By admin on March 8, 2010
I mentioned in my blog on Interval Training (15th Feb) that hills can be used as a ‘substitute’ for speed work. So how does it work? Well, it depends on the length and incline of the hills you have at your disposal.
A not-too-steep longish hill is great for a continuous effort – similar to a threshold run. You run up the hill at a swift pace, turn and run back down at the same effort level (no jog recoveries, thank you!) and go straight into the next repetition. You might do this for 5 minutes non-stop, before taking a short recovery and then repeating. I get my runners to begin with 4 x 5 minutes with 90 second recoveries. Remember, though, that it’s the effort level of a threshold run you are trying to replicate, not the pace, which will inevitably be slower than on the flat.
If there’s a steeper hill nearby – one which takes you somewhere between 60-120 seconds to get up – you could try substituting your above-threshold speed session with hill repeats. You’ll be working on cadence, adding power to your leg drive and enhancing aerobic capacity. This time you are driving up the hill with almost maximal effort and then jogging or walking back down to recover. Aim for 6-10 repetitions to begin with.
Always warm up thoroughly before you hit the hills and steer clear of overly steep slopes – if the incline is such that your technique is compromised, you are reducing the crossover effect of the training.
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged hill training, marathon, running, training
By admin on March 4, 2010
I can still vividly recall the joyless occasion that was PE at school… four a side on the tennis courts, freezing on the hockey pitch with zero feedback or encouragement…being passed over in team selection – so I’m not surprised to read that researchers from the University of Alberta have found that negative early experiences of physical activity can put girls off for life. I was lucky – I discovered aerobics in the early 1990s (thank you, Jane Fonda!) which led me to fall in love with exercise as a late teenager/early adult and reap the many benefits of becoming active. But many other girls – having endured criticism, humiliation, excessive pressure, or even simply having been ignored in PE – spend their whole lives devoid of the pleasure of exercise. Don’t let this happen to your children, grandchildren, nieces or pupils – help girls enjoy positive experiences of physical activity (even if this means outside of school hours) and you’ll be setting them up for life.
Posted in News | Tagged physical activity guidelines, running, women's fitness
By admin on March 2, 2010
I had my first ever go at the Nintendo Wii console the other night. It was fun, I s’pose, although my suspicion that Wii isn’t the quick fix fitness regime it’s sometimes portrayed as was confirmed when my friend Ruth managed to score a number of strikes in ten-pin bowling without even leaving the sofa. It’s all in the wrist action, apparently.
I’m not the only one to be sceptical about the fitness payoffs of the Wii and other ‘exergames’. The American Council on Exercise got the University of Wisconsin La Crosse to take a closer look at the Wii Fit – recruiting 16 subjects to perform the six most aerobically challenging games available with it while they monitored their physiological responses and ‘rate of perceived exertion’ (self-rated effort level). The top heart rate achieved was just 60 per cent of maximum – equivalent to a slow-paced run and falling short of the government’s guidelines for recommended exercise intensity. The game ‘Free Step’ burned just 99 calories in half an hour – a third as much as an easy run and fewer, even, than a brisk walk. OK, so playing an active computer game is better than sitting still and doing nothing. But there are far, far greater rewards to be had by exercising in the real world…
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged exercise intensity, fitness, Wii fit
By admin on February 15, 2010
Judging from those I spoke to at the London Marathon training event, most of you budding marathoners are managing to fit in at least one ‘quality’ session each week, in which you run faster than your proposed race pace. But what kind of faster training is the most beneficial for marathon running? If you are training 4 times a week or less, I advise sticking to just one quality session, coupled with a long run and 1-2 easy/steady sessions. If you are training 5-6 times a week, you could schedule in two such sessions, with a different focus for each.
For the once-a-weekers: aim to run a set of long intervals at your ‘threshold’ pace. This pace will equate to roughly your 10 mile race pace, or be 10-15 seconds per mile slower than your 10km race pace. ‘Controlled discomfort’ is the description to bear in mind! A good place to start with these sessions is 3-5 x 6-8 minutes with a 90-120 second recovery.
Aim to build up the duration of the effort rather than the pace as you get accustomed to these.
For the twice-a-weekers: Perform your threshold run, as above. For the second session, I recommend doing an above-threshold session in shorter intervals, lasting 2-5 minutes. This will teach your body to transport more oxygen to the muscles without the build-up of waste products which hamper muscular contraction and cause fatigue.
A good starting point is 8 x 2 minutes (90 second recovery) or 6 x 3 minutes (2 minute recovery) and your effort level is HARD! You are close to maximum capacity here…
NEVER do these two sessions on consecutive days. Have an easy or rest day between them – ideally, two. I’ll talk about how you can use hills to perform either of these two quality sessions for variety in a future post.
Posted in News | Tagged interval training, lactic acid, marathon, running, training
