Timing Peak Sprint Performance

Why Athletes Shouldn't Train Hard Year-Round

Elite sprinters don't train at maximum intensity year-round. Instead, they follow carefully structured periodisation programs that systematically develop speed, power, and technique while managing fatigue and preventing injury.

Understanding how to properly periodise sprint training is crucial for athletes and coaches seeking consistent improvement and peak performance timing.

The Three-Level Structure

Periodisation operates on three interconnected levels. The macrocycle encompasses the entire training year, providing the framework for peak performance at target competitions.

Mesocycles represent medium-term blocks lasting several weeks to months, each focusing on specific adaptations like maximum strength or speed-endurance.

Microcycles form weekly training plans detailing specific workouts, intensities, and recovery protocols.

The Major Training Phases

Sprint periodisation follows three primary phases.

The Preparatory Phase (8-16 weeks) builds foundation through general preparation focusing on broad fitness qualities, followed by specific preparation transitioning toward sprint-specific training.

The Competition Phase (16-24 weeks) divides into indoor and outdoor seasons. Indoor season serves as extended preparation while providing race experience in shorter events.

Outdoor season progresses through acceleration and maximum velocity development, speed-endurance training, and championship preparation with systematic tapering.

The Transition Phase (3-5 weeks) provides essential recovery time, focusing on active recovery, injury prevention, and mental restoration.

Training Evolution Across Phases

Strength training follows logical progression throughout the cycle. Preparatory phase emphasizes hypertrophy and maximum strength through high-volume, moderate-intensity training.

Competition phase serves maintenance function with minimal volume to preserve gains without creating fatigue.

Sprint training varies significantly in focus.

Preparatory phase includes extensive acceleration work at 70-80% intensity, developing mechanics and coordination. Competition phase emphasizes maximal velocity development and race-specific preparation at maximum intensity.

The Benefits

Periodisation's primary benefit lies in timing peak performance for important competitions.

By systematically building fitness and reducing training loads, athletes achieve their best performances when it matters most.

This approach significantly reduces injury risk and provides psychological benefits that maintain motivation while preventing burnout.

See my Annual Periodisation Timeline examples

Compound vs Isolation Exercises

New research from Stronger by Science challenges a fundamental assumption in strength training: that compound exercises are inherently superior to isolation movements for building muscle.

Recent evidence reveals this theoretical limitation has real-world implications for sprint training.

Multiple studies comparing compound and isolation exercises show no consistent pattern favoring either approach.

Gentil et al found wide-grip lat pulldowns produced similar elbow flexor hypertrophy to dumbbell curls. Mannarino et al found dumbbell curls produced roughly double the growth compared to underhand dumbbell rows.

Other studies showed mixed results depending on specific exercises and muscle groups tested.

The Meta-Analysis Evidence

A meta-analysis by Avery et al reviewed seven studies and found no statistically significant difference in hypertrophy outcomes between single- and multi-joint movements.

This contradicts the dogmatic approach many coaches take toward exercise selection, particularly in sprint training where movement quality and specific strength development matter more than exercise hierarchies.

The Sprint Performance Application

For sprint athletes, this research provides some guidance. Since compounds and isolations seem largely interchangeable for growth, most programs can revolve around compound lifts for time efficiency, while strategically using isolation work to address specific weaknesses.

Not all movements are created equal.

A squat might bring quads, glutes, and adductors close to failure, but a barbell row likely won't challenge forearms like wrist curls would. Similarly, squats won't optimally target hamstrings' eccentric strength requirements for high-speed running.

The Practical Framework

Smart sprint programs should prioritize compound movements for movement complexity and time efficiency while using isolation exercises to address specific performance bottlenecks.

Compound movements like squats and deadlifts form the foundation, but Nordic hamstring curls, single-leg RDLs, and glute-ham raises fill critical gaps in posterior chain development.

This evidence-based approach helps coaches move beyond exercise dogma toward more nuanced programming that optimizes both strength development and movement quality for sprint performance.

Building Bulletproof Athletes Through Oxidative Split Squats

Jay DeMayo's approach to developing basketball athletes at the University of Richmond offers insights for sprint coaches seeking to build robust movement capacity.

His "oxidative split squat" method demonstrates how controlled suffering can create athletes who thrive under pressure while developing essential positional strength.

The Oxidative Split Squat Protocol

Jay DeMayo explains the specific protocol: "So we take a week to build to it. We start with two sets of 10 per leg. And it's just a two count up, two count down.

So it's a 40 second set, 40 on, 40 off."

This approach deliberately targets the oxidative energy system while forcing athletes to maintain perfect positioning under metabolic stress.

The method works because it combines three critical adaptations: positional strength, metabolic conditioning, and mental resilience.

Jay explains how high-rep "oxidative" split squats aren't just about strength—they teach positions, improve mobility, and expose athletes to "good suffering" that builds resilience.

The Movement Quality Connection

His approach emphasizes earning progression through slow, technically perfect reps with full posture control before progressing toward more aggressive, dynamic lifts.

The split squat po

ength in ways that bilateral movements cannot.

Athlete Selection and Autonomy

DeMayo notes the effectiveness of allowing athlete choice within structure: "But I've got at least four guys that I know that when they get their plug and play for whatever that lunge strength exercise is on game day plus one are gonna pick oxidative split squats."

This athlete preference indicates the method's effectiveness in preparing them to feel ready and confident.

As DeMayo emphasizes: "If you can find a little bit more engagement with them, you get a little bit more effort. And again, if intent drives adaptation, they. Then that's what matters."

Programming for Sprint Athletes

Sprint coaches can implement this approach during general preparation phases when athletes have capacity for both motor learning and aerobic development.

The practical takeaway: controlled suffering through oxidative strength work builds athletes who can maintain technical proficiency under stress, directly transferring to improved race performance when fatigue typically compromises mechanics.

LATEST RESEARCH

How Strong Is Strong Enough? New Study Identifies Strength Saturation Points: Research with 60 male football players used machine learning to identify exactly when physical performance tests stop predicting sprint performance.

Why it's interesting: Partial dependence plots revealed a saturation effect for isometric mid-thigh pull at 2.0 body mass and standing broad jump at 0.29 m·s−1, where further increases yielded diminishing returns on sprint performance. This provides concrete strength targets for coaches rather than endless pursuit of "more strength."

The bottom line: Once athletes reach 2x bodyweight isometric mid-thigh pull strength and specific jump power thresholds, additional strength gains may not improve sprinting. Focus shifts to movement quality, technique, and sport-specific power development.

Nordic Hamstring Exercise Set Configuration Study: Six-week study comparing traditional sets versus rest redistribution methods in youth female athletes found equivalent strength gains regardless of set structure.

Why it's interesting: This research removes programming complexity by showing that how you structure Nordic hamstring sets matters less than consistently hitting target volume over time.

The bottom line: Focus on total weekly Nordic hamstring volume (building to 18+ reps per week) rather than perfect set configurations. Both traditional sets and rest redistribution approaches work equally well for strength development.

Neuromuscular Profiles Across 8 NCAA Sports Reveal Sport-Specific Demands: Analysis of 169 female Division I athletes across basketball, field hockey, gymnastics, ice hockey, lacrosse, soccer, swimming, and volleyball showed distinct countermovement jump profiles.

Why it's interesting: Ice hockey athletes showed significantly higher jump height, peak propulsive power, and relative braking power compared with athletes in lacrosse, swimming, and field hockey, demonstrating how sport demands shape neuromuscular capabilities.

The bottom line: Training should reflect sport-specific demands. Ice hockey's explosive nature requires different power qualities than endurance-focused sports, therefore sprint training should emphasize explosive power development over generic conditioning.