Methods of Endurance Training Part 5: Interval Training Part 2

On Tuesday in Methods of Endurance Training: Interval Training Part 1, I defined some basic concepts regarding interval training regarding loading parameters that typically go into deciding a given interval workout. Today I want to look at some specific types of interval training but, since I’m overly wordy as usual, will save the series wrap-up for Tuesday of next week.

Methods of Endurance Training Part 5: Interval Training Part 1

Having looked at threshold training in Methods of Endurance Training Part 4: Threshold Training, I want to wrap things up by looking at interval training, since this represents the final major method by which endurance athletes (or athletes who need some form of endurance) typically train.

Methods of Endurance Training Part 4: Threshold Training

In that piece, I mentioned that sweet spot training (as conceptualized by exercise physiologist Andrew Coggan) is sort of the point where training stress per unit time peaks along with the duration of sustainability. That is, it’s an intensity that generates a lot of training stress per unit time but which can be sustained long enough to generate a strong training effect. Above that intensity and duration is severely limited, below that and you don’t get the same stress per unit time. It seems to lie for most between tempo training (aka intensive endurance training) and the intensity that would be used for the next method I want to discuss.

Methods of Endurance Training Part 3: Tempo and Sweet Spot Training

On Tuesday, in Methods of Endurance Training Part 2: Miles Build Champions, I discussed what is probably the most traditional and common of endurance development methods, to whit ‘pissing around’ at fairly low intensities for just massive durations (along with a high frequency). Before moving onto the next set of methods including both intensive endurance and sweet spot training, I want to address a few other topics of relevance to that method.

Methods of Endurance Training Part 2: Miles Build Champions

Today I want to continue by looking at some general concepts of endurance training methods focusing on the most commonly used method which is the Miles Build Champions approach to endurance development. I’ll look at other methods in Part 3 (and possibly beyond depending on how wordy I get) on Friday.

Methods of Endurance Training Part 1

Today I want to mainly make some introductory comments, looking briefly at some of the major adaptations that occur in response to endurance training. Also, since it gives some important background to understanding why different methods of endurance training work, I’m going to have to bore people with a bit of molecular physiology regarding something called AMPk.

2 on/2 off Training Frequency for Mass Gains

Perhaps the biggest thing that the above depends on is life. Like it or not, most people’s real-life schedules are constrained by a rather standard 7 day work week. We have Monday through Friday which are the typical work days followed by the weekend. And this tends to have massive implications for how training weeks can be set up. Note that ‘can’ and ’should’ are not synonymous here.

A Primer on Nutrition Part 2

On Monday, in A Primer on Nutrition Part 1, I discussed essential vs. inessential (aka indispensable vs. dispensable) nutrients along with the basics of both protein and carbohydrates. Today I want to finish taking a look at the basics of nutrition by looking at fat/cholesterol and then wrapping up ‘everything else’ including alcohol, vitamins/minerals and fiber (somewhat separate from vegetables).

A Primer on Nutrition Part 1

In many articles on the site, I go into a rather great deal of detail on various aspects of human nutrition and the various nutrients that comprise it. However, I find that it’s often exceedingly useful to go back to basics and discuss the fundamentals (this applies to all topics, not just nutrition). Where appropriate, I’ll point readers to other articles on the site(or my books) which discuss a given topic in more detail than I want to cover here.

Dissecting the Energy Needs of the Body – Research Review

More specifically I want to look at some of the common claims that are often thrown around in the world of body composition such as “Adding muscle mass significantly raises metabolic rate.” and “Fat cells burn no calories, they are metabolically inert.” While this paper was examining the issue from a different perspective, it actually provides good data on both questions.

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