Valerie Constien. one of Battle Mountain's all-time best. Photo by Paul Jaeger.
Special to Colorado Track XC by Rob Parrish
At Battle Mountain X-C we put a high emphasis on strength training/injury prevention in our program and with our athletes. We believe that strength helps athletes keep their form together at the end of races, and prevents injuries. We also strive to train our kids as complete athletes, and strength, flexibility and coordination, are all important components to go along with cardiovascular fitness. Plus, we want the athletes to look good when they hit the beach and pool as well!
We incorporate some form of strength or injury prevention work during each of our training sessions. Our weekly strength sessions consist of the following -
a) One plyometric session per week, mostly early to mid season. Working on explosivity, balance, and coordination.
b) One "Calhoun Lift” per week. We've named it "Calhoun" after our track throws coach, who doubles as our strength and conditioning coach. This lifting circuit consists of 10-12 exercises that hit most of the upper and lower body muscle groups, including hamstrings, quads, biceps/triceps, shoulders and back. This circuit is more explosive in nature. We focus on high reps, and continue the circuit until the last few weeks of the season.
c) One "X-C Lift" per week. This lift is lighter in intensity and explosiveness than the Calhoun lift. It consists of 5-6 exercises, again with high reps. It includes many body weight exercises including dips and pull ups, as well as barbell exercises such as bicep curls, shoulder press and tricep extensions. We will continue this until two weeks before our season-ending race.
d) 2 "Fun" workouts per week. Ironically this strength circuit is anything but fun. This workout lasts between 20-30 minutes and is a combination of body weight exercises including pushups, squats, lunges, back and shin strengthening, and a wide array of abdominal exercises aiming at strengthening all parts of a runner's core. We run through these exercises with little or no rest in between, and try to mix up the strength exercises throughout the season in order to hit different muscle groups and keep the athletes on their toes. Occasionally the Seniors or captains will lead these drills. We do these workouts all through the season, but scale them back as the big races approach.
e) 1 pool workout per week. There are not many options for flat, dirt or gravel runs up here to preserve our joints and bones, so we hit the pool once a week. The pool workout is a combination of agua jogging, swimming, and kicking, and we usually combine this alternative training day with a big "fun" workout. We keep this going as long as the schedule allows through the season. The pool helps keep the athletes healthy, and gives them a "fun" workout to look forward to all week, which keeps them mentally fresh as well.
f) 1 "Lower Leg Circuit" per week. This circuit is a series of funky drills in which the athletes do all sorts of crazy exercises with their lower leg, in at attempt to strengthen the muscles and joints in the legs. Sample exercises include, duck walk/run, toe in walk/run, toe out walk/run on your toes, heel run, etc. We do this all throughout the season. We hold onto this workout for the entire season.
g) 1-2 "Hips Don't Lie Circuit" per week. This is the work of our Assistant Coach, Max VanDyke, who is an alum of both BMHS Track and X-C, and CU Track. We noticed an increase in hip flexor, labrum type hip issues, and this is our attempt to curb these injuries. Coach VanDyke leads us through a series of hip strengthening exercises that work the hip flexor, and muscle groups that support the hip joint. We hold onto this workout all season as well.
f) Lastly, our crew loves trail running. We train on the trails all summer long, and still hold onto some of the long trail runs throughout the season as well. There is no such thing as “flat” up here, so we’re always chugging up and down the hills. Some of the athletes favorites are the “Animal Bone Trail,” “North Vail Trail,” and “Squaw Creek Trail” complete with it’s four river crossings. These runs sure don’t work on turnover, but they do build a big cardio engine, leg strength and a sense of balance. The added bonus is that the athletes stay mentally fresh, and we get to spend a bunch of time rallying around the mountains.
Just like all other X-C programs, we try to squeeze as much out of each of our athletes as possible. Even though injuries are a part of running, we feel that we have an obligation to keep our athletes as injury free as possible. We are also a relatively small school and program, and realize that many times, one major injury will effectively end our chances of being competitive at the top level of 4A. We've been able to build up a culture where the athletes are proud of our strength training regimen, and actually enjoy and look forward to the different workouts. When our athletes feel good about themselves, they run better and with more confidence. We feel that our strength training has helped maximize the potential of our athletes and team, but are always looking for new ways that we can improve.