It’s here at last…or yet again! My favorite training block of the year, the Speed Block! While I love all the blocks we use in our Annual Training Plan, this one has so much magic. It’s summer. We’re outside for many workouts. We’ve come off the Power Block and now our bodies are ready to do some true speed training.
Speed is the fountain of youth. It’s one of the ultimate expressions of athleticism. And to train speed, we have to earn the right to train. And we’ve done that. Speed is the ability to display maximum velocity in movement, and it includes all types of animalistic athleticism, not just running.
We are going to start out doing some simple things and drilling down on a few principles. Progressive warmups. Focused, brief efforts. Long rest breaks. This is a unique type of training that is a little different from the “grind it out/mental toughness/conditioning” mindset which is so popular. It’s more like “produce a little excellence…and then wait a while until you are ready to produce some more.
Week of 2023-07-03 (week 1 of month 1: SPEED Block)
| WOW | PREP | PRIMARY | ACCESSORY | TIPS |
| A Mo Field | Walk 5:00 Jog 5:00 Tubing 20 reps each Standing Row Chest Press Trunk Twist Med Ball 20 reps Vert Toss + Slam | PAP 5 each Drag Rig 20 yds + 20 yd run SB Thruster x 5 + 20 yd run MB Chest Pass x 1 + 20 yd run 5 Broad Jumps 5 Squat Jumps | Sprint Reps 4-6 x 100 yd @ 80% + jog or walk 300 yd easy Strap Stretches 10 each leg Ham Calf Glute Quad | Think quick and light. |
| B We Trail | Big Hormesis! Walk 1 mile Boulder Lifts 10 each Chop Trunk Twist Giant Swing Thruster Alt Back Lunge Locomotive Uni Push Press | Hike 2-3 miles With some Uphill At Zone 3 (80%) With loaded pack | Cold Plunge Swim Cold Shower Cold Bath Garden Hose Choose any 1 2-3 minutes | Big Workload and rapid cooldown! |
| C 1-3X Gym | Free Choice Cardio Any Mode 10 minutes Zone 1 Calisthenics :30 each Toe Touch/Sky Reach Side Bends Windmill Arm Circles Pushups V-Ups | Top 5 Resistance Circuit 2 rounds :30 each Trap Bar Deadlift Landmine Press Uni Pulldown Walking Lunge Suitcase Carry | Bonus Beach Pump 3 circuits 15-10-5 Medium wt. DB Bench DB Lateral Raise Tubing Curl Tubing Pressdown | Just practice the moves this week. |
| D Sa Track | Walk 1 lap Jog 1 lap Drills 20 meters Every 3rd step Knee-to-Chest Heel-to-Butt High Kick Lunge Stride/Glide 4 x 60m Walk back | 1 x 200m Mile Goal Pace 900m Time Trial Per instructions | Finale 3 x 1:00 SB Stadium steps or bench step ups 4 x 100 yds Barefoot strides Walk back | Work on smooth is fast and fast is smooth. |
Workout A Breakdown: This session takes us out onto the field for quite a bit of quick stuff. Start out with a 5 minute walk and then a very slow 5 minute jog. Hydrate. Then attach your tubing to any post or fence and do your rows, presses and two-handed trunk twists. The med ball combo is a fun one. Do a double underhand vertical toss as high as possible (note that in the video I was not throwing hard so I didn’t hit my low ceiling). Let the ball hit the ground (don’t try to catch it). Pick it up and slam it. That’s one rep. 19 more. PAP stands for Post-Activation Potentiation. The first element revs you up for the second. Pace off 40 yards and drop a cone, hat, or water bottle at 20 and 40. For first round, run with your drag rig (sandbag and strap…if you have no belt just hold behind you) for 20, then drop it and sprint 20 more. Take plenty of rests between reps. For the Sandbag Thruster (full front squat with overhead press) bang out 5 reps, then drop bag and sprint 20 yards. On the chest pass, come out of a crouch position and press the ball hard then sprint past it to the 20 yard mark. Do those jumps 1 at a time. Run your hundreds (barefoot optional) at smooth effort, and walk 300 yards (only jog the rests if you’ve been a Running Demon and are craving a beatdown). The active, dynamic strap stretches will limber you up.
Workout B Breakdown: The key here is time on the legs and the rapid cooldown. Walk a mile easy. Do the rock lifts. Then throw a few rocks in your pack and hike for several miles. We are shooting for what you feel is “moderate” weight in your pack and pushing Zone 3 which is humping and pumping. End with cold water exposure any way you can. If you are in the inner city…walk the streets and climb stairs in commercial buildings. Put your med ball or weights in your backpack. If you are in a small town with no trails or hills, cruise to the high school football or track stadium and get some laps on the bleachers. Load your pack with sacks of dogshit. Just don’t make excuses because they do not exist in our world.
Workout C Breakdown: This is your recovery filler session. Do it once, twice, or three times as you see FITT! On the free choice cardio, I like to recommend low impact stuff like biking, rowing, etc. You can also walk. If you are a Running Demon, you can run and you’ll probably want to double or quadruple your time (I wouldn’t but I can’t stop you). Hit the calisthenics as a way to do an overall body check and to loosen up. If you need alternatives in setting up the Top 5 resistance exercises, just reach out to me because there are easy ways to use household items (even dogshit, but you’ll need a lot of it) if necessary. The Beach Pump is a classic descending rep ladder with moderate resistance and minimal rest breaks. Those are familiar moves and you can put your signature on them (any technique is fine).
Workout D Breakdown: This week we are coming at speed through the back door, using a long-to-short method to get started. The warmup is basic and you’ll recognize all the moves in the video. The 900 is basically an 800 meter time trial (trying to run your August goal mile pace) and then hanging on for another 100 (curve number 1) for mental toughness. Push hard and take a long time to walk and hydrate to recover. Whatever you run for 800, that’s your new mile goal pace for August. It’s a reality check. On the finale, rest all you want between those minutes of steps, and don’t push the 100’s on the grass infield (if available) very hard. Just get through this session in one piece.
Running Demons did a great job making it to the end of the Power Block. Hopefully everyone got some great extra training and fun. Now your goal is to hit the speed workouts and fill in with recovery jogging anywhere in your week that you want.
Make sure you sign up for the Rendezvous and get that on your schedule! It’s free and everyone in our TLA community is welcome, but you need to register so we can calculate seating and food requirements.