Speed Gainz - A Trackie's Journal

[SprinterChick]

Hello!

So I figured as Off Season started for me it's time to get serious in the weight room so I can come back faster and stronger when my next track season begins in October. I live abroad in the Middle East and the season here is October - April so it's a little different. And I'm a teacher so I have summers off and I'm back in Europe over June and July.

Anyhow... figured I'd post my stats here.
Gender - Female
Age - 27
Height - 5'8''
Weight - 155lbs
Body fat - 22%
5 Rep Max Squat - 130lbs*
5 Rep Max Deadlift - 130lbs*
No, I cannot do a pull-up yet.
100m - 14.how-good-was-my-start
200m - 30.why-am-I-not-sub-30-yet
400m - 1:15

I actually like the hurdles more than the flat sprints and love the long jump too but alas, there aren't competitions for those in my area so I just train them for the fun of it. I've been at track for a solid year at this point (a year ago my 400m was 1:40 so although I'm nothing special, I'm quite proud of how I improved!) and proper training (read: actually sore and sweaty as a result not 2lbs pink dumbbells) for a good 18 months. Two years ago I was about 185lbs and at 39% bodyfat so once again, not where I want to be, put proud of the progress.
* I'm actually TERRIFIED of training with heavier loads than a 5 rep max as I fractured my spine in 2013. Yes, this is what caused me to become obese for a while. I generally operate in the 5-12 range because of this, depending on what I'm doing.

At the moment life is kind of hectic between work and being a grad student so I can only train 4x a week and it's usually track first then gymnastics (adult gymnastics which is really just fun) or weights (which is where I need to get more serious) if competition isn't around the corner and off season is the best time for a sprinter to gain strength.

Now, given being lean also favors sprinters I figured my goal by the time competition begins in October should be to get that squat, deadlift, vertical jump (all those lovely athletic things) much better and the bodyfat under 20%. I'm assuming get as strong as I can up till halfway in August then try to cut as much fluff w/o sacrificing performance in training.

What #s should I realistically aim for by the time the season begins again in the weight room? Any specific program I should run?
Given I burn about 2,500 calories a day, how should I put my macros so I can get as strong as I can? Should I clean bulk? Reverse diet?
What supplements should I take? Currently I'm on daily multivitamins and MusclePharm Assault (PWO) and although my PWO has creatine, should I supplement with extra to maximize weight room gains?

Keep in mind I'm ultimately trying to be as fast and explosive as I can possible be, typical bodybuilding style splits generally don't work with sprinters.

Thanks for all the help. I'll keep you posted on my training. My next two sessions are on Thursday and Saturday.

[kingmode]

To answer your nutrition questions, check out this article: http://rippedbody.jp/complete-diet-n...-set-up-guide/

[Tommylsantos]

Are you familiar with Supertraining by Mel Siff and Yuri Verkhoshansky?

[RyanT7]

A chick that sprints ?

When we getting married ?

[SprinterChick]

To answer your nutrition questions, check out this article: http://rippedbody.jp/complete-diet-n...-set-up-guide/

Thanks so much, gonna read through it.

Are you familiar with Supertraining by Mel Siff and Yuri Verkhoshansky?

No I'm not actually. Please enlighten me!

A chick that sprints ?

When we getting married ?

LOL!!! But you're in AUSTRALIA... you've got the hottest female sprinters on the planet (read: Michelle Jenneke, Ella Nelson, etc) who I'd HAPPILY bat for the other team for. Just saying bro, take advantage of that before you get to my side of the world. :P Their times are pretty much the same as yours as well so I reckon it would make for some exciting training.

[Tommylsantos]

No I'm not actually. Please enlighten me!

It is a really good book on Strength & Conditioning for non-lifting/aesthetic sports. Focuses on all aspects of training, but more importantly it focuses on specificity. You want to be fast? Train for speed. Talks about how skill and technique/neuromuscular efficiency trumps weight room training for cyclic events, such as running.

If you're interested in talking more about you, specifically, send me a message on Instagram, ********, or here. Keep in mind, I normally forget to check BB.com.

Enjoy your training!

[RyanT7]

Haha fair enough.

If atm you actually are 5'8, 155 pounds you should probably be looking to lose weight, and you should be shredding a few seconds off your 400m time and getting faster times in your 100 and 200. Simply because your body would be carrying less dead weight ( fat ) and you would be able to move at a faster speed. I'm only 16 and I have never gone to actual sprint training, and I was not blessed with good genetics. At 14 i was running about 15-16 100m times lol. However, through a year - 2 years of training which was motivated by my determination of being faster due to my sport ( Football / Soccer ) , I decided to do a chit load of research on everything.

I went to the park about 2 times a week, and simply ran 8-10 bursts of sprints ranging from 30-50 metres. Definitely not the best way to train, but it helped. I practised my running form, and I got comfortable with it after a month. Weight lifting wise, I think the best exercises that helped me was the deadlift and squat. These exercises definitely built muscles in my legs and I felt a lot more explosive. Besides that, I focused on getting my core and arms stronger, and they helped building a more overall stronger physique. Now after all those years, I have times which can compete at state level, something that I would have never even imagined possible. I would have been satisfied with being faster than my 13.xx 100m times friends in all honesty, but I never expected coming this far. Sprinting remains a hobby for me, not something I would ever consider taking to a higher level, but I hope this post helped. This post may not be the best advice to tell you the most effective way of training, but something which shows you that if you are really determined to achieve your goal, you can do it.

Good luck

[SprinterChick]

It is a really good book on Strength & Conditioning for non-lifting/aesthetic sports. Focuses on all aspects of training, but more importantly it focuses on specificity. You want to be fast? Train for speed. Talks about how skill and technique/neuromuscular efficiency trumps weight room training for cyclic events, such as running.

If you're interested in talking more about you, specifically, send me a message on Instagram, ********, or here. Keep in mind, I normally forget to check BB.com.

Enjoy your training!

What's your FB/Insta/etc? Because yeah, I'm curious. And at the moment I'm just confused because there are many articles on sprinting going "get your squat up in the off season!!!!" and others going "get your body fat LOW!!!" and well, you can't *exactly* do them both at the same time now, can you? (I've exhausted the n00b gains of major recomping, I think.)

Haha fair enough.

If atm you actually are 5'8, 155 pounds you should probably be looking to lose weight, and you should be shredding a few seconds off your 400m time and getting faster times in your 100 and 200. Simply because your body would be carrying less dead weight ( fat ) and you would be able to move at a faster speed. I'm only 16 and I have never gone to actual sprint training, and I was not blessed with good genetics. At 14 i was running about 15-16 100m times lol. However, through a year - 2 years of training which was motivated by my determination of being faster due to my sport ( Football / Soccer ) , I decided to do a chit load of research on everything.

I went to the park about 2 times a week, and simply ran 8-10 bursts of sprints ranging from 30-50 metres. Definitely not the best way to train, but it helped. I practised my running form, and I got comfortable with it after a month. Weight lifting wise, I think the best exercises that helped me was the deadlift and squat. These exercises definitely built muscles in my legs and I felt a lot more explosive. Besides that, I focused on getting my core and arms stronger, and they helped building a more overall stronger physique. Now after all those years, I have times which can compete at state level, something that I would have never even imagined possible. I would have been satisfied with being faster than my 13.xx 100m times friends in all honesty, but I never expected coming this far. Sprinting remains a hobby for me, not something I would ever consider taking to a higher level, but I hope this post helped. This post may not be the best advice to tell you the most effective way of training, but something which shows you that if you are really determined to achieve your goal, you can do it.

Good luck

Going from 15-16seconds to 11 seconds is actually SUPER impressive! I was a 16.82 seconds person in the 100m in October so I've made some gains through the season but now that it's off season I figured it's time to get serious. Yup, I'm 5'8'' and 155lbs, 22% body fat. I'd love to get it under 20% by next season and keep it there, although from what I've read up about female sprinters 15% is where a lot of top collegiate sprinters are during the peak of the season. At the same time, I know off season is the best time to get the squat and deadlift much heavier but I'm not sure that can be done in a caloric deficit which needs to be there to lose weight. So how do I go about this?

[RyanT7]

What's your FB/Insta/etc? Because yeah, I'm curious. And at the moment I'm just confused because there are many articles on sprinting going "get your squat up in the off season!!!!" and others going "get your body fat LOW!!!" and well, you can't *exactly* do them both at the same time now, can you? (I've exhausted the n00b gains of major recomping, I think.)

Going from 15-16seconds to 11 seconds is actually SUPER impressive! I was a 16.82 seconds person in the 100m in October so I've made some gains through the season but now that it's off season I figured it's time to get serious. Yup, I'm 5'8'' and 155lbs, 22% body fat. I'd love to get it under 20% by next season and keep it there, although from what I've read up about female sprinters 15% is where a lot of top collegiate sprinters are during the peak of the season. At the same time, I know off season is the best time to get the squat and deadlift much heavier but I'm not sure that can be done in a caloric deficit which needs to be there to lose weight. So how do I go about this?

That's a tough one. I think at the moment, trying to progressively getting stronger in your lifts and slowly reducing your body fat % is the best way to go about it, gaining muscle and burning fat at the same time is quite difficult, but it can be done to a certain extent. The lifts aren't exactly 100% vital at the moment, and you can still make progress through just sprinting alone.

Continue to try and progress with your lifts, continue sprint training and lose weight is what I would say is what you should try be doing now

[SprinterChick]

That's a tough one. I think at the moment, trying to progressively getting stronger in your lifts and slowly reducing your body fat % is the best way to go about it, gaining muscle and burning fat at the same time is quite difficult, but it can be done to a certain extent. The lifts aren't exactly 100% vital at the moment, and you can still make progress through just sprinting alone.

Continue to try and progress with your lifts, continue sprint training and lose weight is what I would say is what you should try be doing now

Yup, it's a tough one. I think I just need to be totally spot-on with my nutrition to be able to pull it off right. Glad to hear that the lifts aren't 100% vital yet, so caloric deficit here I come!

[Tommylsantos]

IG- CoachSantos
FB- Doc Santos

Have a good weekend. I'll wait for your message.

[The Running Man]

What does your annual periodization look like? What does your training week look like?

If you season is Oct - Apr, now would be your general preparation phase.

[SprinterChick]

What does your annual periodization look like? What does your training week look like?

If you season is Oct - Apr, now would be your general preparation phase.

I'm actually pretty new to this.

I started running in Jan 2015 with couch to 5k and realized after a while I loved the beginning stages with intervals and then when I completed I only really cared about speed workouts so I pretty much kissed 5ks goodbye and took it to the track in summer 2015 where somehow I went from a 1:40 400m (ew!) to a 1:27 400m (better but still blah) and have just been at it since. I was out for Aug-late September 2015 due to shin splints and then kind of just dove into the Oct-Apr season and somehow got better.

But I figured now that the season is over I would probably reevaluate what I'm doing and see how it goes. Whether I'm at it 4 or 5x a week really depends on life (elementary school teacher and grad school student so it's a mess!) but normally it is:
* 1 hurdle session
* 1 speed endurance session (distances from 150-300m)
* 1 acceleration/blocks session
* 1 maximum velocity session
* long jump or if I can't get to the track on day 5 just some light swimming
I'm generally in the weight room 2-3x a week, trying to get the big lifts (squat, bench, dead) twice a week on each and then doing the smaller ones as I'm feeling.

My annual periodization has quite frankly been a mess... there really hasn't been one so I figured this time around I actually want one. From what I understand with general preparation it's higher volume but less intensity to get the base needed to put in the high intensity work later on when the season is around, right?

I'm also trying to clean up my diet because I think dropping some fat (dead weight) may help too. As a teacher it's MUCH easier to do this during the summer so that's a goal there too. Actually between work and track arguably it should be easier to do the higher volume work then too.