Whilst all club activities have been cancelled, Juniors Coach Owen Chesher has been sharing his ideas for some great training sessions. Although designed with our junior athletes in mind, anyone can give them a go!
Session 1: Circuits
Six exercises, Thirty minutes total.
Each exercise is done for 30 seconds, followed by a 10 second rest. Then start the next exercise.
You do all six exercises three times in rotation, then rest for three minutes. All twice, another rest. Then do them all once to finish (do the final exercise for 40 seconds!) This can be done inside or in the garden.
This week’s exercises (in this order) are:
Press up (chest to floor)
V sit up (cushion or mat needed)
Burpee (chest to floor!)
Squat hold (5 second hold)
Reverse plank
Squat jump
Session 2: Hills/Circuits/5k
For the sprinters, we want you to try either hills or stairs! Or you pick one of the alternatives.
If you have a hill – road or grass – try a fast run of around 100m. Walk back and repeat that makes 1 set. 5 min rest. Do four sets total. Warm up carefully – this will put some extra strain on your hamstrings!
Or: No hill, no problem. You can use your stairs if you have them. Run to the top, not skipping any. Walk back down carefully and repeat four times. Rest. Do four sets of this. Try to tread quickly and gently! Be careful on stairs as they bite.
For everyone:
If you fancy another circuit, here’s one of Mark’s for you:
300 exercises total
25 squat jumps
25 press ups
50 mountain climbers
25 pike press-ups (body at 90 degrees)
25 burpees
20 hands from floor-to-sky squat
25 walk out press-up
30 walking lunges
25 plank jacks (plank then move feet in and out)
50 squat thrusts to finish!
Or: A nice run, maybe 5k total. See if you can improve your form and pace.
Session 3: Drills
We can all improve our form, stability and running efficiency. When we lose form, we lose speed, tire quicker, and can be more likely to get injured.
That’s why we do drills, so here’s some that you can do at home:
(Either 15-20 reps or 15-20 seconds each). Do once then repeat them all twice more.🚶for slow, 🏃for fast!
🚶Walking drill – stand up straight, hips forward. Slowly bring your knee up, then extend your leg out and step onto the other foot. Your foot should pass over the height of your other knee.
🚶Snap-change walking – same as the walking drill, except when your knee is up, quickly swap to the other leg and repeat. Hold in the knee-up position for a second before quick-changing again.
🚶Lunge walk – start tall, and always return to this position between lunges. Lift the front knee up, stepping over the height of the other knee, and drop into the lunge. Don’t go beyond or less than 90 degrees in any joint (knees, ankles, elbows). Rise up tall in between each.
🏃One-two – a single leg high knee drive action. The second leg does a little skip. 10 seconds, then do the other leg. Can be done on the spot.
🚶Walking crossover with lunge – lift knee out high and to the side, then move it over in front of the other leg and place the foot down (legs crossed). Now bend both legs, keeping shoulders in line with hips. Alternate sides.
🏃High knee drives – ever reliable drill! Knees driving quickly up in a running action, but not travelling along the ground quickly. Arms driving, hips forward, keep tall.
🏃Mini-hop-sumo squat – simpler than it sounds! Do a mini-hop (a small bounce with the legs almost straight) then dip into a squat with the feet wide. Legs should bend to 90 degrees, heels on floor. Rise out of the squat straight into another mini-hop. Hips and knees fully extended at the top.
🏃High leg kick – a skipping action, with legs extending out at 90 degrees in front. Opposite arm reaching out to opposite leg. Don’t kick too high, or it rotates the hips forward.
🏃B skip – high knee drive skip with leg extension. See a Google search for a good demo!
🏃Fast feet – many of you struggle with this, so now’s the time to nail it! Standing tall, bring each knee forward while keeping the toe on the floor, lifting the ankle up. Start slowly, then speed it up.
Should take about ten minutes to complete all of them. Rest for five minutes then repeat for 3 sets total.
Thank you Owen for some great sessions, enjoy!