I have been a lurker of the “elitetrack.com” forums forever since I can remember looking up training on the Internet. From browsing through various sprint discussions, one guy that I have a huge amount of respect for regarding speed development is Josh Hurlebaus. If you ever scan the forums of Elitetrack, you will know exactly what I am talking about. Josh is a sprint coach, as well as a successful sprinter, both on the collegiate and post-collegiate level. He is also from my home state of Wisconsin. In my own coaching, I used much of his workouts he posted on Elitetrack for my sprinters, and it paid off in the 2010 NCAA DIII indoor national championship of Callen Martin in the 3rd best 55-meter dash of all time! Based on all this, I had to ask him some questions regarding speed development. Here are his answers.
Just Fly Sports: What are your thoughts on the L/S (long to short) vs. S/L (short to long) system in regards to the type/ability level of the athlete being trained for the 100/200m dashes? How do you feel this changes for a 400m runner? (Sorry… this could end up in a book being written, feel free to answer only as much as you like.)
JH: For a 100/200 runner I will always choose a short to long approach, regardless of ability level or body type. The benefits are manifold but to boil it down it is because of a few reasons
- Acceleration is a skill and not only needs to be trained, but maintained.
- Reaching a sprinter’s highest possible maximal velocity requires efficient acceleration, which can only be taught and ingrained through many repetitions throughout the year, not just competition.
- Due to the mechanics of acceleration, you can begin work on it immediately without fear of hamstring pulls that are common if one attempts maximal velocity when the body is not prepared for the forces, however, the gradual lengthening of the acceleration work throughout the phases will, in turn, prepare the body for said max v work later on.
- Sprinting only improves if you practice it. More practice = better sprinting.
For a 400 runner, I actually keep the preseason the same as the 100/200 runners. The 400 specific work comes early on in the season in the form of multiple races at 200/400 on meet days and slightly increased tempo volume (not intensity) during the week. The speed days will have slightly less emphasis on acceleration work (not removing it completely) and have more work done via flies or 98% SE work to promote max V rhythm and efficient running. When event-specific runs are used, they replace a speed day, never a tempo day, as they tend to be fairly taxing on the body.
*Editors Note: For those not familiar, a long to short training system involves starting the training year off with almost exclusively longer sprints and little true speed work and then moving down to shorter sprints and a higher amount of speed work as the year moves on. Short to long training works the race from the inside out, and is based on maximizing acceleration and shorter fly sprints early in the year and then converting that ability into race-specific endurance as the year moves on towards the peak.
Just Fly Sports: What are your thoughts regarding the use/time frame of Max Strength development for sprint athletes?
JH: Max Strength is present in our program in some way or form at least 80% of the year. Given the adaptation that takes place neurally from high weight/low rep/high rest training without the soreness from a hypertrophy style or general weights program, it is a natural fit. However, that doesn’t mean that general lifting or hypertrophy isn’t used. General lifts are present as auxiliary work on tempo days to increase fitness and aid recovery without the impact of tempo runs.
We start generally for a couple of weeks before sprinting begins as both a means to help the athlete establish a workout habit, to restore fitness, and to eliminate the soreness that happens from returning from an off period before sprinting begins. Work then dives right into max strength work in Olympic lifts, squats, and bench. After the first 6 weeks of max strength work, we then will prescribe different set/rep schemes or begin specific strength phases to bring about the changes we feel necessary for the athlete.
Just Fly Sports: What is your opinion on overspeed work (downhill, elastic tubing, etc.)?
JH: I feel like overspeed can be done safely if you are smart about it and don’t go nuts about it volume or distance. Sprinting with a tailwind is the absolute best overspeed you can do. Warm spring winds = great training stimulus and I have found that PRs come very soon after sessions that are both warm and windy (as long as proper recovery is allowed for the session!). I have used very slight downgrades for overspeed, but sparingly, as it is extremely easy to let your form go to hell without even realizing it.
About Josh:
Josh Hurlebaus is the sprints coach at Carroll University and recently coached LJ Hyland to an All-America finish and school record (dropping a full second off of his PR) in his inaugural year in charge of the Carroll sprinters. Josh has been an Elitetrack member since 2005 and is actively involved in many sprint discussions. He also has consulted various All-American sprinters from other schools such as Zach Lee and Scott Thomas.
A former Carroll athlete himself, Josh was a 4x All-American and continued to set personal records post-collegiately. He was a 1x USATF Indoor Qualifier. Below are his personal bests.
60m- 6.73
100m-10.38
200- 20.97 (21.47indoor)
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