Good news: starting your running journey doesn’t have to require diving in head-first and sprinting for 30 minutes straight. If you’ve never been much of a runner (or you’re starting to get back into it), it’s actually a really good idea to take things easy at first.
Intervals are one of the best ways to do that, keep your body safe and healthy, and make some serious cardiovascular gains, says Annick Lamar, former New York Road Runners coach and head coach of Haverford College’s Women’s Track and Field and Cross Country team.
Even if you’re not a beginner, adding in intervals has benefits for you too. “Interval running is designed to enhance specific areas of fitness,” Lamar says, like helping you to get faster. When you head out for a long endurance run after prioritizing interval runs, you’re likely to have an easier time covering longer distances at a quicker pace. That’s because interval running is associated with increased oxygen uptake abilities, which essentially means that blood is able to move faster to your muscles.
No matter your reason, you can’t get started with interval running without a training program—that’s where Lamar comes in. Read on for the best way to get started with interval running.
What exactly is interval running?
While interval training encompasses a bunch of different types and techniques (like fartlek training, which involves running to different landmarks, like a tree or a mailbox to specify intervals), all of those variations come down to one general format: alternating between periods of rest and higher effort pushes. In other words, interval running is the exact opposite of steady-state exercise.
“Interval runs are typically [bursts of] one to five minutes of running, in which you get as close to your VO2 max, or your maximum rate of oxygen consumption, as you can get,” Lamar says. But, if you don’t have a fancy tracking watch and don’t know your VO2 max, you can use something much simpler: the rate of perceived exertion (RPE) scale. Basically, it’s a 1 to 10 scale where 1 indicates complete rest, 5 indicates moderate aerobic exercise, and 10 is your all-out maximum effort where speaking or focusing on anything but the exercise task at hand is nearly impossible. During high-effort intervals, you’re going to want to get closer to and 8 or 9, Lamar says.
Two of the most common interval types are ladder and pyramid runs. This is what they’d look like using RPE:
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Ladder: 1 minute at a 8 or 9 RPE; 2 minutes of active jogging to rest; 2 minutes at a 8 or 9 RPE; 2 minutes of active jogging; 3 minutes at a 8 or 9 RPE; 2 minutes of active jogging; 4 minutes at a 8 or 9 RPE; 2 minutes of active jogging
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Pyramid: 1 minute at a 8 or 9 RPE; 2 minutes active jogging to rest, 2 minutes at a 8 or 9 RPE, 2 minutes active jogging, 3 minutes at a 8 or 9 RPE, 2 minutes active jogging, 2 minutes at a 8 or 9 RPE, 2 minutes active jogging, 1 minute at a 8 or 9 RPE, 2 minutes active jogging
That said, if going (almost) all-out for four entire minutes doesn’t seem doable, you can totally adapt the parameters, Lamar says. You can prioritize RPEs between 4 and 5 instead of 8 or 9 during the pushes and eventually (as you feel comfortable), increase your intensity during pushes.
The 6-Week Beginner Interval Running Plan
Without further adieu, here it is: your 6-week interval running plan. “It’s versatile for anyone who hasn’t run in a while, or is looking to increase their running and wants to reduce their chances of injury,” Lamar says. Bonus? It also works as a 5K training plan.
It’s a great plan for beginners, whether you have aspirations of running sans-intervals one day or simply just want to get moving more. “This plan intentionally features a lot of walk-running, which act as mini-intervals,” Lamar says. “It can be difficult for novice runners to string together minutes of running, and it’s not uncommon to become discouraged.” By introducing walk-run intervals, you’re also way less likely to get burned out, she adds.
Jewelyn Butron
Interval Training Plan FAQs
Why three days per week?
It’s all about finding balance between working your bod—and giving it time to recover. “Three days [of interval running per] week is optimal for new runners or those looking to get into running, as it allows you to follow every day of running with a rest day,” Lamar says. “The newer you are to running, the more fatigue your body will experience. As you start to train and run more frequently, you will build your endurance and you’ll find you need less rest days to recover. ”
What To Do On Rest Days
Four specific “rest or cross train” days are ideal when jumping into an interval training program, according to Lamar. That doesn’t necessarily mean you should be holed up on the couch on those days, though. Rather, your level of exertion should depend on how hard you pushed yourself the day prior. “If you had a really hard run, take it easy,” she says. But, if you’re feeling good and absolutely itching to move, an easy walk, relaxed yoga routine, or bike ride is fine.
How To Progress The Routine
A perk of this beginner-focused plan? That you can keep using it again and again, increasing the challenge as you level-up. To do this, start increasing the RPEs and substituting walking rest for jogs.
As for moving away from intervals, Lamar says that if you can run for 10 minutes without stopping, you can consider swapping one to two interval days for steady-state cardio. “However, just because you can run 10 minutes at one time, it does not mean you should jump to 20 or 30 minutes of constant running,” she says. “For new runners, breaking up steady state running into smaller intervals allows you to cover the total distance more effectively without a breakdown in running form and reduces the risk of not being able to complete the run. ”
Safety Considerations
Although it can be tempting to go big from the gate when starting an interval running program (or any exercise program, for that matter), Lamar stresses the need to start slow to avoid overuse injury or burnout. “Slowly increase your mileage,” she says.
They key to success, says Lamar, is to gradually increase the challenge level of runs and to not feel completely wiped after each workout. “Make sure you feel comfortable and in control,” she says.
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