400M Training Help

Hey, I'm 14 years old am I am trying to focus on and get a better time at the 400M. My training consists of four reps of 400M with 2:30 rest inbetween (Daily). I am also doig cardio sessions which invoke 150 pushups, crunches, situps, jackknifes and a three minute plank in which I hold a push up position wih my elbows bent (once per two days)

I'm averaging 56 Secconds when run properly and was wondering if the type of training I am doing is good. I was thinking of encourperating some endurance training (I have run cross country compeditavly before) and some speed training but am not sure which would be now benificial. If anyone would have some advice that would be greatly appreciated

Cheers, Kgb1953

 

Dont you have a coach? i ran 56 when i was 14 as well. Anyways when i was coach for sprinting my main focus was to do 300m reps instead of 400m, the deal with that was because 300m sprints involve a more intensity where as 400m you can slow down quite a bit doing reps but i would always finish the 300m reps with a 400m. Anyways, all the sprinting warm-ups are good. I focused a lot of training on my stride length instead of leg speed thats what gets you ahead of others. High knees with opposite arm going up so pretty much hopping but alternating feet and arm hard to explain easier to demonstrate. This helps your technique for longer strides...

 

Yeah, I currently do not have a coach :/ but I might try some of the tips which you pointed out. I am trying to run a 3KM on Monday and incorporate some speed sessions. I will also try work on my stride length as it is not very long (I don't do any leg strength exercises ). How many 300M reps do you reccomend per session and how long did you leave in-between them?

Thanks for replying btw

 

gradually build up to it, body adapts to situations so build up in 100m's.

 

Nice, yeah i mixed longer distances with sprint training, not on purpose though as i switched to long distance later on. Lol im sure you do, anyways i normally took 20-30minutes doing these warm up exercises and drills then i would go onto doing 4 reps of 300m with 2minutes rest or 3minutes on a bad day and 400m to finish of like i said before ;p

Some sessions would be different like the same drills and everything but instead of the reps i would do block work sprint full out 60m 6 reps of them. I'm sure you dont do them for 400m but that was the stage i was deciding what to main in.

go spam somewhere els you have no idea lol.

 

I'll try do a 3 or 4KM on Monday, 4x300M reps plus 1x400 from Tuesday to Saturday and 5 or 6 100M reps on Sunday with some cardio training every second day. I have recently changed from long distance as I weigh 78KG compared to other which weigh 50. I might also try incorporate some block-start training

 

Aren't sprints meant to make you faster?

 

OK what you do is run about 250 meters at full sprint speed; this is extremely hard. Do this several times a day for a week, then reduce the speed by 5% but doing 300 metres. Eventually you should reach 400 meters at 85% optimal speed which will improve your time a lot

 

Don't forget to drink raw eggs every morning!

 

I'm running the 800 D1 right now so i could help you.

You are very young and thats a solid time for your age. Your body is most likely going to grow a lot more which can only help you as you can become stronger and lengthen your stride.

How long have you been running and what is your average weekly mileage?

Rs Emperor

 

try doing some hill reps mate they have really helped me on my short distance times

 

I run approx 30KM Give or take just at training not including sports. Have started doing 4x300M reps with a 400M to finish of (2 Minute rest in between). I am doing 100M reps on Mondays and a 4KM run on Sunday to mix it up a bit.

 

Have you tried doing 100M sprints, when you feel comfortable doing that, move up to 200M sprints, and then move up to 300, etc? (Once you manage to sprint the whole thing, it should really improve your time). And remember to do endurance training too.

 

Taking this from a physical education point of view, training aerobically will help with 400m sprinters in mainly 2 ways

1. Aerobic training ( so long distance training) will help you remove waste products faster ( like H+ ions and lactic acid) built up from your previous 30-60 sprint while you're resting, reason being is because you're body will be able to use oxygen more efficiently to help remove these products.

2. Because your Lactic Acid system ( the main system used in 400m sprinters), is largely predominant in the 5-30 second range, your aerobic system is going to be increasingly used in that late 45-60 sec stage.

(This is why you can't maintain that fast, high intensity at the start of the race, H+ ions build up, you can't run at such a high intensity so your aerobic system comes in).

But you're main focus should be training your Lactic Acid System, that's training with a Work:Rest ratio of 1:3, ( so 30 second work for 90 second rest), this will increase your tolerance to lactic acid while you race, letting you work at a higher intensity for longer, which means you run faster for longer!