Fraser Young

[Fraser Young]

GPP – Week 3

27 March

A Walk, Skip – 2 x 10m
Dribble Calf, Calf Smashers – 2 x 20m
SL Scissor, Dribble Knee – 2 x 30m
Build Up – 60m
High Knee Sprint – 2 x 2 x 40m
Sled – 4 x 50m x 10kg
Sprints – 4 x 80m (90%) in ~10.60 Freelap
Core, 2 x 10 exercises 40 secs on / 20 secs off

Dry track, 15 degrees, -2 m/s wind. Good session, similar times to last week. I added in a second meal at 9am on top of my usual 7am breakfast and then pushed this to 1pm (usually 12pm start) which felt so much nicer. Otherwise I’m scrambling to fit the calories in. The fact each session is exactly the same means I’m already itching to move on to SPP.

28 March

Hang Power Clean – 4 x 3 x 60kg
A1 Half Squats – 4 x 3 x 105kg
A2 Squat Jumps – 4 x 2
BB Hip Thrust – 3 x 8 x 90kg
KB Swings – 3 x 8 x 20kg
B1 Single Leg Calf Raise – 3 x 6 x 15kg
B2 Pogo Jumps – 3 x 8
Nordic Eccentrics – 3 x 4
Core, 2 x 10 exercises 40 secs on / 20 secs off

Much better session, did this in the office gym with no time constraints and warmed up fully before the power cleans.

29 March

Exercise Bike – 45 mins (135W down to 110W)

I added an extra 5 mins to each session this week and handled it okay. The hardest part of the workout is the boredom, and no amount of Netflix or Spotify can fix it.

30 March

A Walk, Skip – 2 x 10m
Dribble Calf, Calf Smashers – 2 x 20m
SL Scissor, High Knees – 2 x 30m
Build Up – 60m
3 x 3 x 150m in 22.3, 21.7, 21.6, 21.1, 20.9, 20.8, 19.4, 19.9, 19.8
—
A1 Step Ups – 4 x 3 x 60kg
A2 Step Up Jumps – 4 x 2 per leg
Hex Bar DL – 4 x 4 x 115kg
BB Reverse Lunges – 3 x 6 x 60kg
Pogo Jumps – 4 x 10
Copenhagen Plank w Dip – 3 x 12
B1 Banded Single Leg HS ISO – 3 x 3 x 7 secs
B2 Single Leg HS Jumps – 3 x 15
Core, 10 exercises 40 secs on / 20 secs off

Dry track, 16 degrees, +6 m/s wind.

Good session, almost 3 hours so I cut the core to 10 mins having done the full 20 mins yesterday. Wind was a bit silly but I’m glad I wasn’t running into it.

31 March

Face Pulls – 2 x 12
Trap Bar Shrugs – 2 x 10 x 70kg
A1 Push Press – 4 x 3 x 60kg
A2 Pull ups – 4 x 5 x 10kg
B1 Incline DB Bench Press – 3 x 8 x 25kg
B2 BB Row – 3 x 8 x 62.5kg
Core, 10 exercises 40 secs on / 20 secs off

Changing the order seemed to help as my shoulders were ready when it came to push press.

1 April

A Walk, Skip – 2 x 10m
Dribble Calf, Calf Smashers – 2 x 20m
SL Scissor, High Knees – 2 x 30m
Build Up – 2 x 60m
Falling Runs – 3 x 20m
Accels – 3 x 20m in ~3.10 secs Freelap
Accels – 2 x (20,30,20,30,20m) 95% effort in ~3.15, 4.30 secs Freelap
Speed Jumps – 4 x 30m
Squat Jumps – 3 x 6 x BW
MB Throws – 4 x OHB, 4 x BLF with 4kg ball

Dry track, 13 degrees, +4 m/s wind. It started out as a cross-wind and would gust in favour of me. I felt great today, adapting to the volume and feeling more powerful as the weeks go by.

2 April

Exercise Bike – 40 mins (140W down to 120W)
Core, 2 x 10 exercises 40 secs on / 20 secs off

I dropped to 120W after 11 mins and my HR stayed at 114 bpm to the end, which is the low end of zone 2 for me. I’m out for the day on Friday so I moved core to today and will likely put the weights tomorrow after max velocity.

I’m ready for the final week of GPP and I plan to do some 1RM testing ahead of SPP. Some of the reps are prescribed as e.g. 4 x 3 (7RM) and I was using a 1RM calculator to estimate my 7RM. I’d like to do a final set to failure in GPP week 4 to see if I really can do 8,9,10 reps with that weight, which it feels like I can in some movements. The goal in sprint training isn’t to go as heavy as possible, but I’d like to challenge my body a little more than I have been so far.

[Fraser Young]

GPP – Week 2

20 March

A Walk, Skip – 2 x 10m
Dribble Calf, Calf Smashers – 2 x 20m
SL Scissor, Dribble Knee – 2 x 30m
Build Up – 60m
High Knee Sprint – 2 x 2 x 40m
Sled – 4 x 50m x 10kg
Sprints – 4 x 80m (90%) in ~10.55 Freelap
Core, 2 x 10 exercises 40 secs on / 20 secs off

Dry track, 18 degrees, -3 m/s wind. Lovely day to train, I treated the high knee sprint more like a flying run and went through 40m in ~4.75 so around 1.18 secs per 10m. I timed the last 40m of my sled runs as well, this time it was about 1.40-1.42 secs per 10m. I brought 15kg to the track but I’m glad I opted for only 10kg as it felt right to me. The headwind vs. last week’s tailwind makes my 80m times comparable, my quads continue to ache and they’re not getting much respite. Core was better, I can tell I’m doing more reps in some of the exercises while still being challenged.

I realised that traditionally GPP doesn’t have any top speed work, which is why everything is submaximal here, and it should build up my work capacity nicely ahead of SPP.

21 March

Hang Power Clean – 4 x 3 x 60kg
A1 Half Squats – 4 x 3 x 105kg
A2 Squat Jumps – 4 x 2
BB Hip Thrust – 3 x 8 x 90kg
KB Swings – 3 x 8 x 20kg
B1 Single Leg Calf Raise – 3 x 6 x 10kg
B2 Pogo Jumps – 3 x 8
Nordic Eccentrics – 3 x 4
Core, 10 exercises 40 secs on / 20 secs off

I felt so flat today, quite hungry too. I had a lot of work this morning so I had to delay my workout by 90 mins and by that time I’d worked up an appetite. I don’t like to hang power clean first as I’m not really warmed up. My own fault really, I’ll look to add warm up sets and ensure I’m coming at it with 100% intensity. Had some extra calories today – my body is crying out for it.

22 March

Rucking (5kg) – 45 mins

I wanted to mix up my zone 2 cardio to spare my quads from the exercise bike. I was pretty sure it wouldn’t be demanding enough so I put 5kg in a backpack as a taster for rucking. Only spent 15 mins in zone 2 and the rest in zone 1, which is at least some nice recovery ahead of another demanding Sunday session.

23 March

A Walk, Skip – 2 x 10m
Dribble Calf, Calf Smashers – 2 x 20m
SL Scissor, High Knees – 2 x 30m
Build Up – 60m
3 x 3 x 150m in 22.8, 22.0, 21.9, 20.5, 21.3, 21.0, 20.4, 20.3, 20.4
—
A1 Step Ups – 4 x 3 x 60kg
A2 Step Up Jumps – 4 x 2 per leg
Hex Bar DL – 4 x 4 x 115kg
BB Reverse Lunges – 3 x 6 x 60kg
Pogo Jumps – 4 x 10
Copenhagen Plank w Dip – 3 x 12
B1 Banded Single Leg HS ISO – 3 x 3 x 7 secs
B2 Single Leg HS Jumps – 3 x 15
Core, 2 x 10 exercises 40 secs on / 20 secs off

Wet track, 10 degrees, no wind. Much better conditions for my 150’s and I was happy with my times, though I’d have liked to hit 20.0 in the final set. The rest periods weren’t on the program so last week I tried 4 mins / 8 mins and this week was 3.5 mins / 7 mins. Everything else was good, I might try a single set of max reps in certain exercises to get a better idea of where I should be. For example, Step Ups are meant to be a 7RM but I feel like I could do 8-10 reps with 60kg and there’s only one way to find out.

24 March

A1 Push Press – 4 x 3 x 60kg
A2 Pull ups – 4 x 5 x 10kg
B1 Incline DB Bench Press – 3 x 8 x 25kg
B2 BB Row – 3 x 8 x 62.5kg
Trap Bar Shrugs – 2 x 10 x 70kg
Face Pulls – 2 x 12
Core, 10 exercises 40 secs on / 20 secs off

The first set of push press was a struggle despite a more focused warm up. Incline press was a heavier weight but very smooth this week. Pleased with the session and wrapped up in 60 minutes.

25 March

A Walk, Skip – 2 x 10m
Dribble Calf, Calf Smashers – 2 x 20m
SL Scissor, High Knees – 2 x 30m
Build Up – 2 x 60m
Falling Runs – 3 x 20m
Accels – 3 x 20m in ~3.12 secs Freelap
Accels – 2 x (20,30,20,30,20m) 95% effort in ~3.15, 4.27 secs Freelap
Speed Jumps – 4 x 30m
Squat Jumps – 3 x 6 x BW
MB Throws – 4 x OHB, 4 x BLF with 4kg ball

Dry track, 12 degrees, + 4 m/s wind. Good session, I’m still hungry and fatigued but I can tell I’m adjusting to the workload. The wind helped a lot with my times but I did feel quite sharp today.

26 March

Concept 2 Exercise Bike – 45 mins (140W down to 110W)

Another step up in performance, didn’t need to drop below 110W for the duration. Average heart rate 119 bpm.

Really pleased with that week of training and how I’m starting to feel. I’ve held my calories at 3,000/day on average with the goal of slowly adding mass.

[Fraser Young]

GPP – Week 1

13 March

A Walk, Skip – 2 x 10m
Dribble Calf, Calf Smashers – 2 x 20m
SL Scissor, Dribble Knee – 2 x 30m
Build Up – 60m
High Knee Sprint – 2 x 2 x 40m
Sled – 2 x 50m x 35kg, 2 x 50m x 20kg
Sprints – 4 x 80m (90%) in ~10.4 Freelap
Core, 2 x 10 exercises 40 secs on / 20 secs off

Dry track, 6 degrees, +3 m/s tailwind. I misinterpreted the instructions for the sled runs and went far too heavy. It should be more like 20% of body-weight for top speed mechanics and I was dragging around 50% at first. Next week I’ll use a 15kg plate! Pleased with the sprints at the end, I was really consistent with all four runs within 0.1 seconds of each other. Core was tough but it will make me stronger.

14 March

Hang Power Clean – 4 x 3 x 60kg
A1 Half Squats – 4 x 3 x 100kg
A2 Squat Jumps – 4 x 2
BB Hip Thrust – 3 x 8 x 90kg
KB Swings – 3 x 8 x 20kg
B1 Single Leg Calf Raise – 3 x 6 x 5kg
B2 Pogo Jumps – 3 x 8
Nordic Eccentrics – 3 x 4
Core, 10 exercises 40 secs on / 20 secs off

Enjoyed that session, it’s been too long since I’ve done anything strenuous so my wrists and grip felt weak in the power cleans. I have a bit of soreness in my legs so I should be able to step up in weight next week.

15 March

Exercise Bike – 40 mins (135W down to 110W)

Improving every few weeks in this! Abs are sore from the recent volume of core work, legs quite fatigued too.

16 March

A Walk, Skip – 2 x 10m
Dribble Calf, Calf Smashers – 2 x 20m
SL Scissor, High Knees – 2 x 30m
Build Up – 60m
3 x 3 x 150m in 23.0, 21.6, 21.7, 20.2, 20.9, 20.5, 19.8, 20.0, 20.2
—
A1 Step Ups – 4 x 3 x 60kg
A2 Step Up Jumps – 4 x 2 per leg
Hex Bar DL – 4 x 4 x 115kg
BB Reverse Lunges – 3 x 6 x 60kg
Pogo Jumps – 4 x 10
Copenhagen Plank w Dip – 3 x 12
B1 Single Leg HS ISO – 3 x 3 x 7 secs (10kg)
B2 Single Leg HS Jumps – 3 x 15
Core, 2 x 10 exercises 40 secs on / 20 secs off

Dry track, 8 degrees, +5 m/s wind. The wind was more of a hindrance since I wasn’t going flat out, it was harder to hit my target times. I was still using a cone at 100m and an intermediate stopwatch time to adjust my running in the final 50m. Leg session was great, none of it is maximal so weights are moving relatively smoothly. This session is 3 hours but technically I combined two sessions so I could have an extra day of rest. At one point I planned to split this into a morning and afternoon session but that would mean two warm ups so this is less total time.

17 March

A1 Push Press – 4 x 3 x 60kg
A2 Pull ups – 4 x 5 x 10kg
B1 Incline DB Bench Press – 3 x 8 x 22.5kg
B2 BB Row – 3 x 8 x 62.5kg
Trap Bar Shrugs – 2 x 10 x 70kg
Face Pulls – 2 x 12
Core, 10 exercises 40 secs on / 20 secs off

Good session, much stronger in the push press this week and can probably increase the incline press. Trap bar shrugs should continue to carry over to my hang power cleans.

18 March

A Walk, Skip – 2 x 10m
Dribble Calf, Calf Smashers – 2 x 20m
SL Scissor, High Knees – 2 x 30m
Build Up – 2 x 60m
Falling Runs – 3 x 20m
Accels – 3 x 20m in ~3.14 secs Freelap
Accels – 2 x (20,30,20,30,20m) 95% effort in ~3.20, 4.40 secs Freelap
Speed Jumps – 4 x 30m
Squat Jumps – 3 x 6 x BW
MB Throws – 4 x OHB, 4 x BLF with 4kg ball

Dry track, 10 degrees, crosswind. Well that was a step up in volume! 16 acceleration runs, though holding back slightly in 10 of them. I can’t get the hang of speed jumps so I’ll need to re-watch the tutorial video. Otherwise a great session, Freelap malfunctioned a fair bit but the times I did record were 3-5% slower than I can do at my best, which equates nicely to 95% effort.

I will say that my quads were sore before I’d even started the accelerations so I might feel them tomorrow, where they’ll be hit with more zone 2 cardio on the bike.

19 March

Concept 2 Exercise Bike – 40 mins (135W down to 100W)

A good week of training, some muscle soreness that I’ve not been able to shake but I’m sure my body will have adjusted to the volume by the end of week 2.

[Fraser Young]

Post-Program – Week 3

22 February

Exercise Bike – 40 mins (105 down to 80 Watts)

Poor sleep and my Oura ring is saying I have major indications of an approaching cold/flu. I feel run down and it was no surprise that my numbers on the bike were so poor.

23 February

Pogo Jumps – 3 x 20 secs
5 x 30E20F in 2.12-2.18 Freelap

Damp track, 9 degrees, +6 m/s wind. It would have been another headwind but I set my timing gates in the opposite direction to give myself some nice overspeed training. Difficult to say what a true time is, I like to correct 0.01 secs per 10m for every 2 m/s wind, so the fastest runs might have been 2.18 secs or 1.09 flying 10m. The track was slippery so I couldn’t land broad jumps and the 5 bound with such a strong wind is pointless trying to measure.

I’m still feeling run down but my race isn’t for 7 days so not concerned.

24 February

MB Chest Pass – 8 x 5kg
MB Slams – 8 x 5kg
Bench Press – 3 x 2 x 95kg
Hanging Leg Raise – 10
Russian Twists – 30 x 5kg
Ab Wheel – 45 secs

95kg went up quite nicely considering I’m only 67kg right now.

25 February

A Drills – 4 x 2 x 15m
Dribble ACK, SL Scissor – 2 x 20m
2 x 40m Build Ups
Tempo – 10 x 100m with stretching in ~17.5 secs

Chilled tempo session, felt really sharp which is a good sign. I accidentally ran one in 15.8 secs and after that I really relaxed it down and ran some 18’s. My stomach has been dodgy the last few days and I feel like I’m turning a corner, hopefully in time for a fast weekend race. Initial weather forecast for Sunday is dry, so I will look to do some Freelap times in the warm up area before and after the 60m race.

26 February

Concept2 Exercise Bike – 40 mins (140 down to 100 Watts)

The other week I struggled to pedal hard enough to hit zone 2 and I had the same thing again today. I spent 5 minutes at 125W and my heart rate didn’t budge above 100 bpm, so I pushed on to 140W which was a bit tiring on the legs, but it got me above 110 bpm. I was planning to do more zone 2 on Friday but I might rethink now depending on how explosive I feel tomorrow at the track.

27 February

Full Race Warm Up
Blocks – 20, 30m (95% effort)
60m (90-95% effort)

Nothing too strenuous. I now know my race is at midday so I did this at 11am to mimic what will happen on Sunday. I felt springy during the warm up jog, not so much in the sprints but it was a strong headwind. I’m still finding it hard to mentally shake the 7.8* times that I ran the other week and I don’t really believe that I can dip under 7.70 on Sunday, which is a shame.

28 February

Concept2 Exercise Bike – 30 mins (130 down to 90 Watts)
Stretching – 25 mins

I cut 10 minutes off the bike and brought along my copy of Kelly Starrett’s Becoming a Supple Leopard. I chose one stretch for each area of the body and I really felt some of them.

1 March

AM Walk – 25 mins
Cold Pool – 45 mins

I got the blood flowing early with a walk, then later that morning I took my daughter’s swimming and the pool is pretty nippy so it’s a nice bit of cold therapy. I had a 25 minute sauna session in the evening and will have an elaborate bedtime routine to give myself the best chance at a good sleep.

2 March – Race Day

Sussex County Champs – 60m

Semi Final (4th) – 7.78 secs

Sprints – 30m in 4.26
Sprints – 2 x 50m in 6.48 (4.21, 5.33), 6.41 (4.18, 5.30)
Sprints – 60m in 7.46 (4.13, 5.24, 6.35)

I felt great in the warm up, my bounds were going out quite far. In hindsight I would have liked to do a flat out 20m run and a longer acceleration, as it was I tried a 15-20m sprint and then built up to no more than 10m fly at 90-95% pace. Looking at my times afterwards, which were aided by a tailwind, I’d say I had more than a 7.78 in me.

The race itself was an okay execution, maybe lacking some power in the first few strides but otherwise I was pleased with it. The time is a bit slow as I was hoping for low 7.7’s. Based on the outdoor times it’s my top speed that wasn’t there this time around.

All done for the indoor season now, a few days off and then into a new program on Thursday (though the first week is a gentle introduction).

[Fraser Young]

Post-Program – Week 2

15 February

Rest

16 February – Race Day

Sutcliffe Park Open Meeting – 2 x 60m

Race 1 – 7.83 secs

Race 2 – 7.89 secs

Well I wasn’t expecting that. My warm up felt decent, I did a standing 5 bound to 12.40m which is pretty average for me, but a flying 20m run in 2.17 secs with a bit of a tailwind, so maybe a 2.20 wind corrected. There was nothing inherently wrong with my race execution, though I did fade in the final 20 metres.

For the second race I did broad jumps in the warm up and managed 2.60m, almost a PB. My flying run was down at 2.28 by then and I tried a few block starts to 10m (~1.92 secs) then a 30m from blocks (4.31 secs), though that was with an experimental block setting that left me very slow to 10m.

I don’t have a timed acceleration for race 1 but if I put in 4.31 secs and 2.20 flying 20m into my 60m race calculator I get 7.82, so it really is a fair outcome. For context, last year in my final race I ran a 4.20 secs 30m in warm up and a 2.14 secs 20m fly, which was spot on for the time I eventually ran (7.62 secs).

This was only ever a race to get used to competing before the main run in two weeks time, but I was hoping for a faster time. There’s reasons to be optimistic from the training times and a good taper can make all the difference.

17 February

MB Chest Pass – 2 x 8 x 5kg
MB Slams – 2 x 8 x 5kg
Bench Press – 3 x 3 x 92.5kg
A1 Hanging Leg Raise – 2 x 10
A2 Russian Twists – 2 x 30 x 5kg
A3 Ab Wheel – 2 x 45 secs

Short and sweet.

18 February

A Drills – 4 x 2 x 15m
Dribble ACK, SL Scissor – 2 x 20m
2 x 40m Build Ups
Tempo – 3 x 4 x 100m (30 secs / 2.5 mins) in 16.1 secs, 16.0 secs, 15.7 secs

A big step up in intensity having read my old training logs and realised how fast I was doing these a few months ago. I was on the floor after the final set of tempo runs, the icy track didn’t help with acceleration or confidence at top speed.

19 February

Yoga – 45 mins

Relatively intense though most of that was on the upper body

20 February

Pogo Jumps – 3 x 20 secs
Broad Jumps – 4, best of 254cm
Standing 5 bound – 2 per leg, best of 12.10m
Blocks – 2 x 10m, 2 x 20m in 1.90 / 3.22 secs Freelap
Accels – 3 x 30m in 1.92 / 3.22 / 4.40 secs Freelap

Wet track, -4 m/s wind, 9 degrees. I was happy to not be cold but the wind was a real pain as it gusted to much more than -4 m/s. I was pleased with my broad jump as I felt a little flat, and then on the track I felt even flatter, no spring at all in the 5 bounds, which were into the wind. I had 1.90 in my head as a 10m time I wanted to go below but with the wind I’ll take it.

21 February

A Drills – 4 x 2 x 15m
Dribble ACK, SL Scissor – 2 x 20m
2 x 40m Build Ups
Tempo – 4 x 300m (2 mins) in ~54.7 sec average

I switched it up at the last second and opted for 300’s instead of repeat 100’s. The rule of thumb is to add 1 second per 100m for tempo runs so as I’ve been doing 100m in 16 secs it would be 18 secs per 100m for 300m, meaning 54 flat. Poor maths mid-run meant I thought I was aiming for 56 seconds on the first run and I eased down, which pulled my average up overall.

Reading over my training journal these past few weeks I feel like I’ve got a fast run in me, the weather never seems to behave which doesn’t help gauge where I am. More rain on Sunday and if there isn’t a strong wind that will be the key session for registering fast times, as the following Thursday will be very low volume.

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