.\Author: Steve Bennett

Large Volume Slow Versus Less Volume Faster.

For many years, debate has raged between advocates of the two extremes of training for middle distances. We have had athletes on well over 160km a week running great times in 1500m and some running very fast on a much smaller volume, in some cases, less than 100km a week.

Both extremes of training can work for an athlete. What the high-volume athlete lacks in intensity can be ‘made up’ from the benefits of the slow stimulus of volumes of aerobic running. What the lower volume athlete lacks in volume can be ‘made up’ for with extra intensity. However, both extremes have trade-offs and risks, which is essential when working out what is best for a given athlete.

The high volume of athletes runs the risk of overuse injuries, mainly if the training includes a high percentage on the roads. They also risk lowering running efficiency at race pace if suitable formwork is not done to compensate for the potentially damaging effects of running slower most of the time. The athlete can lose speed & ease of speed. Some would argue that increased mitochondrial density and capillarization brought about more extensively by high-volume training will improve efficiency – as will the extra muscular conditioning of the lower legs from running slowly with a minimal knee lift.

High-Intensity Low Volume

Because of the higher intensity, the low-volume athlete will face a much higher risk of overtraining & burnout both mentally and physically. I know of athletes whose immune systems let them down, and they became repeatedly sick because of the steady regime of highly anaerobic work they were doing for most of each year. I believe athletes don’t last long like this; they have short careers. This may be especially true for female athletes.

Many of the best athletes in the World who lasted for the longest were higher-volume athletes like John Walker.

The Solution

I believe the answer to the debate is to do both: periodize (plan) the year smartly, build to high volumes in the offseason on softer, varied surfaces, and be cautious with highly lactic speedwork, save it for the pre-comp period. Let athletes aim for goals within the next 3 months, XC races, etc. But in base-building periods, train at intensities that are certainly well within the coping capacities of the athlete.

Do good running form – “ease of speed” development sessions most of the year, but keep the volumes and intensities at a level that fits with the volume the athletes are doing. By intensity, I mean lactic intensity, e.g. 4 x 150m at high speed, is not nearly as intense as 4 x 200m at the same speed. The extra 50m puts the athlete into the lactic zone much more, just like 4 x 300m at the same speed would be much more intense again.

Speed can be developed and maintained safely in terms of musculoskeletal injuries from sessions of faster, shorter reps with a total session volume of reps of less than 1000m, e.g. 4-6 x 150m at a reasonable speed with plenty of rest (2min+)and 8min between sets if needed. This is a very effective “ease of speed” development and form workout that is not intense (especially if rests are longer, like more than 5 minutes).

Do some Faster Reps with God Forbid LONG RESTS

There is a common tendency for endurance squads to focus almost exclusively on interval training with short rests between reps. The forgotten diamond is building toward peak season to do interval sessions with much longer rests at very high intensity. Examples are:
3 x 400m rest 8min at faster then 1st lap of an 800m race pace.
5 x 300m rest 5min at faster than 1st lap 800m race pace.
800-600-400 with 12min active rest at 1500m race pace and better.
4 x 200m rest 5min at 400m race pace
The above sessions are the missing ingredients in many programs.
The only way they could be anywhere near replaced is with racing itself.
I once saw a 1:47 800m athlete do 3 x flying start 400m runs in mid47s with only 8 min rest in between. This was a much tougher ordeal physiologically than an 800m race.

Managed Intensity

With sessions like 4 x 2000m rest 3 min, there are many ways to run it.
They can be run at 5000m pace or faster, i.e. as hard as the athlete possibly can.
They could also be done at approximately 10000m race pace, above the Anaerobic threshold pace. The 10km pace version is much more sustainable over many months of base training. A long warmup and a long warm-down can easily precede it. The faster “eyeballs out” approach to the session is undoubtedly not something an athlete can sustain for many months. They may get gains in Vo2max. Training is all about having optimal adaptation, not just quick adaptation. Sometimes, slow adaptations from many areas can add to elite performances. Athletes can sit at a level where just 2 months of comp prep intense training. Then, combined with racing, it can lift them to a super high level. This can be from a pretty low-intensity regime of significant volume. But they need those ease-of-speed sessions to be comfortable running fast again.

Caution with Female Athletes from Prolonged Intensity.

I believe now, especially with female athletes transitioning from juniors to seniors. We need to increase the volume & be cautious with the intensity.  But continue the speed development. Most will last better if their bodies suit it on 80-100km a week of steady running. Rather than 40-60km of hard, fast running.

Get the right dosage of Training – Don’t Force it.

Athletes must do the volume that their biomechanical structures can handle. They should also train at the intensity that their physiology can cope with. Eventually, their ability to adapt to both at the right time is the key to optimal performances in MD events.

Manage the happiness at Training.

Loving their training & variety of stimuli is the key. Putting enough solid work in that the effects over a more extended period. May unveil unexpected improvements in performance when the time is right.

Having a large group of training pals and doing sessions they can do together without racing each other. This key to long-term longevity for senior athletes and those transitioning from late school years to jobs/uni. It keeps them in the sport long enough to mature. Training in isolation is risking early retirement.

Speed from Strength

By Steve Bennett B.Sc. (Physiology)
oztrack.com

A great thing for any runner to develop would be more “bounciness” and in any endurance athlete would be “sustained bounciness”. The good news is that most athletes can significantly improve their stride’s power and sustainable power.

Sprinters can improve their stride frequency by improving technically in several ways. They also need to optimize their power delivery by having high levels of stabilization strength and developing powerful prime movers. For many people, running fast can be developed very simply. They need to develop strength in the gym and practise at speed when not fatigued.

Fast Running

Fast running allows the nervous system to learn better how to utilize the gains in strength. Middle-distance athletes need to develop high endurance levels to sustain race pace for the distance required, e.g., 55s laps for 1500m. To win, these athletes will also need to be able to change pace rapidly and have a sustained higher-speed finishing burst. Said Aouita was appointed our national distance coach in Australia in 2002. The key area of his philosophy was for athletes to do enough quality volume in key sessions to develop high stamina levels. He also believes in building excellent recovery into a program by having plenty of recovery days and weeks.

Speed for middle-distance athletes can be developed from the effects of weights, many repeats of short hill repetitions and plyometrics. Importantly, this can be done without the athlete doing volumes of really fast sprinting. In middle-distance athletes, this is a common cause of injury.

Plyometrics

•  Plyometrics is even more important than weight training in developing the type of speed that middle-distance athletes need.
• Starting early is the key to developing athletes who can safely train with plyometrics. Get young athletes to do various lower-intensity plyometric activities. Then, as adults, these athletes will be much more able to do them with safety.
• Older athletes need to build intensity slowly in this area. In the past, my squad performed a wide variety of plyometrics. 

A Plyometric Plan

A summary of some of the activities from our plyometric program follows:

Hill Bounding

Hill Bounding very effective at improving hip extension power and can have a significant impact on all runners. Hill-bounding stimulates the athletes to generate more power, which is sustainable and good conditioning for other more intense power activities.

• All bounding involves the athletes impacting with a flat foot and having an active foot strike (the foot moves backward as it hits). Athletes must stay tall, lift their knees high and aim for some “hang time” in long bounding. Each foot contact needs to add to the momentum. It is common to see athletes reaching in front for more distance, which causes them to lose momentum. The key is to have the athlete use high hip extension power generated by the glutes to project the body forward.
• When bounding uphill, it is best to ensure the athlete’s foot is on impact pointing straight up the hill. The knees should be lifted high in front while the athlete stays very tall.
• In the early phases of periodization, the sprinters in my group did two sets of 5 x 60m hills where they ran 20m – bound 20m – run 20m. They have often progressed to 2 x 5 x 60m hills where they bound 20m – run 20m – bound 20m. They do these with 2 minutes between reps and 5- 10 minutes between sets.
• The middle-distance athletes have built up to do more of them, and we have found good effects from 20 x 60m hills with 20m bound – 20m run – 20m bound with a walk-down rest. They do the bounding less powerfully than the sprinters and do more of them quite safely. The activity has low structural stress on the athletes. But they often feel it the next day by having sore glutes. This is evidence of some good work being done.
• With the Middle Distance athletes, we sometimes do hill circuits where the athletes bound up a 50m hill run across the top and then swiftly down a gentle slope across to the bottom and back up the 50m bounding section. The circuit has been about 600m a lap, and they have built up to doing six laps.

Bounding

• We perform three types of bounding. We have succeeded with all three kinds while using very low volumes.

Standing start bounding

Standing start bounding is very safe and performed about once weekly for much of the year. 5 repeats of 4 bounds and a jump into a sandpit. Measure the total distance of each effort and strive for progress. Improvements in mid-torso strength and leg strengthening from weights (especially the glutes) should assist progress. Rest for at least 3 min. I have athletes do these in racing flats on a mondo surface. Most athletes can improve the total distance by over a metre in a season.

Running start bounding

Running start bounding is performed more with sprinters/jumpers. It requires the athlete to be technically good at standing start bounding. The athletes must get off the ground much quicker after each contact during running-start bounding. It is much more specific to sprinting. My squad often performed five repeats of 4 bounds and a jump into a sandpit from a 10m running start. Once again, the total distance is measured, and the athletes aim to progress. Athletes may need to start with a 5m running start.

• High-level athletes can progress to doing them with an 8-stride run-up and then 9-bounds and a jump into the pit.
• Middle-distance athletes do running start bounding in the pre-competition phase as well.

Speed Bounding

Speed Bounding is the most specific form of bounding a sprinter can perform. We usually do speed bounding from a running start over 20m or 30m. We time the athlete over the distance and count the number of steps. By multiplying the time in seconds by the number of strides, the “Speed Bound Index” can be calculated. The lower the index, the better the athlete. Once again, we only do about five attempts over 20-30m and have seen excellent athlete progress.

Im Steve Bennett I live near Sydney, Australia. I remember watching the 1968 Olympics as a child with great excitement. I was 5 yrs old. I vaguely remember Bob Beamons Long Jump and an Australian Gold medallist Ralph Doubell win the 800m. This inspired me to be an athlete and one day be in the Olympics, that didnt happen. But i certainly enjoy the era near Sydney’s big moment near 2000.

So the first thing i did was complete a coaching course and straight away met renowned coach Lindsay Watson who is always full of calmness, humour and wisdom. Yvonne Melene displayed to me just how thorough coaches can be in their study and planning. She set such a great example. That coaching is research-based and is an applied science and an art at the same time. I also met Keith Connor who was later to become National Coach, a tough administrator who was full of wisdom, communicated without bullshit and taught me how athletes need to be tough mentally to get up when they are knocked down and keep doing that. Later with coaching groups based at Homebush (near the Olympic Stadium) i made great coaching friends like Paul Laurendet with his strong squad of middle distance stars and this enhanced the enjoyment of my squad. We had some great times in the late 1990s.

One of the keys to maturing as an athlete and a coach is to love what you do and that enables you to stay in it long enough to mature. You have to plan your entire environment to optimize your enjoyment of the process as much as possible.

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