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Resources

📹 Tutorial Videos

⛰️ Hill Sprints

📹 Tutorial Video

🚀 Strides

📹 Tutorial Video

💨 Pick-Ups

📹 Tutorial Video

🏃 Stair Bounds

📹 Tutorial Video

🪜 Stair Drills

📹 Tutorial Video

🤸 Warm-Up Drills

📹 Tutorial Video

⛰️ Hill Sprints Tutorial

Sprint uphill at MAXIMUM intensity for 8-15 seconds. The steeper the hill, the shorter the sprints. Aim for at least a 20% gradient, with good footing.

Each rep must have COMPLETE RECOVERY of 2 minutes or more of walking/resting. This is because hill sprints are a POWER and STRENGTH exercise, so your neuromuscular system needs time to fully recover.

Really think about your form, keeping the following pointers in mind:

☑️ Positive backward drive of the arms
☑️ Tall posture and high hips
☑️ Powerful knee drive
☑️ Knees up, toes up
☑️ Land naturally on forefoot
☑️ Explode off the ground
☑️ Triple extension (hips, knees and ankles)

🚀 Strides Tutorial

Strides are 15-30 second bursts of speed, performed with long-distance running form (NOT an all-out sprint).

Use the first 5-10 seconds to come up to pace. Once you’ve reached around 90% of your maximum effort, maintain this for a further 5-10 seconds. Use the final 5-10 seconds to ease off slowly, then walk/rest for 2 minutes between each rep. Strides should NOT stress the body and should feel ENJOYABLE.

Really think about your form, keeping the following pointers in mind:

☑️ Shoulders low and relaxed
☑️ Fast arms, elbow driving backwards
☑️ Tall posture and high hips
☑️ Powerful knee drive
☑️ Heels up and under buttocks|
☑️ Knees up, toes up
☑️ Slight forward lean from the ankles
☑️ Land on front half of foot (ball of foot) and drive down and back

💨 Pick-Ups Tutorial

Pick-ups are similar to strides, but are shorter in duration and are performed SPONTANEOUSLY throughout a run, without complete recovery between repetitions.

When the feeling and terrain motivates you, pick-up the pace to a fun, fast effort (NOT an all-out sprint). The first few pick-ups should range from 8-10 seconds, building up to a MAXIMUM of 15 seconds for the last few reps. Ease off slowly, then do at least 2 minutes easy running between each pick-up.

Really think about your form, keeping the following pointers in mind:

☑️ Shoulders low and relaxed
☑️ Fast arms, elbow driving backwards
☑️ Tall posture and high hips
☑️ Powerful knee drive
☑️ Heels up and under buttocks
☑️ Knees up, toes up
☑️ Slight forward lean from the ankles
☑️ Land on front half of foot (ball of foot) and drive down and back

🏃 Stair Bounds Tutorial

Bound up a steep set of stairs at MAXIMUM intensity (skipping as many steps as you can) for 8-15 seconds. The steeper the stairs, the shorter the bounds.

Each rep must have COMPLETE RECOVERY of 2 minutes or more of walking/resting. This is because stair bounds are a POWER and STRENGTH exercise, so your neuromuscular system needs time to fully recover.

Really think about your form, keeping the following pointers in mind:

☑️ Positive backward drive of the arms
☑️ Tall posture and high hips
☑️ Powerful knee drive
☑️ Knees up, toes up
☑️ Land naturally on forefoot
☑️ Explode off the ground
☑️ Triple extension (hips, knees and ankles)

🪜 Stair Drills Tutorial

Run up a set of 10-12 stairs at a fast pace. Focus on utilising a quick, accurate, and efficient technique (as opposed to a powerful ‘bound’). Recover for 60 seconds between each drill.

It’s important that the steps aren’t too high (about 6 inches is ideal) and not too far apart (again, you don’t want to be ‘bounding’ up them).

Really think about your form, keeping the following pointers in mind:

☑️ Positive backward drive of the arms
☑️ Tall posture and high hips
☑️ Fast knee drive
☑️ Knees up, toes up
☑️ Land naturally on forefoot
☑️ Tap your feet on each step as quickly as possible
☑️ Quick and powerful force production

🤸 Warm-Up Drills Tutorial

Running-specific warm-up drills will activate, mobilise, and potentiate the muscles and joints used when running at high intensity. Drills awaken the neuromuscular connections and activate the stretch reflex in the tendons, enhancing coordination and allowing quicker reactions and more explosive movements, helping you run faster and more efficiently.

Performing drills will improve the quality of your session, reduce your injury risk, and decrease your recovery time afterwards. Ensure you have warmed up with at least 5-10 minutes easy running before conducting any drills.

Once you’ve warmed up, start with a few dynamic movements and stretches to activate and mobilise the muscles and joints. Perform each movement for 20-30 seconds.

☑️ Leg swings
☑️ Open and close the gate
☑️ Lunge to knee drive
☑️ Squat to calf raise
☑️ Butt kicks
☑️ Toe taps
☑️ Jumping on the spot
☑️ Hopping on the spot

Then perform a few drills to potentiate the muscles in preparation for explosive movement. Perform each drill for 30-60 seconds.

☑️ A-Skip
☑️ B-Skip
☑️ C-Skip
☑️ Straight-leg bounds
☑️ Bent-leg bounds
☑️ High-knee skips

Finally, bring it all together by performing a few strides.

☑️ Strides

✍️ Coaching Forms

🙋‍♂️ Athlete Profile

👤 General Overview

📋 Training Plan Request

➡️ New Training Plan

🙋‍♂️ Athlete Profile

To submit this form, please visit the Athlete Profile page.

Athlete Profile

A general overview of the athlete, their training history, developmental needs, and current training readiness.

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👤 Personal Profile

First name(Required)

Last name(Required)

Email(Required)

Phone(Required)

Date of birth(Required)

DD slash MM slash YYYY

Current age(Required)

Height (cm)

Only share if you're comfortable doing so. Your height may not be relevant to your training or your goals.

Weight (kg)

Only share if you're comfortable doing so. Your weight may not be relevant to your training or your goals.

Please provide a brief description of any lifestyle factors that may affect your training.(Required)

What is your occupation? Is it particularly stressful (physically and/or psychologically)? Do you do shift work? Do your working hours ever change? Do you have a long commute? Do you have children? Do you have any other commitments I should be aware of?

Do you have a disability that requires additional support?

If yes, please provide details.

💪 Endurance Training History

Please provide a brief overview of your previous SPORTING history (all sports).(Required)

A general description of the sports you played both as a child and an adult (how often and to what degree of competitiveness) will suffice.

For example; Age 10-14 / Cross Country / County Level / 3 x per week.

Please provide a more in-depth description of your previous ENDURANCE TRAINING history.(Required)

Only include the sports, activities, or training that you undertook specifically to improve your endurance performance. An approximation of your training volume would be useful.

For example; I conducted consistent ultra marathon training with a focus on mountain terrain from 2018-2022, completing approximately 6-8 hours of training per week with no more than 2 months of complete training cessation throughout that period.

What would you estimate your TRAINING AGE to be?(Required)

Your Training Age is the amount of time you've spent participating in formalised, purposeful training throughout your life. It is the total cumulative time.

For example; you may have consistently participated in ballet from ages 6-10, completed structured swim training from ages 12-16, and been running for the previous four years. Your Training Age in this instance would be 12 years.

Please list any PBs that you think might be relevant to your training.

Please include an estimate of the dates on which you achieved your PBs (hint: if you can't remember when, they're probably no longer relevant!)

Do you do strength training? If so, what does it typically involve?(Required)

How many days per week do you strength train? Do you mostly do high weight / low reps? Or low weight / high reps? Does your strength training give you DOMS or otherwise impact your running? Do you enjoy it?

How would you rate your physical resilience and running form?(Required)

Have you had any long-term or short-term injuries? Have you ever had any operations? Do you pick-up persistent niggles in the same places? Has a physio or osteopath ever prescribed corrective exercises? Has a biomechanist ever analysed your form and advised on areas for improvement?

How would you rate your ability to recover? What are your estimated sleep hours and perceived sleep quality?(Required)

Is your sleep typically continuous or disrupted? Do you fall asleep in minutes or does it take you hours to drift off? Do you have children that wake you up at night? Do you nap during the day? What are your perceived energy levels?

WOMEN ONLY (and only if you feel comfortable sharing). How is your menstrual cycle in reference to your training?

Is your menstrual cycle regular or irregular? How do you feel at different times of the month? Do you experience particularly extreme fluctuations in energy levels or mood? Does your menstrual cycle affect your training in any way? Are there particular training sessions you typically avoid, or sessions you purposefully perform, whilst menstruating?

🏃‍♂️ Running Profile & Goals

What do you perceive to be your running and/or endurance training STRENGTHS?(Required)

These can be physical, psychological, biomechanical, lifestyle, or other strengths.

What do you perceive to be your running and/or endurance training WEAKNESSES?(Required)

These can be physical, psychological, biomechanical, lifestyle, or other weaknesses.

What do you enjoy MOST about running?(Required)

What do you enjoy LEAST about running?(Required)

What type of workouts do you typically enjoy?(Required)

Are there workouts that you really look forward to?

What type of workouts do you typically NOT enjoy?(Required)

Are there workouts that you dread?

What are your long-term running goals?(Required)

What is the ONE thing you most want to improve or achieve?(Required)

What are your favourite TYPES of running races?

Please tick all that apply.

Flat road races

Hilly road races

Flat trail races

Hilly trail races

Fell races

Mountain races

Skyrunning races

Multi-day races

Relay races

What are your favourite running race DISTANCES?

Please tick all that apply.

5km

10km

Half marathon

Marathon

50km

100km

50 mile

100 mile

>100 mile

How do you record your training?(Required)

Do you use a running watch? If so, is it a Garmin, Coros, Suunto, Polar, Apple Watch etc? Do you upload your activities to Strava? If so, please provide a link to your Strava profile.

Do you have a chest strap or armband heart rate monitor?(Required)

I conduct the vast majority of my coaching by Perceived Rate of Exertion (RPE). However, there are times when having a bit more data (such as heart rate) can be beneficial. In order to utilise heart rate data effectively though, it must be recorded with a chest strap or armband monitor (wrist-based readings are NOT accurate enough).

How many times per week do you currently train and what is your current weekly training volume?(Required)

Your current weekly volume can be either distance or time.

⏱️ Coaching

Have you had a running coach in the past? If so, for how long and what for? Was there anything you particularly liked or disliked about having a coach?(Required)

For example; I had a running coach for 16 weeks in the build-up to London Marathon 2023. I liked the accountability it provided but disliked not being able to view my future training schedule far enough in advance.

What do you want from coaching?(Required)

Is there anything outside of the obvious that you would like from coaching? Are there any other ways in which I can help you?

Is there anything else you would like to make me aware of?

Phone

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Δ

📋 Training Plan Request

To submit this form, please visit the Training Plan Request page.

Training Plan Request

A self-assessment of the previous training block and useful information for planning the next training block.

Step 1 of 3

33%

👤 Personal Details

First name(Required)

Last name(Required)

Email(Required)

Phone(Required)

⬅️ Previous Training Block

Please provide a detailed description of how training went during the previous block.(Required)

How have you felt in general? Did you complete everything? Was the training commitment realistic? Did you pick up any injuries or niggles? How were your energy levels? Do you feel stronger / faster / fitter? Did you eat and drink (water!) well? How was life outside of training (more stressful than usual, or normal)?

Which workouts did you enjoy? Which workouts did you not enjoy?(Required)

Were there workouts that you looked forward to and/or workouts that you dreaded? How did your legs feel during harder sessions / strides? Did they feel 'bouncy' or 'flat'? Did you feel focused during the harder sessions or were you distracted?

If you did any, what did your strength training consist of during the previous training block?(Required)

How many days per week did you strength train? Did you mostly do high weight / low reps? Or low weight / high reps? Did your strength training give you DOMS or otherwise impact your running? Did you enjoy it? Do you feel stronger?

How well did you recover? What were your estimated sleep hours and perceived sleep quality?(Required)

Was your sleep typically continuous or disrupted? Did you fall asleep in minutes or did it take you hours to drift off? Did you nap during the day? What were your perceived energy levels? How was your libido (men only)?

WOMEN ONLY (and only if you feel comfortable sharing). How was your menstrual cycle during the previous training block?

Was your menstrual cycle regular or irregular? How did you feel at different times of the month? Did you experience particularly extreme fluctuations in energy levels or mood? Did your menstrual cycle affect your training in any way? Are there particular training sessions you'd rather avoid, or sessions you'd rather do, whilst menstruating? If so, please provide an estimate of when your next menstrual phase is due.

(Note: contrary to popular belief, of the four main phases of the cycle, it is often during menstruation that women are more likely to feel at their strongest, when oestrogen and progesterone levels are at their lowest).

➡️ Next Training Block

What is your long-term target right now?(Required)

Training for an event? Personal challenge? Maintain fitness? Improve consistency? Just looking to get stronger / fitter / faster?

What races or challenges do you have planned in the next 6 months?(Required)

Please include dates, distance, elevation gain/loss and a link to each race.

What do you want from me (your coach) during this training block?(Required)

Is there anything outside of the obvious that you want to achieve? Are there any other ways in which I can help you?

Where will you be based for the next 8 weeks?(Required)

Is there any terrain relevant to your training that WON'T be available to you? For example; long hills, flat roads/tarmac, off-road trails, technical terrain, a running track etc.

Most plans will include hill training. If you have NO access to hills (or a treadmill that inclines), please let me know.

How many RUN sessions per week would you like to commit to?(Required)

Ensure this is realistic to your current lifestyle/work commitments etc. More sessions can always be added in.

How many BIKE sessions per week would you like to commit to? (triathlon training plans only)

Ensure this is realistic to your current lifestyle/work commitments etc. More sessions can always be added in.

How many SWIM sessions per week would you like to commit to? (triathlon training plans only)

Ensure this is realistic to your current lifestyle/work commitments etc. More sessions can always be added in.

Which days of the week are you able to train on during the next block?(Required)

Please tick all that apply.

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

Sunday

Do you have any other training commitments?

For example; do you attend a weekly track session or run club meet? If so, when does the session take place and what does it typically involve?

Is there anything else I should be aware of?

For example; injuries, holidays, planned recce trips, dates you cannot train in the next 8 weeks?

Phone

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Δ

🚀 Get Started Now!

The first step is the hardest. Whether you're ready to start right away, or you'd just like some more information or advice – get in touch. We can chat about your current situation and your future goals and create a plan together.

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taylor@taylormadecoaching.uk

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+44 (0)7973 249691

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