Are the cross country runners on your team getting better each day, or are they just getting tired each day? It is surely not the same thing. Lots of different workouts will leave even the fittest distance runner tired and exhausted, but was it a proper stimulus for the time of the season? Today we…
Archives for Cross Country workouts
Stimulus, Adaptation, Fitness, Timeframes and the Cross Country Athlete
Why do distance runners need to train all summer, effectively doubling the length of their fall season, in order to be competitive in the championship cross country meets at the end of the year? The answer lies in the rate by which physiological changes occur in humans. Today we will discuss stimulus, adaptation, fitness, and…
Analyzing Work Sessions for the Cross Country Athlete
Cross country coaches need to be prolific note takers because not only is there much data associated with the sport, things are happening so quickly that unless a few notes are scribbled down as they occur, thoughts will be forgotten. Analyzing work sessions, or the day’s workout, gives a picture of where the runners are…
Cross Country Assessment of the Primary Physical Components
Cross Country Assessment of the Primary Physical Components To improve athletic performance in any sport requires ongoing development of the five primary physical components: speed, endurance, strength, flexibility, and coordination. Balanced development in these five bio-motor skills is sport specific with the training emphasis on each of the five determined by the demands of the…
Endurance as a Primary Physical Component in Cross Country
Endurance as a Primary Physical Component in Cross Country It can be said that a high level of endurance is the most important of the five primary physical components found in a cross country runner. The danger in making such a statement is that it may diminish the importance of the other four: speed, strength,…
The Nine Day Cross Country Training Microcycle
Applying the principles of contemporary training theory is an important aspect of coaching cross country runners. In general, training theory applies the laws of the natural world to the science of longer distance running so that coaches do not have to rely on trial and error or anecdotal beliefs in setting up a sequential training…
Cross Country Workout Themes
One of the most important chores that a cross country coach does is to set the workout themes for the many daily sessions during the season. The workouts must be compatible with the other workouts that are sequenced around each other, and themes must be appropriate for the time in the macrocycle in which they…
Scott Christensen’s 2 Favorite Cross Country Workouts
Most cross country coaches have been running since high school and college, or newly enjoy running now. There are some workouts that seem to always go very well for you, but others that result in an endless struggle. From these workouts emerge favorites, but they may not be the best type of work for your…
A Test for Aerobic Capacity
There are many tests available for coaches to use in assessing the track and field and cross country athletes aerobic abilities on their teams. Throws coaches commonly use the over-head backward toss of the shot, jumping coaches use the three-legged bound, and distance coaches use the Kosmin Test; all in an attempt to predict future…
Speed and Ancillary Training in the Distance Events
Perspectives. Distance run training geared toward the development of energy system efficiency, cardiovascular fitness, and buffering capabilities is the foundation of any good distance program. Yet, there are several other forms of training that are applicable to endurance training, serving a specific purpose that can enhance performance, increase the effectiveness of other forms of training,…
The Tempo Run
The tempo run is a valuable training unit component that should be found in the microcycles of both middle-distance and distance runners, including cross country athletes. The name is derived from a musical term that refers to a recognized “rate of speed”. The rate of speed, or tempo, used in training distance runners is the…
Cold Weather Considerations for the Runner
Distance running at any temperature generates metabolic heat production inside the athlete, even with cold weather running. The chemical conversion of carbohydrate and fats to ATP is only about 35% efficient, with the remaining 65% lost as heat in the complicated bio-chemical processes inside the cell. While this seems like a lot of lost heat,…