Sean McCafferty: Building Your Workouts Properly

He's been with the CBA program since 2014, first as an assistant and then taking over the head cross country role in 2016. This was after a successful run at Holmdel High School, where McCafferty held the head coaching position from 2005 through 2014, overseeing multiple state titles.

He recently started a blog series (coachseanmccaff.com), which offers coaching insights and experiences he's gathered over the years. This outdoor track and field season, MileSplit will publish a weekly Wednesday morning series featuring these articles.

Build Your Workouts Properly

Written by CBA head coach Sean McCafferty

• Have a goal - each workout must serve a purpose to the season plan. A coach creates the adaptation that each athlete needs and workouts are the kitchen. Early season workouts should be heavily based in VT2 (ventilatory threshold 2) pace, about 88 percent of VO2 max. These workouts are boring and so important. Later in the season, you may want to do something big, a Strava workout, so kids can gain confidence and build excitement in their performance. Whatever the workout is, think about what your athletes needs long and short term.
• Write the workout down - Always, always always write the workout down. A written workout keeps a coach in line. Workouts can and should change during the effort from time to time. However, when a coach writes a workout down, there is less tendency to drift away from the goal. When I write my workouts, I write the goal at the top.
• Set proper work to rest ratio - Very fit and talented athletes can handle almost anything you throw at them. These kids will muscle through fast intervals and short recovery. Simply because they can handle that type of workout does not make it right for them. When you set your workout, make sure the rest is appropriate for the interval pace and distance. For my athletes, it depends on their age and ability. Recently, we were doing 1ks with 75 seconds rest. For my better, more experienced athletes, it was a challenge; younger, less experienced athletes could not handle it. The workout failed for many of the younger athletes. We will fix it for next time! VO2 max intervals should be equal time rest and faster, raced paced intervals could require several minutes or more. Whatever the workout, the rest dictates the effort, pace and recovery.
• Adaptation is key - A workout adapts an athlete to stress. Every workout breaks an athlete down and helps their body adapt. Once the body adapts, the athlete should be able to handle the effort in a more efficient way. When you write your workout, think about what or how athletes are adapting. There are a dozen different things on which a a coach can focus a workout and a coach must have these aspects in mind. Younger athletes need very little work to adapt, so do not overdo their work. Older athletes may need a big stimulus to achieve adaptation. Whatever the workout, do not simply do intervals or structure a workout from somebody else's workout. Build workouts that help YOUR athletes adapt to stress well.
• Long to short - I usually plan workouts with longer intervals first and shorter intervals later. I find it is easy to produce the proper adaptation for race readiness. With that said, starting a workout with a hard interval or challenging athletes with a quick interval in the middle prepares them for races. I have found that most athletes struggle to build longer intervals during a workout.
• Do not let them fail often - Okay...failure happens and a coach will NEVER avoid failure in their athletes. However, if you write workouts well and prepare for conditions, athletes should succeed 99 percent of the time. If they are failing, change the workout or fix it for next time. Success breeds success.
• Challenge athletes - Every now and then, write workouts that challenge athletes. From hard workouts to surprise intervals, athletes need challenge. For instance, I will have my athletes run a fast 800 or 400 in the middle of a workout. It throws them off and forces them to adjust their efforts. The challenge will show a coach who is ready for everything. It is harder to throw this type of effort with younger athletes. Younger athletes usually do not have to deal with surging and often struggle to handle that type of thing in practice. A fast 200 in the middle of a workout might work for them.
• Use proper pacing - There are a million different formulas and a million different people that publish charts, calculators and whatever else to guide your athletes' pace. USE THEM! Jack Daniels VDOT here, Tom Schwartz's pace calculator and many others are great guidelines. The paces in each of these are similar. Be sure to use these wisely. Know your athletes. If a pace seems too fast or they cannot handle the pace, slow it down.
• Workouts build upon workouts - Every workout a coach writes must build upon the last and lead to the next. If your goal is to run 800 meter intervals at vVO2, start with 400s; if you want athletes to run a 4 mile tempo run, start with 8 x 800 at tempo. A coach's goal is to build fitness and confidence. Science matters, but the brain seems to be more important!
• Workouts should be hard and fun - Workouts are a grind at best and brutal at worst. Yet workouts are what coaches and athletes talk about it. Present your athletes with some fun alongside the challenge. Make it a team effort. Rotate the lead. Challenge them to see which athlete can be closest to the set pace. The more fun they have, the more successful they will achieve. A couple weeks ago, I invited parents to the workout. They sat respectfully in the stands as the boys worked hard. The invite brought a level of pomp and circumstance to the work. The boys loved it.
• Group your athletes - Teammates should do the same workouts. My best athlete and my worst athlete do the same type of workout every day, unless the racing schedule affects it. If my best kids do 10 x 1k at tempo, younger athletes my do 5 x 1k or 10 x 600. Each group works together as a small piece of the team. Athletes are better when they work together and have a group goal. Make this grouping happen as often as you can.
• Be present - While a workout is ongoing, be present. Talk to athletes. Tell them how to improve their form. Encourage them. Move them up or down a group. Be tough on them when they fail and equally positive when they succeed.