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On a daily basis, we’re required to speak with others in order to pass on information. The form that this information takes can vary, including a command (such as “I need to you to do this“) or feedback (“What you did had this outcome, for this reason“).

We often pass information on as a means to exert influence. A parent speaking to a child wants to influence their behavior to keep them safe or perhaps to stop them from annoying others. As a coach, you often want to influence the athletes you’re working with. You want them to carry out a particular exercise to develop them physically, or to get them to move in a specific way to reduce their chances of injury, or as a means to enhance their performance. You also may have to exert this influence sideways to other coaches (perhaps you notice them exhibiting a coaching behavior that may be harmful) or to parents (to get them to better support their child’s development). And you may have to exert influence upward to a selection panel or National Governing Body in support of your athlete.

When it comes to exerting influence, it’s easy to think that, if the message you’re attempting to portray is correct, it will be listened to. For example, don’t do high volumes of plyometrics because it increases your chance of injury is a simple and logical message you’d think everyone could get behind. And yet, as we all doubtless know through experience, this isn’t the case at all. Despite the veracity and validity of our message, it often falls on deaf ears.

This is where the book Messengers: Who We Listen To, Who We Don’t and Why, authored by Stephen Martin and Joseph Marks, comes in. The book’s key premise is simple, and yet hugely important for us to understand:

• The message is often not as important as the messenger.

The Big Short

The example Martin and Marks use to illustrate this premise is one familiar to those who have seen or read The Big Short. Michael Burry is an MD who started a hedge fund while practicing medicine at Stanford. He was hugely successful: in 2001, the S&P 500 dropped by 12 points, but Burry’s hedge fund was up by 50 points. He continually beat the market, year on year, making a huge financial profit for both he and his investors. In the middle of the 2000s, Burry started believing that the sub-prime mortgage market was due to collapse and began to bet against it (he was so early to this that he essentially had to invent the way to do it).

In 2008, as the market crashed and the world hurtled toward the recession that eventually turned into the financial crisis, Burry’s fund—buoyed by his shorting of the housing market—returned a 726 percent gain. Burry was right; he saw something others didn’t, bet on his intuition, and won big.

If anyone predicted the financial crisis, it was Michael Burry. Not many people came out of the 2008 crash financially well. Burry personally made $100 million off his prediction and yielded a profit for his investors of over $700 million. So, when the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission, set up by Barrack Obama, sought to understand the causes of the crash, you’d think Burry would have been high on their list of people to give insight. Instead, they invited Michael Lewis.

Now, this was an odd choice. Lewis is a journalist and author, not a hedge fund manager, and certainly not someone who predicted the 2008 crash, put his skin in the game, and profited. Instead, Lewis had recently authored his book about the crash (The Big Short), in which he documented Burry’s predictions and told the story of his success. In short—and you can see where I’m going here—the Commission chose to speak to Lewis about Burry, rather than Burry himself. Why? Because Lewis was, or at least was perceived to be, a more credible messenger.

Why? By this point, Lewis was a well-known and highly respected journalist, having already authored Moneyball, The Blindside, and The Big Short. Lewis is also charismatic—or at least more charismatic than Burry. As anyone who has seen The Big Short can attest to, Burry—played by Christian Bale in the film—is, well, a bit weird. He’s an awkward communicator. He has a glass eye, which makes eye contact difficult. He prefers shorts and a tee shirt to a suit and a tie.

Don't confuse the quality of a message with the quality of the messenger, says @craig100m. Share on X

By choosing to listen to Lewis over Burry, the Commission made a mistake that all of us are liable to make (and indeed no doubt make multiple times per day)—they confused the quality of the message with the quality of the messenger. Lewis represented someone well-known with decent economic knowledge. People knew who he was and viewed him as credible, so they were more prepared to hear what he had to say. In contrast, Burry was not well-known and was not a smooth communicator. As an ineffective messenger, his more valuable message was lost.

As a coach, parent, athlete, or support staff member, the reality we face is that:

1. No matter how good our message is, if people see us as an ineffective messenger, we will struggle to be heard.
2. We are highly susceptible to receiving messages from strong messengers when the message itself is weak.

Messengers, in short, is how we become better at the first while avoiding the second.

Martin and Marks identify two types of messengers: hard and soft. Hard messengers are more likely to have their messages received because they are perceived to have higher status. Soft messengers win acceptance of their message through building connections with their audience. When we find ourselves being influenced­­—for example, when presented with information which should inform our decisions—we need to be wary of whether the message is right, or whether a subconscious bias toward the messenger is swaying us. Similarly, when we attempt to influence others, we need to ensure that we can use soft messenger skills to get our point across.

Hard Messengers

Hard messengers, Martin and Marks write, can tap into four key areas to build credibility and drive their message.

1. Socio-economic position. Signals of status—such as celebrity or a large number of Twitter followers—often make us more susceptible to the message being pedaled. Salespeople know this, which is why they often try to portray the trappings of wealth. Experiments using eye-tracking technology determined that we’re drawn toward images of people wearing suits—a status signal—above those wearing casual clothes.

In a famous study from the late 1960s, researchers showed that people were far more likely to sound their horns at a low-status car compared to a high-status car. This finding was replicated across different scenarios; a 2014 study, for example, found people were substantially less likely to overtake a prestigious vehicle compared to a low-status one. In short, we tend to provide more weight to messengers who have a higher status than us.

• Be wary—When reviewing information, notice if you’re influenced by the person’s status or the validity of their message? We see this all the time. Someone with more Twitter followers is perceived to have more valuable information. And well-established scientists with domain expertise in one area will have their messages about another area more readily accepted.
• Be smart—You can, of course, use this to your advantage. As a coach, you have a higher position on the hierarchy than most of the athletes you work with, at least in track and field (the rules can be different in professional team sport). This means you have a great ability to communicate with influence, so ensure your message is valid and valuable. Don’t fall into the trap of thinking that, just because you’re higher on the hierarchy, your message is more important. Don’t ask people to do things “because you said so,” and be prepared to provide the reasoning behind your information.

2. Competence. Or, to be more precise, perceived competence. We see this all the time with doctors, who we recognize as competent. When they step outside their area of expertise, we attach the same or similar value to their message as we do when they’re speaking within their area of expertise. This also happens when the doctors are operating within their area of expertise. The best example I can think of is the Elaine Bromiley case. Elaine underwent a routine, elective nasal surgery, which required general anesthetic. When anesthetized, doctors insert a tube down the patient’s airway to hook them up to a ventilator, which breathes for them. In Elaine’s case, the doctors struggled to get the tube in place, and Elaine’s oxygen levels began to drop as a result.

This is a well-known situation, termed can’t intubate, can’t oxygenate, and there is a solution: make an incision at the front of the neck to insert a breathing tube. The nurses attending the operation knew this; one collected the required kit for this procedure and suggested it to the attending doctors. However, the doctors were fixated on inserting the tube in the typical fashion and became blind to other messages. As a result, Elaine was deprived of adequate oxygen for an extended time period, never regained consciousness, and, unfortunately, later passed away.

In this case, the nurses weren’t confident in challenging the doctors, partially due to the perceived competence of the attending doctors.

• Be wary—Confidence strongly signals competence. When receiving a message from someone, ask: “Is this person competent or confident”? Is their manner persuading you as opposed to their message? If you’re in a position of perceived competence, make sure your subordinates are comfortable in challenging you.
• Be smart—Appearing competent enhances your ability to get your message across. The easiest way to achieve this is actually to be competent; that should be your first goal. Second, confidently communicating your message enhances the perception that you’re competent. Working on delivery and style is, therefore, an important skill for communicators.

3. Dominance. I’m sure you remember the televised 2016 Presidential debate in which Donald Trump stalked Hilary Clinton around the stage. (I’m not from the US, and I’ve never lived there, but even I’ve seen the images). In doing this, Trump sought to assert his dominance over Clinton to add weight to his messages. In a related phenomenon, men who adopt dominating poses on dating apps such as Tinder get more matches.

This becomes a problem when working in a team setting. Individuals who have (or are perceived to have) increased status tend to dominate the decision-making. For example, in a sporting club interdisciplinary team meeting, the team manager (e.g., high-performance manager) likely holds huge sway over the decisions made, with other team members potentially nervous about speaking out. Because this damages the decision-making process and harms the team in the long run, we should guard against it.

• Be wary—Is a person’s argument compelling because it’s based on fact, or are you drawn in by their signs of dominance? When communicating with others, are you seeking to leverage your dominance to get your way, or is your central point valid and well-researched?
• Be smart—As a leader, the key is not to allow your dominance (acquired through status) to be what makes your messages carry influence. Instead, allow your team members to question and challenge your thoughts and decisions in a respectful and controlled manner, so that, ultimately, you can make the best decision.

4. Attractiveness. It’s a sad truth that the more attractive the messenger, the more credence given to the message. This attractiveness can be hard, meaning physical attractiveness, or soft, meaning the messenger is likable, warm, and friendly. This is a very real phenomenon, with one study reporting that a male who’s ranked as below-average attractiveness stands to earn around $250,000 less throughout their career than their more attractive colleagues.

• Be wary—When receiving a message, consider the messenger’s attractiveness (hard or soft) to you, and whether this is coloring your perception of the message’s validity.
• Be smart—Leveraging softer attractiveness when attempting to influence those around you—your athletes or staff, for example—should help you get your message across.

Soft Messengers

Having identified the traits of hard messengers, Martin and Marks move on to soft messengers who also have four key areas they can tap into to get their message across.

1. Warmth. Warmth is an important trait because it signals care and kindness, with warm messengers attempting to avoid appearing hostile or unkind. We see this in courtrooms all the time. During their arguments, attorneys who avoid appearing to be unpleasant and who don’t act superior might sway a juror’s decision based on their manner alone. Also, being quick to offer an apology—even for something that isn’t necessarily your fault—demonstrates compassion. Compassion is a close relative of warmth and builds capital with the person you’re attempting to influence.

• Be wary—Are you immediately discounting someone’s message because they’re unkind or cold? Remember, someone can be unpleasant and right, so it’s important to try to filter out personality traits when analyzing a message.
• Be smart—Be approachable to your athletes, provide praise where it’s deserved (in an authentic way), be polite, and maintain positivity. All of these actions demonstrate warmth and compassion, helping you get your message across.

2. Vulnerability. Social connectivity is an important motivator and performance driver. In sports teams and training groups, one of the main reasons athletes turn up is for the social aspects. Also, since they’re part of a team, they don’t want to let the team down with their performance. Connectedness drives performance, and one of the main drivers of connectedness is vulnerability from leaders; they’re not afraid to demonstrate—where appropriate—their doubts, fears, and flaws.

• Be wary—Being vulnerable can also signal weakness and cause you to lose respect. The key here is the balance of vulnerability. Be sufficiently open and honest about your shortcomings without drawing pity.
• Be smart—In a team or governing body, it often helps to attempt to “humanize” the key decision-makers to increase the chance of the message landing. It’s easy to hold hostility against a faceless senior leader; it’s much harder to maintain that hostility when you’ve had positive interactions with them.

3. Trustworthiness. When I was an athlete, I was told by a coach—to my face—that they were going to support me in an upcoming selection meeting. When I wasn’t selected, I appealed the decision, and through the course of the appeal, I received the minutes of the selection meeting.

Needless to say, the coach hadn’t done what he told me he would—after which, I no longer had any respect for him. Similarly, I’ve had coaches with core principles very different from mine. Once these principles became apparent through their behavior, it was very difficult to continue to work closely with them; they were no longer trustworthy in my eyes.

• Be wary—Don’t say something you know you can’t deliver on. Doing so erodes trust and makes it less likely that you’ll be able to communicate effectively in the future.
• Be smart—The All Blacks have two famous sayings: “Better people make better All Blacks” and “No dickheads.” Having strong personal values, and, well…not being a dickhead, increase the likelihood that you’ll communicate effectively. There’s a lot to be said for being a good person.

4. Charisma. I’m not a naturally charismatic person. I’m generally quite shy and introverted and like to deal with cold hard facts and figures as opposed to feelings. A while ago, I realized this limited my ability to get my message across in lectures and presentations. As a result, I studied what the best presenters do and realized that they often use stories and anecdotes as a way of building audience connection—a technique that I now use. Storytelling is a very useful way to engage your audience and increases the effectiveness of your messaging, and so represents a valuable tool in your toolbox.

• Be wary—It’s easy to be drawn in by engaging storytellers. When receiving their message, take a step back and ask: Is their message a strong one, or am I being drawn in by their charisma? 
• Be smart—It’s easy to slip into “back in my day” stories. When telling a story to deliver a message, it has to be relevant to your audience—and then consistently link the story back to your key message.

In Closing

Messengers is a highly enjoyable read, where the key premise—that the messenger often trumps the message—is an important consideration for us all, both when receiving information from others and when we try to pass on information.

The Last Dance documentary has been one of the most popular programs on television this year. During the ten-part series, flashes of training have been shared—sometimes out of context and without explanation. During both of the Chicago Bulls’ championship runs, Al Vermeil was at the helm on the performance side, organizing training and ensuring wisdom was part of the equation.

Instead of summarizing that training process in a typical blog format, we decided to interview Coach Vermeil and ask the right questions to hear directly from the source. Al Vermeil is one of the most respected strength and conditioning processionals for his work with MLB, NBA, and NFL champion athletes, and in this interview Coach Vermeil covers more than just sets and reps—he reveals the heart of the profession and offers us all a roadmap to becoming a better coach.

1. From High School Sport Coaching to the San Francisco 49ers and Chicago Bulls

Jumping into the conversation mid-stream, Coach Vermeil elaborates on the art of coaching, answering questions from Derek Hansen and Rob Panariello on how leadership works in strength and conditioning, as well as knowing how to load athletes beyond the barbell. In this entertaining segment, Coach Vermeil shares numerous anecdotes and bits of advice on the key skills of working in a team setting.

2. Testing and Assessment: “Can They Play”

Fielding more of our questions, Coach Vermeil discusses the role of testing and assessment in the player selection process, and shares his parting advice on coaching from a career that has spanned decades.

3. The Bulls and How They Trained

Chronologically, this is the opening of the conversation and dives in with how different players on the Bulls approached strength training. The first twenty minutes of this segment can be a little choppy on the video side, but the audio is clear and filled with stories about training many of the great Bulls players featured in The Last Dance.

Al Vermeil’s career in strength and conditioning spanned for decades, but even if you are not a strength coach (or not a coach at all), it’s a worthwhile interview about how to work with people. Many coaches who get into the field of strength and conditioning want to coach the best athletes they can, but starting out at the high school level and slowly working your way up to the top is an effective path to improvement, as opposed to chasing the next big-time logo.

Since you’re here…
…we have a small favor to ask. More people are reading SimpliFaster than ever, and each week we bring you compelling content from coaches, sport scientists, and physiotherapists who are devoted to building better athletes. Please take a moment to share the articles on social media, engage the authors with questions and comments below, and link to articles when appropriate if you have a blog or participate on forums of related topics. — SF

Interval training has been twisted and manipulated into so many different iterations that people have lost sight of what exactly it is. It’s been a major point of training discussions for decades—for good reason. Interval training is an extremely powerful stimulus that can elicit adaptations to endurance, strength, and power.

• Endurance training is defined as an improvement in aerobic energy production and fatigue resistance
• Strength training is defined as muscle hypertrophy and improvements in force production
• Power is defined as the ability to express maximal force as rapidly as possible

(Before I get angry comments saying, “Hey dummy, interval training isn’t effective at improving strength and power compared to traditional strength training”…yeah, I think we’re all aware of that.)

There are two types of interval training:

1. Supramaximal or Sprint Interval Training (SIT)
   • SIT results in supramaximal at or near 100% of a person’s power output and >150% levels VO₂ max intensity

2. High-Intensity Interval Training (HIT)
   • HIT results in submaximal <100% power outputs and elicits ³ 80% of heart rate max

That’s it. Everything else is window dressing. Tabatas, Fartlek, and 15 on 15 off are just changes to the work-to-rest ratio. Well programmed work-to-rest ratios are essential for implementing these training types, and I’ll talk more about that later in this post. However, having exact, to the second work-to-rest ratios or using heart rate monitors to ensure an athlete is “recovered” when developing capacity is unnecessary.

Using heart rate monitors to ensure work-to-rest ratios are correct is overrated in capacity training but extremely underrated in power training. Share on X

Which brings me to one of my most hotly contested opinions: The use of heart rate monitors to ensure work-to-rest ratios are correct is overrated in capacity training, but extremely underrated in power training.

Capacity vs. Power

If developing capacity is the goal, programming work-to-rest ratios down to the second is a tad excessive. (Capacity is the ability to maintain a specified power output over a set time period. Rest and recovery are not the main focus.) Developing the capacity of a specific energy system requires challenging that system. And just like any other type of training, key variables to consider are volume, intensity, duration, and rest.

• Intensity is critical to understand what energy system you’re trying to develop and how that intensity relates to the system and adaptation. Maximal power output is 100% while maximal fat oxidation is ~50% of maximal power output.

Variations will affect the athletes’ adaptations. As an extremely general rule of thumb, the higher the intensity of work, the shorter the duration the work will be, and the higher the work-to-rest ratio is.

We’ve come to the point, however, that monitoring heart rates when conditioning athletes is considered essential during training. I’ve found, in almost all sport situations excluding track and field, that it is not essential. Typically, heart rate monitoring during training is used to determine if an athlete is rested enough to commence the next repetition. I find this asinine. In no sport scenario will an athlete get to look and see if they’ve recovered enough to perform during their sport.

“Sorry coach I can’t check back in yet, my heart rate is still above the blue zone.”

There is no sport scenario where an athlete gets to look and see if they're recovered enough to perform during their sport, says @RealBMike. Share on X

Work-to-rest ratios, however, are extremely underrated if we’re considering improving an athlete’s power (power is defined as performing ³100% power output for a specific activity). Having athletes perform maximal intensity sprints with little rest is a quick way to change your training stimulus from power development to capacity development.[1] If you continue not allowing full rest sets during “maximal” intensity training, you will not improve max power and may cause injuries. This is where heart rate monitoring can be handy. When an athlete has returned to a set resting heart rate, it’s safe to assume their previous max and average power output will be as close to 100% as possible. If you want to train to improve your max power output, you need to reach maximal power during the repetition.

• Sprinters don’t improve their max power output from submaximal intensities.

Interval Training and Corresponding Adaptations

Looking through peer-reviewed literature, you can find a plethora of general population studies touting how SIT and HIT can result in massive improvements in both aerobic and anaerobic performance markers.

Aerobic

• Mitochondrial density (the number of mitochondria in tissues that utilize or produce energy)
• VO₂ max (VO₂ = a-vO₂ difference, O₂ levels in arteries vs. O₂ levels in veins x Cardiac Output- Heart rate x Stroke volume)
• Lactate clearing/utilization (lactate is the most preferred energy substrate in the body); it’s now considered the upstream signal that stimulates nearly every energy system adaptation (Brooks, 2020)¹

Anaerobic

• Strength
• Power output

Almost all of these studies have a control group that performs moderate-intensity continuous training (MICT). In nearly every study, SIT or HIT groups are better than or as effective at improving aerobic adaptation markers (mitochondrial density and VO₂ max), and SIT and HIT clearly outperform MICT in improving anaerobic markers (lactate clearing/utilization, max power output, and strength). All while SIT or HIT groups typically perform less volume and spend far less time training compared to MICT groups. Similar aerobic adaptations, better anaerobic adaptations, increase power output, and less volume?

Side note: Recent research in muscle hypertrophy training intensity is eerily similar to this aerobic and anaerobic intensity topic. You can increase muscle hypertrophy from lifting low intensity and high volume (LI-HV). However, if you lift at a higher intensity and lower volumes (HI-LV), you get much stronger and will have similar hypertrophic increases compared to LI-HV.

• Strongmen competitors don’t improve their max strength by lifting light weights.

The Million-Dollar Question

“Why are we not implementing SIT or HIT every conditioning session?”

There are a lot of answers, but here are three that come to mind:

1. SIT and HIT freaking suck. If you haven’t done repeated Wingate tests, stop reading this and give them a shot.
2. There’s also a point of diminishing returns that’s illustrated in the literature. More SIT or HIT doesn’t = more gains in aerobic or anaerobic qualities.
3. We need more research with field and court sport athletes on how SIT and HIT affect recovery, especially in-season when high sport performance levels are the goal.

With these answers in mind, the next logical question would be: What are effective ways program HIT and SIT?

1. What time in the annual plan are you? Are you in the offseason/regeneration period? Or are you at the end of the competitive phase?

• Remember that HIT is a powerful stimulus. If in-game performance is the priority, program low volume with maximal amounts of rest. If you’re at the beginning of the offseason phase, don’t program excessive volumes and vary rest intervals to start. Progressive overload/ periodization is key.

2. What are the characteristics of your sport?

• Baseball players, for example, very rarely tap into any energy system other than ATP-PCr (during the game). However, having the recoverability to play a game nearly every day for 5 months is crucial. This means developing aerobic adaptations and power outputs are critical for success.

3. How much recovery time is there prior to competition?

• Baseball players (position players, and relief pitchers specifically) usually train ~6 hours before their games (lift @ 12pm, practice @ 3pm, pregame @ 5:15pm, game @ 7pm). Using high volumes of HIT and SIT can harm pre-practice performance. So getting the minimum effective dose here is crucial.

4. What about a more structured 1-2 game a week schedule?

• During the season, we’re able to use a high-low training model because starting pitchers in baseball know exactly when they are playing (see Image 2). The highest volume of training and the lowest level of intensity typically is the day after a game. This allows the athletes the most time to recover from training volumes, along with continuing recovery from the game the day before. The lowest volume and highest intensity (developing power, not capacity) are used the day before they start to assist in priming the CNS.

5. How do you know when to pull back?

• Have standards you want your individual athletes to attain. If athletes are reaching the standard at the beginning of the season, hopefully they’re able to exceed (if not maintain) these standards throughout the year. If your athletes are not meeting standards, it may be a good time to de-load (if you don’t have planned de-loads in your program).

Key Takeaways

Properly periodizing interval training can help improve max power output, sustainability of max power, and recovery. This could be implemented in an in-season high-low training split with a high day taking advantage of the high intensity and low volume of SIT and implementing a low intensity and low volume training on low days. Mixing in HIT and SIT can be powerful stimulus for improved energy system development.

Mixing in HIT and SIT can be powerful stimulus for improved energy system development, says @RealBMike. Share on X

1. Have a plan
2. Know what adaptation(s) you are chasing
3. Have a measure of intensity
4. Ensure intensity, volume, duration, and rest match
5. Be ready to answer, “Why?”

Since you’re here…
…we have a small favor to ask. More people are reading SimpliFaster than ever, and each week we bring you compelling content from coaches, sport scientists, and physiotherapists who are devoted to building better athletes. Please take a moment to share the articles on social media, engage the authors with questions and comments below, and link to articles when appropriate if you have a blog or participate on forums of related topics. — SF

References

1. Brooks, G. A. (2020). “Lactate as a fulcrum of metabolism.” Redox Biology, 101454.

2. Esfandiari, S., Sasson, Z., & Goodman, J. M. (2014). “Short-term high-intensity interval and continuous moderate-intensity training improve maximal aerobic power and diastolic filling during exercise.” European Journal of Applied Physiology, 114(2), 331-343.

3. Gibala, M. J., & Hawley, J. A. (2017). “Sprinting toward fitness.” Cell Metabolism, 25(5), 988-990.

4. Gillen, J. B., Martin, B. J., MacInnis, M. J., Skelly, L. E., Tarnopolsky, M. A., & Gibala, M. J. (2016). “Twelve weeks of sprint interval training improves indices of cardiometabolic health similar to traditional endurance training despite a five-fold lower exercise volume and time commitment.” PloS ONE, 11(4).

5. MacInnis, M. J., et al. (2017). “Superior mitochondrial adaptations in human skeletal muscle after interval compared to continuous single‐leg cycling matched for total work.” The Journal of Physiology, 595(9), 2955-2968.

6. San-Millán, I., & Brooks, G. A. (2018). “Assessment of metabolic flexibility by means of measuring blood lactate, fat, and carbohydrate oxidation responses to exercise in professional endurance athletes and less-fit individuals.” Sports Medicine, 48(2), 467-479.

7. Weston, K. S., Wisløff, U., & Coombes, J. S. (2014). High-intensity interval training in patients with lifestyle-induced cardiometabolic disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis.” British Journal of Sports Medicine, 48(16), 1227-1234.

Coaches don’t always agree on the training for the long sprint events of the 300m/400m. However, no matter your approach, there is a balance between speed reserve, lactate training, and some aerobic work. This becomes an even more daunting task in the winter or without a good facility. In Massachusetts we have had a relatively mild winter, so we have been able to use the outdoor facilities for a lot of the season. In past seasons and on certain days this season we have been forced to regroup and head inside or elsewhere.

This article and topic are near and dear to my heart, since at Triton we have dealt with any and all challenges with regard to this. We even went more than five years without a home meet! We had to resort to traveling to a nearby high school for occasional access to a track for practice. Our “home” track during this time was in such disrepair that it was nothing more than a concrete oval with the rubber stripped away. Not surprisingly, our numbers dropped embarrassingly low, and our program visibility plummeted. In some form or another we have always made it work.

No matter what, nobody wants to see their long sprinters’ technique erode and then completely fall apart.

The Options

When the snow covers the track or the temperature drops below a certain degree, I move my sprinters inside. Forty degrees is the number I usually like to see before heading outside. If it is an early season acceleration workout featuring drop-ins or short hill accelerations, perhaps a bit colder is acceptable if athletes wear sweats and a hat. I would rather be inside late in the season than outside spiked up in the cold. It is less miserable and is submaximal in intensity either way.

The workouts and training modalities listed in the article are not always the best method, but they still present as attractive options that have netted us some successful results. Coaches need not always shake their fist at the weather or administration when it comes to a lack of training facilities.

Speed Is Always Possible

I will state the obvious even if I don’t focus on it in this article. Even without a track, it is possible to train the speed reserve necessary in the long sprints. There are always stairs or enough space around to get in some quality high-speed reps. There is really no excuse.

Even without a track, it’s possible to train the speed reserve necessary in the long sprints. There are always stairs or enough space around to get in some quality high-speed reps. Share on X

If the surface is a concern, then doing fewer reps and keeping distances within the 10- to 30-meter acceleration range could be wise. I love starting early season with short hill runs. We are lucky to have a few hills on our grounds that I consider a suitable gradient to sprint up. You can also consider supplementing with plyometrics on mats or other softer surfaces like grass for an excellent way to get the speed stimulus without killing shins.

We commonly sprint in the high school basketball gymnasium. Fly times are slower, but through timing the effort is still high. Running fast is great, but not at the cost of lower limb health. Even if you don’t always touch 95%+, I think you can make do until better options arise.

Video 1. Acceleration is important for 400m athletes, as sometimes relays and indoor events have more tactical demands. They can do short hill runs in the fall as a way to help build capacity through volume instead of distance.

Split Runs Wherever Possible

At times we measure out reps with a wheel anywhere we can, including parking lots, grass fields, and sidewalks. I find split runs to be an excellent way to improve the quality of training with high school athletes. If you mention running 320 or 350 meters 2-3 times to some high school athletes, they may look at you with skepticism. Splitting it up into smaller distances with short rest is psychologically easier to handle. It also allows slight recovery to take a few breaths and then attack the next rep while maintaining form. Of course, being spiked up on a track would be ideal, but I think that even split reps at intensive tempo pace working to high 80s for percent effort is enough to elicit an adaptation that builds the mental grit to run fast long sprint times.

I am very much experimenting with the rep distances and how best to split them up. I think the only answer is to find what yields the best results for the athletes in front of you.

Even split reps at intensive tempo pace working to high 80s for percent effort is enough to elicit an adaptation that builds the mental grit to run fast long sprint times, says @grahamsprints. Share on X

I have used this mostly with my female athletes, for a few reasons. First, they run longer, as they are usually slower than their male counterparts. They respond better to longer reps. Two years ago, I had a girls’ 4x400m team run 4:04, and they trained much differently than the boys’ team. They ran more aerobic reps, some critical velocity reps, and longer intervals on both speed on special endurance. The following year I kept the training more similar to the boys’ team. The end result? The same girls ran 4:15—11 seconds slower. I was experimenting, but ultimately it was a huge coaching failure on my part.

Here are a few split run workouts I have utilized this year.

• 4x4x75m @80% of RP in a hallway. We have gone as high as 85%+ on turnaround rest between the 75-meter reps with four minutes between sets. It’s a good starting point and a technically intensive tempo. It provided a nice early exposure to some lactate work, and the 75-meter reps were clean-looking due to their short length. I like alternating weekly between this workout with a 5x200m at either backend 400-meter pace (early), median 400-meter date pace (mid-late), or front-end 400-meter goal pace (late and less than five reps, if needed). I think doing a little of this work in the early season allows us to unleash a firestorm during the competition phase while running pretty.
• 3×320 outside on a measured course (160m+160m, 30 seconds between reps, 8 minutes between sets) I like this because Massachusetts runs the 300-meter dash indoors. Running 320-meter reps trims the fat off the reps and allows a rehearsal with a rep slightly longer than race distance. Later in the season, I dropped a set and increased the rest to 15 minutes, and they were flying with confidence at the 400-meter pace even though they hadn’t previously used a track. For two of the girls, I added the occasional completion rep of a dribble or high knee run for 40 yards with the focus on mechanics.
• 2-3x 350m on the sidewalk (200m+150m rest). We ran this a couple times around midseason. We aimed to run quality reps at the total length of the current 400-meter time as a starting point. A girl running 60 seconds would run a 200m at 34 seconds with 30 seconds’ rest. She would then run a 150m at 25.5 seconds. I wasn’t too concerned with someone being slightly fast or slow, only that they got a feel for the actual race in both distance and fatigue. I could get away with less rest at these early workouts. Later in the season, I would increase to 15 minutes or more, since the heart rate would be higher from going faster.

Of course, the split runs don’t have to be these distances exactly, but some specific combination and split will most likely allow your athletes to run harder. It leads to faster times even when athletes are not running on traditional surfaces. Outdoors, my top females may run some reps longer than 400 meters for split runs.

Video 2. Split runs are far from perfect solutions, but they are a gritty bridge to many high school environments. Use them selectively when you can and know when to keep things traditional.

Completion Runs

As mentioned before, not running on a track makes it hard to hit times comparable to being on the oval. I don’t want athletes to run slow just because the surface is less conducive to fast times. I have begun utilizing completion runs as a means to counteract this. Instead of running 3-5 200-meter reps on intermediate rest (4-5 minutes) and getting discouraged by the slower times, I split the 200-meter rep into 150 meters plus 50 meters. The 150m was run at an intensive tempo pace (early season) or faster (later season, fast and loose). It is psychologically easier for them to run a 150-meter rep than a 200m.

I don’t want athletes to run slow just because the surface is less conducive to fast times. I have begun utilizing completion runs as a means to counteract this, says @grahamsprints. Share on X

After resting 30 seconds (which is a pretty inconsequential rest), they performed a fast and technical final 50-meter rep to finish. I have debated using a reduced number of spaced wickets here but have not gotten around to it, as I feel like wickets need to be limited to a maximum velocity tool with proper six-step run-in.

The fastest girls ran cumulative 30- to 31-second reps. This would have been faster on a track that wasn’t covered with snow, but it was fast enough and put the focus on ending a rep with good mechanics, which never hurts. Running 30-31 seconds in sneakers on a sidewalk is at least some form of their 400-meter race pace, even if it is technically their backend 200-meter split time.

Again, some kids may need even shorter reps, but I find the completion run concept allows them to sustain the pace for a longer broken interval, which is a good thing for a long sprinter.

Video 3. The 400m is a tough event but don’t let athletes get tired and lose form. When an athlete is tired, they will fall to their worst training habit, not the other way around.

Cone Workouts

To start this workout, you need cones set at 10-meter spacing for 10-50 meters. This workout was introduced to me in college by my coach, Jeff Rockwood, and I have used it on and off throughout my coaching career.

The coach calls out a cone number (1, 2, 3, 4, 5) that corresponds to the 10- to 50-meter segment desired for the athletes to sprint to. Cone 1 is set at 10 meters, cone 2 at 20 meters, and so on. The coach should predetermine the desired volume for a set. Two-hundred meters of volume could have many different looks/combinations, but the important thing is that athletes walk back quickly for the next rep. We used to do this workout in college with jog-back rest, but since I traditionally use it with younger long sprinters or older short sprinters, I usually opt to keep jogging out.

The athletes could have cone 3 called six times (30 meters x 6 = 180 meters), and then ending with a cone 2 could be the supplemental 20 meters to make it an even 200 meters. It can be any combination that adds up to 200 meters. We have called this 200 “the hard way in a hallway,” but you can run it wherever you have enough room to decelerate (inside or outside).

I like this and think it adds a layer of unpredictability. Instead of a uniform rep distance (such as 7 x 30 meters), the athletes run the reps while having to expect the unexpected. Calling out a cone 1 yields a perceived break and a resultant sigh of relief. Calling out a 50-meter rep late yields a groan, yet they still attack and relish the challenge to run fast under a little added stress. I don’t time these, although I have run head-to-head reps.

I guess, technically, this would fall under the umbrella of glycolytic short speed endurance. I think the base of acceleration really should not be rushed, so I would not use it early in general prep cycles, as it can be too much demand too soon. I do like to use it as a precursor to speed endurance or longer flys, as it eliminates a lot of hesitance with running those types of reps fast later in the season. Aggression and intent are underrated things when it comes to the average high school athlete.

I can recall one especially bad winter in which some of my more seasoned long sprinters progressed to running two sets of 300-400 meters total volume of the cone workout in the gym or hallway with about 15 minutes of rest between. Perfect? No, but it was a decent option in less than ideal conditions, which is why we are here in the first place.

Video 4. Athletes have to stay elastic for 45-60 seconds, and that means repeated double leg bounds. Sprinters don’t need to go for extended durations, but a longer session of bouncing is demanding metabolically.

Movement Circuits

Aerobic work is often debated and hated when it comes to 400m training. I am not going to debate that too much in the scope of this article, but I think some (as Carl Valle says, just a “dash”) aerobic work is required to support the 300m/400m. The longer the race and the slower the time, the more aerobic it is. However, I think the athletes who do it, as well as what events they do and where you place it in a training week, are all important things to consider before just deciding to run junk tempos. Tempos can be run beautifully and can help running form, but if the wrong athletes run them incorrectly or overzealously (or at all?), you have spoiled the training pot for the week. Where you put this work requires a little thought.

I think some aerobic work is required to support the 300m/400m…(but) where you put this work requires a little thought, says @grahamsprints. Share on X

Again, I think for females more aerobic training is necessary, due to them running longer than their male teammates. Speed reserve is king (or queen), but just a little “fitness” can extend the king’s reign.

When stuck inside with only 30 meters of space, I often improvise when I have a need for such a workout. I turn the warm-up into the workout during the early- and mid-season points. I think the athletes appreciate these workouts because they are light and allow practice to be about 30 minutes in length, which is a good thing.

I usually select the most general drills that can be done with terrific form. The simpler, the better. There is usually an array of skips, core exercises, and light drills. The important thing is that the exercises in the circuit are low-impact and not too demanding. I opt for “restoration” days to be less about med ball throws or expressing additional power and more about posture and rhythm. We are really just loosening up for the next day, and athletes usually come in feeling refreshed the next day.

The term “core exercises” as mentioned above is probably a mischaracterized and ambiguous term used to refer to exercises that challenge lumbopelvic stability/control or glute strength or focus on resisting rotation and not just the abdominals. However, I work with high school kids, so I call it “core” because it sounds exciting and challenging, and they think it gives them abs. The best “core” work of all is sprinting fast and lifting heavy. I typically run 3-4 rounds of this circuit, and a typical round looks something like this:

• Loose skip forward, 30m x 2
• Loose skip backward, 30m x 2
• Side skip, 30m x 2
• Low carioca, 30m x 2
• Core exercise: bear crawl hold, 30 secs
• 2 x 30m tempo stride or 30 jumping jack/front jacks

After the bear crawls, athletes will be breathing pretty hard. There is only enough rest between exercises so I can call out the next item and give a simple cue. The important thing is not what exercises they do, but that they do them well and look athletic.

I have experimented with a few things, and ultimately, the best information comes from asking the athletes how they feel during the workout and the day after. Once their face gets a little pink, I give them 2-3 minutes’ rest before the next set. Again, the number of sets and exercises they do depends on what you think they need and what you see. It is always about them and not about providing work for work’s sake.

To add variety, here is a list of some of the exercises I have used:

• Loose skips
• Cross and clap skips
• A-skips
• Donkey kicks
• Jumping jack variations
• Lateral pushes
• Ankle pops
• Big arm side skip
• Side shuffle
• Low carioca
• High knee carioca
• Jumping jacks
• Bear crawl
• Push-up plank
• Kick-throughs
• Bear crabs
• Cat/camel
• Deadbugs
• Bird dogs
• Push-ups

This is not the main thing, and it is just a piece of the week. We do not do aerobic work in large volumes every week or at times when we need to be at our best. I think the movement circuits have helped our athletes gain an understanding of how their bodies move, and they allow me to zero in on areas of need.

Video 5. Simple mobility and pillar strength are great ways to keep an athlete in shape by adding more without piling on the meters. A 400m athlete needs core endurance just as much as core strength.

Finding the Right Fit

Again, a lot of long sprint coaching is just identifying who has the mindset and talent to run these events. I think that culture can be created, and I have plenty of kids who have excelled at the 300m while focusing primarily on training for the dash events.

I am not advocating these training strategies for everyone, and some of my long sprinters will never see some of these reps as underclassmen. It really just depends. I can say these workouts have helped the mindset and confidence of many kids this season and last season. Our boy’s school record 300m time of 35.52 was set last winter, and several top five marks (girls and boys) were set this winter before a single rep on an actual track, so it can be done.

Coaches can still provide sufficient training for their long sprint athletes in the absence of a training facility, says @grahamsprints. Share on X

I think coaches can still provide sufficient training for their long sprint athletes in the absence of a training facility. Preparing them adequately enough to race and then allowing the races to be a major component of the training schedule when necessary can be enough to develop them and have success.

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