I am training for the 400m and run it in around 61-62 seconds and can't seem to break that barrier. I am in the M50-54 Age group. Can anyone provide any workouts and/or advice on how to improve my leg speed and cadence? I have a pretty good endurance base and have ran mostly 800m/1000m/1500m races in the past years.
Have you considered running the 400m in 59-60s instead?
I don't have my calculator handy, but that sounds faster to me
Try short steep hills on grass (30m) a couple times a week before your competition season.
Also, you should def be hitting some long rest sprints under 100m a lot during the year. You have to build that top end speed.
And do you even lift, bro?
Careful with it, but plyos and heavy resistance are great for speed. I know that's not very specific, but just general topics to begin with.
How do you expect any suggestions for new workouts if you don't tell us how you're training already?
Thanks. I've been doing the steep hills (20 sec - 30 sec) every 2 weeks for the past month. Have a 300m race in 3 weeks, so stopped now. I've been also doing 10 x 100m in 14.7 sec with 1:30 Walk R and 6 x 150m in 21.6 sec. with 3:00 Walk R. As far as weights go, been lifting once a week (upper body and hamstring curls).
I lift weights once a week, and run 4 times a week. A typical week of training is:
Monday - Weights
Tuesday - 3 x 600 with 3:00 R @ 85%-95%
or
2 sets of (400-300-200) with 4:00;3:30;3:30 Walk R
Wednesday - Rest
Thursday - Long jog 40 min. or 20 minute Tempo run
Friday - Rest
Saturday - 6 x 150 with 3:30 R @ 90-95%
or
10 x 100m in 14.7 @ 85-90% with 1:30 Walk R
Sunday - Short jog 30 min with running drills
as a fellow 400M Master.... stop thinking of yourself as a Master!
You don't need to train much differently than a younger sprinter would, apart form monitoring your recovery levels between sessions and taking more active recovery days.
Work on you speed on the track, accelerations and flies, short and long hills with good rest.
And hit the gym! the biggest thing 'Masters' drop is weight training.
I run
and will be soon having a 'Masters-Coaching' section for this exact thing
Good luck, don't give up
Well first things first, you're a 61-62 second 400m runner - master doesn't really come into it.
Is 400m your target? -Seems to me that you're training more for 800m than 400m.
I had a big post written out criticizing the training but that didn't seem productive and seemed like I was having a go.
Things I will say:
-You have 0 speed training there (no your saturday session is not speed). I'd dedicate at least 1 day a week to your speed training and pending on time of year another day can be for speed endurance/special endurance. Speed training in this sense mean reps of between 30-80m with 3mins+ recovery (300m or so total volume)
-Ask yourself why are you doing a certain session and what's it doing for me for 400m. Is 400m an aerobic race? Do you need tempo runs/Jogs? Is aerobic important to training (yes), is there a better way for a sprinter to train his/her aerobic system (yes! look up extensive and intensive tempo).
- How much recovery you take is vital to a session. You seem to take very little recovery which is fine sometimes if going for a particular effect but all your training is a middle distance runner thinking this is how you train sprints.
-Weights/Strength very important for sprinter - if want to maintain 4 runs & 1 weights, consider changing a Sunday session to full warm up (which should include drills) and then 4-6 x 5second hills with 3mins recovery, then some plyometric excercises (maybe start at 60-80 jumps and build up to 150 or so after couple months), you get to run but heavy focus on power.
No expert here but:
As other poster already stated no real speed work in your weekly schedule.
- 20-30s hills are too long - of course that can also be part of training but it is not for speed. Better something like 10s or even less - with long recovery - 3-5min.
- 10x100 with 1:30 rest is not speed as well
-10x40-60m with 3-4-5min of rest is speed training.
- Lifting weights for upper body is not what you need, you need squats, half and quarters not deep.
- Leg presses etc.
Plyos - be careful with them, start very easily you are 50.
If you can run with above training 61-62s then you are good, but you need to increase your 100 and 200m speed to break 60s.
Just keep pushing and it will come.
I agree with the other guy. More lifting. And lift year round.
You need to do some bulgarian split squats, lunges, back squats, add in some band work (especially targeting the old-guy hip issues).
Also, why the short rest on the 100s, but longer rest on the 150s?
I'd keep longer rest on the 100s to emphasize top end speed, and shorten the rest on the 150s for lactic threshold work.
I also wonder if taking out the short hills is necessary if you're only doing them every 2 weeks. They have a similar effect to weight training, and it's been shown that abandoning weights results in performance loss --- maybe the same applies to the hill sprints.
There is a great article on 400M training by Clyde Hart at https://www.usatf.org/groups/Coaches/library/2007/Sprint%20Training/Clyde_Hart3.pdf
Worked for me recently- age 48 (57.44)
-3 x 250 5-6 minute rest- close to 100% effort
-2 x 325 100% effort 7-8 minute rest
-4-6 150's sprint- float - sprint
-50/60 meter starts
Specific race pace workouts
-3 x 200 :60 rest. Add up and average should be close to your 400 current potential
Short steep 100 meter hills 8-10 reps.
8-10 100's on track 3:00 recovery all out.
Light plyos at the end of EVERY workout- don't wast time dedicating an entire day to plyos, just incorporate skips, bounds, 1 legged hops, broad jumps, etc at the end and they will add up over time.
Thanks for the advice Ashaman. Actually I'm a middle distance runner and would like now to run the 400m. My target 400m race is in 9 weeks. I mostly ran the 1600m in High School and never had any formal sprint training. I like your advice on the Sunday session, makes more sense to me.
Thanks for the advice. I'll do more lifting. I've had some knee issues, so that's why I don't do many hill sprints, and squats / lunges with weights. I know they are important, but just don't want to risk much there.
Thanks for the Clyde Hart article.
Please help and need your wisdom! I'm nearly 60 and training for the 400m Senior Olympics State Summer Games July 2018 qualifier for National Senior Olympics Summer Games June 2019. My best time for indoor 200m was 30.34sec and 60m 9.10sec. When I did 400m I croaked at the last 100-150m towards the finish line. Any suggestion or wise advise if you're in my shoes? Thanks for your wisdom!
Nice thread, looking to improve my speed for the 800.
Here's a page with more 400m workouts. Note: no long runs or tempo runs.
Please help and need your wisdom! I'm nearly 60 and training for the 400m Senior Olympics State Summer Games July 2018 qualifier for National Senior Olympics Summer Games June 2019. My best time for indoor 200m was 30.34sec and 60m 9.10sec. When I did 400m I croaked and my legs felt like lead at the last 100-150m towards the finish line. Any suggestion or wise advise if you're in my shoes? Thanks for your wisdom!
I'm a bit confused that some of the articles I read are not matching up. How do you determined the %age seconds? For example at 70-80% pace, if I ran 31sec 200m then multiply by .70 equals 52sec. Is that correct? Is this means I run the 200m at 52-53sec?
the blob wrote:
Try short steep hills on grass (30m) a couple times a week before your competition season.
Also, you should def be hitting some long rest sprints under 100m a lot during the year. You have to build that top end speed.
And do you even lift, bro?
Careful with it, but plyos and heavy resistance are great for speed. I know that's not very specific, but just general topics to begin with.
End of thread.