The perfect training schedule - intensity

Training frequency and duration are easy to quantify when it comes to describing a training schedule. It’s gets quite fuzzy when we start talking about intensity.

That’s because training intensity is the most potent of those three. If it’s dialed up too much, the athlete will, eventually, get injured and can only wait and watch their competition compete. If there isn’t enough intensity, the athlete will never be able to catch up to the front of the pack.

Let’s have a closer look at intensity and how it can be used to the athlete’s advantage.

Intensity

Intensity refers to the level of effort someone exerts during exercise. Endurance athletes, usually, combine long low-intensity trainings sessions and short high-intensity.

The key is to keep a balance between these training sessions to stimulated and improve different energy systems.

Aerobic capacity

During any kind of exercise our body uses carbohydrates as the main source of fuel. By breaking down those carbohydrates, lactic acid is released which in turn is used in creating lactate in our body. The higher the bodies capacity to clear this accumulated lactate the longer the athlete can sustain the activity.

To improve aerobic capacity athletes should opt for low to medium intensity workouts that are on the longer side (up to 3 hours for runners and up to 6 hours for cyclists). Another, very effective method is high intensity training which pushes the body into the anaerobic spectrum but during the longer recovery portions of the training, the athlete’s body will resolve to replace fuel using aerobic processes and thus improve their ability and aerobic capacity.

Anaerobic capacity

Once the athlete’s body no longer can clear the accumulated lactate, fatigue will kick in an the athlete will experience a crash in their performance.

This is where being able to resist fatigue at very high effort levels. Athletes that have a great anaerobic capacity perform well in short-distance events or head-to-head competition where surges in energy expenditure are frequent.

The longer an event the athlete is participating is, the less of an importance anaerobic capacity has. It is, although, still beneficial to work on it to enable the athlete to be ready for any change in circumstances during a race.

In order to improve anaerobic capacities in an athlete it is recommended to start with high intensity efforts ranging from 2 to 6 minutes. Recovery intervals should be at least equal to the work portion of the interval.

As the season progresses, the intensity is increased while the duration should be around 30 seconds to 2 minutes and the recovery period should be 2 to 3 times the work period to allow for maximum lactate clearance before the next interval.

Too much too soon

Anaerobic workouts are hard on the body and should only be practiced with athletes who have at least 2 years of training. If done too soon and without adequate rest between those sessions athletes risk overtraining and burnout.

Measuring intensity

Intensity can be measured in different ways. The most simple form is Rating of Perceived Exertion (RPE). This is a subjective measure that allows athletes to gauge their effort levels based on how hard they feel they are working.

A better way of measuring intensity is by wearing a heartrate monitor. After performing a performance assessment, heart rate zones are defined for the individual athlete and each interval simply targets the athlete’s heart rate in a specified range. The drawback of this approach is that heartrate can lag behind the actual effort. It takes a little for the body to respond to an increase in intensity as well as slow down again when an athlete goes easier. That’s why it’s much better to user RPE for shorter intervals rather than heartrate.

The most precise way to measure intensity is by measuring power output or pace. Technology now can provide precise data on the athletes power output or current pace so it’s an effective tool to use in order to make sure they are training at the correct level.

Understanding and effectively managing training intensity is at the heart of endurance sports. Incorporating a mix of low and high-intensity workouts and using different ways of measuring that intensity, athletes can tailor their training program to meet specific goals while at the same time avoid overtraining and injury.