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Good morning fellow coaches and dedicated athletes.
Today is the fifth day of virtual/distance coaching and we have a "lactic acid" workout planned.
When we have a "lactic acid" day our goal is to replicate competition. When you run, lactic acid builds up in your body. The higher the intensity of the activity/event/run the more lactic acid there is and the more intense it's affects become.
With lactic acid comes hydrogen ions. Hydrogen ions make it harder for muscles to contracts, thus athletes experience that "locked up" feeling that prevents them from pushing harder and ending an event/run as strongly as desired.
Like with anything else, the more practice we get with "fighting" that locked up feeling the better we get at dealing with it.
Without competitions currently planned, our athletes need to have some kind of practice in fighting lactic acid so that when we do finally compete they know how to deal with it properly.
The sprint coaches asked that athletes warm up, work on build ups, and run 3 150's with a 5 minute (full recovery) between runs.
Depending on space I instructed athletes to run in place for 20 seconds (at 100% speed) to replicate the 150 meters. I envision that many athletes don't have a place to train right now. A living room might be their best option; and no living room that I know of is 150 meters long...
To help with training the jumps I instructed my athletes to perform the modified at-home plyometric routine again today. I know that makes it two days in a row, but if they are truly going to condition their legs for the "pounding" they'll experience this is the best way.
With no pit, no runway, no facility use, etc. the only thing jumpers can do is perform plyometric movements 3 times weekly and perform strength and conditioning sessions 4 days weekly. Without following that routine, their event-specific conditioning and overall strength could greatly falter.
TOMORROW:
Recovery day! Lots to discuss on how to properly recover after a long week of hard workouts. Check back to see what I suggest.
Hey Logan! So glad to hear I am helping you and your athletes to get through this unprecedented time. Hearing that means the world to me! If there is anything more I can do to help please don't hesitate to let me know!!!
Hi Ryan! I am the horizontal jumps coach for Gibraltar Track & Field, and I would like to thank you for all of your dedication and hard work you put into your blog and website. I too, have devastated jumpers and we are working through it day by day to help them train from home. We read your blog to help come up with our own strategies and ideas for training so we sincerely thank you!