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…
Archives for distance training
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…
Flexibility as a Primary Physical Component in Cross Country
There are five primary physical components that are targeted for improvement during physical training. The degree of emphasis placed on each of the five components of strength, speed, flexibility, coordination, and endurance is sport specific. All must be addressed for any athlete to improve performance capacity. In cross country running, the component of endurance is…
Age Appropriate Distance Training
One of the most important reminders for those coaches involved in training young distance and middle distance runners is they are not simply miniature adults. Not only are the bodies smaller, the mind less experienced, the systems of the body not at full development, but also training has far different effects and considerations as compared…
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…
The Human Stride
The human foot is designed to only do two things, propel the body forward and absorb the shock of doing so. The center of mass of the body must balance itself on a broad, saddle-shaped pelvis that distributes the weight of the organism equally on either side of the sagittal plane straight down to…
Taking Time Off
All endurance runners need time off from training in order to regenerate the body and relax the mind. In most cases this regeneration time follows a vigorous racing schedule and an intense training period. Endurance fitness is elusive because it cannot be maintained over an indefinite length of time. Training adaptations are disruptive to the…
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,…
Levels and Types of Competition
The word competition takes on many meanings in the natural world. For two animals in competition for the same basic needs in the same ecosystem, it means survival, and ultimately life and death. Fortunately for humans, competition in the athletic domain of our society has far less consequences. Loosely defined for sporting application, competition is…
Carbohydrate Metabolism
Understanding and following proper nutritional protocol is crucial to the success of any athlete. Human cells require nutrients ingested from outside of the body to provide an energy platform for muscle contractions, amino acids for synthesizing a wide variety of protein-based components, and micro-nutrients that provide a sort of co-enzyme function in many cellular functions….
Cross Country Training: Managing Your Phases & Periods
By now almost every cross country coach in America has had some contact with the basics of training theory. This is quite a contrast from the 1980’s when only the most diehard coaches were familiar with the works of Tudor Bompa and others from the Eastern Bloc that had first organized sport training into chunks…
How to Plan Summer Training for Cross Country Runners
As the track season winds down in the spring, distance runners enter a time that sport scientists call the transitional phase in the annual plan. More specifically, it’s the time where summer training for cross country becomes the priority. Track is an unusual sport in that there is no one time that all of the athletes…