Peaking

Peaking
What is Peaking?
Peaking to me is the ensuring all elements involved in sport are working together at their best.  Sometimes this doesn’t mean that these elements are not at their individual peak. 
What do I mean by this?  As coaches we deal with humans, who have emotions, get sick, have niggles and sometimes just can’t be stuffed.  We can control training of these athletes, but only have a minor interaction with the other elements discussed.  Sometimes we can perform above expectations because one element is in superior condition, but to achieve optimal performance we need to try and ensure that the mental and physical elements are as high as they can be and that they work together.
The table below, is the structure I follow for setting up a peaking phase for sprinters.  The table was initially developed for a hammer thrower, after reading Charlie Francis.
The idea of the schedule isn’t to follow the session plan religiously it about ensuring the structure is in place to ensure that the athlete is physically recovered to perform at a peak level.
This peak schedule is used for the most important competitions, minor competitions can use the schedule from Day 5 or 3.


Peak
Day
Type
Session
12
Monday
Extensive Tempo
20 x 100m Easy
11
Tuesday
Speed Endurance
1 x 150m
1 x 120m
1 x 80m
10
Wednesday
Extensive Tempo
15 x 100m Easy
9
Thursday
Speed
4 x 30m @95%
1 x 80m @ 95%
8
Friday
Off

7
Saturday
Speed
4 x 30m @95%
6
Sunday
Off
-
5
Monday
Extensive Tempo
10 x 100m Easy
4
Tuesday
Speed
4 x 30m @ 95%
1 x 60 @ 95%
3
Wednesday
Extensive Tempos
10 x 100m Easy
2
Thursday
Warm Up
Competition Warm up
1
Friday
Off



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