This presentation was presented to the ASCA Special Interest Group in Adelaide on 21/11/2018. It is a case study of an athlete who went to the World Junior Championships in Finland 2018 (Aust, Men's 4x100m). It discusses the concept of 'micro-dosing' in reference to the structure of the 2017-18 season, as well as the final 12 weeks preparation leading into the championships.

2. MICRODOSING i
• a technique for studying the behaviour of ‘X' through the administration of doses so low
("sub-therapeutic") they are unlikely to produce whole-body effects, but high enough to
allow a response to be observed and studied.
• DOSE/LOAD > Prescription > What your write (track & gym)
• RESPONSE > Internal (post > sRPE + athlete readiness)
• RESPONSE > External (session/weekly volume, m/s, contacts,
plyo amplitude, VBT)
• A:C

3. MICRODOSING ii

4. CASE STUDY
• Started with DH 12/16 (17yo at time)
• Training age approx. 12-18mths
• U16 National BMX Finalist
• 2nd year carpentry apprenticeship
• 60m – 7.15 (+0.5) > 7.03 (+0.6)*
• 100m - 11.14 (+0.2) > 10.51 (+1.5)
• 200m – 22.27 (+1.0) > 21.46 (+1.5)

8. PART-TIME ATHLETES
• Never neglect one quality for too long
• Things always come up and they miss sessions (leading into Finland, Harrison
spent almost two weeks up in the Riverland building a house)
• ‘Full-time’ programmes don’t work with part-time athletes
• You have to prioritise WHAT is going to make them faster
• Simple programming > Complex

9. LIMITING FACTORS TO SPRINTING
• Magnitude of force/kg (acceleration)
• Application of force (HZT v VTC)
• Force absorption (major differences between the ability levels = energy
leaks once on the ground)
• Contact times (preparation for landing + above)
• Technical mastery / kinematics

10. MESOCYCLE STRUCTURE i
• Linear (ascending)
• 3 cycles
• 3:1
• Accumulation > Intensity
• Technical development (Accel/MaxV)

11. MESOCYCLE STRUCTURE ii
• Linear (descending)
• 2-4 cycles*
• 3:1
• Intensity driven
• Technical development
(Accel/MaxV)

12. MESOCYCLE STRUCTURE iii
• Undulating
• 2-3 cycles
• ‘Reactive’ to calendar and performance (acute needs analysis)
• Intensity and recovery > Work/Accumulation
• Don’t go back into the ‘well’

13. MICROCYCLE STRUCTURE i

14. MICROCYCLE STRUCTURE ii

15. MICROCYCLE STRUCTURE iii

16. MICROCYCLE STRUCTURE iv

17. 3-DAY ROLLOVER (determine load/dose)
• Dan Pfaff inspired
• 3 key sessions for a short sprinter within a 7-10 day period
• Acceleration / Alactic
• Maximal Velocity
• Speed Endurance
• RECOVERY?
• During CP (and travel) athletes must know how to prioritize the sessions (and
know load/dose)

20. ACCELERATION/SPEED i
• Technical component (application to improve HZT force production)
• Standing, rolling, 2pt/3pt/4pt/blocks
• Footwear
• Complexes
• Submaximal or maximal

21. ACCELERATION/SPEED ii
• GPP (weather terrible)
• 2pt starts on grass/track, mix of flats and spikes
• Resisted sprint efforts (sled loads 10-30% time dec.)
• Late GPP > SPP
• 2pt, 3pt, 4pt starts grass/track
• RST, AST, Complexes, 10-30m efforts
• Limited block work
• SPP, CP, WJC Prep
• 3pt, 4pt, block work
• Limited RST with harness (No AST)

22. PLYOMETRICS
• GPP – Every warmup > Low amplitude, uni/bilateral multi-plane hops,
HZT/VTC skipping,
• low intensity depth jumps (no yielding)
• SPP – As above with reduced numbers +
• Concentric jumps (HZT/VTC)
• Stiffness jumps (pogos)
• Hurdle hops (various heights)
• Speed bounding
• CP – Choice from above (athlete-driven)
• WJC Prep – as above

23. LIFTING i
• GPP – Accumulation > Intensification
• SPP – Accumulation > Intensification
• CP – Intensification & Stimulation
• WJC Prep – Accumulation > Intensification > Stimulation

24. LIFTING
• GPP – 1 x 20 program Dr. Yessis* (TBDL/BP/SQ variations)
• SPP – Hip dominant (TBDL) + Oly Lift, Knee dominant (RFESS) + Oly Lift (VBT
– Push band)
• CP – Loaded ballistic movement (TB Jump) + Oly Lift
• WJC Prep – Loaded ballistic movement + Oly Lift

25. MINIMAL EFFECTIVE DOSE

26. What’s the correct dose? How do you know?
Readiness(nextday)
* Excl. Rudimentary series in WU
*
^ Tier 1 & 2 lifts only
^
Minimal effective dose per session

27. PROGRESSIONS 2017/18
* wind-aided times

29. FINAL THOUGHTS
• Plenty of great coaches who haven’t worked with ‘freak’
athletes yet
• Plenty of ordinary coaches who have
• Sooner or later, a ‘freak’ athlete (opportunity) will walk
through your door
• Make sure you are ready and have the knowledge to
know what to do when this happens
@thethinkersmith

31. @dylhicks
Collegestrengthconditioning.com
Trackandfieldplanner.com
Dylan Hicks