Fraser Young

[Fraser Young]

COMP 1

22 June

Cooper Test – 2953m in 12 minutes
Mobility A

Another part of my annual fitness testing, I usually run ~2km of tempo at a faster pace so this is similar volume. I gave myself the day off from drills and circuits.

23 June

Broad Jump, 4 – best of 246cm
Vertical Jump, 3 – best of 58cm
MB Throws – 3 x 3
Blocks – 20,30,40m in 3.10, 4.20, 5.32 Freelap
Blocks – 4 x 60m in 4.22/5.35/7.60 secs Freelap (relaxed)
Front Squats – 3 x 3 x 90kg
A1 Sprinter Sit ups – 2 x 12 x 20kg
A2 Bear Dog w Tap – 2 x 12
A3 Fifer Scissors – 2 x 25
Mobility B

Dry, 19 degrees, cross wind. Great session today, the shorter block starts were flat out and I was thrilled with the times. Very relaxed upper body during the sprints, so much so that I have no idea what to expect when I look at the Freelap times.

I’m really benefiting from these relaxed runs, I complain of fatigue and then always err on the side of too little recovery. Next week is back to 100% and I wouldn’t be surprised if I set some training bests.

24 June

Drills – A walk (MB), A March, A Skip (MB), A Switch 2 x 20m
Dribble Ankle, Calf, Knee, SL scissor w runout 2 x 20m
2 x 40m Technical Runs
Astrand-Rhyming Cycle Test – 6 mins
Push ups – 46
A1 Pull ups – 9,8
A2 L-Sit – 2 x 15 secs
A3 Dips – 2 x 12
Mobility C

Another test, this time on an exercise bike. I thought it would be more strenuous than it was, it felt like a rest day for me. I also did the max. push up test and was very pleased with my result. That’s it for another year of testing, back to the track tomorrow.

25 June

MB Throws – 4 x 3 x 4kg
Standing 5 bound, 2 per leg – best of 12.35m
Accels – 3 x 30m in 4.22 secs freelap
3 x 120m (95%) in 4.22/7.60/11.00/14.45 secs freelap (30/60/90/120m)
Reverse Lunges – 3 x 6 x 50kg
RLESS – 3 x 6 x 82.5kg
A1 RDL – 3 x 6 x 92.5kg
A2 Swiss Ball Reverse Hypers – 3 x 12
B1 Nordic Curls – 2 x 5 x 4 secs
B2 Seated Leg Kicks – 2 x 8 secs
Ab Ripper X – In & Outs, Bicycles x 2, Crunchy Frog, Cross-Leg Sit ups, Fifer Scissors, Hip Rock & Raise 25 reps each
Mobility D

Dry track, 26 degrees, +4 m/s wind. Hottest day of the year so far, cloudy with a wind at the track but I felt the heat in my garage gym. Two of the three 120’s were really strong, I’m amazed how much I’m able to relax my whole upper body and it’s helping a lot with my times. I dreaded the weights a bit but got through it unscathed, next week it’s only 2 sets and then it’s gone until winter! I’m always itching to lift when the volume is low and then happy to see the back of it once it goes.

26 June

Bench Press – 3 x 3 x 90kg
Pendlay Rows – 2 x 6 x 77.5kg
Pull ups – 2 x 6 x 10kg
Mobility E

Pleased with the 10kg pull ups, this was 5.45am so not peak performance.

27 June

Everest – 3 x 3 jumps
Accels – 3 x 30m in 4.28 Freelap
5 x 150m (relaxed) in 4.40/11.72/15.15.50/19.45 (60/90/120/150m) Freelap
Hang Power Clean – 3 x 3 x 55kg
Back Squats – 3 x 3 x 110kg
Mobility F

Dry track, 21 degrees, cross-wind. My thighs were quite sore from the single leg work on Tuesday so acceleration felt very laboured. I ran a really nice series in the 150’s (19.4,19.4,19.5,19.1,19.4) with the 4th run being an overcompensation for what I perceived to be a slowing down on the third rep. My 10m fly times were up above 1.20 throughout so definitely a submax session. 55kg went up really nicely in the hang power clean, I almost skipped the back squats given my quad soreness but again the weight was submaximal so I eased through it.

I don’t have a race until mid-July but I’m away for a stag do next weekend so I have to plan ahead for the sessions I’ll do either side of that.

28 June

Bench Press – 3 x 3 x 90kg
Rotator Cuff – 2 x 2 x 10
Pendlay Rows – 2 x 6 x 77.5kg
Pull ups – 2 x 6 x 10kg
A1 Sprinter Sit ups – 2 x 12 x 20kg
A2 Ab Wheel Rollout with pull in – 2 x 8
A3 Prone Pull Through – 2 x 15 x 5kg
Mobility G

Very comfortable.

Overall a good week and I’m happy with where I’m at speed-wise, plenty of weeks to improve. I track some key metrics (30m time, broad jump), which I can compare to last year and I’m on a similar track, which would indicate ~12.1 secs for 100m. I have four comps lined up but I may try to stage my own with Freelap and see what time I can get. I do feel there’s something to be gained from racing other people though.

[Fraser Young]

PRE COMP 2

15 June

Drills – A walk (MB), A March, A Skip (MB), A Switch 2 x 20m
Dribble Ankle, Calf, Knee, SL scissor w runout 2 x 20m
2 x 40m Technical Runs
Tempo – 4 x 400m secs in 78.2 secs

Feeling quite tender today, my left adductor is very noticeable. I cut a rep off the 400’s and skipped circuits as I was in London at the Health Optimisation Summit.

16 June

Bench Press – 4 x 3 x 90kg

I feel weak today, confirmed I made the right choice to move the speed session. I didn’t bother with abs, my body needs a rest.

17 June

Broad Jump, 4 – best of 245cm
MB Throws – 3 x 3
Blocks – 20,30,40m in 3.12, 4.30, 5.52 Freelap
Blocks – 4 x 60m in 4.35/5.50/7.85 secs Freelap
Front Squats – 3 x 3 x 90kg
A1 Sprinter Sit ups – 2 x 12 x 20kg
A2 Bear Dog w Tap – 2 x 12
A3 Fifer Scissors – 2 x 25
Mobility B

Dry track, 18 degrees, -4 m/s wind. The 60’s were meant to be relaxed but I forgot for the first one and went flat out – I ended up running very similar times for the next three relaxed runs. My body could do with the reduced volume for a few weeks so I’m not fussed about the times. This speed session is a day late and I’ll end up only doing one speed endurance this week, which I’ll do on the 20th.

18 June

Mobility C & D

My daughter was off sick from nursery so had to skip tempo & conditioning.

19 June

Mobility E

No time for upper body this morning and then yoga at the office was cancelled. A pretty disruptive week but expecting to get my second speed session done as planned tomorrow.

20 June

MB Throws – 4 x 5 x 4kg
Standing 5 bound, 2 per leg – best of 12.60m
Accels – 3 x 30m in 4.27 secs freelap
3 x 120m (95%) in 4.30/7.75/11.25/14.75 secs freelap (30/60/90/120m)
Hang Power Cleans – 3 x 3 x 52.5kg
Back Squat – 3 x 3 x 110kg
Mobility F

Dry track, 19 degrees, +4 m/s wind. Almost a full metre further in my standing 5 bound. I felt strong in the 120’s, very relaxed upper body throughout. Adding 2.5kg to my hang power cleans every week for now.

21 June

Bench Press – 3 x 3 x 90kg
Rotator Cuff – 2 x 2 x 10
Pull ups – 15
Pendlay Rows – 2 x 6 x 77.5kg
Front Plank – 3 mins 31 secs
Mobility G

Early morning session, I did a maximal set of pull ups and then front plank to failure as part of a series of annual tests I put myself through every June.

Hectic week with no real consistency, still pleased with where I am this time of the season and a full competition period to come.

[Fraser Young]

PRE COMP 1

8 June

Drills – A walk (MB), A March, A Skip (MB), A Switch 2 x 20m
Dribble Ankle, Calf, Knee, SL scissor w runout 2 x 20m
2 x 40m Technical Runs
Tempo – 5 x 400m secs in 78.1 secs
Waterloo – 20 reps in 5:08
Bataan – 20 reps in 7:30
Mobility A

I found it quite hard to pace the 400’s given I use the lap function of the stopwatch so can’t see intermediate times. I’ll switch to resetting each time. In terms of the speed I was comfortable and using 90 seconds rest between reps felt right.

9 June

Broad jumps, 4 – best of 247cm
MB Throws – 3 x 3
Blocks – 20,30,40,50m in 4.30, 5.35, 6.45 Freelap
Blocks – 2 x 60m in 4.27/5.37/7.57 secs Freelap
Front Squats – 4 x 3 x 90kg
A1 Sprinter Sit ups – 2 x 12 x 20kg
A2 Bear Dog w Tap – 2 x 12
A3 Fifer Scissors – 2 x 25
Mobility B

Dry track, 17 degrees, +6 m/s wind. I’m so relieved to have made it to the end of SPP, my body should slowly start recovering from a sustained heavy workload. The session today was a mere 2h15, with only front squats in the gym. The runs were okay, I didn’t feel my best and it ended up being quite a routine session. I do like the 60’s from blocks and feel more and more comfortable starting there.

10 June

Drills – A walk (MB), A March, A Skip (MB), A Switch 2 x 20m
Dribble Ankle, Calf, Knee, SL scissor w runout 2 x 20m
2 x 40m Technical Runs
Tempo – 111,212,212,111 in 100m 16.3, 200m 35.0 secs
A1 Pull ups – 10,9
A2 L-Sit – 2 x 20 secs
A3 Dips – 18,16
Mobility C

Horrible wind on the back straight, didn’t enjoy this at all. Nice to do the gymnastics circuit as it takes a lot less time than the general strength circuits, the whole session was finished in 60 minutes.

11 June

MB Throws – 4 x 5 x 4kg
Standing 5 bound, 2 per leg – best of 11.75m
Accels – 3 x 30m in 4.25 secs Freelap
3 x 120m (95%) in 4.35/7.85/11.32/14.95 secs Freelap (30/60/90/120m)
Reverse Lunges – 3 x 6 x 50kg
RLESS – 3 x 6 x 82.5kg
A1 RDL – 3 x 6 x 92.5kg
A2 Swiss Ball Reverse Hypers – 3 x 12
B1 Nordic Curls – 2 x 5 x 4 secs
B2 Seated Leg Kicks – 2 x 8 secs
Ab Ripper X – 7 exercises 25 reps each
Mobility D

Dry track, +4 m/s wind, 16 degrees. I felt good today, the wind helped. The 120’s were more like 98%, focus was on avoiding any tension in my arms as I ran. Before that I wanted to start measuring my 5 bound as that correlates nicely with 100m time. It’s from a broad jump start and I’ll look to do that each week. My chart shows that I should be able to bound more like 14 metres so I’m not sure if that’s with a run up. Either way, if I do the same thing each week then further is better.

12 June

Bench Press – 4 x 3 x 90kg
Pendlay Rows – 2 x 6 x 75kg
Pull ups – 2 x 6 x 5kg
Mobility E

Yoga – 45 mins

Smashed out at 6am before an office day. The building we’re in offers restorative sessions and I went to a yoga class, possibly too much focus on stretching out the lower back so it’s feeling a bit vulnerable but I reckon a good night sleep and I’ll feel great tomorrow.

13 June

Everest – 3 x 3 jumps
Accels – 3 x 30m in 4.35 Freelap
5 x 150m (relaxed) in 8.00/11.78/15.70/19.60 (60/90/120/150m) Freelap
Hang Power Clean – 3 x 3 x 50kg
Back Squats – 4 x 3 x 90kg
Mobility F

14 degrees, dry track, -6 m/s wind. Likely gusting beyond 6 m/s but I cap my estimates there. I hit the first 150m too slow, coming in at 19.9 secs, the next three were around 19.6 and the last one was a leggy 20 flat with obvious fading in the last 60m. They are relaxed and 95% effort, if you take my 100% effort from last week, 18.7, and add 5% you get 19.6 which I hadn’t calculated at the time but I felt my pace was sensible. I was most pleased about holding my speed, quite often my 60-90m split was comparable to my 120-150m split. Also really happy to have a shorter session, no more calves and the abs workout is moved to tomorrow.

I have a sports massage tomorrow and will potentially push my Sat/Sun sessions to Sun/Mon to give my body a recovery day. I also have a busy weekend in London attending a conference.

14 June

Sports Massage – 60 mins

High quality massage from a local therapist, focused on chest, quads (particularly VMO) and then glutes. The plan is to do a short tempo session tomorrow and push the speed session back until Monday.

[Fraser Young]

SPP 8

1 June

Drills – A walk (MB), A March, A Skip (MB), A Switch 2 x 20m
Dribble Ankle, Calf, Knee, SL scissor w runout 2 x 20m
2 x 40m Technical Runs
Tempo – 2,3,2 x 300m secs
MB Circuit – 20 reps in 7:15
Bataan – 20 reps in 7:45
Mobility A

2 June

Broad jumps, 4 – best of 250cm
Box Jumps – 3 x 3
MB Throws – 2 x 3
Blocks – 10,20,30,40m in 4.22, 5.28 Freelap
Blocks – 4 x 60m in 4.17/5.27/7.43 secs Freelap
Front Squats – 8 x 67.5, 5 x 77.5, 3 x 82.5, 3 x 1 x 95kg, 5 x 80kg
Bench Press – 8 x 67.5, 5 x 77.5, 3 x 82.5, 3 x 1 x 95kg, 5 x 80kg
A1 Sprinter Sit ups – 2 x 12 x 20kg
A2 Bear Dog w Tap – 2 x 12
A3 Fifer Scissors – 2 x 25
Mobility B

Dry track, 19 degrees, +6 m/s wind. Wind wasn’t ridiculous later on, these were genuinely fast times. I’m aware that my 30m times were faster from 3 point than blocks, which means I need to accumulate more reps from blocks, so I did my 60’s from there. I can’t imagine it’s so much more tiring than 3 point so I might do that more regularly.

3 June

Drills – A walk (MB), A March, A Skip (MB), A Switch 2 x 20m
Dribble Ankle, Calf, Knee, SL scissor w runout 2 x 20m
2 x 40m Technical Runs
Tempo – 111,212,212,111 in 100m 16.3, 200m 35.0 secs
MB Circuit (5kg) – 15 reps in 5:50
Nekka (5kg) – 2 x 20 reps in 2:30
Mobility C

This season I switched to a 4kg med ball for the explosive throws, but it makes less sense to have switched for circuit training, so I went back to the 5kg ball. My tempo runs are so much stronger, likely a combination of warmer weather and being faster generally.

4 June

MB Throws – 4 x 5 x 4kg
Accels – 3 x 30m in 4.27 secs freelap
80,100,120m in 10.15/12.58/14.94 secs freelap
Reverse Lunges – 3 x 6 x 50kg
RLESS – 3 x 6 x 82.5kg
A1 RDL – 5,6,6 x 92.5kg
A2 Swiss Ball Reverse Hypers – 3 x 12
B1 Nordic Curls – 2 x 5 x 4 secs
B2 Seated Leg Kicks – 2 x 8 secs
Standing Calf Raise – 3 x 8 x 100kg (2 sec ISO)
Ab Ripper X – In & Outs, Bicycles x 2, Crunchy Frog, Fifer Scissors 25 reps each
Mobility D

Dry track, 19 degrees, -4 m/s wind. I’m always conservative with the wind, if it was a tailwind I’d give it a 6 as it was really gusting, particularly in my final runs. I’m pleased with the 30m time, the longer runs benefited from the split times as I could tell how much I was fading (a lot!). I was losing 3-4 hundredths per 10m in speed by the end, which I suppose is fair but I feel like a few weeks of these workouts will improve my speed endurance.

Thinking more broadly, if my best 10m split is ~1.08 then I want to be running a wind-adjusted 1.13 secs per 10m which I’m doing. I shouldn’t be afraid to cut a session a rep or two short if it’s clear I’m off the pace as it’ll be too slow to improve my top speed.

Instead of increasing reps in the gym I upped the weight, the first set of RDL was a grip issue and I needed chalk in the warm weather for my hook grip. Soon after the session I had a recurrence of the foot issue that has bothered me recently. I had a sharp pain which made it a lot worse and has put the Thursday session into doubt.

5 June

Mobility E

A commute to London on the sore foot, after 10-12 minutes of walking it seems to warm up and I lose the limp. I don’t feel like I’ve done much damage to it by walking on it all day and I did take the bus in to reduce impact on it.

I’ve booked in a sports massage for the 14th and will also try to do more prehab work to keep me injury-free as much as possible.

6 June

Rudiment – 2 x 20m
Blocks – 10,20,30,40m in 4.25, 5.35 Freelap (20,30,40m)
2 x 150m in 7.85/11.42/14.95/18.72 (60/90/120/150m) Freelap
Hang Power Clean – 3 x 3 x 47.5kg
Back Squats – 8 x 82.5kg, 5 x 95kg, 3 x 100kg, 3 x 1 x 115kg, 5 x 95kg
A1 Nordic Curls – 2 x 5 x 4 secs
A2 Seated Leg Kicks – 2 x 8 secs
SL Soleus Raise – SKIPPED
Mobility F

Dry track, 19 degrees, -4 m/s wind. I did the blocks with the wind behind me then switched for the 150’s. Really pleased to get the session done with my ankle injury, I re-read my journal from mid-April when I first had the problem and it seemed I could sprint before I could walk without a limp. The times weren’t that flattering but I was really fading in the last 30-40m, running almost 0.1 secs slower per 10m than my fastest point of the run. It’s my first 150m runs this season, and it’s possible I didn’t even attempt them last year. Weirdly I didn’t feel the fatigue, to me I thought I was running roughly the same speed through to the line so it’s interesting how much of an effect it has.

7 June

Bench Press – 8 x 67.5, 5 x 77.5, 3 x 82.5, 3 x 1 x 95kg, 5 x 80kg
Rotator Cuff – 2 x 2 x 10
A1 Sprinter Sit ups – 2 x 12 x 20kg
A2 Ab Wheel Rollout with pull in – 2 x 8
A3 Prone Pull Through – 2 x 15 x 5kg
Mobility G

Easy session before a full day out with my daughters.

My foot is healing quickly, despite the speed session it felt better this morning and while I do limp it’s barely noticeable.

More optimism this week, being able to run flat out and start tracking my splits accurately with Freelap will give me more confidence that my training is or isn’t working. Last season was 11.90 in an almost perfect tailwind and I’d take anything sub-12 this summer.

[Fraser Young]

SPP 7

25 May

Drills – A walk (MB), A March, A Skip (MB), A Switch 2 x 20m
Dribble Ankle, Calf, Knee, SL scissor w runout 2 x 20m
2 x 40m Technical Runs
Tempo – 2,3,2 x 300m in 55.5, 55.5, 55.8 secs
MB Circuit – 10 reps in 4:30
Bataan – 2 x 20 reps in 7:45, 7:15
Mobility A

Times look consistent but the first 300m was 52.3 so I need to calm down a bit with the opening rep. Quite hard to hold speed in the final set, I ended up on the ground after crossing the line on the last rep.

Really excited at the prospect of a whole summer doing flat out sprinting with the use of my Freelap. Last summer was a bit experimental, weaving in sessions from a program called The Speed Code. This summer I’m doing everything (nearly) as prescribed and hope to see some sub-12 runs in July/Aug.

26 May

Broad jumps, 4 – best of 243cm
Box Jumps – 3 x 3
MB Throws – 2 x 3
3 x 30m in 4.35 Freelap
4 x 60m in 4.32/5.50/7.80 secs Freelap
Front Squats – 8 x 67.5, 5 x 77.5, 3 x 82.5, 3 x 1 x 95kg, 5 x 80kg
Bench Press – 8 x 67.5, 5 x 77.5, 3 x 82.5, 3 x 1 x 95kg, 5 x 80kg
A1 Sprinter Sit ups – 2 x 12 x 20kg
A2 Bear Dog w Tap – 2 x 12
A3 Fifer Scissors – 2 x 25
Mobility B

16 degrees, dry track, -4 m/s wind. Felt so flat today, the 243cm broad jump cheered me up as I thought it would be much lower. I even hit 250cm but didn’t stick the landing and wobbled backwards. Wind was at least -4 m/s, likely gusting to -6 or -8. I had one calm run where I managed 7.70 so it was certainly slowing me down.

I did try depth jumps after front squats but my legs wouldn’t react from a 65cm drop so I scrapped them completely and took them out next week’s workout. If I schedule them in the future I need to be more fresh. Back to feeling pessimistic about the season ahead, I ate 4200 kcal as I’ve been feeling hungry a lot while maintaining 69.5kg BW.

27 May

Drills – A walk (MB), A March, A Skip (MB), A Switch 2 x 20m
Dribble Ankle, Calf, Knee, SL scissor w runout 2 x 20m
2 x 40m Technical Runs
Tempo – 111,212,212,111 in 100m 16.1, 200m 34.3 secs
MB Circuit – 15 reps in 5:40
Nekka – 2 x 20 reps in 2:30
Mobility C

Deliberately went hard in these reps, venting a bit of frustration about the state of my training. I’m tired and I don’t really feel like sprinting. Part of it is having to cycle to the track 2-3x/week now that my wife has more office days.

28 May

MB Throws – 4 x 5 x 4kg
Accels – 3 x 30m in 4.35 secs freelap
3 x 80m in 4.37/5.55/7.82/10.15 secs freelap (30m/40m/60/80m)
Reverse Lunges – 3 x 6 x 50kg
RLESS – 3 x 7 x 70kg
A1 RDL – 3 x 7 x 80kg
A2 Swiss Ball Reverse Hypers – 3 x 12
B1 Nordic Curls – 2 x 5 x 4 secs
B2 Seated Leg Kicks – 2 x 8 secs
Standing Calf Raise – 3 x 10 x 90kg (2 sec ISO)
Ab Ripper X – In & Outs, Bicycles x 2, Crunchy Frog, Fifer Scissors 25 reps each
Mobility D

Wet track, 14 degrees, swirling wind. I embraced the med ball throws as I know they’re helping develop power, usually I see them as a chore. Runs were exactly as expected given how I feel, which is a little sluggish. I have enough fatigue that I decided to take 10kg off most of my working sets in the gym, and instead of step ups onto a bench I started on a low platform and went back into a reverse lunge and exploded from there.

29 May

Mobility E

30 May

Rudiment – 2 x 20m
Accels – 10,20,30,40m in 3.12, 4.25, 5.40 Freelap (20,30,40m)
2 x 2 x 90m in 4.18/6.35/8.50/10.75 (30/50/70/90m) Freelap
Hang Power Clean – 3 x 3 x 47.5kg
Back Squats – 8 x 82.5kg, 5 x 95kg, 3 x 100kg, 3 x 1 x 115kg, 5 x 95kg
A1 Nordic Curls – 2 x 5 x 4 secs
A2 Seated Leg Kicks – 2 x 8 secs
SL Soleus Raise – 3 x 18 x 30kg
Mobility F

Wet track, +6 m/s wind, 14 degrees. I had to cycle to the track so couldn’t bring my blocks, opted for 3 point starts instead. First 90m was in 10.75-10.85 (Freelap) and the second was 11ish. I felt really good, potentially due to easing off the weights a few days ago, but the wind was helping so much it’s basically pointless judging the times.

31 May

OFF

I opted for a bit of a lie in having had a disrupted night, meaning I skipped bench press and ab work. If there’s one place I feel confident skipping workouts it’s the upper body, I’m not striving for anything other than maintenance.

This was a mixed week. I’m starting to remember periods of previous training blocks where I grew frustrated towards the end of SPP, only to see my times drop within 2 weeks of the competition phase, alleviating all my fears that I’ve somehow permanently lost my speed. I have one final week of SPP but now that I’m not having to run to an intensity limit I feel in a better position to judge my speed. I’m doing flying runs in ~1.13 secs per 10m and I’d like to see that drop under 1.10 secs at least, ideally closer to 1.06 secs. I managed 1.07 secs for a flying run in my final indoor race and I feel like I can build on that this summer.

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