There are 4 different workouts this year! What?! Why four? Well, it turns out that there isn’t one workout that fits every athlete. Most of you will fall under one of the 400m workouts, but a few of you, like Michael Park and most jumpers, will never be 400m runners. I’m okay with that but you need a different style of workout. Here is a breakdown of the 4 different workouts:

1) 400m Base Runner Workouts: This workout is designed for most of the new athletes as well as some of the more advanced athletes where a little extra endurance training will benefit them the most. There isn’t much difference between this workout and the other 400m workouts.

2) 400m Runner Workouts: This workout will be for those athletes who show exceptional skill and proficiency in the 400m run. Often, these athletes are returners who worked out all year lifting weights and specifically preparing to run the 400m.

3) 100m Speed Endurance Based Workouts: This workout will be for those who I, as the coach, determine are not 400m runners. The athletes for this workout already have enough strength and experience for a solid acceleration performance. This will be the smallest group, by far.

4) 100m Acceleration Based Workouts: This workout is designed for jumpers, throwers, pole vaulters, and a few others for which there really is no reason to train for the 400m. Their particular event focuses on getting up to full speed as quickly as possible.

-Coach Vandermyn

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-Coach Vandermyn

Yetter M, Moir GL. (2008). The acute effects of heavy back and front squats on speed during forty-meter sprint trials. J Strength Cond Res. 22(1):159-65.

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effects of performing heavy back squats (HBS) and heavy front squats (HFS) on the average speed during each 10-m interval of 40-m sprint trials. In a randomized, cross-over design, 10 strength-trained men performed a HBS, HFS, or control treatment before performing three 40-m sprint trials separated by 3 minutes. The HBS and HFS treatments consisted of performing parallel back or front squats with 30%, 50%, and 70% of the subject’s 1 repetition maximum after 5 minutes of cycling. The control treatment consisted of cycling for 5 minutes. The sprint trials were performed 4 minutes after completing the HBS, HFS, or control treatments. Significant increases in speed were found during the 10- to 20-m interval for the HBS compared with the control treatment (mean difference, 0.12 m x s(-1); 95% likely range, 0.05-0.18 m x s(-1); P = 0.001). During the 30- to 40-m interval, HBS produced significantly greater speeds compared with the HFS treatment (mean difference, 0.24 m x s(-1); 95% likely range, 0.02-0.45 m x s(-1); P = 0.034) and the control treatment (mean difference, 0.18 m x s(-1); 95% likely range, 0.03-0.32 m x s(-1); P = 0.021). The differing effects of the treatments may reflect different levels of muscular activation or different mechanical aspects of the squat exercises. Similarly, the multidimensional nature of sprint running means that other specific exercises may confer improvements in sprinting performance during other intervals. It is suggested that coaches could incorporate HBS into the warm-up procedure of athletes to improve sprinting performance.

So…Please, please do not just stand there and go through the motions while warming up. Instead, do something explosive, something that will engage your sprint muscles. Prime your muscles and you will run faster.

-Coach Vandermyn

1. Wall Shin Raises – Simply stand with your back to a wall and your heels about the length of your feet away from the wall. Then, while leaning back against the wall, dorsiflex (toe-up) both ankles simultaneously, while your heels remain in contact with the ground. Bring your toes as far toward your shins as you can, and then lower your feet back toward the ground, but do not allow your forefeet to contact the ground before beginning the next repeat. Simply lower them until they are close to the ground, and then begin another repetition. Complete about 12 to 15 reps. After you are finished with these slow repetitions, perform 15 fast, short pulses. Rest for a couple minutes and repeat for 2 to 3 sets.

1a. Once this becomes easy for you, perform the same exercise with one foot resting against the wall. There is no need to rest here, since you will be switching feet each time for 2 to 3 sets.

2. Heel Walks – Walk 20 meters on your heels. Be gentle though! Perform 2 to 3 sets. Eventually, you can try and jog/shuffle a little faster.

2a, b. Heel Walk with your toes pointing outward and then also with your feet pointing inward.

3. Toe Walks – Walk 20 meters on your toes. Be gentle though! Perform 2 to 3 sets. Eventually, you can try and jog/shuffle a little faster.

3a, b. Toe Walk with your toes pointing outward and then also with your feet pointing inward.

4. Heel Skips – Simple, slow, gentle skips on your heels.

4a, b. Point your toes inward and outward as you skip on your heels.

5. High Bounces – Jump as high as you can, landing on the balls of your feet keeping your heels off of the ground. When you are off of the ground, dorsiflex (toe-up) in the air. After you land, quickly jump up again. Repeat for 10 repetitions. When this becomes easy for you, increase to 20 to 30 bounces.

6. Quick Bounces - Jump as above, but now you use your ankles instead of bending your knees so much. You can still use your knees a little bit, but the emphasis here is to produce force using your ankles and shin muscles. Again, land on your toes and perform 10 quick bounces. When this is easy for you, increase to 30 or 40 bounces.

5a, 6a. Instead of jumping straight up and down in one place, mix it up a little by jumping forwards and backwards, and side-to-side. Finally, you can perform the same bounces on one foot!

 Again, the site’s author claims that if you perform these exercises regularly, you will not get shin splints. It is worth a try!

Here is the link to the site which also contains some interesting information on shin splints in general: Shin Splints Treatment

 - Coach Cody

The 400m taps into all 3 energy systems in our body: the alactic system, the glycolytic system, and the aerobic system. For the first 7 seconds, you are using, primarily, the alactic system. Most of the 400m race uses the glycolytic system and the aerobic system is used only near the end of the race. This means that to be good at the 400m, you have to train your glycolytic system the hardest. Now, on to the strategy.

The strategy is really simple. For the first 100m you will be running at 95% effort. Some of you may be wondering what 95% effort means. Here is an example. Let’s say you can run 12.0 seconds in a 100m race. 95% effort would mean you would run the same 100m race in 12.6 seconds. This is the speed you need to run for the first 100m during the 400m. I don’t usually time your first 100m, so the important splits for us are the 200m and the 300m.

At 200m, running at 95% effort, the same 12.0 second runner will want to cross the 200m mark around 24.6 seconds. By the end of the year, this won’t be very hard for this 12.0 runner so your alactic system will not be completely taxed.

Now comes the 300m mark. Between the 200m and the 300m you will need to focus on keeping your form and trying your hardest not to slow down; no doubt about it, though, you will be slowing down. Our 12.0 second runner will aim to be around 37.5 seconds at this point.

Finally, the home stretch. This is the 100m that will prove your worth in the 400m. You will either completely tire out and hit the wall, or you will decide to fight through it and finish strong. You really need to keep your head still and down as well as maintain your arm form. By shortening and quickening your arms, you will start to move your feet faster. Your strides will be much smaller, by now, but by moving them faster, you will keep your speed longer. Our 12.0 second runner just ran 52.5 seconds!

In short, you run 95% for the first 100m. Then, when you hit the backstretch you focus on keeping your speed up and “floating” down the track. Try not to slow down or speed up on the backstretch. Next you need to keep your form and start shortening and quickening your arms to get your feet moving for the last 100m. If you do this, you will have success in the 400m! Good luck!

- Coach Cody