Staying lean during summer training?

zieglmv9

zieglmv9

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Hello all.
Long time no see. I just finished my second year of college track and it went well (47.80 - 400m). And my summer training is just beginning. Last summer i over trained and got burned out. This summer i want to train smarter, not harder.

What i want to do this summer, is stay as lean as possible (im around 6% body fat at the moment) but lift a ton and get a lot stronger and more explosive. I do NOT want to bulk up.

As far as supplements go, Im taking some O.N. 2:1:1 protein and thats about it. I also have some AI essentials+joint complex, maybe ill start drinking that instead of a multi vitamin. I also have a couple free samples of Force Factor, any thoughts on that? Pre-workout drinks make me jittery, and i have to stay NCAA legal, so i wont even mess with test boosters or anything that could be considered questionable.

If anyone has any ideas about workouts for strength and explosiveness/plyos that wouldnt burn me out after a summer, I would really appreciate it.

Thanks,
matt z
 
Rosie Chee

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Hello all.
Long time no see. I just finished my second year of college track and it went well (47.80 - 400m). And my summer training is just beginning. Last summer i over trained and got burned out. This summer i want to train smarter, not harder.

What i want to do this summer, is stay as lean as possible (im around 6% body fat at the moment) but lift a ton and get a lot stronger and more explosive. I do NOT want to bulk up.

As far as supplements go, Im taking some O.N. 2:1:1 protein and thats about it. I also have some AI essentials+joint complex, maybe ill start drinking that instead of a multi vitamin. I also have a couple free samples of Force Factor, any thoughts on that? Pre-workout drinks make me jittery, and i have to stay NCAA legal, so i wont even mess with test boosters or anything that could be considered questionable.

If anyone has any ideas about workouts for strength and explosiveness/plyos that wouldnt burn me out after a summer, I would really appreciate it.

Thanks,
matt z
Not to be an ass, Matt, but "workouts for strength and explosiveness/plyos" is something your track coach should be doing, IMO, and if they are even decent as a coach, they should and would do ALL your training for you, since they know what you need to work on during the "off-season". I've trained track sprinters (100m, 200m, and 400m) and did everything for them fro track training to resistance work, on-season and off-season (including optimizing their nutrition for performance), and my sprinters won several National College and Masters Championship titles.

As far as staying lean whilst getting stronger, you can definitely do that. Just make sure that your diet is OPTIMAL for it though, targeted at performance and improvement, instead of being restrictive - not eating enough is one factor that can contribute to overtraining, especially if you are not giving your body the fuel it requires to perform at an optimal level.

~Rosie~
 
zieglmv9

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Hey thanks for the reply. Its great to talk to someone who has coached track.

My coach just gave me a basic training outline, and he's not allowed any 'out of season contact' with us. So that really limits his involvement. I know im not supposed to really "train" in the off season, i just want to work on getting a little more powerful, mostly just for block starts and for when i fill in on 4x100 (although we did take 6th at nationals in 4x100, so i might be doing 4x100 pretty regularly this upcoming year).

I was just wondering if there were any sprinter specific lifts i should be doing, besides the basics like squats and cleans. And what were your thoughts on the supplements? I dont want to go overboard, but i think the protein will help.

Thanks,
matt z
 
Rosie Chee

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Hey thanks for the reply. Its great to talk to someone who has coached track.

My coach just gave me a basic training outline, and he's not allowed any 'out of season contact' with us. So that really limits his involvement. I know im not supposed to really "train" in the off season, i just want to work on getting a little more powerful, mostly just for block starts and for when i fill in on 4x100 (although we did take 6th at nationals in 4x100, so i might be doing 4x100 pretty regularly this upcoming year).

I was just wondering if there were any sprinter specific lifts i should be doing, besides the basics like squats and cleans. And what were your thoughts on the supplements? I dont want to go overboard, but i think the protein will help.

Thanks,
matt z
No worries, Matt :)

I see. Actually, training in the "off-season" is something that should be done by EVERY athlete, regardless of what sport they are involved or compete in - the "off-season" is where you work on your weaknesses and build your base for the "in-season". Take this from an ex-elite athlete.

Look at compound exercises, power exercises, and plyometrics. Honestly, if you're unsure about what to do and how to put it all together, and your're serious about competition and performance, the best thing you can do IMO is to get yourself a trainer who can and will design and individualize a training programme specific to you during your "off-season".

The only two supplements that I think are essential for you are a multivitamin and creatine. You could use BCAAs if you wanted, but they're not essential. At your body mass you don't need to supplement with protein and can easily get your required amounts from FOOD.

~Rosie~
 
zieglmv9

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Ok thanks. I know I need to still train, i just dont want to over do it. Last summer I got burned out before i even got back to school, and had to take about a month off.

This last season I started becoming more serious about my running and training. And it showed. I qualified for nationals in 3 events. So I want to do all I can to continue to build off that. So yes, im taking things very seriously this summer.

I had planned on plyos and some power lifting. So i guess ill stick with that.

Thanks for the advise on the nutrition.

Its really great to talk to someone who knows what they are talking about when it comes to track, and sprints especially. Thanks for all the help
matt z
 
Rosie Chee

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Ok thanks. I know I need to still train, i just dont want to over do it. Last summer I got burned out before i even got back to school, and had to take about a month off.

This last season I started becoming more serious about my running and training. And it showed. I qualified for nationals in 3 events. So I want to do all I can to continue to build off that. So yes, im taking things very seriously this summer.

I had planned on plyos and some power lifting. So i guess ill stick with that.

Thanks for the advise on the nutrition.

Its really great to talk to someone who knows what they are talking about when it comes to track, and sprints especially. Thanks for all the help
matt z
Congrats on your progress and qualifying for Nationals :)

Sounds like a plan. Just make sure that everything you do has a PURPOSE and is going to help you with your performance later on.

No worries - I'd rather see you do it right than waste your time.

~Rosie~
 
bdcc

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They aren't allowed to have off season contact with you?

This is where most of the important work takes place in terms of strength, power and injury prevention.

There is only so much volume you can give to an athlete in season as it has to revolve around their existing training routine and cannot leave them fatigued for their rehearsal training.
 
zieglmv9

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Yeah, no out of season contact. All our coaches can do is give us general instructions. For example; in june, lift 3 sets of 8 at 65% (or whatever it is). But thats about it. Its rough. Thats kind of why I was asking for some more specific help.

Yeah i know, out of season is where the real progress is made. So I'm going to get after it! Hopefully get a little more powerful and explosive, and not get burned out.
 

Flabby

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Similar to what BDCC said, summer is when you can put your ego aside and work on your weaknesses instead of pushing for peak performance.

I think you have the right idea, building strength and power, but don't forget about general joint mobility and muscle balance.

Paraphrasing Tsatsouline, when the load is spread evenly through your body and there are no weak links, you are strong and resilient. When there are weak links, movement is not optimal and you are more prone to injury.

In terms of specific exercises, sets, reps, frequency, that depends entirely on your body. And again, that's the beauty of designing your own program - you can listen to your body every step of the way and iron out the weaknesses without overtraining.

Regarding diet, I don't think you can go wrong eating extra protein. Like Rosie said you're very lean already so eating plenty of FOOD won't hurt, but there's a lot of evidence to suggest that protein is the number one nutrient for building lean mass. Just don't expect any miracles! :)

Creatine, yes. Fish oil, yes. Plenty of water, yes.
 

Flabby

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Just to provide a tiny bit of context and personal account, I'm a former cross country runner, current recreational basketball player (getting older - 30 now!). I've known for some time that my posterior chain development is weak (hams, glutes, etc), and I've had a multitude of hamstring injuries because of this, but about 6 months ago I finally buckled down and started doing something about it.

I had to swallow my pride a little bit to go in the gym and start with a lot of silly bodyweight stuff to get the muscles activated, and I won't even tell you what weight I had to start on to get full range of motion in my squat, but the improvements I've seen from this work are phenomenal - far beyond what I would have gotten if I had just stayed in my comfort zone of what I was already good at.

Food for thought, anyways.
 
zieglmv9

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Thanks Flabby,

You really got me thinking now. I'll definitely be doing some deep squats, but I think I'll try and figure out some kind of lift that will work on my full range of motion in the drive-phase of my start. Maybe some kind of step ups or jumps with weights. or maybe sleds. Thats kind of getting back to the compound exercise and whole body strengthening.

I agree, the protein sure couldn't hurt. And I already have it. I mostly use it because its a quick way to get 300 calories. But yeah, im eating a ton.

thanks
matt z
 

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