Fraser Young

[Fraser Young]

Pre-Comp – Week 2

8 June

Abs – 6 mins
Waterloo – 20 in 5:14
Warm Up 2
A Skip, B Skip, A Run, B Run – 2 x 20m
Dribble ACK – 2 x 20m
SL Scissor w run out – 2 x 20m
2 x 40m Build Ups
Hurdle Mobility 1 – 3 sets
Tempo – 111,312,312,111 in 16.6, 35.3, 53.9 secs
Bataan – 20 in 8:17

Mixed up the order as I had to wait 20 minutes at home first. I enjoyed the novelty of getting some of the circuits done first, felt a bit sluggish in tempo but the times were solid.

9 June

Warm Up 1
MB Throws – 4 x 3
MB Throws – 2 x 3
Blocks – 20m, 30m, 40m in 3.22, 4.38, 5.50 secs
4 x 60m in 7.80-7.90 secs (30m in 4.38, flying 10m 1.12 secs)
Back Squat – 3 x 3 x 120kg
Bench Press – 3 x 3 x 92.5kg
DB Rows – 2 x 6 x 42.5kg
Pull Ups – 2 x 6 x 12.5kg

Wet track, 16 degrees, no wind (-2 m/s after first 60m run). That was a good session, times were where I expected them to be but after the first 60m I did lose a tenth for the remaining reps, partly due to the wind picking up. Handled 120kg on the back squat okay, only a few more sessions before that starts tapering off. I think I could handle 15kg on pull ups.

10 June

1 mile walk (10:19)
Warm Up 2
Posture Hold 2 x 10 secs
Wall March, Wall Switch – 2 x 6 per leg
A March, A Switch, Carioca – 2 x 20m
Lateral Skips – 2 x 10m
Alt Scissor w high leg, SL scissor – 2 x 30m
2 x 40m build ups
Tempo – 111,212,212,111 in 16.6, 36.1 secs
Hurdle Mobility 1 – 2 sets
Gymnastics – 2 x dips, pull ups, handstand
Abs – 5 mins

I skipped the rope climb and bar walks as I was short on time (and I dislike them). I wanted to change up the drills as it gets very same-y doing them twice a week. I tried the race walk technique for the mile walk and wow was that demanding, my heart rate was up around 160 bpm just from walking. I would probably get disqualified from a competition as I probably had some air time but it still felt like a walk.

11 June

Warm Up 1
MB Throws – 4 x 5
2 x 60m (to 90%)
2 x 2 x 120m in 16.6, 16.1, 16.0, 16.2 secs
Step Ups – 2 x 6 x 52.5kg
RLESS – 3 x 6 x 77.5kg
DB Hyperextension Rows – 3 x 8 x 12.5kg
RDL – 3 x 6 x 95kg
Swiss Ball kicks – 2 x 20 secs

Damp track, slight headwind. I feel a bit run-down so I was probably giving a little more than 90% to hit my target times. The gym was good, I don’t think the 7th rep of step ups was adding anything so I dropped that, added one to RDL, and bumped the RLESS by 2.5kg.

12 June

Exercise Bike – 45 mins

This was a light bit of recovery as I was otherwise unable to get out much today

13 June

Warm Up 1
Everest – 3 x 3
Accels – 2 x 20m, 2 x 30m in 3.18 secs, 4.36 secs Freelap
2 x 120m (95%) in ??, secs (30m/60m in 4.37/7.75 secs)
Back Squat – 3 x 3 x 122.5kg
Bench Press – 3 x 3 x 92.5kg
DB Rows – 2 x 6 x 42.5kg
Pull Ups – 2 x 6 x 15kg

Dry track, 19 degrees, +4 m/s wind. I felt very coordinated during the accelerations and despite a favourable wind I think they were solid times. I didn’t turn my Freelap on for the first 120m run which was frustrating as it was really strong. 122.5kg on the back squat was right at the edge of my capability.

14 June

Rest

I felt shattered today so did very little, even having a 45 minute nap after lunch

I think the volume is at a much better level this year, but I’m still feeling the cumulative effects of training and looking forward to the competition period.

[Fraser Young]

Pre-Comp – Week 1

1 June

Warm Up 2
A Skip, B Skip, A Run, B Run – 2 x 20m
Dribble ACK – 2 x 20m
SL Scissor w run out – 2 x 20m
2 x 40m Build Ups
Tempo – 111,312,312,111 in 16.8, 34.5, 54.4 secs
Hurdle Mobility 1 – 3 sets
Waterloo – 20 in 5:34
Bataan – 20 in 8:40
Abs – 6 mins

I had to squeeze this session in before 9am, including a 6 minute walk test and a 6 minute exercise bike test. I felt a little sore from the previous week, even though yesterday was a rest day (and last week was technically a deload). Already into pre-comp and the weights will back off now so I’m not concerned.

2 June

Warm Up 1
MB Throws – 4 x 3
MB Throws – 2 x 3
Blocks – 2 x 20m, 2 x 30m, 40m in 3.20, 4.38, 5.62 secs
2 x 60m in 7.75 secs (30m in 4.38, flying 10m 1.12 secs)
Back Squat – 4 x 3 x 115kg
Bench Press – 4 x 3 x 92.5kg
DB Rows – 2 x 6 x 42.5kg
Pull Ups – 2 x 6 x 12.5kg

Damp track, 19 degrees, cross wind. I had multiple blood tests this morning with a lot of sitting around so I didn’t feel best prepared. I’m also wondering if the Cooper test is still in my legs as I’ve felt a bit flat the last few days. The blocks were slow, I tried a new cue for the 40m and it resulted in a very slow time (focus on high knee drive during acceleration) so I won’t be repeating that.

It was a relief to clock some 1.11-1.13 second flying 10m runs for the flat out 60’s and the times were good considering how I felt.

3 June

Lab VO2 Max Test

This was much less scary than I built it up to be in my head. I was comfortable for most of the 15 minutes I spent running and only really struggled on the last one or two inclines. It was a treadmill test, 3 minutes walk, 3 minutes running at 6 mph then +1% incline every minute until I couldn’t go any longer. I think I made it to 11% before I had to bail, and ended up with a VO2 max of 62.6 ml/kg/min.

Given the short duration it is probably of a similar overall demand to what would have been the tempo session, so I will do hard tempo tomorrow as planned but keep an eye on how I feel during the warm up.

4 June

Warm Up 1
MB Throws – 4 x 5
Accels – 3 x 20m
5 x 150m in 20.0, 20.5, 20.1, 20.5, 20.5 secs
Step Ups – 3 x 7 x 52.5kg
RLESS – 3 x 6 x 75kg
DB Hyperextension Rows – 3 x 8 x 12.5kg
RDL – 3 x 5 x 95kg
Swiss Ball kicks – 2 x 20 secs

Damp track, 16 degrees, – 6 m/s wind. Pleased with that session despite an unfavourable wind. The accelerations were into driving rain so I didn’t bother timing them. The 150m runs had a target time of 19.8 secs which is more like 20.3 with that wind, and I was generally going through 100m in 13.6-13.7 secs.

Weights were strong, I noticed the difference on step ups and I need to think whether there’s any reason to go up in weight for something that’s meant to be explosive, but it does work a slightly different part of the speed-strength continuum for me. The RDL was smooth and I can either add a rep or add weight next time.

5 June

Rest

6 June

Warm Up 1
Everest – 3 x 3
Accels – 3 x 20m in 3.23-3.26 secs Freelap
3 x 120m (95%) in 15.5, 15.6, 16.0 secs (30/60/90m in 4.50/8.10/11.70 secs)
Back Squat – 4 x 3 x 117.5kg
Bench Press – 4 x 3 x 92.5kg
DB Rows – 2 x 6 x 42.5kg
Pull Ups – 2 x 6 x 12.5kg

Damp track, 15 degrees, -4 m/s wind. I didn’t feel that sharp today and the times were an accurate reflection of that. I didn’t have any zip in the accelerations and was fighting the wind in the 120’s. The final run had a ridiculous gust which probably added an extra 2 tenths to my time. The target 95% effort should be closer to 15.30 but the headwind is worth 0.1-0.2 secs.

I was happier with the back squat, last time it felt unnatural at 115kg but I knew I’d get more into the groove so preempted it with a slight increase in weight. It was actually the bench press that I nearly failed at, so I might do 120kg and 92.5kg next time out.

7 June

Rest

These weeks are just ticking over right now, I’d hope to see my times come down in the next 3-4 weeks. If they do then I’ll run on Tues 7th July at a local open meeting, otherwise I’m planning to double up 100/200m on 29th July and again on 4th August to conclude my season.

[Fraser Young]

SPP – Week 8

25 May

Warm Up 2
1 Mile Walk (12:04)
A Skip, B Skip, A Run, B Run – 2 x 20m
Dribble ACK – 2 x 20m
SL Scissor w run out – 2 x 20m
2 x 40m Build Ups
Tempo – 111,312,312,111 in 16.7, 34.2, 54.8 secs
Hurdle Mobility 1 – 3 sets
Waterloo – 2 x 10 in 3:12, 3:01
Bataan – 2 x 10 in 4:27, 4:34

Hot! It was already 25 degrees at 8am and I was sweating as much in this workout as I do in a typical sauna session. I felt very fluid in the tempo runs and the times came comfortably.

26 May

Warm Up 1
Queens College Step Test
MB Throws – 4 x 5
MB Throws – 2 x 3
3 x 20m, 30m in 3.25 secs, 4.38 secs
5 x 60m (95%) in 8.0-8.2 secs
Back Squat – 8 x 90kg, 5 x 100kg, 3 x 105kg, 5 x 100kg
Bench Press – 8 x 67.5kg, 5 x 77.5kg, 3 x 82.5kg, 5 x 80kg

Dry track, 28 degrees, -2 m/s wind. Much nicer with the breeze and I didn’t really feel the heat. What I did feel was the time of day, starting at 8.30am and not feeling that sharp in any of my runs. My wearables are saying I’m in training overload, and I think several days of hot weather have been increasing the demand on my body.

27 May

Warm Up 2
A Skip, B Skip, A Run, B Run – 2 x 20m
Dribble ACK – 2 x 20m
SL Scissor w run out – 2 x 20m
2 x 40m Build Ups
Cooper Test – 3002m in 12 mins
Hurdle Mobility 1 – 2 sets
Gymnastics (Pull ups, Handstands, Dips, Rope Climb, L-Sit) – 2 sets
Abs – 5 mins

I have wanted a 3km Cooper Test for at least 2 years and was thrilled to manage it today. I had set out the split times (24 secs per 100m) then immediately messed up by running a 27 second opening 100m, which it took me several laps to claw back. About 9.5 minutes in my breathing was gone and I had to slow down to recover, thinking my moment had passed, but I picked up the pace with 80m to go and crossed the line in 11:59.5, so spot on.

Given the pace is slower than my tempo I feel like I can probably train as normal tomorrow.

28 May

Warm Up 1
MB Throws – 4 x 3
Build Ups – 2 x 60m (to 90%)
2 x 2 x 120m (90%) in 16.3,16.0, 16.1, 15.8 secs
Step Ups – 2 x 7 x 50kg
RLESS – 2 x 6 x 75kg
DB Hyperextension Rows – 2 x 8 x 12.5kg
RDL – 2 x 6 x 90kg
Swiss Ball kicks – 2 x 20 secs

Good session, nice and relaxed. It was 26 degrees but with a nice wind, and I feel like I’m well tuned to what 90% effort is. The RLESS was tough, I chose to cut one of the sets as it’s a deload week but maybe I should have also taken a reduction in weight too.

29 May

Rest

30 May

Warm Up 1
Everest – 3 x 3
3 x EFM 150m in 18.54 (70m, flying 30m in 9.00, 3.38-3.46 secs) Freelap
Back Squat – 8 x 90kg, 5 x 100kg, 3 x 105kg, 5 x 100kg
Bench Press – 8 x 67.5kg, 5 x 77.5kg, 3 x 82.5kg, 5 x 80kg

Dry track, 27 degrees, no wind. I was really frustrated that my Freelap cones failed to catch my most important split three times in a row and it only just dawned on me why. I had cones at 50m, 70m, 100m and 150m and because the 50m is still on the bend and the Freelap cone is on the outside of the lane, the receiver chip was likely too far away given how much I hug the inside of the bend and lean into it. I wish I’d figured that out at the track.

Without knowing my 50-70m split I can only say that it was likely faster than the 1.13/1.14/1.15 sec flying 10m runs I did from 70-100m on reps 1 to 3 respectively. I really like that whip off the bend and I was fading a little by 100m and then holding form to the line, which was roughly 1.20-1.22 secs.

I had a very mild strain of my left hamstring yesterday when messing around with my daughter, but despite feeling it a bit today there was no hesitation to run top speed. Last year I had a hamstring overload around the time I was fitting in all my annual tests (12 minute run, 1 mile walk etc.) so I’m more conscious of my volume this summer as a result.

31 May

Rest

[Fraser Young]

SPP – Week 7

18 May

Warm Up 2
A Skip, B Skip, A Run, B Run – 2 x 20m
Dribble ACK – 2 x 20m
SL Scissor w run out – 2 x 20m
2 x 40m Build Ups
Tempo – 111,313,313,121 in 16.9, 36.2, 54.2 secs
Hurdle Mobility 1 – 3 sets
Tank (10 reps) – 6:24
Bataan (2 x 20 reps) – 8:46, 8:50
Abs – 6 mins

I did some Kelly Starrett mobilisations last night and the adductor one left me feeling very tender. I’d warmed it up enough for tempo and ended up feeling strong, running all four 300’s within half a second of each other. Having tweaked my hamstring during Bataan’s hamstring lean exercise I substituted them for hamstring walkouts. It ended up being 40 minutes of conditioning if you include the rest periods which felt excessive.

19 May

Warm Up 1
CMJ – 3 x 3
MB Throws – 2 x 3
Blocks – 3 x 20m ,30m in 3.42, 4.47 secs Freelap
4 x 60m in ~8.0 secs (30/40m in 4.52, 5.67 secs)
Back Squat – 8 x 90kg, 5 x 100kg, 3 x 105kg, 3 x 1 x 117.5kg, 5 x 100kg
Bench Press – 8 x 65kg, 5 x 75kg, 3 x 80kg, 3 x 1 x 87.5kg, 10 x 75kg

Wet track, 13 degrees, -4 m/s wind. Conditions were not pleasant, I had a waterproof jacket and trousers on for the first few block starts until I realised how slow I was running (3.52 secs). Losing the trousers dropped me to 3.42 secs and I didn’t get a split for the 30m but it was with no jacket and was likely more like 3.32 secs.

I honestly felt really good so was a bit miffed at the times, with flying runs of only ~1.16 secs having looked so promising over the weekend. The back squat was a real grind so maybe my power isn’t there, I’ll keep the weight as it is and hope that I’m stronger the next time it’s scheduled. In contrast the bench press felt amazing, I definitely had 100kg+ in me and just to get a sense of my 1RM I repped out 75kg to 10, which equates to a 100kg 1RM and means I can move up next time.

20 May

Warm Up 2
Bleep Test – level 11 shuttle 6
A Skip, B Skip, A Run, B Run – 2 x 20m
Dribble ACK – 2 x 20m
SL Scissor w run out – 2 x 20m
2 x 40m Build Ups
Tempo – 111,312,212,111 in 16.9, 34.6, 56.3 secs
Hurdle Mobility 1 – 2 sets
Tank (15 reps) – 8:39
Nekka (2 x 20 reps) – 2:05, 2:01
Abs – 5 mins

Great session, I breezed past my previous effort in the bleep test but faded quickly once the intensity hit a certain point. I also learned from last time that it’s only a few minutes of hard running so I picked up the rest of the workout as planned. My left calf was feeling quite tight after the bleep test but not enough to impair my tempo runs.

21 May

Warm Up 1
MB Throws – 4 x 5
2 x 60m build ups (to 90%)
2 x 3 x 120m (90%) in 16.0, 16.3, 16.3 & 16.4, 16.5, 15.8 secs
Step Ups – 3 x 7 x 50kg
RLESS – 3 x 6 x 75kg
DB Hyperextension Rows – 3 x 5 x 15kg
RDL – 3 x 6 x 90kg
Swiss Ball kicks – 3 x 20 secs

Very pleased with the consistent times, I have a good sense of what 90% feels like and without the headwind those were probably all around my target time of 16.0 secs.

There is a speed element to step ups but I can probably bump those 2.5kg, the hyperextensions were far too difficult and I’ll need to either do 27.5kg on a barbell, or go back to 12.5kg dumbbells. RDL is another one I can progress by 5kg, maybe losing a rep.

22 May

Rest

23 May

Warm Up 1
Rudiment – 2 x 20m
Blocks – 10,20,30,40m in 1.83, 3.18, 4.35, 5.50 secs
2 x (2 x 90m) in ??, 11.33 & ??, 11.20 secs (30/50/70m in 4.25, 6.51, 8.73 secs)
Back Squat – 8 x 90kg, 5 x 100kg, 3 x 105kg, 3 x 1 x 117.5kg, 5 x 100kg
Bench Press – 8 x 67.5kg, 5 x 77.5kg, 3 x 82.5kg, 3 x 1 x 95kg, 5 x 80kg

Dry track, 25 degrees, no wind. The one day you want wind… It was a high of 30 today and I did this at 10am, ending 11.30am. I took a few block starts to find my groove, the 40m was a good time. Pleased with my 90’s, the Freelap failed on the last split for both first reps which was frustrating, I did some 2.20-2.26 second 20m splits which was pleasing.

24 May

Rest

First week with the new structure of Mon-Thurs & Saturdays, ready to move into the competition phase soon.

[Fraser Young]

SPP – Week 6

9 May

Sussex County Championships

100m – 12.09 (+1.5 m/s wind)

Great conditions, 20 degrees and what I was expecting to be more like a 3 m/s wind but it was swirling it a bit too. Hamstring didn’t concern me at all in the warm up so I was raring to go.

After a very long hold in “set” I got a really strong start, only to be called back. The second time around I was a bit too upright after 3-4 strides but again working on just lining up and not overly focusing on cues I thought execution was decent. I thought given the fatigue from having to repeat the start that I would be looking at 12.3* or high 12.2* so I was thrilled to see 12.09, which wind corrected would be 12.18. That’s my fastest performance in a few seasons and I think it’s an indication that my training volume is much better this time round.

I qualified for the final but I had already made plans with my family and my Achilles was a bit tender, so I DNS’ed.

10 May

Boundary Walk – 14.2km

A lengthy walk with my daughters, very chilled pace for me but still more than I’d have wanted to do the day after a race. Mostly travelling on both Monday and Wednesday, will pick up training on Thursday.

11 May

Rest

I had 11 hours of travelling which wasn’t ideal for recovery.

12 May

A1 Pull ups – 3 x 8
A2 Dips – 3 x 15
A3 Dragon Flag lowers – 3 x 6

Lots of walking today, including 30 minutes each way to a calisthenics park to do a short upper body session.

13 May

Rest

This time it was only 8.5 hours of travelling, really looking forward to getting back in a routine tomorrow.

14 May

Warm Up 1
Rudiment – 2 x 20m
Blocks – 2 x 20m in 3.22 secs
Hard Tempo – 3 x 200m, 2 x 200m in 27.5, 28.2, 27.9 & 26.6, 29.4
Bench Press – 8 x 65kg, 5 x 75kg, 3 x 80kg, 3 x 1 x 87.5kg, 5 x 75kg

Damp track, 13 degrees, +6 m/s wind. I was timing to 4 metres and the first one was 0.89 seconds and then the next two were above 1.10 secs, so I’m not sure what was going on there. I felt a lot faster than 3.22 secs, especially given the tailwind. This was the first proper 200m session that wasn’t doubling as a taper for competition. As such, the target time is meant to be flat out 200m + 2 seconds, which would be something like 27.5 seconds if not a touch quicker. I was pleased that my first attempt at the right intensity seemed to come out, but with the wind those reps were probably a little slow. It started hailing before my 4th rep which completely threw me off and I couldn’t check my 100m split on the stopwatch (previously 13.3 to 13.7 secs) which if I could would have shown me 13.0 secs, finishing in 26.6 secs. As expected, I was completely gassed for the next rep, going through 100m in 14 flat then almost walking over the finish line.

My legs were tired so I didn’t think they’d do well in a power matrix, so I opted for bench press only.

15 May

Rest

16 May

Warm Up 1
Rudiment – 2 x 20m
Blocks – 10,20,30,40m in 3.18, 4.31, 5.45 secs
2 x 70m (40m IL) in 8.90 secs (40m in 4.31 secs)
2 x EFM 90m flying 30m in 3.24, 3.37 secs
Step Ups – 3 x 7 x 50kg
RLESS – 3 x 7 x 70kg
DB Hyperextension Rows – 3 x 9 x 12.5kg
RDL – 3 x 8 x 85kg
Swiss Ball kicks – 3 x 20 secs

Dry track, 14 degrees, cross wind. Great session, hard to tell if the wind helped, and also how much I can trust my first flying run. I did feel good at top speed and caught the first one well, which would be 1.08 secs per 10m. Weights were also good, I feel like I’m back in the rhythm of training again.

17 May

Rest

A lot going on this week, obviously thrilled to run 12.09 secs for 100m. I’ve left my job which has freed me up to move my sessions around so I’ve immediately returned to a standard Mon-Sun training week instead of Sat-Fri.

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