The Cross Country Season Plan
Once we had the athletes, the single peak focus events, and all the preparation completed, William and I turned to the task of developing the season plan. He and I worked closely together, using our combined experience to construct the best plan possible for the team.
The Building Blocks. There are five essential building blocks for a successful Cross Country season. The coach supplies three of the blocks during practices, the runner supplies two of the blocks during practices and competition.
During practices the coaches provide the following:
· Progression – There is a plan to the season and each workout progresses through the season to bring each runner to his or her highest level of performance.
· Intensity – Each workout (some more, some less) will have within it an element that will challenge the runner beyond what he or she believes can be done. Portions of some workouts are designed to extend runners beyond what they have accomplished before.
· Consistency – There is consistency within each workout and throughout the season. The overall plan assumes (but does not require) consistent attendance and effort.
During practices and in competition the runner and only the runner will and can provide the following:
· Enjoyment – A coach cannot make a sport fun. The runner must find enjoyment in the sport itself – practices and competition.
· Effort – Excellence comes before success. If a runner puts effort into excelling each moment, then success will follow.
Training Needs. I have already written about the body’s response to training and the various training needs for runners in sections above. What is important here is that in constructing the season plan, William and I were aware of and focused on the need to train the runners in several ways – aerobic endurance, anaerobic endurance, strength, speed, and technique. All five of these areas not only fed into the progression, consistency, and intensity of the whole; but within themselves there also needed to be progression, consistency, and intensity. In short, every workout had and purpose and fit into the overall plan.
Weight Lifting. Brown School Cross Country did not currently have the facility or opportunity for training with weights. I am very uncomfortable encouraging any training that I cannot supervise.
As a rule Middle School runners should not attempt any serious weight lifting – especially anything requiring lifting above the head. Bicep curls and other simple exercises with dumbbells are fine, but not required. Serious lifting can wait until age fourteen or fifteen.
William does lift two or three times per week. His upper body work is high repetition and low weight. For his legs he tries to maintain his strength for Track. I do recommend leg curls (2 sets of twenty-five) to help avoid hamstring pulls from exhaustion.
Abdominal Strength. The abdominal (stomach) muscles are a critical part of any athlete's conditioning. Abdominal muscles are particularly important for running. Training the abdominal muscles has recently been the subject of more misinformation and mythology than any other part of the human anatomy. Though I would not suggest that Middle School runners should overwork abdominal muscles, it is good to establish proper habits early.
There is nothing unique about abdominal muscles as far as training and response to training is concerned. The principles that apply to biceps and triceps apply equally to abdominals. The three critical elements of any training regime are intensity (muscular overload), progression (increased intensity from workout to workout), and consistency (proper spacing of workouts to avoid over-training or under-training).
Most people do sit-ups or crunches as an abdominal exercise. While these exercises can satisfy the “intensity requirement,” they are rarely employed to satisfy progression and consistency. Muscles will only develop in response to overload that is above normal. If a person does twenty crunches every day for a year, that person's abdominal muscles will only develop to that level of performance.
To force new development, intensity must increase. Adding a few crunches every day only increases duration; there are better way to get results.
Exercise equipment for abdominal muscles that is currently advertised does not allow for increased intensity (adding weight resistance). Some have rubber bands or similar devices to add a bit of overload, but it's a trivial amount. Adult abdominal muscles are capable of being developed to the point of doing crunches with weights of 100, 200, and even 300 pounds.
The top three exercises for improving abdominal muscles are weighted crunches, weighted incline sit-ups, weighted sit-ups. Weighted Crunches are performed by using a rope handle attachment on a machine, grasping the ends and pulling the cable until it is tight and the hands are resting at the side of the head near the ears. By contracting the abdominal muscles in a crunch the athlete lifts the shoulders off the floor and draws the weight stack up an inch or two. The athlete should choose a weight that will allow only do eight to twelve repetitions.
If there is no access to a low pulley, there is a good alternative. Use the high pulley that is normally used for lateral pull-downs on a machine. Kneel on the floor or sit in the seat directly under the rope handles that are attached to the high pulley. Lock the legs under the hold down. Pull the handles into position next to the ears, then contract the abdominal muscles into a crunch that raises the weight stack an inch or two. Again, choose a weight that will allow only do eight to twelve (8-12) repetitions.
For me the optimum abdominal exercise is the weighted incline situp. Lying on an incline bench, I do situps while holding a weight against my chest. The limitation of this exercise is that eventually it will not be possible to hold enough weight safely. I do a session of weighted incline situps three or four times a week. In each session I do 100 situps without a weight, then I add two and one-half pounds of weight every twenty-five situps. I increase the repetitions by five each session. So, by the time I reach 200 situps I have completed 100 with no weight, twenty-five with two and one-half pounds, twenty-five with five pounds, twenty-five with seven and one-half pounds, and twenty-five with ten pounds.
Weighted situps are another alternative. The athlete lies on the floor and does a sit-up or crunch while holding a barbell plate against the chest. The feet will need to be hooked under something.
Abdominal muscles may be worked daily, but an every other day schedule is appropriate as well. Set a goal number of repetitions (e.g., fifty) and starting with the base weight increase repetitions by at least five while maintaining the weight until the goal of repetitions is reached. Remember that improvement will only occur when the muscles are overloaded.
When the goal repetitions are reached with the base weight, increase the weight by five to fifteen percent and drop the number of repetitions for the initial workout at that weight. Repetitions should not return to the initial number, but to about sixty percent of the goal of repetitions.
Failure to progress (to increase the intensity of the weight or the number of repetitions) will indicate an equipment problem (e.g., too many weights to hold) or the need for recovery (rest of a day or two) between sessions. When it becomes impossible to add weights because of safety issues, lower the weight and increase the repetitions, then work toward the increased goal of repetitions.
Results can only be seen if the abdominal muscles are not covered by fat stored by the body. To remove lose fat, increase the aerobic workout (running, swimming, etc).
Remember, muscle takes up less space than fat, but muscle weighs more than fat. Therefore, a slight weight gain may be experienced when abdominal muscles become conditioned and waist size decreases.
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