January 29, 2019
Health & Wellbeing
By Ben Leach
Training advice delivered to you from Personal Trainer, Ben Leach
Much research has been done on the most affective training methods for improving speed be it on the bike, in the water or running. But still coming up trumps is near maximal interval training mixed with longer steady state training. Especially when time is constrained and we have other commitments in our life it simply in not possible to dedicate hours every day to training. This is where intervals can really help us prepare for longer events. A classic example from the French Sports scientist, Veronique Billat, is the 3 minute vV02 max (the minimal running velocity at which you achieve your maximal oxygen uptake) workout. Here are the key pointers:
- Firstly you need a good predictions of your vV02 max. This can be done by running as far as you can in 6 mins. Please remember to do this after a thorough 10-15 minute warmup. A track or treadmill is suitable.
- Now divided this distance in half.
- You now have a target distance for 3 mins.
- Try and complete 5 x 3 minute intervals to your target distance, with a 3 min recovery between (at a slow jog pace ideally).
- Cool down for 10 mins at the end and perform your stretches.
- Perform this workout x 1 per week for 6-8 weeks after your base training.
The total actual 'work time’ is only 15 minutes, but this is enough to provide a powerful stimulus for increasing your V02 max and your efficiency, both key parameters in performance.
Enjoy!
