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General Sprint Training Parameters
Getting your sprint training right can have a major impact on your both performance and enjoyment in races.
Many skaters focus on heart rate for training, but when it comes to sprint training the only things to be concerned about are speed, power, and acceleration. Heart rate will essentially be maximum during the longer sprints, but short sprints are simply too short to use heart rate as any sort of measure of intensity. Instead, simply focus on a percentage of maximum effort.
Because ATP is an important source of energy, sprint training typically involves a lengthy rest period. It takes about 2 minutes to restore levels to 50% and 3 minutes to restore to 100% of pre-sprint levels. The high intensity efforts also produce high levels of lactic acid, so when training peak sprint the rest period may be on the order of 4-5 minutes between repeats.
As with all types of training, sprint workouts should follow a gradual progression throughout the season. Normally sprint training is not phased in until after a solid 6-8 weeks of base training followed by a minimum of 4 weeks of varied interval training. When sprint training is finally incorporated into the program, the first order of business is to develop sprint capacity, and then peak sprint.
All sprint workouts should be preceded by a solid 20-30 minute warm-up. The warm-up should consist of:
a) 8-10 minutes of light skating
b) Stretching
c) Accelerations of 80-100m that build up to an intensity that is equal to or greater than the speed you will achieve during the body of the workout
d) More stretching
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