EVIDENCE-BASED PRACTICAL ADVICE FOR ENDURANCE ATHLETES
How much endurance training should you be doing, how hard and for how long? This section addresses the fundamentals of endurance training, and gives advice based on the latest science and best practice.
in Base endurance training, Endurance training, Other, Techniques
Although it might not be something you’ve given a lot of thought to, it turns out that optimising stride length is quite a hot topic among many runners, and quite a few running coaches too. The theory is that by consciously adjusting stride length, runners can become more efficient at running, needing less oxygen to... MORE
in Base endurance training, Endurance training, High intensity training, Training structure and planning
Rick Lovett explains how science can improve your threshold training Tempo runs have long been a staple of endurance training. As far back as the 1960s, Nike co-founder Bill Bowerman got his University of Oregon distance runners to do 3-mile ‘up-tempo’ runs on the track during the fall and winter off-season, recalls Bob Williams, who... MORE
Andrew Hamilton looks at why muscular efficiency matters for endurance athletes and provides practical tips to boost your own efficiency MORE
Vo2max Defined: For years V02max has been referred to as a gold standard of aerobic fitness. It is simply a physiological index that can be measured while you are exercising. The problem is that expensive equipment is needed to make the actual measurements, so the test is inaccessible to the public at large. During the... MORE
The concepts of VO2 kinetics and the O2 deficit Article at a glance: The concepts of VO2 kinetics and the O2 deficit are introduced; The importance of VO2 kinetics to exercise performance is explained; New research on interventions that influence VO2 kinetics is presented; Practical recommendations for enhancing VO2 kinetics and exercise performance are provided.... MORE
Oxygen kinetics – start smart for a mean finish! The way your body transports and uses oxygen during the initial stages of vigorous exercise might not sound very exciting, but new research suggests that understanding this process and adjusting your pre-race preparation accordingly can result in truly remarkable performance gains. Professor Andy Jones explains Endurance... MORE
To find out which level of intensity is right for you, first work out your intensity ‘domains’ If you are serious about training at the right intensity, or find that the sessions set for you are too easy or too difficult, then perhaps you aren’t ‘normalising’ your intensity correctly. When training programmes for endurance athletes... MORE
Why long, slow training runs may be best after all For some time now, experts have been downgrading the value of long slow workouts for endurance runners in favour of briefer bouts of high intensity exercise. But now a Spanish study, which followed eight well-trained sub-elite endurance runners during the six-month lead-up to their national... MORE
Everything you need to know about running technique Some things about running are pretty obvious. By now, nearly everyone knows that running 1200- and 1600-metre intervals at 95% VO2max (5K speed) is a good way to improve maximal aerobic capacity. Almost all runners know that completing two-mile intervals at 10K velocity is great for lactate-threshold... MORE
The quickest way to get your fitness back after a lay-off is to find a three-minute hill! Let’s say that things are going really well with your training. You’re steadily getting fitter and racing faster as you get ready for that big race in a couple of months. But then – disaster strikes! Your Achilles... MORE
