Coaching and Training for the 400m | Feed the Cats
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- čas přidán 8. 05. 2021
- Today's video discusses how to coach and train athletes for the 400m and become a better sprinter in the process. I believe that sprinting and max speed trumps endurance training when it comes to the 400, and I walkthrough this approach throughout this presentation.
The link to the full course can be found below. This full webinar adds in a Q&A from other coaches around the 400m.
sellfy.com/korfist/p/webinar-...
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I ran track 5th through 12th grade and bypassed running and jumping for University of Florida in late 90s due to everything you are saying. I became unhealthy and unhappy. Well, i didn't even allow my daughters near an AAU until my 11th grader caught thr bug. She became the city champ in 400m her senior year she was an IB student and said she ran for fun to enjoy the school day. You are so right about a healthy body and mindset. Now my 14 year old son is running and he has ran since he has been 9yrs with a club but I started training with him and running again when he was about 5 years. We would run and sprint for fun. He said his goal was to be faster than mommy. By 11, I could no longer win street races against him or keep up. At 9 years he was the district and region champ for 100m 200m and 400m. in Central FL. Recently at 14 he placed 2nd at High Jump and 400m. He came from behind in 400m. His PR is 54.10. His high Jump PR is 5.6. My son actually likes to distant run on trails or the beach not the track. He prefers to sprint only on the track. He is super competitive and can't take even losing a Uno game.
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From an athlete’s perspective I concur with everything you said. I knew guys that hated running track in high school even though we were one of the best programs in the state. I would always enter the season really confident because I could run sub max 500s and 400s no problem but would always have my esteem shattered when some kid would blow past me in the last 50 meters. I knew there was no way that kid did half the training I did and it always crushed me to see kids like that run extremely fast while I plateaued. Ever since transitioning to college as a club athlete and having the opportunity to train however I want, I’ve incorporated your methods and already my 60m and 200m times have improved drastically. I’m talking more than 1 second improvement in the 200 within 1 and a half years. Can’t thank you enough coach keep it up!
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This video made me realize my coaches were training me for distance and treated the 400 m as an endurance sprint which I learn now it is really just a sprint and I need to practice more plyometrics and short distance sprints if I want to break 50 seconds in the 400.
To break 50, must break 23.00 in 200 (and that’s fast!).
my old coaches would run our ass into the ground and even had the sprinters run 800m in practice to try and build our "speed endurance". after a few disappointing meets they said that i didnt have what it takes to be a sprinter and tried turning me into a distance kid despite my wishes. wasnt until we got a new coach who followed ur program til me and my friends got to go to state in the 4x1 & 4x2. ur doing amazing things plz keep it up🙏
Great story! ⚡️⚡️⚡️
This is amazing! I'm 42 and I've never been into sprinting, but for whatever reason I've always wanted to run the 400m in 60s, so I'm going to give it a shot. This is exactly the type of wisdom I've been looking to snag from someone. Much thanks.
Wow. Im totally on board with this coaching philosophy.
As a garden variety sprinter in high school (11.6, 23.5, 52.4, 2:02.5), it seemed my coach had us doing a lot of road miles for the events that I was doing.
I remember feeling tired during track season ...
and obviously I was a young, young man.
When I was training running 400m my coach did some lactic work but not enough. I still managed to run 49.8 I believed if I was doing 9 lactic workouts a year I would have recorder a lot more faster times. Excellent 400m training schedule.
I ran the 400m at cal berkeley and our focus was sprints. However, I benefited from briefly running a 800m early in the season...then focused on fast 300m sprints. I appreciated much of what you said...I like to sprint 80-90% with 2-3 minutes of rest...I ran 47.2 in college
I loved this video. I was just hired as the head cross country coach at a school with a student body of 140. They have this 400m guy who ran sub-50 last year, and they want me to coach him in track this year… I need to rework my brain for this kid.
This is gold!!!
You are preaching to the choir and it is refreshing to find this content. I can verify everything you are saying through my personal journey as a successful high school and college athlete. Elite speed can be taught because I am living proof of that fact. I went from being an offensive tackle to running back between my Freshman and Sophomore years in high school. I am privately coaching (pro bono) a couple of high school kids and have been searching for training concepts that reflect my experience and beliefs. You hit the nail on the head.
I ran 11.5 over the 100 as a 16 year old after doing 3 months training of 6x30 or 6x50 three times per week. I ran 47 mins for 10k around that time. I ended up running 52.9 after 6 months of that training. I was skinny and weighed sub 60kg at 5’11. The PE teacher who was a distance runner saw me run and wanted me to train for the 800. I started training for the 800 but just did not have the lungs and kept getting sick and only ran 1:56 after 5 years of training (49.8 in the 4). I now think I should have stuck with the sprint training and tried to build speed reserve as a way of training for the 4 and build up natural endurance as a result of years of activity not so much the central focus of training.
I agree. Speed is king. I like your idea of building up "natural endurance"... let a career of racing prepare you for the distance covered. This will also allow for "Speed Reserve". If you can run around the track at 19 mph, you run 47.0 in the 400. If you develop 22 mph speed, 19 is easy. Can you imagine trying to run a lap at 19 mph if 20 mph is your ceiling???
I’m digging this 100%
This is an amazing video and super applicable to my high school's situation right now
Great!
Hey Coach, Im starting as a trainer and I'm working with this kid who's going for the army and has to do a 40 second sprint as one of the tests. I'm happy I found your channel because your ideas make sense to me. And I plan on using your approach. Thanks! I'msure he'll be happy to not having to "run" to do this
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I am watching all of your videos. When I was in high school, my school coach ran us into the ground. Sprinters and distance runners were made to run three mile workouts by dropping us off campus and telling us to run back to the school. I was a consistent 50 second runner in the 400m. Meanwhile, my girlfriend, who attended a different school, would often tell me that her coach was a real believer in me, but he did not like how I was being trained. My senior year, he coached the AAU team in my home town (Baton Rouge). He focused on speed, not running me into the ground. In two and a half months, he had be running extremely low 48s and 47 splits on the 4x400m. By the time we reached Nationals, I dropped a 46.64 split on the 4x400m. Coaches need to stop treating sprinters like 1/2 milers. My twin sons are 14, and I train them between summer track and November (starting winter track). I'll be feeding my two cats.
Incredible! Love this!
Thank you!
I coach my 2 sons 16 and 13 yrs of age and I have adopted some of your training strategies which I firmly believe in. I am not a coach but I have always questioned some of the training methods.
Amazing
I got faster at the 400m by sprinting the 200m and 300m first . Once I mastered my 200m by a certain time, I would try the 300m by a certain time.
And, to master the 200, master the 100.
In the off-season improve your mph to improve your 100m.
Speed is KING.
Coach in pre season do you do grass/turf sprints for your speed days or just on the track?
Loved my days at LIU my coach was great in is ability to load manage and motivate.
That is awesome!
Hey tony, Nebraska hs distance athlete here. This year, I’m going to be doing a feed-the-cats style program, but as was mentioned earlier in the video, weather is pretty important, and I don’t have access to an indoor training facility. Would running on a gravelly surface for the alactic work ( 3x40 yard dash, 10m fly, etc) be sufficient? Or would you consider it absolutely essential for a hard, even surface to be used for sprints? Thank you for these talks, it’s an innovative way to view sprint training. Keep up the great work.
Hallways, sidewalks, and parking lots work better than gravel.
ive been doing 5x50m on monday, tuesday-plyos,wed 3x150, thurs-plyos-friday- 10x40 sled pulls 80 pounds , saturday 4x300 in 40sec since august. what do you think of this? I have greatly improved and am running around 34.5 in the 300m in shoes.
I love your insight coach Holler and appreciate you sharing your thoughts and experience. Based on that experience, what is a typical good amount of rest time during a Lactate workout. I've seen others say 5-8 minutes are needed for a full recovery. If your goal is to have incomplete rest without failing, would you cut that in half, say 2.5 - 4 minutes of rest? What rest time have you found to be the best balance of those two factors?
Depends. Early we do 8-10. We progress to 3-4 minutes.
Any recommendations for fast athletes who have exercise induced asthma? We have a young 11yo girl (12 in November), who is on target to run a 60s 400m this year. After each 400m, she develops a severe cough that was diagnosed as exercise induced asthma. She uses an albuterol inhaler and the cough gradually resolves (15-30m later).
Many thanks for all this valuable information.....Any particular preparation for a competition where a high schooler potentially has to run three 400m in three days (heats/SF/Final)?
The season will prepare you. Too many coaches focus on volume to prepare for multiple races. Those coaches stunt the growth of speed. I had a guy win 8 races in two days without doing anything SPECIFIC to prepare for 8 races in two days. Let the meets be the hardest thing you do.
This is great! I have a question though regarding the start of the race as there is a lot of differing opinions. Should you start the first 50m as fast as possible (to utilize alactic energy system) or run it at about 90%
Fully accelerate, then fast and loose. 200 PR +1.
Thanks Coach I appreciate it!
Coach you have smthng for the 800?
Definitely not about volume . I had to learn after highschool that , the 400m is a sprint . That explosive speed and development of mechanics really is a major factor . The muscular mobility development not so much weights , but just a type of resistance that going to develop those muscles skeletal movement to get the best out of the performance . Notice how there's a trend promoting mobility training to develop speed .
If you guys would like the "other side of the debate, feel free to shoot me message and we can get it to ya. :)
Would like to see it. Watched it live but I’ve forgotten a lot😂
Shoot me a message on Twitter and we can work out a deal. :)
Yes interested in seeing the other side. Where is it located?
Tony posted the entire presentation on his CZcams over the last two weeks :)
Coach Tony, what could be the exercises of a lactate workout in 100m training and in 60m training?
Basically, zero lactate is produced in a ten second sprint. 60m and 100m is “alactic”. Lactate training is necessary to fuel longer sprints… mainly the 400m.
Lactate work will prevent speed gains ? So as a decathlete doing one lactate work per week (3x200m, 3-4 min rest) besides 1- 2 speed work/week will stop speed gains ?
I mean I do lactate work once per week ALL year round.... is this wrong ?
I’m not a track coach or a past runner….im just an exercise enthusiast and above average athlete that has a son that is running the 400
I just watched the world indoor 4x400 championships….my observation based on body type is that the 400 meter teams had athletes that looked more like endurance athletes than sprinters.
They are quite muscular, I disagree
Coach Tony, I want do proficient in the 400. I work with the distance group in my high school (I’m a freshmen). Should I work with the sprinters or should I stay with distance?. For the distance we do sprint exercises but the next day we do distance exercises so it’s like we go back and forth between
That's the traditional approach speed and endurance. But, speed is the key and endurance work detrains speed. In addition, what coaches call sprint work is seldom sprint work. Getting fast is the key. However, you have no other option than to believe in your coach.
What program would you recommend for a high school track coach that is trying to develop a sprint program? I am the sprint coach and i have a distance coach but no jumper or thrower coaching.
Feed the Cats!
Hey coach. I'm thinking of doing track again after 3 years of not training. I stopped because of bad experiences in my first year and an ankle injury that wasn't properly attended to which left me frustrated and losing confidence. I ran a 25-second 200m and a 13-second 100m in my first year. I had completely given up on track but recently I've wanted to give it another shot. I know it might be too late for me but I still want to at least try and see where I could be in 3 years. Could you give me any advice on food/diet? I feel like not much emphasis is placed on food but I believe it can help me get better faster if I can get it right. Thx for your time if you do see this.
Get 8-9 hours of sleep. Sprint, lift, jump, and bounce. Eat double protein. Eat real food… meat, veg, fruit. Eat like a man.
How many months of the year would you recommend a 400m sprinter to perform lactic workouts?
Great question. We don't do our first lactate workout until three weeks prior to our first indoor meet. But we are extreme.
Hi Coach how do you incorporate block work into your program? My son got down to 10.97 with a distance coach, but barely broke 60.00 in the four. Starting to believe the endurance stuff is nonsense.
Speed is king. We work on blocks after a speed or x-factor day.
Hey Tony. Love your stuff! Do you incorporate short hill sprints and sled sprints 20-30m into your speed days? Our strength coach/trainer is big on Feed the Cats also and timing as much as possible, he wants us to time/record their 10m flys and compare their 10m flies with a sled and get them to 1.5 of their regular fly. Do you use and/or agree with this method?
We have no hills in Plainfield and our school has no sleds. We do other things.
@@coachtonyholler thank you for responding. If you’re able to, what types of other things?
How much would doing lactate workouts(for example 3x150) help improve solely 100m time compared to only working on increasing max speed in training
Efficiency. Learning how to run fast and loose.
Feed the cats concepts helped my daughter get her goal 400m , then school hired some young coaches with old ideas of volume, bleachers ,steps, laps and you guessed it - she got hurt from the workouts
This is such an interesting philosophy. So if its only 9 lactate workouts for the season what would you do for winter training?
2 speed workouts, 2 x-factor workouts per week.
@@coachtonyhollerthank you for the response. I will try this out and hopefully its what I need for this injury restart
57 yo masters runner trying to race below 60 flat. my legs “die” at the 300 everytime… speed in open 100-13.5, 200 at 26 flat… ???
Need lactate work once a week. trackfootballconsortium.com/the-4x4-predictor/
@@coachtonyhollerThanks coach!!
I've been coaching track in Texas all Relays are double points.
Yes, love that.
What do you do to warmup before a meet ?
Speed drills and one spiked-up sprint.
@@coachtonyholler thanks coach
Do you think FTC can be successfully implemented in Decathlon/Heptathlon practice?
I can picture a FTC approach to everything now. Essentialist prioritizing of what truly matters while staying happy, healthy, and rested... falling in love with an activity... how can you go wrong?
Decathlete here (PB 7805) and I think it can easily be implemented. Obviously you have 7/10 events to train for, but I would suggest thinking about
1. What’s actually important for each event (essentialism)
2. Feed the correct energy systems (8/10 and 5/7 events last under 15 seconds)
3. Harry Marra (coach of Ashton Eaton): “better to be 80% trained and 100% healthy than 100% trained and 80% healthy.
I know I’m late, but just wanted to share my thoughts and best of luck to my fellow multi!
during "X factor day" when its written "strenght" you talk about lifting?
Obviously strength comes from the weight room, but it also comes from med balls, body weight exercises, and the most under-rated strength exercise in the world... SPRINTING. Typically, my guys lift after speed and x-factor workouts.
Thanks! Do you believe this approach of training can be used even in cold winter (here we only have outdoor track) and do you think this method would be effective even for a decathlete? As an example, my 1500m time could improve only by building pure speed (so the low running speeds of 1500m are easier to mantain) or i should train with other methods that wouldn't ruin speed and still improve 1500m time?
The 1500 requires that you “chase both rabbits” (speed and endurance). You CAN do both.
@@coachtonyholler thanks...this is the last, i promise; you said i 'can' train both speed and endurance, but always for a decathlete would you prefer both or only speed considering there are other 9 events velocity based?
@@PVGORARO I wouldn’t say “only” speed, but you will NEVER train daily like a 1500m specialist would train. One 1500 workout every 10 days.
@@coachtonyholler really, thanks
How long does it usually take for you to see improvements in your athletes speed on feed the cats ?
Depends. Slow guys get faster in shorter time. In general, speed grows like a tree. Must stay patient.
How do you work on anaerobic strength, when i run the 400 i always die really hard and i want to know how to fix that
Get biochemically tough. trackfootballconsortium.com/the-4x4-team-predictor/
trackfootballconsortium.com/logistics-of-the-23-second-drill/
I did a speed only focus for the NC Seniors championship and it worked well in the 50m dash and mixed results in the 100m…I won the 50 and I was more explosive than my competition but because I only trained high speed short distances of no more than 60 meters, I didn’t relax properly in the final phase of 100 and got passed after leading for 90 meters.. Gold in the 50 Silver in the 100. If I had to run a 400 (God only knows why I would) I think I’ve built enough speed reserve to compete well. But the 100 is all out yet it requires lots of relaxation as well and in didn’t get that mix right. What are your ideas and observations on teaching relaxation technique in the context of the 100 given the Feed the Cats emphasis on all out speed in training?
personally, the 100 is one of the easiest races as after you achieve that top speed you maintain it by just keeping the same motion, i’m confused on what you mean by relaxation because there isnt really much to think about when finishing off the 100
I would hazard a guess that max velocity mechanics didn’t happen? Mini hurdles help
I have a question for the coach. My friend has a time of 10.73 for the 100m, 22.13 for the 200m, and 52.5 for the 400m. Why can't he run below 22 seconds for the 200m and below 50 seconds for the 400m with such a time on the 100m? Regards.
Efficiency (has to work too hard to run 10.73).
Or the 10.73 is total BS with 20 mph wind.
The bigger question, what’s a 22.13 doing running 52.5???
I'm a freshman and running a 57.84 and I'm not to sure on how to get faster. Many people have told me to run the 800 a lot as fast as I can. I'm wondering if that will work or what will?
It’s the opposite. You must get fast at the 200.
@@coachtonyholler Oh thank you so much!
Tony. Florida- kids get out of school at 2:00pm . It’s sunny,hot and humid. Most of their meets the same. Would u do anything different in their training.
I think the FTC approach works great in hot weather. Sunshine increases dopamine, a sprinter's best friend. I wouldn't change anything. Low dose, short practices are a perfect fit in 90 degrees. At meets, I would encourage sprinters to relax in the shade between events.
Thanks tony ! I follow u and ur son Alec. U guys are simply the best sprint and hurdles coaches period. U totally understand competitive kids. U unlock their potential and it has to be the most rewarding feeling for anyone who loves kids and want them to be successful. I love ur swagger! Keep it going!
@@captainted696 Thanks Captain!
Can you send me the schedule and training pogram for 400 m
simplifaster.com/articles/400-sprint-feed-the-cats/
coachtube.com/course/track-and-field/sprint-the-400/12479984?track=699fbed3b64a08b0fc666ebd4bd6018a
There were alot of misconceptions about Clyde Harts Program. The volume was greatly overstated. There is ALOT of sprinting. In most cases, he had 400m runners with great speed already. This is why most of his 400m runners were almost always on the 4x1 and 4x4. You can be as fast as you want but the 400m but at the end of the day, its still an event where if you want to get the best out of an athlete, you need to have tempo... That being said.... unless you are an EXPERIENCED sprint coach, I agree with this program 100 percent, kids in most cases arent ready mentally for proper 400m volume. There are many ways to properly skin a cat!
But sometimes skinning a cat KILLS a cat, and that’s unacceptable. 😎
The information about Clyde Hart came DIRECTLY from Clyde 13 years ago.
@@coachtonyholler Was in the system. Very aware!
@@thepositivitypill9419 100% … as an athlete AND coach for my first 40 years.
Tony, do you have a recommendation for someone doing both 2 mile and 800m?
Get good at the 800 when young, progress to 3200. Long distances can take away speed development. Think the long game. Normal XC work in summer and fall, progressing to speed in the winter and spring seems to be a good overall plan for all distances.
Coach Holler, do you think the FTC system could be used successfully by masters aged sprinters?
I hope so; it's what I'm mostly basing my training off of (M54). But I'm also very new to sprinting, so it seems to make the most sense right now. I will expand off of it though as I want to run the 800, in addition to the 400. My learning curve is steep right now, so not overdoing things seems a sensible approach, especially with regards to recovery ability.
trackfootballconsortium.com/never-slow-down-never-grow-old/
trackfootballconsortium.com/never-slow-down-never-grow-old/
Thanks very much. How on earth did 3 people flag my question as inappropriate?
@@totallyraw1313 Huh, that's bizarre.
On the day you have a lactate work, what would the warm up look like? Would it be like a sprint day
Yes. We always sprint (speed drills) before we sprint.
Coach Tony, I was thinking about have the kids run 10*60 mtrs max speed with 2 - 3 minutes rest between runs. How does this compare to the lactate workouts that you have presented. I am asking this because the kids, 11 - 12 yr old girls speed reduces after 60 to 80 meters as a result making them run even 150 at Max effort seems slow.
Never worked with girls that age. Ten seems like way too many. I would start with 3x100 and build to 3x150.
@@coachtonyholler Thanks for your insights Coach.
What approach would you take when you race 800 meters?
trackfootballconsortium.com/how-to-train-the-400-800-group/
In my opinion distance running does not work for sprinters. It don't matter what distance. 400m Is a sprint. Not a middle distance events.
In my opinion the best 400m runners are converted 100/200m sprinters. They have the speed, it's learning to preserve it.
I don't agree with 30min hard runs, 500s, 600s in early winter. Honestly I think 400m guys should train like the rest of the 100m and 200m sprinters. Just however incorporate longer sprints etc
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Hey Tony how do you coach athletes to run the 400? My old high school coach gave us cues for each 100 meter stretch, “make up the stagger, burn the back, maintain your position running the last turn, and the last 100 is just guts”. What are some of the things you tell your athletes when approaching a 400?
I talk about "fast and loose" and try to win "making it look easy". Must be super-competetive on first curve.
All running requires some measurements of endurance. That being said. Sprinters shouldn't be expected to train like 800m . The issue really has to do with the type of athlete's and attributes they have .
But, there’s a difference between aerobic endurance and acidosis tolerance. Different energy systems.
22:00
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20:54
The recipe!
Vast majority of track coaches I know still stick to running most of the time. I'm staying away from that crab and taking matter in my own hands
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I think 800 leans more towards a sprint tbh, if you don’t have 50 flat 400 pace your going to cooked
100%
To be good at the 800m you need good 400m speed. Especially at pro level u need to be running at least 46secs in the 400m to run a super fast 8.
Where can I find your in season & off season full workouts coach?
trackfootballconsortium.com/holler/
46:33 huhhhh!??
@Daniel Phillps What's your question i may be able to answer!
@@mstrunn nah what he said was sus lmao
Not so sure about this... I run 60-300m, and in my training sessions I have only jogging and sprint,but l feel that I also need these longer sprint workouts, eg 800m and 1500m at 60-70percent or so
Stop jogging. 🙂
@@coachtonyholler I cannot, its essential to me- eg I do joggs for after race recovery, or for easy days. And ofc as a warmup/cooldown tool.
@@soapenvelope mythology
Agree with a lot of your philosophies Tony. But, I completely disagree with your 400m philosophy. I have coached several distance runners to sub 4:20 in the mile and sub 1:58 in the 800. Those same “distance” kids ran 48s and 49s in the 400m. Ironically, one of my silent mentors is Paul Souza as well. I saw him speak at the Florida Coaches clinic 15 years ago and it changed a lot of what I do.
They would have run 47 with the right coaching. 😊
I met Paul circa 1999. Great guy.
Where is the evidence to back this up?
41 years in the business?
There is no evidence that dopamine positivly affects sprinting performance!
Give the evidence-based medicine pyramid a look. Expert opinions are the lowest level of evidence there is...
You may be a good coach but you can't make assumptions that a certain training strategy works without evidence as a proof
@@daanmichiels3512 Ok, but good coaches have always been 5-10 years ahead of the science.
What does "Feed the Cats" mean? Why can't you just talk about the training without using that term? LOL
Because it defines an approach that is counterintuitive and revolutionary.
Running at a specific % is total BS and not possible. It is quite amusing when I hear people mention it. You either run as fast as you possibly can or not. Period.