EVIDENCE-BASED PRACTICAL ADVICE FOR ENDURANCE ATHLETES
Success in endurance sports such as running, cycling and triathlon requires the ability to sustain a fast pace, which means some high-intensity training. In this section, you’ll find information on the underlying principles involved, and how to integrate high-intensity work into your base endurance programme.
in High intensity training, Strength, conditioning and flexibility
Once upon a time, resistance training for endurance athletes was considered a complete no-no. After all, why waste time down the gym developing ‘bulky’ muscles when you could be out and about endurance training? But over the last 25 years, there’s been a revolution in this outdated mode of thinking. That’s because numerous scientific studies... MORE
in High intensity training, Strength, conditioning and flexibility
Andrew Hamilton presents some of the latest findings from the world of sport performance science 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
For hundreds of thousands of years, humans have evolved to be either as strong or as tireless as possible, but not both. As Keith Baar explains, however, recent science has provided clues as to how to legally move past the obstacles that evolution put in the way of developing both strength and endurance Traditionally, the... MORE
in High intensity training, Recovery nutrition, Recovery strategies, Strength, conditioning and flexibility
Nick Tiller presents six evidence-driven but seldom practised methods by which athletes can promote the anabolic process to maximise training adaptation, promote recovery and improve athletic performance. Anabolism is considered to be any state in which nitrogen is retained in lean body mass, and can occur via the stimulation of protein synthesis in the muscle... MORE
in High intensity training, Masters
As John Shepherd explains, the bad news is that speed declines with age; the good news is that you can arrest, even reverse, this degenerative process Of all the physiological variables, speed seems to get written off most quickly as we age. Football pundits make jokes about outfield players being ‘a few yards slower’ and... MORE
Intervals benefit performance at all levels of sport Article at a glance Looks at the evidence for the efficacy of high-intensity exercise Explores the correlation between coronary heart disease and little exercise Examines how exercise can improve the symptoms of type-2 diabetes Interval training has traditionally been regarded as the preserve of elite athletes seeking... MORE
If you want to lose weight, should you sizzle or saunter during your workouts? Sizzling – exercising at a high intensity – is an attractive idea, since it chews up calories at at lofty rates. On the other hand, sauntering – training at a low intensity – doesn’t seem so bad, either, since it permits... MORE
Should the serious athlete give up high-intensity exercise? The serious athlete could be forgiven for thinking that he or she is training too hard, given the universal endorsement of moderate activity and the much publicised deaths of Jim Fixx, Marc-Vivien Foe, Reggie Lewis and other famous athletes (possibly linked to overtraining). Gary O’Donovan reviews the latest... MORE
Traditional high-volume model of training will NOT optimise performance It is probably fair to say that most swimmers and swim coaches see the number of hours spent in the pool as the main ingredient of swimming success and distances of 6-10k per day are not uncommon in élite swimming circles. Is this really the key... MORE
