TRAINING SCHEDULE
The Martin Brower Blaze is a diverse group of athletes; because of our different work &/or school schedules, one of our biggest challenges is fitting in time to train. The most important part of sprinting is being consistant in your training. If a athlete works the night shift, it is best to set some training time before work. It is also very important to recognize the different areas that you will be training in. In the fall and winter, it is going to be wet and cold and there will be less sunlight, which usually makes the athlete feel more tired. In the spring and summer, it will be much warmer and the days are longer. Make sure you wear appropriate attire for the weather, have plenty of fluids to keep hydrated, and make sure you get plenty of rest, so you can be fresh for each training day.
TEAM TRAINING
The Martin Brower Blaze has officially made Mercer Stadium in New Westminster our home track. The reason is that it is central for most of our sprinters who live over the Greater Vancouver area. Our practice times are currently Wednesday evenings at 6:00 pm and Saturday mornings at 11:00 am. Most of our sprinters train 5-7 days a week, working specific techniques and exercises to become faster. The club has set these 2 days aside for the whole team to get together and train together, working on relays and sprinting together, which can be really enjoyable. Everyone is welcome to come out and join our team at practice.
NEW, MASTERS, AND EXPERIENCED SPRINTERS
For the new sprinter joining the club we will help you set up a training schedule that works for you. One thing is for certain: you will get faster! We feel that setting up short training sessions will be manageable for the athlete who needs to fit their training in with work or school.
The Masters sprinter, who may be taking up sprinting after a long layoff, will need to take it really slow, to avoid any serious injuries. This will ensure that your muscles properly re-develop to be able to withstand the heavy forces when sprinting.
For the experienced sprinter looking to join our club for 2016, we have a new head coach (Carl Jones) who has proven credentials at the highest levels of sprinting. We are growing club and will always be adding new training tools for sprinters to reach higher speeds; we want all our sprinters to be successful, because when you succeed we all succeed.
OFF TRACK TRAINING
For each athlete, off-track training will be a useful tool to supplement and enhance your sprinting. Each sprinter will need to identify what they need to work on away from the track. Off-track training is a great way for sprinters to improve lung and heart capacity either through biking, eliptical, stair climber and other cardio machines that aerobic energy. Also working on the speedmill, that goes up to 30 miles per hour; this tool will help sprinters increase their turnover rate.
Power cleans create a lot of explosive power and work many of the same muscles used in sprinting. Flexability drills and dynamic or static stretching can be worked whether on or off the track. Resistance training on grass or field turfs and hill sprints either up or down are also great training tools. It will be crucial for each sprinter to find their balance and to use these proven tools to help increase speed.