Episode 103: Randy Huntington

Randy Huntington is the Head Coach for the Chinese Athletics Association’s track and field program. He is responsible for Team China’s sprinters and horizontal jumpers. During his 42+ years in the field, he has coached eight Olympians and seven World Championship Team members. This includes two athletes, Mike Powell and Willie Banks, who set world records in the long jump and triple jump, respectively. Six of his athletes have been in the U.S. all-time Top 10 in their respective events. Randy has also worked with professional athletes from several sports, most notably football. Huntington spent time with several NFL franchises in the role of speed and conditioning consultant. In addition, he has helped several college programs prepare their athletes for the NFL Combine.

Coach Huntington is rated a USATF Master Coach in the jumps—one of only five in the U.S. He attended Western Michigan University, majoring in pre-med before earning a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Oregon in 1982.

Randy takes us on a deep dive into his methods for long-term development of jumpers and sprinters. He gives us insight into programming methodologies by sharing his three- and four-day-a-week setups for sprinters and jumpers. He explains how to determine which athletes are best suited for those setups and gives an in-depth look into strength training for sprint and jump development.

In this podcast, Coach Randy Huntington and Joel discuss:

• Training fundamentals from the ’80s and ’90s that are still effective today.
• Building athleticism in athletes who specialized too early in life.
• His use of technologies such as velocity-based training and the 1080 Sprint.
• His methods for continued daily improvement.
• How to know when you are doing a good job coaching track and field.
• Basic philosophies on strength training for sprinters and jumpers.

Podcast total run time is 1:22:07.

Keywords: track and field, sprinters, jumpers, power development