Simple Things Everyone Should Do - Endurance
I know I was going to talk about mobility drills next in this series, but I decided that mobility drills are best understood through video, so that will have to wait for a bit. Trying to describe the spiderman crawl, leg-under bridge, revolving square etc. would just be tedious and confusing. :) So, on to endurance drills.
I'm not a gadget guy, but there is one cheap piece of equipment that has become indispensable over the years - My Everlast round timer.
There are other interval timers out there, gym-boss being the most prolific and sophisticated. I've also heard you can get free interval apps for your smart phone, too. I may try that soon, but my timer has been with me for about a eight years now, and it just feels right.
Low Intensity Intervals
Many articles talk about the benefit of sprints or high intensity intervals, and that is fine for competitive athletes. They do indeed work well, but not everyone is ready for those. The difference between high intensity intervals and low intensity intervals is your recovery. LII allows you to fully recover during the down periods, which enables you to put in quality work during every up period.
I run 5Ks every now and then just to have a reason to run, otherwise I tend to avoid it, but <30 minutes of jogging isn't the most fun or even challenging thing for me. For a lot of people, the repetitive impact of a 5K or longer is more than they are able to handle.
That's why my favorite way to get endurance work in with low intensity intervals. Let's assume you haven't run in years, maybe even decades. Walking is probably your best bet for of endurance training, but how do you make it more entertaining, and just a bit more challenging?
Level 0
Set your round timer (or app) to 3 minute rounds and 30 second rest, and a total of 8 rounds. The thing is, we're going to invert it. When the round starts, walk for 3 minutes. When you hear the bell, do something more challenging for 30 seconds. Pushups, jumping jacks, burpees, situps, a hard run - anything fast paced is fine. When the bell rings again, you are back to 3 minutes of walking. At the end of 8 rounds, you'll have walked for 24 minutes, and done high effort work for 4 minutes. Not bad for your first session. Stick with 8 rounds of 3 min / 30 sec till it feels easy. That may be days, weeks or months, depending on your level of fitness.
Level 1
You're next progression will be 8 rounds of 2 min / 30 sec. If your knees, shins, and feet are up for it, stick with 30 seconds of hard running. This session is only 20 minutes, but the work / rest ratio makes it harder. Gradually build up to 12 rounds (30 minutes total)
Level 2
Next level of difficulty is 3 min walk / 1 min run or other high effort movement. Start with 8 rounds, and stay there until your speed is high quality and consistent for all 8 rounds. If you find your 1 minute pace slows down in later rounds, there is no need to add more rounds. Just stick with it until you are just about as fast in round 8 as in round 2 (side note: treat round 1 as a warm-up).
Level 3
2 minute walk, 1 minute run. This is where I'm at most times of the year. I normally do 10 rounds and see how much distance I can cover. I like to keep the walking pace brisk, but not a jog. Once you are jogging, this become High Intensity Intervals. Keep in mind speed and quality are the focus for your 1 minute effort.
Level 4
I save this format for when I'm getting ready for a 5K. Now we'll finally switch the work / rest periods back to normal. 2 minutes full effort run (or body-weight drill), 1 minute recovery walk. By the time I'm at this level, I see how few rounds it takes to finish my 5K loop. I try and get the distance covered in progressively less time.
If you get to Level 4, you should consider progressing to High Intensity Intervals, Sprinting, or distance running, depending on your goals. I hope you find this method as useful as I do.
I'm not a gadget guy, but there is one cheap piece of equipment that has become indispensable over the years - My Everlast round timer.There are other interval timers out there, gym-boss being the most prolific and sophisticated. I've also heard you can get free interval apps for your smart phone, too. I may try that soon, but my timer has been with me for about a eight years now, and it just feels right.
Low Intensity Intervals
Many articles talk about the benefit of sprints or high intensity intervals, and that is fine for competitive athletes. They do indeed work well, but not everyone is ready for those. The difference between high intensity intervals and low intensity intervals is your recovery. LII allows you to fully recover during the down periods, which enables you to put in quality work during every up period.
I run 5Ks every now and then just to have a reason to run, otherwise I tend to avoid it, but <30 minutes of jogging isn't the most fun or even challenging thing for me. For a lot of people, the repetitive impact of a 5K or longer is more than they are able to handle.
That's why my favorite way to get endurance work in with low intensity intervals. Let's assume you haven't run in years, maybe even decades. Walking is probably your best bet for of endurance training, but how do you make it more entertaining, and just a bit more challenging?
Level 0
Set your round timer (or app) to 3 minute rounds and 30 second rest, and a total of 8 rounds. The thing is, we're going to invert it. When the round starts, walk for 3 minutes. When you hear the bell, do something more challenging for 30 seconds. Pushups, jumping jacks, burpees, situps, a hard run - anything fast paced is fine. When the bell rings again, you are back to 3 minutes of walking. At the end of 8 rounds, you'll have walked for 24 minutes, and done high effort work for 4 minutes. Not bad for your first session. Stick with 8 rounds of 3 min / 30 sec till it feels easy. That may be days, weeks or months, depending on your level of fitness.
Level 1
You're next progression will be 8 rounds of 2 min / 30 sec. If your knees, shins, and feet are up for it, stick with 30 seconds of hard running. This session is only 20 minutes, but the work / rest ratio makes it harder. Gradually build up to 12 rounds (30 minutes total)
Level 2
Next level of difficulty is 3 min walk / 1 min run or other high effort movement. Start with 8 rounds, and stay there until your speed is high quality and consistent for all 8 rounds. If you find your 1 minute pace slows down in later rounds, there is no need to add more rounds. Just stick with it until you are just about as fast in round 8 as in round 2 (side note: treat round 1 as a warm-up).
Level 3
2 minute walk, 1 minute run. This is where I'm at most times of the year. I normally do 10 rounds and see how much distance I can cover. I like to keep the walking pace brisk, but not a jog. Once you are jogging, this become High Intensity Intervals. Keep in mind speed and quality are the focus for your 1 minute effort.
Level 4
I save this format for when I'm getting ready for a 5K. Now we'll finally switch the work / rest periods back to normal. 2 minutes full effort run (or body-weight drill), 1 minute recovery walk. By the time I'm at this level, I see how few rounds it takes to finish my 5K loop. I try and get the distance covered in progressively less time.
If you get to Level 4, you should consider progressing to High Intensity Intervals, Sprinting, or distance running, depending on your goals. I hope you find this method as useful as I do.
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