Track Workouts for Beginners (Tips, Lingo & Rules Explained)

Short Distance Track Workouts for Beginners

1. Warm up by jogging along the track and stretching.
2. Run 400m (one lap on an outdoor track) around the track. Running at a medium-high intensity (6 to 7 out of 10) is ideal.
3. Rest for around 2-3 minutes.
4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 three times more for four 400m runs on the track.
5. Run around the track for 200m (one half-lap on an outdoor track). A high intensity (7 to 8 out of 10) is recommended.
6. Rest for around 2 to 3 minutes.
7. Repeat steps 5 and 6 three times for four 200m runs on the track.
8. Stretch and jog around the track to cool off.

Most of these phrases are likely to be recognizable to frequent runners.

However, they are especially crucial for track workout, which are more organized than prolonged steady-state runs.

• Repeats: These are sections of the same distance completed a certain number of times with rest breaks in between.
• Strides: These are very short sprints (maybe fifty meters or half the straightaway) performed at near maximum exertion [1].
• Intervals: An interval is a time of increasing exertion. They are complementary to recovery efforts. The objective is to maintain a constant level of performance across all intervals.
• Recovery: A recovery phase helps you catch your breath, regroup, and concentrate on offering an ongoing effort in your interval sessions [2]. During the recovery time, your rate of perceived exertion should be 5 out of 10, or 50% of your interval effort.

"If you don't recover sufficiently, you'll spend the whole workout fighting fatigue rather than increasing speed and power. Maintain recovery times of two to three minutes for 100- and 200-meter runs, and four to five minutes for 400-meter efforts."

- Mechelle Lewis Freeman, Track & Field Olympian

Indoor track exercises are quite similar to outdoor track training. The primary distinction is the track and the season.

1. Track Size and Design

The indoor track has a 200-meter (or longer) track area with 6 lanes, whereas the outdoor track has a 400-meter (or longer) track area with 8 lanes [3].

Many indoor tracks are curved at a 10- to 15-degree angle to resist centrifugal force while negotiating curves, but outdoor tracks are not.

Indoor tracks require more bends and turns, which might slow down runners.

2. Indoor and Outdoor Season

The indoor track season runs from December through March in the United States.

Indoor track training is frequently utilized to prepare for the outdoor season, which lasts from March to July.

Related post: 8 Outdoor Workouts: Mix Up Your Summer Routine

• You should also constantly warm up and cool down before and after your workouts: Before the track workout, jog for 10 to 15 minutes slowly. Add additional strides after the warm-up to raise your heart rate and condition your muscles for speed exercises. Cool down by walking or running before or after workout to reduce your heart rate.
• Run counterclockwise: Runners on a track run counterclockwise (only left turns). When entering or exiting the track, glance both ways for runners to avoid collisions.
• Clear the first lane: This lane usually goes to the fastest runners. Otherwise, quicker runners should stay to the left, while slower runners should stay to the right (etiquette). The inside lanes are often used for speed workouts, while the outer lanes are used for tempo runs, cool-downs, and warm-ups.