What can we quantify – Part 2

Question: How does this uncut video of 3x12xlunges relates to the question, “What can we quantify?” I HIGHLY suggest turning off the volume as you watch it so you don’t have to listen to the background audio of practice as it takes away from the video.

This video was shot after a running workout, which means that athlete was less than 100% and to some degree fatigued from the workout.

But how fatigued?

So fatigued that the practice session should be changed, with no general strength? Was the running workout not challenging enough and more work should be done to get the appropriate overall stimulus for the day?

You can’t quantify the lunge numerically, but you can watch and when you watch you get a feel for fatigue levels.

Is he wobbly? If he’s wobbly is he “trying too hard” and taking monster steps with each lunge and going much deeper than the knee angles you’d see in sprinting? Can he keep is feet on the lane line? Can he do that when going backwards (when he can’t see the line behind him)? How’s the athletes’s posture and if it breaks down how does it break down and when in the lunge does is break down?

I don’t claim to have specific answers to the questions above, yet I think I’m better at watching a set of lunges after a workout (or long run) today than I could when this video was shot. I’m learning to see asymmetries, but more importantly I can get a feel for the athlete’s general level of fatigue. Because the movement of a lunge is elemental, something they should be good at, it’s telling if the suck at it, though sucking at it doesn’t necessarily mean we should move into a cool down of light mobility or an easy 10 minute run (and we’d have been done with the running cool down, having skipped a bit and run barefoot, by the time this video was shot).

You can’t quantify the lunges after a workout, but they can guide training.

…well, I guess you can quantify the lunges – you can quantify them as 3x12xlunges…

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  • carsonboddicker

    Coach,

    I agree. In my mind, the quality of this type of work is more indicative of condition and readiness than the quantification. That's why I believe that it is vital to have a ceiling on volume but not being married to the numbers.

    Regards,
    Carson Boddicker

  • http://www.strengthrunning.com Fitz

    Jay, do you think Brent has more difficulty on his left side? He seemed more hesitant/uncoordinated on that side but it could be hard to see in a video.

  • Mark B.

    Thanks for the video. A question for you: what is the logic behind consciously bringing the foot up to the butt during the lunges? Do you believe that this should be done on purpose in a running stride?

  • jschools

    I have two questions regarding the videos. The first one is a technical question that I would like to hear opinions from other coaches/athletes. Do you have your athletes change into racing flats for “Track” workouts? I know Jay said to use spikes for the speed development, but do you use racing flats for the faster workouts? If not all “Track” workouts, what kind? This may have asked and answered before, but I was not able to keep up with comment boards during the track season.

    The second question is about the songs on the Threshold run. Anyone know the name of the songs? I love Jay's choice in music.

  • http://www.strengthrunning.com Fitz

    In college the majority of our team ran workouts in flats or spikes and these days, I continue doing it the majority of the time.

    The benefits are three-fold: The mental benefit of increased confidence and feeling fast during the workout. You also get increased lower leg strength from running in a more minimalist shoe. Finally, I've found that running workouts in spikes gives me a better awareness of the shoe and how it feels and responds. That's valuable during races. Cheers, – Fitz.

  • jschools

    That is exactly what I think. I encourage my athletes to wear flats are spikes on your tempo days and our “track” days. More for the reason that spikes or flats act differently than your training shoes. And you never want to go into a race not knowing how this are going to act.