Volume 1: Hurdle Rhythm

In this book I am going to show you how to develop the 3-step rhythm for the Sprint Hurdles (110 and 100 hurdles) and I am going to do so in a manner that allows you to progress properly with a 12-week progression that will allow consistent results every single season. Bad athletes will become Good Good athletes will become Very Good Very Good athletes will become Great Great athletes will become Incredible Incredible athletes are already Phenoms Statistics: A MAJORITY will exist in the middle, they will have a max speed of 11.00-11.50 seconds in the 100m dash. This means that with years of dedicated and disciplined training you could possibly run 11.00. SOME will exist just outside of that. From 10.5-10.9 seconds, again with a lifetime of training and perfecting you could possibly run 10.5. EVEN FEWER will exist just outside of that range and will be able to go between 10.00-10.49s. Again, a lifetime of training and perfection could yield a 10.00 in the athlete. HARDLY ANY will exist outside of that range. These are the athletes that WIN and win their entire careers. These are the Maurice Greene’s and Michael Johnsons, and Jeremy Wariners, and Allen Johnsons, and David Olivers. These are the 1% everybody dreams of becoming. DON’T HARDLY NONE exist beyond that range. Like none, ever, but of coursee, chances are always that there is still a chance of greater and new limits are always created. These are the Usain Bolts, and Michael Jordans, and Muhammad Ali’s, and Michael Phelps of sports. They transcend their sports and touch the lives of millions with their dedication and commitment to excellence. They prove on another level what humans are capable of, and whether physically talented or not inspire us to be the best we can be. There are also the exact opposite Those athletes who will never run faster than 13.00 in the 100m dash, Then there are those that will never run 14.00 seconds Then those that will never run 15.00 seconds

And finally there even exist those that, at in no point in their lives, could run 16.00 seconds in a 100m dash. Every year that 16.00 approaches 17.00 seconds, and just the same that 9.58s approaches 9.00s. So now we are back to the hurdles. Most can run between 14.00-14.99, fewer can run between 15.00-15.99, even fewer between 16.00-17.00, and hardly none should ever be running 18+, no matter the height of, or distance, or number of steps taken in between the hurdles. And then the good Some of you can run 13.5-13.9 Fewer can run between 13.00-13.49 Hardly none can run under 12.99s And we have yet to have the one who takes the event to that next level. We should be talking 12.4s in 2016, but are still sitting at 12.80 and struggling to push past 12.9s. I personally have a best of 13.49s, so I did no better, and I am now determined to ensure you do better. From 11 years of age to about 24 years of age your hurdlers should improve Every –Single-Season as a 110hurdler. Even bad years should be improvements of at least a few tenths.

Rule #1 is to not limit yourself or your athlete with what you “think” you can run. Set a standard just out of your reach, and watch as the workouts convince you that you can do it.

Rule #2 is patience. It takes 9 years at minimum to master the 110 meter hurdles, and 4 years to master the 100 hurdles. -Boys begin at 11 years old running over 30 inch hurdles --at 14 years old they begin running over 33 inch hurdles --at 17 they begin running over 39 inch hurdles --at 19 they begin running over 42 inch hurdles (full race height) -Girls begin at 11 years old and run over 30 inch hurdles --at 15 years old they run over 33 inch hurdles (full race height) the event itself is progressed to allow the growing body to do just that, grow. You should expect major improvement on a yearly basis, but it will take a lifetime to reach Elite statues (under 13.99) and many will simply not have the foot speed (under 11.00

in the 100m dash). Even still ALL athletes can improve in the hurdles, and it will be the easiest area to pick up points at the conference meet, once you have a proven system for developing your hurdlers. YEAR ONE should be dedicated solely to RHYTHM. Do not concern yourself with technique, nor even your speed too much. Learn to 3-step and do it well as soon as possible, for quickest and most consistent success. This book is dedicated to getting your hurdlers started with a solid foundation in what matters most, the 3-step rhythm, and all you need is follow along and apply the workouts for immediate results. The race is run identical to the 100m dash Run as fast as you can every single step of the race, and hold on hold on hold on. Acceleration – First 3 Hurdles Top Speed – 4 5 and 6 Speed Endurance – 7-8-9-10 If position was properly maintained it is simply a matter of keeping your chest in the lead for the WIN to the finish line. Volume 1: Hurdle Rhythm will cover the race from beginning to end in 3 week training cycles for a complete 12 week season. Have shorter seasons or less time to prepare athletes? Stick to the first 6 weeks of the progression and then pick and choose what’s most important for the remaining weeks. Ultimately you will be able to use this book as a reference guide when wanting to improve any of the above phases of the race, but I wrote it from the beginning of the season to the end. You can download your 12-week training calander for free, at sprinthurdles.com/products/Hurdle-Rhythm-Training-Plan when you use the coupon code “volume1” (without quotations, all lower-case) at checkout. If you really wanna help a friend improve and perform the same workouts as you, you can share the link (and coupon code) with them for the 12-week plan, but remember that you paid for this information. Instead refer them to purchase the book and I’lll pay you majority commission for the help in spreading the word. Running faster and making money - #winning! Truth is I want to help every hurdler in America and across the world run faster, and I don’t mind paying you for the help. If in 2020, we do not have 1,000 hurdlers running under 14.00 seconds over those 39-inch hurdles, I will not have done my job. Thank you for taking the time to improve and help produce the worlds greatest hurdlers, and I can be reach at sprinthurdles@gmail.com if you have any questions or need further explanation of anything covered in the book. Yours truly,

Coach Cotto

Chapter 1 – Developing the 3 Step Rhythm All hurdlers should begin the season performing 3 Hurdle Drills to develop and ingrain the proper 3 step Rhythm. The Cycle Drill – this is the first drill for teaching the proper 3-step rhythm. The drill ingrains good movement over the hurdles, and allows athletes to get comfortable with the 3-steps at very low intensities at the beginning of the season. The hurdles are placed 15 feet apart (to begin), which is a distance that even day 1 beginners can 3-step. The One-Step Drill - is a drill designed to ingrain continual movement over the hurdles and more importantly POSITION (staying forward and keeping the hips tall). The One-Step drill is performed over the middle of the hurdles and has a variation in which the lead leg and trail legs are worked in isolation. The drill in isolation is referred to as the 1-step drill (with the number), and when performed over the middle is called the one-step drill (with the word). The hurdles are placed 6-7 feet apart to begin, and as the hurdlers advance the drill is performed over greater distances up to 9 or 10 feet. The Cycle Ladder Drill - is performed to begin developing the habit of creating rhythm on the ground , and adjusting to the distance between hurdles. Like the cycle drill it will ingrain good rhythm, but more importantly begin to develop the athletes confidence at clearing hurdles in 3-steps which are further and further in distance. The Cycle Ladder Drill will begin with the hurdles 9 feet apart and increase by 2 feet for every hurdle placed on the track. The first workout will begin with the hurdles 9-11-13-15ft apart. I personally begin all my hurdlers with an Assessment on Day 1. I take this time to take note of the athletes strengths and weaknesses and to understand the areas that he or she needs to focus on for immediate improvement. You can download the complete Day 1 Assessment for free by visiting sprinthurdles.com/day1 These 3 drills are the ONLY ones we will perform for the first 3 weeks of training. This will give hurdlers plenty of time to get conditioned (with running and strength and conditioning workouts away from the hurdles) and allow us the time needed to ingrain a very solid rhythm before beginning full-speed workouts in the second phase of training. The drills should be performed in sneakers, and they should be performed with the hurdles at the lowest height so that confidence and consistency can be most quickly developed.

How to Perform the Drills Before they begin performing the cycle, one-step, and cycle ladder drills they should learn how to properly execute the Schery Drill Before they can successfully perform the schery drill, and execute proper hurdle form, they will need to learn the Straight Leg Drill. This drill will develop the proper strength, coordination and balance needed to run off the balls of the feet, and more importantly keep the hips tall. Simply Stand on the toes, and move forward while keeping the knees locked.

The schery drill will teach them:

1. how to keep the hips elevated when hurdling (hips tall) 2. how to properly cycle the feet under the hips (rotary running, just as in

sprinting) 3. how to continue swinging the arms over top of the hurdles (to avoid pausing) 4. how to maintain a proper forward lean (most important for accelerating into

hurdles) How to Clear Hurdles

With the straight leg approach, learned in the Schery Drill, move into the hurdles ensuring to keep the knee locked through the cut-step (last step into the hurdles). Bring the heels of the feet directly UP into the hips, ensuring to keep the feet dorsi-flexed (toes pulled towards the knee), a forward lean, and the arms swinging. This is the same way you will execute for the One-Step Drill and The Cycle Ladder Drill, and by the time you get to full-speed hurdling the correct movement over the hurdles will be pretty well ingrained. You can view the drills in video here.

The Cycle Drill should be performed with the straight legs approach into the first hurdle, and a focus on staying forward and swinging the arms over the hurdles. No particular cues need be given other than that of stay forward and keep the arms swinging. My athletes hurdle 2 days a week during this time of the season and we cycle through the 3 drills depending on their needs. The key is to establish a good rhythm . This means that simply moving through the hurdles with 3-steps is not good enough. The movement through all hurdles should look consistent and begin to approach something of a run (or as close as can be with the hurdles so close). With the proper execution of the drills down, it is time to get into performing the workouts to develop and ingrain a good 3-step rhythm. Here is what the complete 3-week cycle of drills would look like, with 2 days a week dedicated to hurdling.

Day 1 Cycle Drill One-Step Drill Cycle-Ladder Drill One-Step-Cycle Ladder-Cycle This workout includes 5 rounds of hurdling per drill. Round 1 – Cycle Drill 5 hurdles spaced 15 feet apart. (25 total hurdles cleared)

Round 2 – One-Step Drill 5 hurdles, spaced 6 feet apart (25 total hurdles cleared)

Round 3 – Cycle Ladder Drill 5 hurdles, spaced 9-11-13-15ft apart (25 total hurdles cleared)

Round 4 – One Step to Cycle Ladder to Cycle 10 hurdles, the first 3 are 6ft apart (for the one step) then 9-11-13-15 for cycle ladder, finishing off with 3 hurdles at the set distance of 17 feet. (50 hurdles cleared) 6-6-9-11-13-15-17-17-17

This workout would be a total of 125 hurdles cleared. This may sound like a lot, but even beginners will be able to handle the workload, as the hurdles are close, they are in sneakers, and the intensity is relatively low. Day 2 One-Step Cycle-Ladder Cycle-Ladder One Step-Cycle Ladder-Cycle Round 1 – One Step Drill 5 hurdles, spaced 6-7ft apart (25 hurdles cleared)

Round 2 – Cycle Ladder 5 hurdles, spaced 11-13-15-17ft apart (25 hurdles cleared)

Round 3 – Cycle Ladder 5 hurdles, spaced 11-13-15-17ft apart (25 hurdles cleared)

Round 4 – One Step to Cycle Ladder to Cycle 10 hurdles (50 hurdles cleared) 7-7-11-13-15-17 - 18-18-18

Again day 2 will finish with a total of 125 hurdles cleared. Day 3 One Step Cycle Drill Cycle Ladder Cycle Ladder Round 1 – One Step Drill 5 hurdles, spaced 7ft apart (25 total hurdles)

Round 2 – Cycle Drill 5 hurdles, spaced 18ft apart (25 hurdles cleared)

Round 3 – Cycle Ladder Drill 5 hurdles, spaced 11-13-15-18ft apart (25 hurdles cleared)

Round 4 – Cycle Ladder Drill 5 hurdles, spaced 13-15-17-19ft apart (25 hurdles cleared)

Total = 100 hurdles cleared Day 4 One Step Cycle Ladder Cycle Ladder Cycle Ladder – Cycle Round 1 – One Step 5 hurdles, spaced 7ft apart (25 hurdles cleared)

Round 2 – Cycle Ladder 7 hurdles, spaced 9-11-13-15-17-19

Round 3 – Cycle Ladder 7 hurdles, spaced 11-13-15-17-19-20

Round 4 – Cycle ladder to Cycle 10 hurdles, spaced 9-11-13-15-17-19-20-20-20

Total = 125 hurdles

Day 5 (hurdles up to 33”) One Step One Step Cycle Drill Cycle Ladder Drill Round 1 – One Step Drill 5 hurdles, 7ft apart (25 hurdles)

Round 2 – One Step Drill 5 hurdles, 7ft apart (25 hurdles)

Round 3 – Cycle Drill 5 hurdles, spaced 15-15-15-15 (25 hurdles)

Round 4 – Cycle Ladder 5 hurdles, spaced 9-11-13-15ft apart (25 hurdles)

Total = 100 hurdles cleared Day 6 (hurdles at 33”) One Step Cycle Ladder Cycle Ladder Cycle Ladder Round 1 – One Step Drill 5 hurdles, spaced 7-8ft apart (25 hurdles cleared)

Round 2 – Cycle Ladder 7 hurdles, spaced 9-11-13-15-17-19 (35 hurdles cleared)

Round 3 – Cycle Ladder 7 hurdles, spaced 9-11-13-15-17-19 (35 hurdles cleared)

Round 4 – Cycle Ladder 7 hurdles, spaced 11-13-15-17-19-21 (35 hurdles cleared)

Total = 130 hurdles By this time, your hurdlers will look like completely new athletes. They will have a good rhythm, they will have good fundamentals in place, and will be hungry to begin running full speed over the hurdles. In only 3 weeks they went from looking sloppy and out of shape over the hurdles, to looking like champion hurdlers. They are now ready to put on some spikes and begin taking full-speed reps over the hurdles.

Chapter 2 – Accelerating through the 3rd Hurdle 3 Weeks into the training season and your hurdlers should look like they have been hurdling for years. Now we can begin with the workouts that will develop their speed and rhythm in between the hurdles with Bunched and Jammed Hurdling. Improving race times is a matter of moving the feet faster between hurdles. Every athlete takes 3 strides in between hurdles, and it is your job to move yours fastest. You begin the season at Jammed spacing’s. This is as close as they can get. For my youth athletes this will be a full 4 feet closer than normal race distance. For my high school athletes it will be a full 3 feet closer than the normal distance. It would be a little insane to ask them to run full-speed with the hurdles at their race-distance at this phase in the season, and forcing them to do so will only work to destroy their confidence, as they will struggle to adapt and develop frustration from the big, giant strides in between hurdles as they force their way in 3 steps. Helping them improve is about building confidence first and foremost, and this will remain true through their days as elite hurdlers. They absolutely must believe that they are capable, and as sprint hurdlers we allow that confidence to grow by keeping the hurdles closer than normal and getting them in the habit of running faster over the hurdles. At What Distance should the Hurdles Be? High School Jammed = 3 feet closer than normal race distance Bunched = 2 feet closer than normal race distance. Youth Jammed = 4 feet closer than normal race distance. Bunched = 3 feet closer than normal race distance. Discounting Hurdles The athlete to create the fastest 3step rhythm will usually win the race (given he/she doesn’t hit a hurdle to slow down or fall). The way we develop a faster 3 step rhythm is primarily by moving the hurdles closer, to take away running room and force the legs to move faster on the ground. This is a very good method for improving the 3-step rhythm and has been is used by hundreds of thousands every day of the year.

To discount the hurdles you simply: ● stand at the normal hurdle marks, and count off (with your feet or a tape

measure) the appropriate amount of steps from the original hurdle distance (marked on the track) or,

● Count of a distance between the hurdles, which is less than the race-distance between hurdles

Example: Jammed (High School) Hurdle 1 = normal race mark Hurdle 2 = 3 feet closer Hurdle 3 = 6 feet closer Example: Jammed (Youth) Hurdle 1 = normal race make Hurdle 2 = 4 feet closer Hurdle 3 = 8 feet closer Example: Bunched (High School) Hurdle 1 = normal race mark Hurdle 2 = 2 feet closer Hurdle 3 = 4 feet closer Example: Bunched (Youth) Hurdle 1 = normal race mark Hurdle 2 = 3 feet closer Hurdle 3 = 6 feet closer

Acceleration work is done through 3-4 hurdles for 3 weeks with progression from closer (jammed) to further (bunched) hurdling. Day 1 One-Step Jammed Hurdling to 3 hurdles (5-7 reps)

Day 2 One-Step Jammed Hurdling to 3 hurdles (5-7 reps)

Day 3 One-Step Jammed Hurdling to 3 hurdles (5-7 reps)

Day 4 One-Step Jammed Hurdling to 5 hurdles (5 reps)

Day 5 One-Step Jammed Hurdling to 5 hurdles (5 reps)

Day 6 One-Step Bunched Hurdling to 5 hurdles (5 reps)

If the rhythm is not VERY FAST, do yourself a favor a keep the hurdles at the JAMMED spacing. IF however, the rhythm does indeed look very fast between the jammed spacing, feel free to increase the distance in between hurdles with the BUNCHED spacing setup for any of the above workouts. Patience is and will be key.

Chapter 3 – Top Speed Now comes the part of the race where they know they have a new personal best. If the above two cycles are executed properly, your hurdlers will get into hurdle rhythm between the 4th and 5th hurdle and maintain top speed through the 6th hurdle. There are a variety of ways to improve top-speed in the hurdles, and simply lining 5, 6 or 7 hurdles up with the Jammed or Bunched setting certainly work,s and is the preferred (only) method of 80% of the coaches out there. But you’re goal must be to make them fearless hurdlers. They must accept the fact that they may fall, and charge forward full-speed even still. 5-Stepping workouts help build that confidence necessary to hurdle all-out, by increasing the distance between the hurdles, to allow for more speed (via more steps) to be taken over the hurdles. Yes. Some will bail out the first 1-5x attempting the 5 stepping. But they will ALL get it. Even FIRST year hurdlers. That will be 80% of the work, and it will continually be an effort to take more speed and more speed and “prepare” to clear the hurdle less often. It is a habit that may very well take an entire season to break, but break it will and break it must if they are to reach their best. 5 Stepping To 5 step between the hurdles, you will have to push them apart further. To create a 5-stepping zone, simply remove a hurdle. Want to 5-step between the 1st and 2nd hurdle? Set up hurdles 1, 2 and 3, on the track and simply remove the 2nd hurdle. You will effectively 5-step between the 1st and 3rd hurdle BUT before you go lining them up at full distance, lets ensure we stick to the jammed and bunched spacings so the can continue their progression to race-distance. High School Example: Your 110 hurdler successfully created rhythm through hurdles up to 21 feet aprt with the cycle and cycle ladder drills. He then performed jammed (3ft in) for 3 weeks, and is now looks ready to sprint through race-distance.

Before you unleash him to race-distance, you will want to let him adapt to the 1ft spacing. You will allow this easy transition to be made by:

● Setting the first hurdles at Jammed or Bunched spacing, and ● Setting the hurdles after the 5-step zone at an increased distance between

hurdles. ●

Example: Hurdles 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 are on the track at their normal race distance (same as from jammed and bunched hurdling). Lets say you want to create a 5-step zone between the 4th and 5th hurdles. Simply remove the 4th hurdle to effectively force 5-steps between the 3rd and 5th (moving through where the 4th hurdle would have been).

This is the perfect way to both increase their top speed, and get them accustomed to the increased distance without the psychological disadvantages of “knowing” the hurdles are further apart. With another 3 week of workouts, lets take a look at the progression of workouts.

Day 1 – 5 stepping Hurdles 1-5 (bunched spacing), hurdle 6 (1 foot further), remove hurdle 4 -5 repetitions from the blocks

Day 2 – 5 stepping Hurdles 1-5 (bunched spacing), hurdle 6 (1 foot further), remove hurdle 4 -5 reps all out from the blocks Day 3 – 5 stepping Hurdles 1-5 (bunched spacing), hurdle 6 (1 foot further), remove hurdle 4 5 reps all out from the blocks Day 4 – 5 stepping Hurdles 1-5 (bunched spacing), hurdle 6 (1 foot further), remove hurdle 4 Day 5 – 5 stepping Hurdles 1-5 (1 foot closer), hurdle 6 (normal spacing), remove hurdle 4 -5 reps from blocks

Day 6 – 5 stepping

Hurdles 1-5 (1 foot closer), hurdle 6 (normal spacing), remove hurdle 4 -5 reps from the blocks

While you progressed them a little quicker in the previous phases of training, you will not be able to do so with the 5-stepping workouts, as it will take them (on average) more than a workout to adapt and properly sprint through the hurdles. Your hurdlers WILL find this workout challenging, and although it may take them a rep or 2 to build the confidence for 5-stepping they can and will get the hang of it. You do NOT need to make adjustments to the distance between hurdles. Your athletes will probably try to do the math themselves, and justify why removing the 4th hurdle might require them to take 7 or more steps, but t do not change the spacing’s. The spacing’s in between the hurdles is not what’s important and in fact their ability and courage to continue running full speed despite their fears and doubts is what must be improved through these workouts. After these first 9 weeks, all athletes should have at least one new personal best in the sprint hurdles, and most should have multiple depending on how many races they had.

Chapter 4 – Hurdle Endurance Now that they are very fast from the 1st through the 6th hurdles, it is time to put up 10+ hurdles to prepare for multiple rounds during the championship season. They went from not known, to one of the best hurdlers in the conference and region, and now it will be time to pick up medals and that will require the endurance to run multiple fast rounds. From here on out workouts will be Bunched (2ft closer) or 1ft closer, and will be run over 10+ hurdles with only 5 minutes rest. Since not fancy set-up is needed for these workouts, lets remember the importance of running and sprinting through all hurdles. If you set the hurdles up at normal spacing, and your athlete runs the first 5 not so fast, adjust the workout and move the hurdles back down to bunched or jammed spacing for all 10 hurdles. You MUST continue to develop the habit of moving the legs as fast as possible, so do not sacrifice this frequency for the sake of “clearing race-distance”. They have by now already ran over all 10 hurdles in 3-steps, so there should never be doubts that they can do so again. Keep them close and keep those feet moving fastest. Phase 4 – Rhythm Endurance Day 1 One-step 5x10 hurdles (jammed), 5-10 minutes rest

Day 2 One-Step 5x10 hurdles (bunched), 5-10 minutes rest

Day 3 One-step 5x10 hurdles (bunched), 5-10 minutes rest

Day 4 One-Step 4x10 hurdles (1ft in ), 5-10 minutes rest

Day 5 One-Step 3x10 hurdles (1ft in), 5-10 minutes rest

Day 6 One-Step 3x10 hurdles (regular race marks), 10+ minutes rest

Conclusion If they were disciplined, and worked hard they should be qualified for the State and National Championships and need only stay fresh and sharp for the Championship meets. Is there more to learn? Of course there is! There are still a great many more hurdle workouts that you can perform with your hurdlers, but the ones included in this book will be more than enough to consistently produce the best hurdlers in town, and get under 14.00 seconds at the high school level. Once the proper 3-step rhythm is ingrained, and multiple personal bests are set with the training and workouts, the hurdlers will be ready to take things to new levels with Hurdle Technique work. Hurdle Technique will teach the hurdlers the calculated and precise movements that should be made over the hurdles, and will be covered in detail in Volume 2: Hurdle Technique. For more please visit sprinthurdles.com and join the Free Rhythm Training series at http://sprinthurdles.com/exclusive-hurdles-training/ You can reach me at Coach Cotto on Facebook Sprint Hurdles on YouTube And sprinthurdles@gmail.com via email Run Fast. Make Them Chase You. Coach Cotto