Athlete Ready running training

Run Smart, Stay Healthy: How to Crush Your Track Season Without Breaking Down

Track season is almost here. Indoor season kicks off in January, and outdoor isn’t far behind. High school athletes know the off-season can feel like forever—from May all the way to December. So, with all that time to prepare, why are so many sprinters and jumpers still getting sidelined with injuries?

Injuries don’t just hurt your body; they wreck your chances to show up and show out. Let’s fix that. In this blog, I’m breaking down:

  • Why injuries happen in the first place,
  • The most common injuries for sprinters, and
  • What you can do to stay healthy, recover smarter, and hit the track ready to dominate.

The Injuries That Mess With Sprinters

Here’s the truth: sprinting is no joke. It puts serious stress on your body, and if you’re not ready for it, injuries are waiting to happen. These are the ones sprinters deal with the most:

1. Hamstring Strains

Hamstring injuries are among the most common in sprinters. They typically occur due to the high-speed demands of sprinting, which can lead to muscle tears or strains, especially if muscles are not adequately warmed up or conditioned.

2. Shin Splints

This condition, also known as medial tibial stress syndrome, results from overuse and is characterized by pain along the shin bone. It is particularly common in runners who increase their training intensity or volume too quickly.

3. Runner’s Knee (Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome)

This injury involves pain around the kneecap and is often exacerbated by running on hard surfaces or improper running mechanics. It is more frequent in female athletes but can affect anyone.

4. Achilles Tendinitis

Inflammation of the Achilles tendon can occur due to repetitive strain from sprinting. Symptoms include pain and stiffness along the tendon, especially after periods of inactivity.

5. Stress Fractures

These are tiny cracks in the bone caused by repetitive force or overuse, commonly seen in the lower legs and feet of sprinters. They can develop if a sore spot is left untreated.

6. Ankle Sprains and Fractures

These injuries often result from improper landing techniques during sprints or while navigating turns on the track. They can range from mild sprains to severe fractures.

7. Groin Strains

The groin muscles are heavily engaged during sprinting, making them susceptible to strains, especially during explosive starts or changes in direction.

Why These Injuries Happen

Sprinters put their bodies through intense physical stress. The faster you go, the higher the demands. Sometimes injuries are unavoidable, but most of the time, they’re preventable. Injuries happen when an external load from competing exceeds your capacity. Whether it is a muscle, tendon, ligament, bone, or fascia, all of these need to be prepared for the demands of your sport. Sprinting is the most demanding ability we can do.

If you go back and skim the injury list, you’ll notice a few red flags: overuse, bad form, not enough recovery, poor conditioning, repetitive stress. These are the main culprits. Fixing them is where the magic happens.

How to Stay Injury-Free: The Big 3

Injury reduction is about preparation. Your body needs to handle the demands of sprinting, which means focusing on three key areas: Training, Recovery, and Nutrition. Nail these, and you’ll build a stronger, faster, and injury-proof version of yourself.

1. Training: Work Smarter, Not Just Harder

Training isn’t just about grinding—it’s about smart grinding. You need a plan, not just random workouts, and it should be built around sequence, selection, and dosage.

  • Sequence = The Order Matters
    Think of your workout like a TikTok trend: get the order wrong, and it flops. Warm-ups, workouts, and cool-downs need to flow logically. Even small tweaks in your sequence can make a big difference in preventing injuries.
  • Selection = Pick the Right Moves
    Forget those “sport-specific” gimmicks. It’s not just about doing exercises that look cool or mimic sprinting—it’s about choosing movements that work for you. The angle, intensity, and how you do them matter more than the exercise itself.
  • Dosage = The Right Amount at the Right Time
    Overtraining? Recipe for burnout. Undertraining? You won’t improve. Your sets, reps, and intensity need to align with your goals and competition schedule. The goal is to peak when it counts.

2. Recovery: Don’t Skip It

You can’t out-train a bad recovery game. Training breaks your body down; recovery builds it back up stronger. If you’re not prioritizing recovery, you’re setting yourself up for failure.

Here’s what elite recovery looks like:

  • Sleep: Your ultimate performance hack. Aim for 7-9 hours of solid sleep.
  • Hydration & Nutrition: Fuel up right—more on that in a minute.
  • Massage & Light Movement: A weekly or biweekly massage can keep your muscles and tendons healthy, while light movement improves circulation and keeps soreness in check.
  • Active Rest: Rest doesn’t mean sitting on the couch all day. Easy, light movement (like yoga or stretching) helps your body bounce back faster.

3. Nutrition: Eat Like You Mean It

You can’t perform on an empty tank, and you definitely can’t build muscle with bad nutrition. What you eat fuels everything—your energy, recovery, and even your hormones.

Here’s the cheat sheet:

  • Protein: Aim for 1.2-1.7 grams of protein per pound of body weight every day.
  • Carbs: Don’t fear the carbs—they’re your main energy source.
  • Fats: Essential for hormone production (think testosterone, growth hormone, etc.).

Want the perfect plan? Work with a registered dietitian (RDN) who can create a customized strategy. At Athlete Ready, we’ve got an RDN who helps athletes crush their goals while staying healthy and enjoying life!

The Bottom Line: Run Smart, Stay Healthy

Injuries set us back and are not just physical but mental. Most of them are preventable if you put in the work. By focusing on Training, Recovery, and Nutrition, you’re setting yourself up for success—not just for one season, but for the long haul.

If you want to compete at your best, you’ve got to take care of your body. Put in the effort, run smart, and stay healthy. Your future self (and your medals) will thank you.

Coach Rob of Athlete Ready giving a fitness class instructions.

The Seasons of an Athlete: A Year-Round Blueprint for Success

For high school athletes looking to take their game to the next level, understanding the “seasons” of training and competition is a game-changer. Just like nature’s cycles, your athletic year has four main phases: Off-Season, Preseason, In-Season, and Post-Season. Each one requires a unique mix of intensity, recovery, and focus to help you keep improving, avoid burnout, and perform when it matters most.

The Four Seasons of Training

Think of your training year as having four main parts: Off-Season, Preseason, In-Season, and Post-Season. You need to adapt your workouts and recovery strategies to match the phase you’re in. Each season builds on the last, helping you move closer to your goals.

In this blog, I’m going to break down how to approach your athletic year using a progressive system I use with my athletes. This plan focuses on five phases: Base, Build, Perform, Peaking, and Deload. Breaking your training into these steps will help you zero in on the right goals for each season and level up your performance.

The Base Phase

The Base phase is all about improving your weaknesses and learning how to move better. The workouts are low-intensity but high-volume, meaning you’re doing a lot without pushing yourself to exhaustion. This is when you’ll focus on building your aerobic energy system (basically your endurance) and improving your intentional movement for better control when playing. If you lay down a solid foundation here, you’ll set yourself up for success in the next phase.

The Build Phase

This is the phase where things start getting intense. The goal of the Build phase is to make you as strong as possible and help you produce max force with your body. After improving on weaknesses and control in the Base phase, you’re ready to hit heavy weights and controlled movements. You’ll push yourself hard here—lifting heavier and really challenging your body to grow stronger.

The Perform Phase

Now it’s time to get FAST! The Perform phase is all about explosive movements and speed. This is where you train to move fast and powerfully. Olympic lifting is one example of how athletes train during this phase, but it’s not the only way. The main idea is to focus on explosive, fast-twitch movements that translate to athletic performance. This phase is all about preparing for game day and showing off what you’ve built.

The Peaking Phase

The Peaking phase is where everything comes together, timed perfectly for when you need to be at your absolute best. For most sports, this means playoffs or championships. For track and field athletes, you might have to peak multiple times during the season. This phase is all about fine-tuning and performing at your top level when it counts.

The Deload Phase

The Deload phase comes after you’ve gone through a full training cycle. This is your chance to rest, recover, and keep your previous gains fresh. Intensity drops way down, and your workouts focus on maintaining your shape rather than pushing yourself. It’s like hitting the reset button so you’re ready to start the next cycle stronger than ever.

Start with Why: The Off-Season

The Off-Season is where everything begins. With the season behind you, now’s the time to look back and figure out what went well and what needs work. Did you struggle with anything specific? What do you need to improve? This phase is about fixing weaknesses, recovering from injuries, and preparing your body for what’s next.

During the Off-Season, you’ll focus on building strength, speed, and endurance. At the same time, you should work on mobility and conditioning to improve how your body moves. Think of this phase as laying the groundwork. The stronger your base, the more you can handle later.

Keep the End in Mind: Preseason

Preseason is where all the work from the Off-Season starts turning into results. The focus shifts to sharpening your skills and getting both physically and mentally ready for competition. Ask yourself what’s most important for your sport. What skills or strengths will help you stand out? What’s going to make you a key player on your team or catch a scout’s attention?

If your Off-Season training was solid, you’ll feel confident heading into preseason. During this time, your training will ramp up, progressing through the Base, Build, and Perform phases to get you into peak form right when the season begins.

Time to Compete: In-Season

The In-Season is where all your preparation pays off. With practices, games, and travel, the challenge is keeping your performance high while avoiding burnout and injuries. The trick is balancing hard days (like games and intense practices) with recovery days (focusing on rest, mobility, and flexibility). A lot of athletes skip out on recovery, but trust me, it’s a game-changer.

To stay sharp during the season, you’ll need to maintain your fitness and strength without overtraining. Sleep, good nutrition, and recovery work are just as important as your workouts. The more you take care of your body, the better you’ll perform when it counts.

The Marathon Continues: Post-Season

For a lot of high school athletes, the Post-Season means jumping into AAU, club teams, or other high-level competition. Now, it’s about showing what you’ve got against top talent. You’ll still need to balance intense games with recovery to keep performing at a high level.

This is also the time to fine-tune your skills. Whether it’s technique, endurance, or mindset, focusing on small improvements can make you stand out to scouts and coaches. Even if you’re ranked high, don’t get complacent—this is your time to shine.

Bringing It All Together

When you align your training with the seasons of the year—using Base, Build, Perform, Peaking, and Deload phases—you can stay ahead of the game. The Off-Season sets the stage for growth, Preseason builds momentum, the In-Season is where you show what you’ve got, and the Post-Season helps you level up even more.

If you stay focused and consistent, you’ll not only become a better athlete but also increase your chances of catching the attention of college coaches and recruiters. Stick to the plan, keep pushing forward, and make every season count—your future in sports depends on it!