Will Kirousis | @willkirousis | 978*466*5151 | will@tri-hard.com | www.tri-hard.com

Long Slow Distance OR High Intensity: What’s Better?

(For your athlete)

Getting Started

• Discuss volume and intensity in the context of the training process overall.

• This starts out general…• Then we will look at issues which

lead to specific variations/adjustments in how YOU could apply volume and intensity within an athletes training program.

• Finish up by touching on a few “Second Level” strategies that can help your advanced athletes perform best.

“What is a training program?”

Planning of progressive workout stress & recovery, leading to predictable improvements in performance

Goal of Training:• Going faster, with more

endurance, and more enjoyment!

For best results: Set up training to facilitate recovery,

not just to maximize work accomplished.

The Variables Constituting a Training ProgramVolume Intensity Frequency Load

Total accumulated training via duration or distance

How much work (velocity/power/HR) you accomplish per unit time. Not effort, which is how you the accruing stress of a workout feels knowing what you have done, and still plan on accomplishing.

How many times you workout during a specific period of time.

The combination of volume and intensity.

Assessed via TRIMPS, sRPE, TSS

Builds aerobic enzymes, mitochondria density, capillary density, decreases (good) type I fiber diameter, increases IIa fiber aerobic ability, increases glycogen content of muscle, increases time to fatigue, increases VO2mx and “threshold”.

Same as volume, but also increases acid buffering ability, economy, aerobic ability of IIa/b fibers and fatigue resistance of IIa and b fibers.

Ties volume and intensity into a tangible plan.

Intermingles with both volume and intensity improving fatigue resistance and technical skill acquisition. Improves efficiency.

Text book:Only based on training stress.Real World:INCLUDES non training specific stress like PT, work stress, life stress, dietary stress, chriopractic adjustment, self massage, random activity (soccer with your kids) etc…

Clarifying IntensityLow Medium

(Med)High (HI)

Feels very comfortable unless done for a very long

time

Feels like your doing something and feels

fairly fatiguing.

Feels very powerful and sharp, longer

(30”+) efforts produce a lot of

fatigue fast!

@ or below the “Aerobic” Threshold

or roughly below 75% of

MLSS/FTP/OBLA

Between aerobic and

lactate/anaerobic thresholds (if

measured in a lab)

MLSS/FTP/OBLA up to max (maximum

total work capacity).

Long workouts, moderate intensity workouts, steady , comfortable all day

long workouts.

Tempo workouts, long intervals, race

intensity work.

Short time trials, parts of races. Shorter interval

workouts, “VO2max” training,

“Anaerobic” training.

High Intensity TrainingHigh Energy Muscle Action

High Volume Low intensity Training

Repeated Contractions

AMPK CaMKPGC-1α

Increased aerobic ability in ST, FOG, FT muscle fiber, glycogen storage, mitochondria #’s, aerobic enzymes, fat oxidation rate,

Master Adaptation Switch

Adaptations triggered that improve endurance performance

Both volume and intensity trigger different adaptive switches to get the SAME result!

Stimulates Stimulates

Image Adapted From: Laursen, P. B., (2010). Training for intense exercise performance: high-intensity or high-volume training? Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports. 20(Supple. 2), 1-10. doi: 10.1111/j.1600-0838.2010.01184.x

“While the metabolic adaptations that occur with high-volume training and high-intensity training show considerable overlap, the molecular events that signal for these adaptations may be different.” (Laursen, 2010).

If Intensity and volume do the same thing… then what’s the difference?

The amplitude and angle of the adaptations caused by each approach!

• High intensity training – Increases the rate of energy production an athlete can accomplish.– Increases an athletes ability to handle the byproducts of fatigue.– Increases economy and work capacity, thus making lower intensities

less challenging mechanically and metabolically.

• Low intensity (volume based) training– Reduces the build up of the byproducts of fatigue.– Increases overall recovery rate.– Increases the rate of energy produced from oxidative sources during

exercise.

NOTE: These adaptations overlap!

The Impact of Intensity and Volume on Training and Recovery

Factor Hi Intensity Volume (low intensity)

Recovery Time Needed

Hi Low-Moderate

Training Stimulus Hi Low-ModerateFrequency Needed Low-Moderate (3-6) High (5-9)Duration Needed Low-Moderate High

Summary: Training with low intensity requires a relatively high frequency and volume of work to work best. Training with high intensity requires a relatively low amount of high intensity training to work best.

You can not train @ high intensity as often as low intensity due to the recovery demands placed upon you by each.

The higher load an athlete executes, the more you fatigue, thus, the greater the stimulus for adaptation, and the greater the need for rest

Workout or RaceEZ - Z1

Workouts

MI—T - Z2 - Z3 - SS Workouts

40KTTR – HI – Z4 – FTP Workouts

VHI - SH I- Z5+ Workouts or Races

1 Day 2 Days 3 Days

Chart Modified From: J Olbrecht, The Science of Winning, 2007.

Building on the single workout model just reviewed… keep in mind that when…

Intensity up, volume down…Volume up, intensity down!

Lower Intensity Higher Intensity

Low

er V

olum

e

Hig

her V

olum

e

Training: distribution of intensity and volume

The fitter you get, the less duration of intensity is needed (% of total), but the higher it needs to be to

improve endurance performance.

LOW 50%

Med 25%

Hi 25%

LOW 55-60%

Med 20-25%

Hi 20%

LOW 75-80%

Med 10%

Hi 10-15%

New AthleteMid Level

AthleteAdvanced

Athlete

• Youtubeification of Sport (Ie, it plays well on youtube)

• Often the middle is believed to be high/very high intensity

• Provides instant gratification• Visible fatigue is glorified

Uh Oh… “We” like the middle – it feels like “we

are doing something”.

Aim for a “polarized” hard – easy pattern spread over the training period rather than doing monotonous

load.Avoid Chronic Load Syndrome

Hansen, D. “Identifying Opportunities for Optimal Recovery and Regeneration.” Presentation at the Boston Sports Medicine and Performance Groups Spring Session 2014, Boston, MA, May 15-16, 2014.

What’s the answer then? High or Low?

BOTH!

BLEND low, middle and high intensity training for best

performance!

Lets look at a few ways to create that blend…

• Who is the athlete, what have they done? Individualize.

• What’s that athletes stress budget and how do we progress/adapt?

• Create actual training structure for the athlete and implement workouts.

• Adjust and adapt to stay in that athletes ability to adapt – think adaptation, not recovery.

Since they work best in conjunction with each other, the question then becomes: volume or intensity…What’s best for your athlete NOW?

Your Athlete’s History?• Training history impacts performance

– Where you have been, provides insight on where you can go.– How long have you trained in your current sport?

• The longer you have done your sport, the harder gains will be, and the likely hood that you can do a greater total training load is higher.

• Provides clues to your injury resistance.

– How long have you trained consistently in a similar sport?• If you ran competitively in high school and college and after college prior to

cycling, you are more aerobically ready than a total newbie to endurance sports.

– Good health?– What sports have you done for significant periods in your life?

• High school, college, out of college? Soccer? Track? Cycling? Swimmer? Hoops? Football?

• Provides clues about your movement abilities, injury resistance, fiber type dominance, and injury history.

Is Your Athlete ST or FT dominant?

• What type is your athlete? – Take with a grain of salt!– Muscle Biopsy (OUCH!!! We are not going there…)– Create context by assessing an athletes past sport

tendencies/success/likes. “Were you first or last to the ball?”– Jan Olbrecht max lactate test.– Power profiling assessment - / \– Helps create individualized training: The fiber type you possess most will

impact how you respond to training, and the biases needed in your training for you to perform best.

– Athletes still need to progress to the race they target… but how its approached, the distribution of work, can change to improve recovery and adaptation.

Differences based on FT/ST estimation?Different energy production and recovery patterns

Fast Twitch Group Slow Twitch Group

More FT fibers = less able to use oxygen to fuel work. More ST fibers = more able to use oxygen to fuel work.

Uses more carbohydrate at any exercise intensity due to less efficient metabolism.

Uses less carbohydrate at any exercise intensity due to more efficient metabolism.

Quicker to accumulate acid during exercise as intensity climbs

Slower to accumulate acid during exercise as intensity climbs

Greater ability to accelerate rapidly. Not extremely good at accelerating rapidly.

Given lower aerobic potential, recovery rate is slower from all intensities of work.

Higher aerobic potential means that recovery rate is faster from all intensities of work.

Needs to do recovery and LSD workouts at lower intensities to minimize FT fiber recruitment

Can be a little more flexible in recovery and LSD workouts.

Extremely light rest intervals to facilitate “anaerobic” (ATP-PC / Glycolytic) system’s recharge

EZ (Z1) to MI (Z2) rest intervals can work given less reliant on ATP-PC / Glycolytic systems.

Have to work up the oxidative “aerobic” system given they are quick to generate lactate.

Typically less good at generating lactate, so a little frequent work which generates lactate is good.

Tends to maintain peak for shorter periods Can maintain peak form longer

ST/FT Training ImpactRecovery / Regeneration Workouts• Slow Twitcher– Slightly longer recovery workouts – Slightly faster (EZ to MI aka Z1-2) recovery workouts – During recovery blocks, max duration = .6*Previous

Long Workout Duration (PLWD)– Including a very small % (.15-.25*Previous Build

Week Time @ Intensity (PBWT@I)) is ok• Fast Twitcher– Shorter recovery workouts – Slightly slower (EZ aka Z1) recovery workouts– During recovery blocks, max duration = .4*PLWD– Including a very small % (.05-.15*PBWT@I) is ok.

ST/FT Training ImpactLong and/or Steady Workouts

• Slow Twitcher– Can include Z1-2 and even a bit of 3 (EZ, MI, T)– Can go as long as needed and the athlete will adapt to.– Can include tempo or other work and still recover well.– High oxidative ability allows lower stress and shorter

recovery window.• Fast Twitcher

– Can include Z1-2, better not to do much Z3 (EZ, MI primarily).

– Broken long workouts (AM/PM split ex) can work.– Tends to fatigue glycogen faster, thus to much and to long

blunts top end and makes a longer recovery window.

ST/FT Training Impact“Threshold” Workouts

• Slow Twitcher– Can handle and adapts great to “threshold” work due to a high

oxidative ability.– Does great with “classic” steady “threshold” training, just below,

at and above threshold. – Also does great with over-unders using Z3/T/SS as the “rest” part

of the over under.• Fast Twitcher

– Tends to be beat up by and does not adapt as well to “threshold” work due to lower oxidative and higher (naturally) glycolytic ability.

– Often better off with work like, micro intervals, or progressive “threshold” intervals, or over-under’s where the rest interval’s are at Z1/EZ.

ST/FT Training Impact“HIIT” Workouts

• Slow Twitcher– Needs very little HIIT. “A little goes a long way”– To much blunts oxidative fitness causing athlete to feel flat.– Likely best to include a small amount through the training

year. Could also cycle it in to alternating build blocks through the year.

– Do not need much to max out adaptations. • Fast Twitcher– Tends to need longer periods of time working on HIIT

frequently and can adapt well to that work.– They do need solid recovery between workouts – but can

handle more HIIT over the course of time..

How does the athlete recover?

• Your adaptation “profile” (slow / fast responder)– Slow recovery rate = less intensity is possible. Longer low

intensity training focus is likely best for you.– Fast recovery rate = more frequent intensity. Even if

training for very long races, doing frequent intensity bouts will be best for you. (not every day!)

– Based on questions about or observations of your past.– Based on recovery factors (HRV/RHR/ExHR etc)

NOTE: Changes over time (fitter = faster relative to you, increases in age and life stress slow recovery down relative to you)

What’s your stress budget?

• Financial analogy• Your life (stress load and logistics)– All the time in the world / low stress = higher volume and

intensity– Some time / moderate stress = moderate volume / greater

% of total time at high intensity– Minimal time / moderate stress = low volume / high % of

total time at high intensity.– High stress regardless of time = low volume / a high % of

time at high intensity, but minimal total amounts of training.

What are you training for (goal)?

• Specific race/event• Base training distribution on athlete

history, athlete health, stress budget, adaptive ability, and suspected fiber type.

• Now, train, observe and adjust…

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday

20 Rest

21 Ride 1hr EZ, mid ride 8’ @ HI X 3, 2’ EZ RI

22 Bike 2hrs EZ.

23 Ride 90’ EZ

24 Ride 30’ EZ, 2X30” SHI 3’ EZ RI, 1X8’ @ HI mid ride.

25 KSR

26 KSR

27 KSR

28 Ride 1hr EZ

29 Ride 1hr EZ

30 Ride 1hr EZ. Mid ride do, 8’ HI, 2’ EZ

31 Ride 45’ EZ

1 Ride 30’ EZ, 1X30” SHI 3’ EZ RI, 1X8’ @ HI mid ride.

2 Philli

Cycling Example

Stay Adaptable:Use logging, to see how an athlete is responding – adjust further to get the

“mix” just right for them!

Next Level (finishing touch/advanced) Strategy:

Race Modeling

Summing Things Up

• Athletes need both volume and intensity to fully prepare for endurance sport.

• The amount of each, is dependent on your training age, training status (current), lifestyle, health, genes and goal. No “easy” answers…

• We need to respect our athletes recovery needs as a major priority in their training!

• You can use “tricks” to create additional gains or be better prepared for a specific race.

Will Kirousis will@tri-hard.com

978.466.5151@willkirousis

Love To Train!