Dismissing Francis' training methodology simply because his athletes used
PEDs would be a mistake.
Book Review I: "Speed Trap" by Charlie
Francis
No need to put lipstick on a pig here, Francis' book
Speed Trap is exceptional, a "must read" for serious coaches
and athletes, alike. While the use of
performance enhancing drugs (PEDs) features prominently throughout the book,
Francis leaves no stone unturned when it comes to explaining the evolution of
his coaching philosophy. The following topics
are covered in great detail: the respective differences between muscular
fatigue and central nervous system fatigue, periodization, speed development,
and taper schedules. Many of Francis'
ideas dovetail my own, specifically his rationale for limiting a sprinter's
"traditional" endurance work.
Aside from the more technical points laid later in
this blog post, a few subtleties within Francis' coaching philosophy jumped out
at me:
(1) He would do anything if he thought it would
allow his athletes to perform better -- and I don't mean simply providing them
with PEDs. He listened to their personal
problems, bought them groceries, gave them money to pay rent or travel
expenses, and he learned how to expertly massage his own athletes. This last
skill was of particular importance, because it allowed Francis to learn how his
athletes were responding to training, most importantly the high-intensity speed
work.
(2) He never closed the door to any athlete who was
willing to put in the work. Ben Johnson
wasn't the most talented teenager on his team, but Francis stuck with him and
Johnson ultimately went on to set multiple world records.
(3) He brought on the best assistants, and he did
not micro-manage them. In doing so, he
showed them a level of trust not commonly seen amongst coaches at the highest
level, and he was subsequently rewarded with their loyalty and best efforts.
(4) He sought advice from the best in his
business. At one point, a conversation
with the East German track coach led Francis to abandon his five-day taper
schedule and instead adopt his peer's ten-day variation. This is but one example of how Francis
incorporated newer ideas into his training program. Others can be found in all
segments of the book.
Now for the more technical discussion:
(1)
Differentiating between muscular fatigue and central nervous system fatigue:
"In [the view of Gerard Mach], the muscles were
affected by both high- and low-intensity training, but they also bounced back
quickly, within 24 hours. The central nervous system, by contrast, was affected
primarily by high-intensity work (maximum or near-maximum-speed sprinting or
heavy weightlifting), but it also required more time to recover, a full 48
hours." (Pg. 49).
(2)
Programming a "double periodization," meaning two different segments
of competition: a winter indoor season and a summer outdoor season:
"Within each segment there were three phases: a
preparatory phase, a main work phase, and a competition phase, each of which
emphasized different training components and varied the proportion of work to
rest. Without periodization, an athlete works at the same level year-round and
inevitably grows stale, since he will stop improving after six to eight weeks
at a given task." (Pg. 51).
(3)
Balancing speed work with volume:
"When I realized my runners were fatigued by
our volume of speed work, I cut back from the year before -- from three times
to twice a week, with a weekly total of 1,500 meters, a little less than a
mile." (Pg. 61).
(4)
Implementing weekly "special endurance" runs:
"To further reduce the stress on my sprinters'
central nervous systems, I shifted some of their speed volume from short
sprints to weekly 'special endurance' runs, from 150 to 300 meters. I conducted
all speed work at 100 percent of my runners' capacity -- and since my runners
always had adequate recovery periods between workouts [Francis prescribed speed
work only every other workout], their capacity was consistently high. My theory
was simple: Sprinters needed to train at race pace, both to imprint the higher speeds
on their muscle memory and to acclimatize their muscles and tendons to the
demand of racing. My athletes would run only two special endurance segments
once a week and would rest up to a half-hour between the two, but I asked them
to go absolutely all out every step of the way . . . I cared only about the
quality of the runs. The quantity was almost irrelevant." (Pg. 62).
(5) Adopting the East German 10-day Taper:
" . . . sprinters ran their last full-speed
workout-outs 10 days before their meets -- an unheard-of gap in the West. There
were more surprises. During the last maximum work-out, Hille's women sprinters
performed about as much speed work as mine did, but at an even higher intensity
-- in some cases at world-record paces. Hille's athletes would run four
30-metre starts, with seven-minute rests between them. They then took a
15-minute break, followed by an 80-metre sprint; then a 20-minute break and a
100-metre sprint; then a 25-minute break and a 120-metre sprint; finally, a
35-minute breaK and a 150-metre sprint. These were extraordinary rest periods
-- my own sprinters had never paused longer than 15 minutes between speed runs
at those distances, and most coaches allowed for rests of five minutes or
less." (Pg. 107).
