ArkansasTrackStats

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Commentary.......Book Review

1/27/2001

Distance Training for Young Athletes, Arthur Lydiard and Garth Gilmour, Meyer and Meyer Sports, Lansing, Michigan,1999. ISBN 3-89124-533-5

"Train, don't strain" is the key according to world famous distance coach Arthur Lydiard of New Zealand. Lydiard knows of what he speaks. Since the 1950s Lydiard's methods have been widely adopted by middle and long distance runners around the world. Lydiard himself coached New Zealand greats Peter Snell and Murray Halberg in the 1960s for the Rome and Tokyo Games and four time Olympic Gold Medalist and world record holder Lasse Viren of Finland. Track fans will remember these runners as masters of knowing how to most effectively apply their native speed at the end of races.

This book is written specifically for young athletes...not just distance runners but athletes of all sorts who can benefit from greater endurance..., their parents and their coaches. If you are just starting out as, or with, a young athlete, this is an excellent reference for designing a training regimen aimed at continuous improvement while minimizing injuries and burnout. The book is easy non-technical reading as if Lydiard is having an informal chat with the reader.

Some of the chapters included address fitness and health, when should young people start running, warm ups and warm downs, speed basics, heart messages, lung power, food facts and goals. A comprehensive training outline is included showing how to gear training to different seasons and meets. There is a generous use of pictures that illustrate Lydiard's relaxed running techniques and exercises.

At its core this book is a text book in simple terms. This is where one can learn how to train effectively for any sport or event where endurance is important. Lydiard points out that Kenya today produces a seemingly never-ending supply of accomplished distance runners which results from long-term cardiac development stemming from sustained aerobic training. In Lydiard's view "....champions are not born, they are made from the same base materials as their peers by the combination of their own ambition and enthusiasm with good guidance and encouragement from their parents and/or coaches."

The book also teaches practical techniques such as "running tall". Adapted from the great Australian coach, Percy Cerutty, and sprint coach, Bud Winter, Lydiard 's technique is to run with a relaxed upper body with the feeling of your body being up and not back. In practice, this seems to be about learning how to run on the balls of your feet and not on your heels which drag you down. Try it and you will see immediately what he means.

This is the book I wished I had read and studied in high school. I think you will find it jammed packed with very practical suggestions that can help you immediately.

This inexpensive 108-page book was located at amazon.com. The publishers email address is verlag@meyer-meyer-sports.com and their website address is given as www.meyer-meyer-sports.com.

Review by: Bob Kelly, ArkansasTrackStats.com

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