Foreword
Interval workouts is a training method that solicits a lot the heart, before you try, it is very strongly recommended to talk to your doctor and maybe schedule a visit to a cardiologist. Especially if you are over 40 years old.
Whether to lose weight, increase your capacities or improve your running capabilities, inverval training is indicated, but it's challenging and generates oxidative stress, to counter free radicals and discomfort that can create ischemia and reperfusion (digestive pain, diarrhea), it is essential to adapt your nutrition.
Headaches can happen sometimes during intense training and especially when it's hot and sunny within hours of the end of the session.
30/30
The 30/30 interval workouts is considered as short interval workouts. You can start with 2 sets of 6 repetitions of 30/30. You will run 30 sec fast, beware it's not sprinting, you must be able to maintain the same pace from the first to the last repetition. During the recovery of 30 sec jog. You can recover 3 minutes between the 2 sets.
For a better improvement of your abilities, it is desirable to alternate short interval workouts with long interval workouts.
If you do one interval workouts a week, shift from short to long each week.
If you do 2 interval workouts a week, make a short session and a long one in the week.
It is very important on trying efforts like the short interval workouts that the body is well prepared to endure the shocks associated with fast strides. Remember that kinetic energy is proportional to the square of the speed. In order for the body to withstand repeated shocks do some core workouts and drills.
| Step | Description | What to do | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Warm up | For warm up, jog for at least 15 min, or 20/25 min if it's very cold. The goal is to prepare the muscles to the efforts that will follow avoiding tears. | |
| 2 | Stretching / Drills | Depending on your habits, you can do some stretching or better, if you have extra time, do drills. | |
| 3 | 30 sec | 30 sec at fast speed. | |
| Repeat 5 times | 4 | 30 sec | 30 sec resting while jogging. |
| 5 | 30 sec | 30 sec at fast speed. | |
| 6 | rest 3 min | ||
| 7 | 30 sec | 30 sec at fast speed. | |
| Repeat 5 times | 8 | 30 sec | 30 sec resting while jogging. |
| 9 | 30 sec | 30 sec at fast speed. | |
| 10 | Cool down | Cool down is a slow jogging, of approximately 10 min, which allows the heart to calm down and recover gradually a normal pulsation rythm. If you do the workouts on an athletic track, run in the opposite direction for calm down. |
Specials
With the 30/30, there is no longer chronometric goals which exist while doing 200m workouts or 400m workouts, it's "just" necessary try to maintain a good pace from the first fraction to the last. The advantage of 30/30 workout is that you don't need to be on a track.
On the contrary, escape on your favorite trails, and it will be even better if you run on a hilly trail.
If you are a trail runner, split work such as fartleck or hill workout will also be appropriate.
Schedule example
With the schedule below, you will find an example to follow the principle of progressiveness.
| Week | Workout | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | 2 x 6 x 30/30 | |
| Week 2 | 2 x 7 x 30/30 | |
| Week 3 | 2 x 8 x 30/30 | |
| Week 4 | 12 x 30/30 | week lightened even if the long recovery between the sets has disappeared. |
| Week 5 | 2 x 8 x 30/30 | |
| Week 6 | 2 x 9 x 30/30 | |
| Week 7 | 2 x 10 x 30/30 | |
| Week 8 | 14 x 30/30 | week lightened |