opened on the same site as the track is a brilliant facility. I am also lucky I am not a long jumper, given that the state of the art track was built without including a pit (if you're not familiar with how things are done in Dubai, this may surprise you).

My point?! 

I used to think that due to my desire to succeed and improve, I didn't care how far I would have to travel if I thought it may help me. I didn't need any down time. I didn't need things to be easy, simple or convenient. However, if like me, you aren't a full time athlete, running world class times, you will likely need to spend at least a few hours each day working to provide yourself with your basic human necessities such as shelter and food. I would suggest keeping your home, your place of work and your training venue as close together as possible. A former coach, whom I still hold in very high regard and speak with regularly (FaceTime makes the world a smaller place), described to me the location of his home, employment, track and gym. He explained how keeping them all within a five mile radius saved him time and money.

I understand it is not always possible to have things so close together, and changes don't necessarily need to take place on such a large scale. Advising readers to either hand in their letters of resignation, call a removals company or terminate a coach-athlete relationship would be ludicrous. A helpful change could be as simple as preparing and having food with you, so you don't have to go home or to a shop between work and training, thus giving you a little time to focus on another task, or to relax. It may be worth considering if there any changes you could make in order to make training more convenient. After all, if stress is multi-factorial, it could keep those cortisol levels in check!