Fraser Young

[Fraser Young]

GPP – Week 1

26 September

Drills
Tempo, 8 x 200m (2 mins)

Pretty tiring, didn’t hit the first time at all but ran a series around 32 seconds for the rest of them.

27 September

A1 Proper DB Rows – 2 x 10 x 26kg
A2 Plate Toss – 2 x 10 x 15kg
B1 Alt DB Bench Press – 1 x 20 x 33.5kg, 1 x 18 x 33.5kg
B2 Explosive Pushups – 2 x 8
BB Curls – 2 x 10 x 37.5kg

28 September

MB Throws, 8
Drills E
Hills, 3 x 3 x 40m (3.5 mins, 5.5 mins)
A1 DB Weighted Lunges – 1 x 20 x 26kg, 2 x 18 x 26kg
DB Explosive Jumps – 3 x 10 x 5kg
Eccentric SL Ham Curls – 2 x 9 x 23.75kg
Wall Sit/Ski Squat – 6 in 120 secs, 40kg

Worked a lot harder in the hills today, got a better position and was tired at the top. Lunges were overly heavy and restricted my range at first.

29 September

Hurdle Mobility
Drills A
3 x 4 x 100m (30 secs/2.5 mins)
Nekka x 2
Bataan x 2
A1 DB Rows – 2 x 10 x 26kg
A2 Plate Toss – 2 x 10 x 15kg
B1 DB Bench – 2 x 20 x 33.5kg
B2 Explosive Pushups – 2 x 8
Bent Over Flyes – 2 x 12 x 5kg

Good session, felt fitter. Finally got my 2 x 20 on the DB bench, pretty much couldn’t have lifted an ounce more.

30 September

MB Throws – 6
Jumps – 6
Sleds – 2 x 6 x 17.5m
Pullups – 10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1
Dips – 20
Deadlift – 3 x 6 x 114.5kg
SLRDL – 2 x 10 x 51kg
Bird Dogs – 2 x 20

Pleased with the technique in sleds, felt it more than last week. Good pull ups, 15 secs between each set. Deadlift wasn’t great, back was trying to round so had to work hard.

2 October

Hurdle Jumps – 4 x 8 x 84cm
Jumps for Height – 3 x 6
Jump into Lunge – 3 x 6 per leg
Shock Jump – 3 x 5 x 85cm
Back Squat – 3 x 8 x 125kg
Eccentric SL Ham Curls – 2 x 8 x 25kg
Side Bridge – 1 min
Front Bridge -2 mins

Solid session, no issues.

[Fraser Young]

Break In Training

19 September

Hurdle Mobility
Drills (A skip, Run A, B skip, Run B, SL Bound)
12 x 100m JB/WB
Gas, Pain reps
Waterloo, Agony reps

Felt like I hadn’t lost much co-ordination or technique as my tempo runs were only a little rusty, sore abs from the circuits though.

Note: Gas and Waterloo are circuits our coach learned from Dan Pfaff, and he modified it so that not all exercises are the same reps, and so the difficulty was set at levels like “Easy”, “Normal”, “Pain”, Agony” which is what my journal references here.

20 September

A1 Proper DB Rows – 2 x 8 x 26kg
A2 Plate Toss – 2 x 10 x 15kg
B1 Alt DB Bench Press – 1 x 20 x 33.5kg, 1 x 18 x 33.5kg
B2 Explosive Pushups – 2 x 8
BB Curls – 2 x 10 x 37.5kg
Pullups – 12,8,8,3,3,6

No issues, felt quite refreshed.

21 September

MB Throws, 10
Drills E
Hill runs, 2 x 4 x 40m (3.5 mins, 5 mins)
A1 DB Weighted Lunges – 3 x 20 x 23.5kg
A2 DB Explosive Jumps – 3 x 10 x 5kg
Eccentric SL Ham Curls – 2 x 8 x 23.75kg
Wall Sit/Ski Squat – 8 in 120 secs, 40kg

Didn’t focus on a single cue during the hill runs so there wasn’t much consistency, but once I made sure my head was down so I couldn’t see much in front of me that got me in the position to work my quads. Weights were pretty killer, really feeling the session now.

22 September

Drills (Walk A, A Skip, Run A)
Tempo 3 x 4 x 100m (30 secs/2.5mins)
GS 1 x 2
GS 2 x 2
A1 DB Rows – 2 x 9 x 26kg
A2 Plate Toss – 2 x 10 x 15kg
B1 DB Bench – 1 x 20 x 33.5kg, 1 x 18 x 33.5kg
B2 Explosive Pushups – 2 x 8
Bent Over Flyes – 2 x 12 x 5kg
Seated Twists – 3 x 14 x 25kg

Quite difficult tempo, couldn’t hit the times due to the wind but made the last run. Circuits were difficult, legs gave in a few times in squat thrusts but pleased to complete all four.

Note: I don’t remember what “GS” is

23 September

MB Throws, 8
Jumps, 8
Drills E
Sleds, 2 x 6 x 15m (4 mins/6 mins)
Dips – 20,20,15
Pullups – 15,10,9
Deadlift – 4 x 8 x 108.5kg
A1 SLRDL – 2 x 10 x 45kg
A2 Bird Dogs – 2 x 20
Ab Circuit, 4 mins

Didn’t have much trouble with the session today, felt in a good position for the majority of sled runs. Gymnastics was done with around one minute rest to work on endurance.

25 September

Hurdle Jumps – 4 x 8 x 76/84cm
Jumps for Height – 3 x 6
Jump into Lunge – 3 x 6 per leg
Shock Jump – 3 x 5 x 85cm
Pullups – 12,8,6,6,5,3
Squats – 1 x 8 x 118kg, 1 x 8 x 126kg, 1 x 7 x 130kg FAILED 8th rep, 1 x 8 x 120kg
Eccentric SL Ham Curls – 2 x 8 x 23.75kg
Side bridge – 1 min per side
Front bridge – 1 min

Yeh…I failed a squat rep. Not done that in over three years. Took a few deep breaths before the last rep, descended too slowly and the second I reached the box my legs went to jelly and I couldn’t move an inch. No cage or anything so had to shout my housemate down to help me rack it. Must’ve sat there a good 45 seconds, so took a slightly longer rest then continued the workout.

[Fraser Young]

Comp – Week 9

28 February

Full Race Warm Up

It was 9.30am so I didn’t feel that energetic, maybe a lesson about what time is best for sprint sessions. I will aim for ~11am tomorrow to run the flat out 60m, with the option of then running a second one the following Thursday.

My indoor seasons seem a bit anticlimactic, I train and train, then taper, and I don’t have any real enthusiasm about running great times.

On the plus side it’s warmer weather next week and spring tomorrow.

1 March

Full Race Warm Up
Blocks – 2×10, 30m in 2.08, 1.97, 4.49 secs Freelap
Flying 20m in 2.34 secs
Blocks – 60m in 7.98 secs (20/30/40m in 3.30/4.49/5.65)

Wet track, 8 degrees, -6 m/s wind. F**king British weather. I was really pleased with the second 10m block start, and it’s at least reassuring that both my 30m from blocks and first 30m of my 60m run were identical times. The last 20m of my 60m from blocks was also 2.34 seconds.

Adjusting for the wind it becomes 4.43 secs to 30m and 1.14 secs at top speed, meaning 60m in 7.83 secs. Adding on reaction time then brings it back up to 8.03 secs, which is not what I’d hoped for.

I plan to do one final 60m timed run on Thursday, and then the indoor season is over. I am taking it as a learning experience, and next winter I will probably look to bring the volume down by 15-20% and see what that does to my training times.

2 March

Warm Up 2
Drills D – 2 x 20m w runout
Tempo – 7 x 100m in 16.8 secs

Super-chilled. I’ve not had a difficult conditioning session in a while now and I’m starting to feel like I’ve gone beyond tapering into the end of indoor season deconditioning.

3 March

Full Race Warm Up

Lovely conditions today, shame I wasn’t doing the time trial now. Calves are a bit unresponsive so I’ll use the massage gun on them this evening, thighs felt really powerful though.

4 March

Rest

5 March

Full Race Warm Up
30m in 4.44 secs (first 3m in 0.96 secs)
Flying 20m in 2.23 secs
60m 3 pt in 7.83 secs (3/30/40m in 0.93, 4.39, 5.52 secs)
60m 3 pt in 7.70 secs (3/30/40m in 0.81, 4.25, 5.39 secs)

Dry track, 16 degrees, -4 m/s wind. Forgot my blocks which is a little frustrating for my final session. I didn’t trust the comparison to 30m from 3 point so I set a cone up at 3 metres to see how I did in the first few strides. The final run (0.81 secs) is really suspicious and possibly a case of the release button sticking to my thumb and giving the impression of a quick start. I was most pleased about the flying 20m in 2.23 secs, despite a relaxed first 30m (4.47 secs) that ended up being 7.83 secs across 60m – identical to my first max effort run. I wasn’t pleased with my top speed in the first flat out effort (2.31 secs for 20m fly) so I rested 15-18 minutes and had a second run, which was near enough identical if you ignore the first 3 metres.

I need to work on my taper because this was a bit of a lame finish to the indoor season and I’m glad I didn’t do any open meets. I massaged my calves on Tuesday and had an office day on Wednesday which I think impairs me on the Thursday session (it’s about 90 mins of brisk walking for the round trip).

I’ll start my outdoor season in 9 days time, and next week I’ll just do some basic maintenance work and try to rest up.

[Fraser Young]

Comp – Week 8

21 February

Warm Up 2
Drills D – 2 x 20m w runout
Tempo – 2 x 5 x 100m in 16.2, 16.5 secs
Pull ups, handstand – 2 sets

Some fast times unintentionally, opened with a 15.4 and ran a few more 15.* during the session.

22 February

Warm Up 1
Trek (skip height, skip distance, SL scissor, bent leg scissor, alt bound) – 3 x 20m
Blocks – 30, 40, 50m in 4.40, 5.52, 6.67 secs
60, 70, 80m in 7.86, 9.06, 10.17 secs (30/40/60m in 4.40, 5.55, 7.86 secs)
Hex DL – 2 x 2 x 125kg
Bench Press – 2 x 2 x 50kg

Damp track, 11 degrees, -4 m/s wind. I felt so flat today, I did a 7km hike with my daughters yesterday which may or may not have contributed. The times weren’t too bad considering, and I will take it for what it is and keep going with my final taper.

23 February

Abs – 3 mins
Warm Up 2
Drills D – 2 x 20m w runout
Tempo – 2 x 6 x 100m in 17.6, 16.7 secs
Pull ups, rope climb, handstand – 2 sets

Did abs while I was waiting to leave. A slower paced session but I accepted it would be the case as I was running and didn’t choose to adjust my intensity. Getting some tightness in my left calf during the day but it didn’t impede my workout.

24 February

Warm Up 1
CMJ (no dip), hop CMJ – 3 reps
MB Throws (Chest, hop Chest) – 3 reps
Blocks – 20,30,40m in 3.20, 4.36, 5.48 secs Freelap
70m (95%) in 9.34 secs (30/40m in 4.52, 6.64 secs)
Bench Press – 2 x 2 x 50kg

Damp track, 13 degrees, -4 m/s wind. The first few block starts were mediocre and then I caught a nice one for the 40m run. Something to bear in mind when I have a race that I need a few starts to find my rhythm. My body feels like it could sleep 11 hours but I always end up waking after 6-6.5 hours which is frustrating.

25 February

Rest

26 February

Warm Up 1
CMJ (no dip), hop CMJ – 3 reps
MB Throws (Chest, hop Chest) – 3 reps
Blocks – 10,20,30,40m in 2.04,3.26,4.48,5.66 secs Freelap

Dry track, 11 degrees, -6 m/s wind. Flat, flat, flat. My calves are giving me a nice bounce but in terms of producing power I wasn’t there today. I managed some 1.94’s to 10m while warming up but the wind was really gusting and holding me back. I also opted for shorts today and my legs were a lot colder than usual, which may impact times.

Usually three days before a race I feel incredible and I’m desperate to do more in that session, but I’ve also learned that I could drop a tenth over a few days from being well rested and tapered, so hard to read too much into today.

27 February

Rest

I had an office day which meant it was slightly less restful than usual.

Overall a very forgettable week, but it’s all about what happens on Sunday.

[Fraser Young]

Comp – Week 7

14 February

Warm Up 2
Drills D – 2 x 20m w runout
Tempo – 111,21312,111 in 17.3, 35.7, 54.1 secs
Pull ups, handstand – 2 sets

Very cold this morning, 1 or 2 degrees. Incredibly consistent with the runs, nearly all within 0.3 secs of the target time. I couldn’t do the rope climb as my hands were too cold.

15 February

Warm Up 1
CMJ (no dip), hop CMJ – 3 reps
MB Throws (Chest, hop Chest) – 3 reps
Blocks – 20,30,40,50m in 3.34,4.68,5.96, 7.00 secs Freelap
70, 80m in 9.43, 10.93 secs
Hex DL – 2 x 2 x 130kg
Bench Press – 2 x 2 x 50kg

Wet track, 4 degrees, -6 m/s wind. I know what you’re thinking, those conditions just scream “personal best”. That’s not even including potentially the biggest hindrance – wearing baggy waterproof trousers and a jacket. I took the trousers off for the final block start and kept them off for the longer runs. I was chatting to someone rather than keeping warm which is why the 80m was such a step down in speed. The weird thing is I felt really crisp out the blocks and relatively powerful in all my runs, with a noticeable sluggishness at top speed.

I still consider it a worthwhile session and my body feels like it’s done maximal intensity sprints today.

16 February

Warm Up 2
Drills D – 2 x 20m w runout
Tempo – 2 x 6 x 100m in 17.2 secs
Pull ups, handstand – 2 sets
Abs – 3 mins

No trouble, very relaxed.

17 February

Warm Up 1
CMJ (no dip), hop CMJ – 3 reps
MB Throws (Chest, hop Chest) – 3 reps
Accels – 3 x 30m in 4.22 secs Freelap
4 x 80m (95%) in ~10.4 secs
Hex DL – 2 x 2 x 130kg
Bench Press – 2 x 2 x 50kg
Abs – 3 mins

Damp track, 8 degrees, +4 m/s wind. I felt sensational today, the wind helped but I was floating down the track and would have loved the chance to run flat out at top speed. I cut the rest to 6 minutes but I’ll go back to 7 mins in future as I felt a hint of fatigue building after each rep. There’s a real difference in demand when deadlifting 130kg vs 140kg as it barely troubles me at the lower weight.

18 February

Rest

19 February

Warm Up 1
Trek (skip height, skip distance, SL scissor, bent leg scissor, alt bound) – 3 x 20m
Blocks – 30, 40, 50m in 4.35, 5.50, 6.62 secs
60, 70, 80m in 7.61, 8.71, 9.88 secs (30/40/60m in 4.35, 5.45, 7.65 secs)
Hex DL – 2 x 2 x 130kg
Bench Press – 2 x 2 x 50kg

Damp track, 8 degrees, +6 m/s wind. Honestly, can’t it just be calm weather for one day. Again I felt really sharp and given the tailwind I thought the times really didn’t reflect that.

20 February

Rest

Looking back on the 2024-25 winter season my Freelap times correlated really well with what I ran indoors, and from performances this week I would be looking at a ~7.85 second 60m. If that’s true I don’t want to sign up for a meet and prove that, instead I want to be down in 7.70 territory before I do any meetings. I got up from bed the other day and could feel an underlying fatigue in my thighs, so I am still of the belief that I am not fully rested.

My final deadlifts are on Sun 22nd and the same for flat out longer sprints, then a taper until the next 60m time trial on 1st March. Beyond that I thought of doing a second time trial on the 5th/6th, as I typically see a performance boost in the days following a race.

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