Running and sprinting are different beasts

I think what I’m most surprised about is that he put on spikes.

That's not robust evidence that sprinting cannot be trained.

I’m not saying that it can’t be trained. But to what degree? I’m saying that the rate on return, for time invested is very small. Fitness expert Lyle McDonald also says the same thing, and he should know having spent years sprint training for cycling and in line skating. To paraphrase his words…sprint training is a few sporadic hard efforts, interspersed with a lot of sitting around, for not much to show in the way of improvement. But I suppose that in an activity that success or failure can be measured in thousandths of a second, you would be prepared to strive for the slightest of marginal gains. But for another sport / activity, where other factors are more, if not equally as important, I suppose the minimal effective dose would apply, if at all.

Would it be feasible for Farah to spend an inordinate amount of time on his sprinting technique at the expense of other facets of his training? Unlikely. What about a soccer player? Hours on sprint work, at the expense of skills and game play / tactics?

I read a study where it was highlighted that the fastest sprinters in the world were ALWAYS the fastest, growing up, in whatever societal group, they found themselves in (eg school, college, sports teams etc). Training perhaps only played a part in separating them once they had reached the top of the mountain and even then genetics, mind set, etc may have been as much of, if not more of a factor.

The same can be said of other attributes such as VO2 max for distance runners. Trainable? Yes. By much? Probably not.

What about strength for lifters? A recent study, using data from a German gym company, who’s clients all trained in the same HIT fashion, and where data was meticulously kept over a seven year time span, showed that strength gains pretty much topped out after a year, regardless of the individual. To ensure that it wasn’t the style of training that was at fault, this was cross referenced against strength progressions from competing, high level powerlifters, who would use various styles, volumes, methods of training, over the same seven years. Guess what? Their strength levels pretty much topped out after a year also. After that it was marginal gains. We are talking tiny jumps.
It then boils down to how important the activity is to you…

Exactly. I guarantee you Mo has never done adequate block start work, acceleration work, or heavy lifting. Even the technique stuff will cost you more than a second if you haven’t mastered it.

He has closed 5ks and 10ks in 50 seconds, thats faster sprint speed than 99.9% of the population. No doubt he was likely a 48 guy at the time.

Ive gone from a guy that couldn’t break 28 in a 200m race to running low 23s to close out workouts. It’s all about patience and doing the right work.

The thing is…it is unlikely that his sports day rival ( who was wearing jeans) had any specific sprint training either.

Farah was beaten by Anthony Joshua, the heavyweight boxer, in a 100 metre race ( during his competitive years) in a reboot episode of the old Superstars program. Farah on that occasion was nowhere near breaking 13 seconds.

My bad…in the Superstars program 100 metres ( in 2012…post Olympics) Farah did break 13 seconds…just (12.98) but trailed in a distant third.

Both the Brownlee brothers, triathletes and good distance runners in their own right however, could not crack 14 seconds however.

Everyone knows that sprinters are born and distance runners made. We all knew who the fast kids were in 4 th grade, in the playground. That kid stayed fast. That is clear proof that fast people are born fast.

Incorrect. ALL elite athletes, regardless of the distance they run or the sport they excel in, are born and what they make of it is up to them. It all starts (and usually ends) with innate talent.

would you mind sharing your schedule (as simple as which day do what) for (actual) hobbyjoggers wanna dabble into shorter distances (800/1500)?

If you don't think elite distance runners have been blessed with something that 99% of the population haven't, you're way off the mark.

At an elite level everyone is genetically blessed.

One difference that may create the perception of born vs made for sprinters and distance runners respectively is the particpation rates.

There are plenty of people who will jog occassionally, maybe enter a 10k and run 45minutes. With training they will get down to mid 30 - everyone looks at that as an example of trainability.

You will not find an equivalent in the sprints. No-one is turning up at an open to run an 18 second 100m, then committing to training and progressing to 12 seconds. Basically anyone that races at sprints has been training at sprints for some time.

The exponentially greater numbers of recreational runners putting out very modest performances gives far more visibility of the difference between those that train and those that don't.

It is almost certain that the jeans dad had sprint training at some point in life, either in track or soccer or whatever sport he chose to play growing up. Fast people try to get faster no matter what sport they join.

While sprinting and running are in fact totally different, the idea that you max out weight gains after a year is ludicrous. Even 2 years, or 3 years, or 5 years. Absolutely not.

Maybe I read it incorrectly.

Same with sprints, btw.

Both runners and sprinters are born. Usain Bolt could never do what Mo Farah does no matter how much he trained.

Not necessarily accurate. My brother who is 2 years younger than me was considered fast in grade school and high school. I was considered slow and, consequently, got cut in high school. Ffwd a few years and I was drafted in a running-centric sport and he wasn't. You can call me a late bloomer but I went from not being known for being fast to speed being my strength.

Boxers train for superior explosiveness and reaction time in the weight room and on the mat. They also do a good deal of hill sprints, jogging, and flat sprints. Although not specific 100m training, still probably more 100m specific than anything mo was doing.

I surmise it’s 95% genetics and 5% work.
i have coached a lot of kids, some with huge gains, but the truly gifted ones were obvious. Hard workers make big gains, but start from a place of average and the gifted start with a lead and can work hard to become amazing.
running and sprinting alike (or lifting).
ball sports can be a little more “fair” to pure workers, but talent almost always reigns supreme.

Of course! I do a good deal of periodization but I’ll share a sample week for precomp and comp.

Monday: easy, 6-8 hill sprints of 50-150m

Tuesday: usually something like 12x400m w/lap jog rest. Goal is 3k pace working down to mile pace on the last 1-3 reps. Lifting day. I lift more like a sprinter than a distance runner, lots of heavy 6-8 rep sets.

Wednesday: easy, flat strides equaling 800m in volume. Usually 100s or 150s.

Thursday: 3x1k w/ 400m jog, usually a tempo effort but ultimately comes out to faster than tempo pace. Rest up and do some dynamics, throw on some spikes and then 6x200m @800m pace w/200m walk. Weights afterwards.

Friday: easy volume unload day, usually only like 4-5 miles and then some relaxed 150s, and drills/technique work

Saturday: usually 10-13 miles with something like 4-6 miles of that at a threshold effort. I’ll do half mile on/off, 3 tempo-2 easy- 2 tempo, or just a 4-5 mile flat out tempo usually.

Total volume usually 60-65 miles or roughly 100 km.

When in a competition period, 12x400m replaces the long run workout, the 3x1k +200s will become 8x200m or 8x400m at 8/15 race pace, and then Tuesday will become a dedicated speed endurance day where I’m doing 3-4x50m to start out, and then will rip 150s, 200s, and occasionally 300s nearly all out with long rest. I usually lose my ability run anything respectable over a mile during this phase, but will get very strong in that 600-1000m hell zone.

Mileage is more like 40-50 at this point.

It was strength gains…not weight gains.
And I said “pretty much” max out after a year. So much so that it is only for the truly motivated, either extrinsically or intrinsically, that chasing the small margins might be seen as beneficial and worth it. For the rest of us we would see it as maintenance, due to how much the progression will slow down.

Watch the video that I posted. Farah just doesn’t have that explosiveness in him. In other reports about the incident at the sports day, Farah is quoted himself as having to admit that he is NOT a sprinter.

BTW…the winner was a teacher…and Farah was third. So that’s two who would have had to have been specifically sprint trained…if your theory is correct. And don’t forget…Farah brought his spikes…