400m and 400m Hurdles Speed Work

The 400m is all about speed and the ability to run at

over 90% of maximum speed for the duration of the race.
This involves building a level of tolerance to the raised
lactate levels in the bloodstream (produced by working at a
level too high to adequately re-oxygenate the blood).
There are 3 areas of work that are needed to produce
your best results in a race.
Pure Speed - this is the ability to improve your top
speed. Even the greatest athletes on the planet can only hold
this for up to 40m, but if you improve this then running at
90% of maximum speed is clearly faster.
Speed Endurance - The key to 100m and 200m
running, this is also very important here. It is the ability to
run at near maximal speed for further than pure speed will
allow. Generally, this doesn't involve high levels of lactate
and will be repetitions of up to 150m (or maybe 200m if
long recoveries are involved).
Lactic Tolerance - 400m races are won and lost in the
last 100m often by the athlete who "dies" the least. A runner
like Michael Johnson used to move away most significantly
from the rest of the field in the last 100m - not because he
accelerated, but because he slowed less than the other
athletes. Here you are looking to condition your body to
cope well with the high levels of lactate or lactic acid, which
are causing you to slow (a natural reaction of the body to
avoid your doing permanent damage to yourself).
Here are some examples of the types of session that a
400m/400m hurdler would undertake. These sessions are
for an athlete in reasonable condition who is fit enough to
handle training at a reasonably intense level. As mentioned
before for a personalized training schedule with advice,
please use our interactive Online Training facility.
We have split the year into 3 sections for each type of
training - conditioning, pre-competition and competition
phases.

Maximum Speed

Often maximum speed sessions will be added to other
sessions - always done before fatigue has set in to avoid
injury.

Conditioning - there is little need to do this here - the
aim is to get fit and strong and add in the speed in the
forthcoming phases. It is however very useful to do
technique and drill work at this time, so you are ready for
the explosive work later on. These elements should be
maintained throughout the year.

Pre-Competition - a session such as:

4 x 40m with 5 minutes rest prior to a longer session
will start to build up speed in this phase.

Competition - here speed is essential.
A Session such as:

4 x 30m from blocks
3 x flying 30m (with a 20m run up)
3 x 30 overspeed work (with elastic or slightly
downhill would make a very good workout. It is important
to note that this is very intensive and good preparation over
the previous months is needed to attempt it without undue
risk of injury.

Speed Endurance

Conditioning - Light sessions to get used to running at
a reasonable speed are useful e.g. 10 x 150m (3mins) (80%
effort)
Pre-Competition - here we would cut the number of
repetitions, but try to increase the intensity 5 x 200m
(7mins) (90% effort)

Competition - This would involve sessions with very
long recoveries, as you would try to run as fast as you can on
each effort e.g. 4 x 150m (15mins) (98% effort) This is not
100% effort - as it is not possible - you are trying to run as
fast as you can, whilst maintaining as much relaxation as
possible.

Lactic Acid Tolerance

Finally we come to the key for 400m runners - the
training to adapt the body to cope well with the onset of high
levels of lactate. This sort of training needs to be done about
twice a week for runners wishing to compete at their best.
HOWEVER, you need to have a high level of general
background fitness before this training will benefit you and
not run an unreasonably high level of risk of injury or illness.

Conditioning - This work will be fairly aerobic, to
prepare your fitness levels for later in the year. However,
you lactate levels will be high, due to the short recoveries
and the work will be tough 6 x 500m (4mins) (running at a
controlled pace)

Pre-Competition - The most important time of the
year for this training. High quality runs with significant
recoveries (approx. 10mins) at a pace normally about race
pace if the rep were 200m longer (e.g. if it is 600m - do it at
800m race pace). 600, 500, 400, 300 (10mins) (pace as
described)

Competition - Here your races will provide some of
the conditioning for lactate tolerance that you need - other
training will replicate this. 500, 300, 200 (20mins) (as fast as
possible)


400m and 400m hurdles Strength
Training

The development of strength and, particularly, power
are further key elements in the harmony of a 400m runner.
Therefore the work described here is the same as for
sprinters. The additional endurance needed for 400m
running is attained from other parts of the training regime.
This is done with a combination of weights and
plyometric work.

400m Weight Training

The key to weight training for any sport is to be
specific to the sport. There is no point in just getting
stronger, you need to ascertain which muscles are required
for your sport and where they need to be strong (shift large
weights - regardless of the speed of motion) or powerful
(whereby the movement must be fast as well).
Sprinting requires powerful muscle movements to
propel you body along a track. However, muscle strength
must be build before the more powerful work is done.

Good exercises for sprinters include
1. Cleans
2. Squats and Squat Jumps
3. Calf Raises
4. Deltoid Exercises for arm drive
At the start of a winter training regime high numbers of
reps should be done to build a base of strength. This would
typically be something like 4 x 10 on many exercises. As the
winter progresses you should increase the weight and cut
the reps, maybe looking for around 3 x 6 by February (this is
for a single periodised year - when you'll compete in the
summer only).
The finishing touches are put to your weights by
alternating high-speed low weight reps for power (say 3 x 6
on a very light weight) and very heavy weight with low reps
(3 x 3 on 90% of maximal lift).

Plyometric

Plyometric work is used to increase power. This is
normally in the form body weight explosive jumping and
bounding. There is much more information on this in the
Strength and Mobility Drills section within running.
It is a good idea to build up the number of plyometric
exercises that you do slowly over a number of weeks as they
can be quite hard work and your body will take a while to
get used to them.
Some drills will take more effort than others, so it is
hard to generalize about exactly how far to do when you do
plyometric, start with a small distance and gradually build
up the number of reps and distance covered. A rule of thumb
would be to start with 2 to 3 reps of 10m and work from
there.
This work can be carried out throughout the year, but
you should avoid doing too much near to competitions to
allow your legs to be as fresh as possible when you compete.

Mobility & Strength Running Drills
(incl. Plyometrics)

The drills on this page are designed to improve your
mobility and strength. Some of them are known as
plyometrics drills where the aim is to improve the elastic
strength or power of the muscles concerned. There are
many variations that can be done of these, for now we have
just included some of the most common ones - we will be
adding more shortly.
The way to view these "movies" is to click on the image
and your browser will load it into the appropriate software.
They are not 100% clear, but should be more than adequate
to see how to perform the respective exercises.
We have reduced the quality of the video slightly in
order to keep the file size down, meaning that with a
standard modem, these files should usually download within
a minute.
Lunges are a good example of a drill that performs the
function of both improving mobility and improving strength.
The aim here is to take large steps, lunging to get good
distance and lowering your hips towards the floor (your
back knees shouldn't touch it).
Try to ensure your lower leg on your front leg remains
vertical during the lunge. A lunge performed well will
stretch your quadriceps, hip flexor, gluts and hamstrings,
whilst also strengthening these areas when you pull yourself
up again to take the next steps. Hold the position at the
bottom of each step for a second or so.
Bounding is basically a powerful run, where you land
flat-footed on each stride. You are aiming to get as high and
far on each step as you can, which makes the action very
similar to that used in the step phase of a triple jump. This is
a plyometric exercises and as such will improve the elastic
strength in your legs, particularly your quadriceps.
Because of the stress of the impact on landing, it is
advisable to do this exercise on grass or matting.
Again, like a part of the triple jump (clearly, the hop),
this exercise is all about power. The aim is to get as far as
you can on each hop, but not only that, you also need to
drive the knee of the leg that you are hopping on as high as
possible each time.
This puts even more pressure on your legs than
bounding and as such if you are susceptible to stress related
leg injuries, it is probably not a good idea. For everyone, this
is another exercise best performed on grass or matting.
To perform this exercise plyometrically you'll need to
concentrate on limiting your contact time with the floor as
much as possible.
Bunny hops are again used to increase the power of the
athletes legs. With both feet together, bend down until your
upper and lower legs form and angle of about 90 degrees,
jump forwards, landing on both feet in a position whereby
you can repeat the exercise without having to adjust. Aim to
go as far as you can on each jump, but make sure as you do
this that you are fully in control of take-off, landing and your
passage through the air. If you are not, then decreasing the
length of each jump will help.
Another exercises best done on grass or a receptive
surface.