aw basics

PEAK performance

AW Basics offers you advice on how to perform when it matters

ONE of the common misconceptions in athletics is that top performers do the same training day in, day out. Ask the layman how Paula Radcliffe trains and he might suggest she goes for a hard 20-mile run every day. How did Steve Backley become so good? Probably by throwing a javelin a lot every day, the uninformed observer might say. As for Colin Jackson, surely he just kept sprinting over hurdles until he eventually got pretty good at it.

While nothing can beat training that is specific to the event you plan to compete in, when it comes to preparing to reach a peak, one of the worst things an athlete can do is to repeat the same schedule. A more effective way to prepare, by far, is to carry out a varied training schedule that sees a number of building bricks – of different shapes and sizes – gradually added in order to maximise improvements in all the necessary areas.

Take the 400m hurdles, for instance. In order to get the most out of your potential in this event, you need to be able to hurdle, you need speed, you need the rugged endurance to get you around the entire lap without fading. Sometimes all these elements can be combined in one session, but invariably it is better to focus on each one in separate sessions.

Such sessions are best planned by an experienced coach and well prepared athletes have an annual plan, which sees their schedule develop over the 12-month period, together with more short-term or ‘micro plans’, which involve carefully planned build-ups over a 6-12-week period.

It is well known that distance runners often prepare for events by building up their mileage gradually week to week, then hitting a key period when they will run maximum mileage for several weeks, before adding some faster sessions in search of improved pace, and finally a period of easing down before the race.

This pattern of training also fits in well with the traditional athletics year – cross country in the winter, road races or relays in the spring and track and field competitions starting at a low-key level and reaching their most important period at the height of summer.

But this kind of approach can be applied to all events and sprinters, for instance, will spend their winters building strength in the gym and weights room and by running hill sprints and long repetitions on the track or grass. They will then increase the quality of their training in the spring and early summer. The quantity of the work will also decrease and they will hopefully reach top speed on the track when it matters.

Another good example to illustrate the changing nature of the annual training plan is that undertaken by combined eventers such as Dean Macey. A decathlete such as Macey will spend the early winter months building strength in the gym and weights room and by running longer, harder efforts. But by the spring he will have added more technical work into his training schedule and the quality of his training will begin to take precedence over the quantity.

Returning to the examples used in the first paragraph of this article, of course Radcliffe does not run 20 miles each day. She might run the occasional 20-miler, but only at certain times during her preparation for an event, and such runs are separated with easier days and also days when she might run faster repetitions on the track or off-road.

Athletes like Backley and Jackson, too, spent hours performing strength and conditioning exercises in the winter months before backing off the heavy training and focusing on more quality, event-specific work in the summer. Competitions would be added to the programme and the build-up would be timed so the athlete reached their peak at the major championship.

So what are the key stages when it comes to getting ready for the event you want to do well in?

► Background or base period

This is the first stage of your build-up and emphasises the basics – simple endurance, strength and all-round conditioning. It is the foundation upon which the rest of your training will gradually be layered on top. Just as the foundations of a house need to be strong before the walls, ceilings and roof are put on, similarly the training background of an athlete must be solid before the finishing touches are added closer to the event.

► Event-specific preparation

With the basics in place, it’s time to add training that is more specific to your event. At its simplest level, sprinters will hit the track more often and run faster more frequently. Jumpers will spend more time on the runway, practising their run-up and technique.
Similarly, throwers will spend more time with their implement. Hurdlers will hurdle and middle and long-distance runners will run harder sessions at speeds close to their projected race pace.
If the initial base-building period has gone well, then the athlete will now be able to complete longer sessions and maintain the quality throughout due to the strength they gained during the early weeks and months of their programme.

► Sharpen and taper

Close to competition, the athlete will fine-tune their preparation with some very specific work and, crucially, will add some competitions to the schedule to bring about a peak.
During this period some of the elements from the initial base period might still be done, but the idea will be to maintain whatever fitness had been gained. So, if an athlete had been doing weights two or three times per week in the depths of the winter, as they head into the competitive period they may reduce this to once a week in order to avoid losing all the gains made.
Finally, it is important to be fresh before the big event. So a decent tapering period is important. Or, at the very least, the athlete should carry out one or two very easy
days before the event.

► Rest

Don’t forget this phase. At the end of
a long build-up it is important to have a break in order to recharge the batteries – both physically and mentally. Smarter athletes will plan rest periods or easier days and weeks into their schedule too in order to maximise recovery from tougher sessions.

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