Coach Huyton

speed & conditioning

Things you should know about training

STRENGTH, CONDITIONING &

WEIGHT TRAINING
FOR sprinters & jumpers

Coach Huyton
coachhuyton@hotmail.co.uk

STRENGTH
WHAT IS Strength?
Strength is defined as the ability to exert a force against an object. For
sprinters and jumpers, this object is simple- the track! There are lots of
different kinds of strength, so it is essential that you chose the right type of
strength training to ensure that you are strong enough to run and jump!
Below are some basic principles which will help you to understand what types
of strength sprinters and jumpers need and how you can improve your
strength to help you become more powerful.

Types of Strength
There is more than just one type of strength, in fact, there are quite a few!
The table below explains some of the types of strength sprinters and jumpers
need and which exercises are involved:
Type of Strength
Speed Strength

Explosive Strength /
Power
Maximum Strength

Strength Endurance
Eccentric Strength

Reactive Strength

Coach Huyton
coachhuyton@hotmail.co.uk

Explanation
Being able to move a light
object quickly again and
again
Being able to move a
heavy object with a lot of
speed
Lifting as heavy a weight
as possible in a slow and
controlled way
Ability of the athlete to
keep moving repeatedly
Ability of the athlete to
stop in a controlled way.
This type of training works
on the muscles lengthening
Ability of the athlete to
land on the ground and
power back off the ground

Exercise / Example
Light medicine ball work
i.e. fast chest press,
Sprint start
Take off in Long Jump
Olympic Lifting
Anything that is 1 Rep
Max. i.e. squat so heavy
that you cant do it again!
Circuit Training, running
Static Plyometric (jump &
stick)
Downward phase of the
bicep curl (bicep
lengthens)
Reactive Plyometrics
(jump, land, jump) ,
sprinting

CONDITIONING
Staying conditioned is one of the most important things that an athlete can
do. It means that the body is conditioned to cope with the demands of
training and that your body will adapt the best it can to develop you as an
athlete.
Conditioning exercises should underline every aspect of your sprints, jumps
and weight training programme. Being in poor condition will result in injuries,
poor performance, lack of strength development, poor biomechanics and
running technique- all of which are essential in becoming a fast and powerful
athlete!
These types of sessions can be done as part of your warm-ups and cool
downs around your running, jumping or weights sessions. They are also a
great session to do if you are unable to get to the track or the gym.
Conditioning exercises include:
- stretching (both dynamic & static)
- myofascial release (foam roller, massage etc)
- keeping body aligned (your coach or physio can check this!)
- use of resistance bands
- mobility exercises around the hips and glutes
- core training; situp
- ability to do body weight exercises such as press ups, sit ups etc.

Myofascial Release
Myofascial release is the posh term for a technique that is used to relax the
muscles, increase blood circulation and increase lymphatic drainage (getting
rid of lactic!!). Without myofascial release, athletes will experience pain and a
restriction of movement in their muscles and joints. This means that they
cannot apply enough force to the blocks or the ground, do not get the
feedback from the track as your nerves are blocked from sending the signals
to your muscles and ultimately, you cannot run as fast!
Myofacial release techniques include:
- massage from coach / physio
- use of foam roller
- use of a tennis ball

Coach Huyton
coachhuyton@hotmail.co.uk

WEIGHT TRAINING
WHAT IS WEIGHT TRAINING?
Weight training refers to any exercise in which you load the body with
weights. Training with weights forces the body to adapt to this new demand
of the heavy weight, therefore allowing the body to become stronger.
Weights include:
- medicine balls
- dumbbells
- barbells
- kettle bells
- sand bags
- weighted vests
- weighted sledge
- cable pulley machines
- resistance machines

TYPES OF WEIGHT TRAINING FOR SPRINTERS & Jumpers

The aim of any sprinters or jumpers weight programme is to develop SPEED
& POWER. There are 4 main categories of weight training exercises that can
be used in order to become stronger and more powerful. The table below
explains the 4 categories and how they are needed for power athletes:
Type of Weight Training

Explanation

Exercise Example

Olympic Lifts

These are the

names of 2 lifting
techniques which
are used in
competitive
weight lifting.

Clean & Jerk and

the Snatch

Static Lifts

Refer to exercises Squats, bench

done at slowly
press, shoulder
and controlled
press etc

Ballistic Lifts

These exercises
can be done at
high speeds

Coach Huyton
coachhuyton@hotmail.co.uk

Weighted vest
drills / jumps,
medicine ball

Why Sprinters & jumpers

need them
These 2 lifts develop
coordination, flexibility,
speed and strength.
They also teach the
nerves to fire quicker
which makes the
muscles move faster.
The exercises work on
the major muscles
groups (glutes, chest,
shoulders) and allow the
exercise to be done in a
slow and controlled way,
allowing the athlete to
learn parts of the
Olympic Lifting
Help develop elastic /
explosive strength

Bodybuilding Lifts

These exercises
focus on the
small muscle
groups by
isolating them in
a particular
exercise

work
Bicep Curl, Calf
Raises,

Allows athlete to work

on their weaknesses,
build overall strength

REPS and Sets

How do you know that your weight training is developing the right kind of
strength thing? The answer is to look at the repetitions and sets you are
doing. The table below shows you that in order to train for certain types of
strength, you have to stick to certain ranges of reps and sets- and take a
certain amount of rest in between the sets!
Which strength are you developing?

How many reps

How many sets

Maximum Strength
Power
Strength Endurance
Hypertrophy (building bigger muscles)
General Strength / Fitness

1-5
2-5
5-8
8-12
30-90 secs per set

3-4
3- 5
4-5
4
1- 4

How much
recovery
3-10 minutes
3-10 minutes
30-60secs
30-60 secs
Few seconds

THE IMPORTANCE OF REST AND RECOVERY WHILST WEIGHT TRAINING

When the body takes part in weight training, it learns to adapt to the weight,
therefore becoming stronger and building more dense muscles to overcome
the weight. The aim of weight training is to break down and tear the muscle
fibres so that they grow back bigger and stronger.
Without enough rest between your training sessions, your muscles do not
have time to repair and grow stronger, instead your muscles become weaker,
tired and prone to injury! It takes 48-72 hours for muscles to recover from a
tough session- therefore, you should not be training the same muscles within
that time period. Let them rest!!!

Coach Huyton
coachhuyton@hotmail.co.uk

How do I design my own weight training

Your
-

weight training programme depends on the following factors:

what you are training for
how much time you have- how many sessions per week
your current condition

As a relative beginner to weight training, you want to ensure that:

- you have a basic understanding into the correct techniques. You can
ask your local Gym Instructor, or why not invite your coach along to a
weights sessions
- you follow a Weight Training Progression Plan which can be set out by
your Coach.

The diagram below is a chart explaining how all 4 weight training

programmes can be used to complement each other and used to help the
athlete learn the different lifting techniques involved.
The green arrow represents the athletes Learning Progression- and how a
beginner athlete should approach learning the techniques of weight training,
only move on until the Coach is happy that the athlete has grasp the
techniques of the category.
The red arrow represents how an athlete could progress through the
categories as the training season progresses.

Coach Huyton
coachhuyton@hotmail.co.uk

Weight Training Progression Plan

For 1 season

STATIC LIFTS

BALLASTIC LIFTS

OLYMPIC LIFTS
Coach Huyton
coachhuyton@hotmail.co.uk

CONDITIONING

BODY BUILDING LIFTS

EXAMPLES OF SESSIONS
Body Building Session for a Sprinter/ Jumper to
develop Strength Endurance
(these sessions are usually split over 2-5 sessions so that you can work on
different body parts within each session i.e. Chest, Shoulders, Back, Legs etc)
Exercise
Lateral Pull Down
Bicep Curl
Dumbbell Shoulder
Press
Dumbell Chest Flys
Cable Cross Overs
Leg Press Machine

Sets
4
4
4

Reps
8
8
8

4
4
4

8
8
8

Ballistic Lifts Session for a Sprinter / Jumper

(The weight used for this should be between 10-30% of the athletes
body weight)
Exercise
Sledge Pulling
Drills in a weighted
jacket
MB Chest Throw
MB Overhead Throw

Sets
3-5
3-5

Reps
5-10
5-10

3-5
3-5

5-10
5-10

Static Lifts Session for a Sprinter to develop

Maximum Strength
(These should be completed with a weight in which the athlete can lift in a
controlled manner)
Exercise
Squats
Bench Press
Shoulder Press
Deadlift

Coach Huyton
coachhuyton@hotmail.co.uk

Sets
3
3
3
3

Reps
3
3
3
3

OLYMPIC LIFTS
These are very specialised lifting techniques and should only be undertaken
once the athlete has a good level of general strength and has a basic
understanding into the technique (after following the Weight Training
Progression Plan). Here are the 2 Olympic Lifts:

The Snatch

The Clean & Jerk

Coach Huyton
coachhuyton@hotmail.co.uk

In order to perfect these two lifts, the following session is recommended:

DEADLIFT

WEIGHTED LUNGES

OVERHEAD SQUAT

Coach Huyton
coachhuyton@hotmail.co.uk

FRONT SQUAT

SHOULDER PRESS

THE PULL