Steve Spence question

I seem to remember he was doing 8-12 reps with heavy weight. Squats. Maxing out, not high reps.

There was an article on his unorthodox training methods (speed first, then endurance) in Runners World around 1992. I'll see if I can find it for you.

If you're serious about an answer then email me at my user name @yahoo.com

why don't you just contact steve spence him self, he does coach at Shippensberg so it'll be pretty easy to find out how to contact him

Agreed, he's easy to reach and very willing to share his ideas.

I can help a little as I got to know a good bit about his training when he and Steve Taylor lived in Brevard, NC leading up to the 1996 OT marathon in Charlotte. There was a bunch of people training in Brevard at time. Steve Spence (who is now coaching at Shippensburg), Steve Taylor (who is the coach at Richmond I believe), Keith Brantly (made the '96 Marathon team), Howard Nippert (still a great Ultra runner for the US), Randy Ashley, Chad Newton, and a bunch of others were all training in Brevard. As I recall Spence, Taylor and Brantly all did their highest volume closest to the marathon. Like the last 6 weeks. They did their most intense speed workouts in the 5-2 months prior to their marathon race. It was opposite of what everyone else was doing at the time. I lived in a Brevard College apartment next to the track and watched Spence and Taylor do 10x1600M in 4:40 with a 400 jog as they alternated leads. I couldn't do 2 of those at the time so it impressed me. Anyway, I asked those guys why they did the high volume closest to the marathon race and they told me they liked the muscle memory of running long close to the marathon and the fact that the risk of injury was greater when training at the high miles. So, they would get fast off 100 mile weeks with speed workouts and then jump up to 120-130 miles with little to no speed work for a few weeks before the marathon and then back off the last couple weeks. I don't remember exactly how it was but it was something like that. Spence said it kept him healthy. All those guys were real easy to approach and talk to. They were never in a hurry be someplace and would talk to you all day.

Sorry, I misread the question. I don't know about his weight training. Remember, I went to Brevard :)

Any talk of his weight workouts?

I read that Runners World article and recall he did squat and bench at very high weight and low reps before going into his marathon phase of training.

Squats- 3 sets of 10-12 at 250 lbs

Bench- 3 sets of 10 at 200 lbs.

Then he did a lot of core and ab. work. Lots of it.

He only weighed around 140 lbs

March 1992

Runner's World (cover story)

title: "Hitting His Stride"

article starts on p.76, eight pages w pics & chart

link please

It's my guess that his increased leg strength helped him win the WC that year.

I remember the article, he was a high rep kind of guy until some strength coach got a hold of him and had him do some proper strength training.

An effecient cardiovascular system means nothing without an effecient muscular system to propel you forward.

Alan

I agree but I believe he won the Bronze at WC's.

memory recall wrote:

I read that Runners World article and recall he did squat and bench at very high weight and low reps before going into his marathon phase of training.

Squats- 3 sets of 10-12 at 250 lbs

Bench- 3 sets of 10 at 200 lbs.

Then he did a lot of core and ab. work. Lots of it.

He only weighed around 140 lbs

I have a hard time believing those numbers from a marathon runner. Maybe ONE rep at 200lbs and no way that squat was deep enough.

Alan

Yeah, bronze medal in the 1991 WC, and would have been a very good shot at a medal at the Olympics in 1992 but contracted some illness in Barcelona - I believe food poisoning ... still finished a very respectable 12th in the marathon.

[/quote]

I have a hard time believing those numbers from a marathon runner. Maybe ONE rep at 200lbs and no way that squat was deep enough.

Alan[/quote]

Serious question - are deep squats beneficial for a distance runner? I would think a shallow squat (more closely mimicking the stride) that finishes on the balls of the feet (thus helping toe-off) would be better.

Alan, it is true. I watched him do them and they were perfect squats. He did front and back sqats. The front squats were a lot less weight of course.

is that you Alan Webb? You surely no what an efficient cardiovascular and efficient muscular system are because that is what your body is, I know you will win an Olympic medal in 2012. I have faith in you I'm a big fan of Alan Webb

250 at good depth for 10 reps and 200 bench for 10 reps is pretty jacked for a marathon runner.

As far as full squats vs half-squats....half-squats are more sport-specific but full squats will build the foundataion (prevent injury, increase overall strength, increase time under tension, improve flexibility)

In a program I would advise full squats during the off-season and half-squats pre and in-season.

Alan

This is from "The Runners Book of Training Secrets". Doesn't really give specific details, but i guess you could look up Doug Lenz's training:

"Depending on my phase of training, I'll lift weights one or as many as three times a week," says Spence. Under the tutelage of strength coach Doug Lenz, who also works with NBA and NFL players, Spence lifts to improve strength and endurance in all parts of his body-including legs, once thought a taboo area for runners because of increasing bulk.

In the base building phase, the intensity is high (2-3 sets w/heavy weights). As racing season nears, Spence cuts back on both the weight and the number of sets to keep his muscles fresh for hard track workouts and eventually, peak races.

I doubt that he was doing 10 to 12 reps. It's too many and will start building bulk. He was probably doing the heavy weight mentioned above with 5 reps or less and complete recovery between sets.