By: Martin (Trainer and Advisor RunX Groningen).
During the training sessions that we offer at Loopplezier, we regularly receive questions about the different zones. And we hear that the lowest zone(s) are the most difficult for runners to run in.
We see that most runners are not used to running at a low intensity/heart rate, because they often run too fast. Maybe you know (or are) that runner; every training session that person tries to run their running lap a little faster. Often that lap is not much slower than e.g. a 4 mile race. There are a number of reasons why that is better at a lower intensity.
Aerobic Workouts
You could simply divide the different types of training into 2 categories; aerobic and anaerobic. Aerobic means with oxygen and anaerobic without oxygen. With aerobic exercise, the intensity is low enough that the body can absorb enough oxygen to meet the demand for oxygen. With anaerobic exercise, however, this is not the case. Then the intensity is so high that the body can no longer absorb enough oxygen to meet the demand. In short, the result is that you then start to 'acidify' and you cannot sustain the effort for long.
In this blog we focus mainly on aerobic training. Before we look at the different training forms, it is also wise to look at the type of effort you have to make for the activity in question. For example, if we look at the marathon, a runner will usually make an effort between 2 and 6 hours, depending on his level. This effort is therefore almost completely aerobic. This means that the training must also match this. You will have to train a large part of your training work aerobically, between 70-80% for the 5 and 10 km up to 95% for the marathon.
Extensive Endurance Training
Now, let's move on to the different training forms. We start with extensive endurance training. These are workouts at a low to moderate intensity. This is an effort that you must be able to sustain for hours on end. During this effort, the energy comes from fats and, to a lesser extent, carbohydrates. If we translate that into heart rate zones, you can categorize Zone 1 and Zone 2 under this.
The advantage of extensive endurance training is that the recovery time is shorter (approx. 12-24 hours) than with other forms of training. You also have a lower load on the body at a lower speed, but more about that later.
The effect of extensive endurance training is improved blood flow to the muscles (known as capillarization) . The capillaries multiply and dilate. The thickness of the heart wall also increases, resulting in a larger stroke volume and allowing more blood to be pumped around per heartbeat. As a result, you can ultimately run faster while your heart rate remains constant. Adaptability to heat also improves through extensive endurance training.
Intensive Endurance Training
During intensive endurance training we can still absorb sufficient oxygen, but the intensity is higher. This is an effort that you should be able to sustain for about an hour. The energy comes from glycogen (read sugars/carbohydrates). This supply is replenished and increased in the recovery phase, provided that the right nutrition is consumed. Furthermore, the effects of intensive endurance training are almost the same as extensive endurance training. However, recovery takes longer because the glycogen supply needs to be replenished after exercise. Count on about 24 to 48 hours of recovery after such a training.
You shouldn't really acidify, or only barely, during these workouts. This is often comparable to zone 3.
What you focus on grows!
What we often see with runners is that the higher training zones are better developed than the lower zones, simply because more training has been done at that intensity. That lap we talked about above is often in zones 3 and perhaps even more often in zone 4 (which is about 10km race pace). If you train at this intensity, recovery is much longer (48 to 72 hours).
If you decide to train those lower zones more, you will see that those zones will also improve and feel more comfortable. That may take some getting used to at first, because it can feel like you are doing nothing. But that is exactly the feeling you should have. Especially with extensive endurance training, the intensity is low to moderate. During these training sessions, you focus more on the duration of the training and the heart rate than on speed or distance. During these training sessions, you should still be able to talk easily and speak complete sentences. If you notice that you are gasping for breath while talking or that you are shortening your sentences, slow down your pace.
tax
As briefly mentioned above, running at a lower speed is less strenuous than running at a higher speed. In our 5D Looplab, we have placed four speeds side by side to illustrate the difference in load. We used 9 km/h and 12 km/h for the aerobic tempos and 16 km/h and 20 km/h for the anaerobic tempos, comparable to the higher heart rate zones. This is clearly visible in the image below.
Ready to see how Snowflake works?
Long(er) and slow walking has a shorter recovery, provides better blood circulation to the muscles and a stronger heartbeat. It is also less stressful for the body.
Have fun walking,
Martin
Trainer (certified level 4 AU) | Advisor RunX Groningen
Reference : Kloosterboer, Gemser, De Haan, Heising. Elementary training theory and training methods.
