It’s 2018 and as the months flash past, it’s time to try to slow things down a bit and really get to grips with the training that will lead to Pbs across the indoor season and into the outdoor one.
 
I say slow down, not in terms of sprint work or take-off speed, for example, but in terms of ‘thinking’ – thinking in terms of what will get you competition ready. For the long jump, for example, there has to be an emphasis on taking off at speed and of properly positioning into the take-off. If you attempt your first comp with only limited full run-up practise and crucially without regular jumps off a long approach (12/13 plus for an 18-20 stride approach); or without taking off from a full run-up after proper penultimate step placement, then you are more than likely going to have problems when it comes to getting off the board when it comes to competition.
 
I’ve pulled together a video on my YouTube channel which takes a look at the penultimate step in the main (but also deals with key elements of mid-air action) as a guide to what we emphasise at the time of the year – we have in fact been emphasising this for the last 6-8 weeks. Check it out below.
 
As the season progresses and competitions come and go, taking off at speed will also improve – nothing in training can really replicate the demands (physical and mental) of competition. The indoor season can always be a little hit and miss, what with the limited comp opportunities there are compared to the outdoor season. My athletes will probably only have the chance to do three comps (this is much less than those who compete in the US for example) and this is why it’s important to prepare as specifically and as technically optimally as you can.
 
Tip: low hurdle/wicket runs. I’ve been a little slow on the up-take and regular usage of these. We are now doing at least one session a week. The athletes have found that they are really helping with leg speed, posture and contact. I vary the spacing to emphasise cadence over ‘normal’ stride length and we are also experimenting with sprints off the end of the hurdles and also jumps (take-offs). I’ll get together a video on this sometime soon.
 
Good luck with your training and competition and do checkout my YouTube channel and do subscribe.

During the recent London World Athletic Champs a coaching conference was held. This was aimed at many of the national federation coaches who were in London with their teams. I was fortunate enough to be invited along with a number of other UK coaches.

There were a number of sessions taken by elite coaches and often featured athletes too, for an end of session question and answer session. I decided to go along to two sessions; the first was on strength training, presented by Sean Pickering and the second was on speed and was presented by Loren Seagrave.

I recorded the sessions and intend to produce either some video or written analyses on both sessions. There were some very interesting points made and thoughts provided. And the great thing was that it was grounded in the actual i.e. it was practically evidenced i.e. because the presenters, although working against a background of sports science, also worked with athletes and saw what worked, and I guess what didn't, first hand.

I've pasted below one of two largely audio presentations I've made from the Loren Seagrave presentation with some comment and note overlays from myself. The presentation was focussed on the physiological aspects of sprinting i.e. energy system usage and technical considerations. The video is about 10 minutes long each and you could download it through youtube and listen in your car. On my youtube channel you'll find another segment of Loren's presentation.

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