Mr. Renato Canova: Question about maintaining speed while running high volume

Renato, can you show an example of the training of Mo Farah leading up to Barcelona?

Renato Canova wrote:

I suggest to have ONE TRAINING specific every 4 days, using high volume but low intensity in between, and some short sprint uphill in order to maintain the max mechanical and nervous efficiency.

Mr. Canova, can you please explain of how the sprints can be added to the schedule?

For example, do you add the sprints to every low intensity day? Or to the Specific Training day? And how many sprints for each day? Thank you

Day1: SPECIFIC TRAINING

Day2: high volume low intensity <- here?

Day3: high volume low intensity

Day4: high volume low intensity

Day5: SPECIFIC TRAINING

Because sprint is sprint only when we use max. intensity, NEVER we have to put sprint (with the goal of recruiting fibres) when already we have a specific workout (if specific, is a workout of high intensity). In the case you show, the best collocation is in the middle (the day after what you indicated with the arrow).

In any case, we can use shorter sprints (no longer than 60m) uphill, in little quantity (for example, 6 times only) every time the legs are heavy and the athlete is not able to maintain a good frequency. In this case, we need to stimulate the nervous system, and short sprints are an easy way for reaching this goal.

Renato Canova wrote:

Because sprint is sprint only when we use max. intensity, NEVER we have to put sprint (with the goal of recruiting fibres) when already we have a specific workout (if specific, is a workout of high intensity). In the case you show, the best collocation is in the middle (the day after what you indicated with the arrow).

In any case, we can use shorter sprints (no longer than 60m) uphill, in little quantity (for example, 6 times only) every time the legs are heavy and the athlete is not able to maintain a good frequency. In this case, we need to stimulate the nervous system, and short sprints are an easy way for reaching this goal.

Thank you, Renato.

Your knowledge and clarity is much appreciated.

Mr. Canova,

I've appreciated your contributions here and enjoy hearing your perspectives. I always enjoy seeing how coaches approach the mechanical/movement aspects of programming as the tenants of the metabolic end are pretty well understood.

You use a great deal of uphill work for the mechanical aspects of training. Is this out of seeking more total fiber recruitment? From a pattern specific aspect, do you feel we can get good transfer from uphill sprinting to flat or track running given the different neuromechanical patterns of each? Is flat ground sprinting ever a priority in your programming?

Thank you for your time.

Regards,

Carson Boddicker

www.BoddickerPerformance.com

A speed workout, is not a science class!!