As far as determining it, you can’t use efforts that are too short: you would be able to run 1 mile far faster than any pace yo could hold for 20 minutes or an hour and it would grossly overestimate the proper pace. The absolute best way to determine that pace would be in an hour time trial but outside of a race, most wouldn’t be able to do that. So a 20 minute steady state run at the highest possible pace that can be held over the duration would be the next best approach.

I’d highly recommend Jack Daniels Running Formula for more information on running.

First of all, I’d like to thank you for this series of articles because it’s been a great starting point for me to begin my project of improving my running. With that said, I’d like to ask a question about threshold training… If my threshold runs should be done at that speed which I could maintain for an hour, then surely, after only 20 minutes of running at this speed I should not be that tired? I don’t understand how it can be possible for these runs/bike rides to be so grueling if that pace is actually maintainable for an hour. It jumps to my mind that perhaps my idea of a max effort 1hr run is wrong and that this run should be done with heart rate monitoring and a researcher screaming at you to truly give your maximum effort. In any case, could you give us what you think is your best way to estimate the threshold running speed, perhaps based on a max effort single mile run?

Thanks

I’ve primarily done threshold workouts on a bike and the fatigue there tends to be more local (legs) and makes them gruesome.

When I have done threshold workouts running, they are not nearly as difficult since the stress seems to be more local, spread across more muscle groups.

Extreme: I’ll try to get to that a bit on Friday but, in general, you need at least some type of base training (IMO) before jumping into the harder stuff. This is especially true with running due to the pounding. As I noted in Part 3, beginners get adaptations from easy stuff anyway. I see no point in working yourself to death if you can get the same benefits doing less or easier (this is true in the weight room as well, beginners get gains at 60% of max and heavier doesn’t change that. So always start lighter rather than heavier).

Bolidizar: I’m not sure what you’re asking about specificity though but the statement before that is generally true: within some range, you can get essentially the same type of aerobic engine adaptations by either doing tons of low intensity work, moderate amounts of moderate intensity work or smaller amounts of higher intensity volume. Which is sort of the point I’ve been trying to make. And which I’ll try to sum up on Friday.

And I recommend that MMA fighters buy Joel Jamieson’s book from 8weeksout.com since he has infintely more experience with MMA than I do. Contrary to what the internet brain trust prattles on about, used properly, steady state won’t make your muscles fall off (reread Part 1 where I talked a bit about endurance athletes vs. athletes who need endurance). Certainly not if you maintain other work (such as weight training).

Your series on this, combined with the fact that I keep gassing out sometime in the middle of my third five-minute round, have convinced me to shed my long-standing bias against steady-state cardio. One way of reading the series, however, is that any intensity range will work if the duration is adjusted inversely. Does specificity really play such a minimal role in endurance?

Selfishly (though I assume many of your readers are in a similar situation), I’d love to know what you recommend for MMA/BJJ fighters, especially for someone who is naturally very muscular (and so burns oxygen faster), doesn’t want to lose the muscle, but does want to last five rounds of five minutes without gassing.

Thank you for sharing your knowledge!

Recommendations for the intensity of threshold workouts using heart rate?

PJ Striet