Good VO2 Max Workouts

III. Workouts to Improve Your VO2 max

The most effective running intensity to improve your VO2 max is 95 percent to 100 percent of your current VO2 max. Well-trained runners can run at VO2 max pace for about eight minutes. Ninety-five percent to 100 percent of VO2 max coincides with current 3,000 meter to 5,000 meter race pace. This typically coincides with an intensity of approximately 94 to 98 percent of maximal heart rate or 93 to 98 percent of heart rate reserve. Running your intervals at this pace or intensity is part of the optimal strategy to improve your VO2 max.

The stimulus to improve your VO2 max is provided by the amount of time you accumulate during a workout in the optimal intensity range of 95 percent to 100 percent of VO2 max. This has implications for how best to structure your VO2 max sessions. Consider two workouts that each include 6,000 meters of intervals—one of 15 x 400 meters, the other of 5 x 1200 meters. When you run 400-meter repetitions, you’re in the optimal zone for perhaps 45 seconds per interval. If you do 15 repetitions, you would accumulate just over 11 minutes at the optimal intensity. When you run longer intervals, you are in the optimal intensity zone much longer. During each 1,200-meter interval, you would be in the optimal intensity zone for three to four minutes, and would accumulate 15 to 20 minutes in that zone during the workout. This would provide a stronger stimulus to improve your VO2 max.

The optimal duration for VO2 max intervals for marathoners is approximately two to six minutes. Intervals in this range are long enough that you accumulate a substantial amount of time at VO2 max pace during each interval, but short enough that you can maintain 95 percent to 100 percent of VO2 max. Intervals for marathoners should generally be between 800 meters and 1,600 meters/one mile. Sometimes, such as the week of a tune-up race, 600-meter repeats also have a place as a VO2 max session during marathon preparation.

The total volume of the intervals in a marathoner’s VO2 max session should be 5,000 to 10,000 meters, with most workouts in the range of 6,400 to 8,000 meters. Any combination of repetitions of 800 meters to 1,600 meters will provide an excellent workout. Longer intervals (e.g., 1,200s or 1,600s) make for a tougher workout, physically and psychologically, and shouldn’t be avoided.

The optimal amount of rest between intervals is debatable. One school of thought is to minimize the rest so that your metabolic rate stays high during the entire workout. This strategy makes for very difficult workouts, but runs the risk of shortening your workouts. Another school of thought is to allow your heart rate to decrease to 70 percent of your maximal heart rate or 60 percent of your heart rate reserve during your recovery between intervals. For the lower-tech crowd, a good rule of thumb is to allow 50 percent to 90 percent of the length of time it takes to do the interval for your recovery. For example, if you’re running 1,000-meter repeats in 3:20, you would run slowly for 1:40 to 3 minutes between intervals.

Sample VO2 Max Workouts

*

6 to 10 x 800 meters

*

5 to 10 x 1,000 meters

*

4 to 8 x 1,200 meters

*

3 to 6 x 1,600 meters

*

Various “ladder” combinations such as 800 m, 1000 m, 1200 m, 1600 m, 1200 m, 1000 m, 800 m

4x2K if you can sustain it. 2min rec. your at the top of the curve for way longer.

1. Determine your VO2max pace by using your most current race effort; this is easily accomplished by using the tables generated by Dr. Daniels.

2. Choose a distance which will allow you to maintain that pace for 4-5 minutes; this distance segment is referred to as a "rep".

3. The interval (recovery) should be a slow jog which lasts for [effort - 1 minute].

4. Total distance of all the reps should be between 5 and 8% of your weekly mileage, depending on the phase of training that you are in.

Good luck.

So would the workout I ran last night be considered a VO2 max workout. I'm shooting for a sub (16:30)5K and sub 34 for 10K. I hit (4:07, 4:03, 3:57, 3:55) on the 1200's.

Here's some info.

http://www.letsrun.com/2004/jkoxygen.php

TsupCat wrote:

The most effective running intensity to improve your VO2 max is 95 percent to 100 percent of your current VO2 max.

Running below 100% vVO2max won't do much to improve your aerobic capacity. Bump it up a tad over 100% to be effective.

Dr. Bong wrote:

TsupCat wrote:

The most effective running intensity to improve your VO2 max is 95 percent to 100 percent of your current VO2 max.

Running below 100% vVO2max won't do much to improve your aerobic capacity. Bump it up a tad over 100% to be effective.

You don´t know what you´re talking about. Read any good running/physiology book and you will see that 95-100% of vVo2max pace is optimal.

steffo wrote:

Read any good running/physiology book and you will see that 95-100% of vVo2max pace is optimal.

Not all would agree with you, or me. I'm sticking with 100+% to improve VO2max.

HMArunner wrote:

So would the workout I ran last night be considered a VO2 max workout. I'm shooting for a sub (16:30)5K and sub 34 for 10K. I hit (4:07, 4:03, 3:57, 3:55) on the 1200's.

It depends on a couple of things. First, how long was the interval (rest)? It it was longer than three minutes, then you are negating some of the postitive effects of the workout. Secondly, that would place you at 38 miles a week, which in my opinion is far and away too little mileage. At 50 miles a week, you should do 5x1200, at 60 miles a week 6x1200. You should never exceed 10k worth of VO2 max work, it's just too demanding. But ... the pace of the rep seems dead on.

Here is another great VO2max session; we call them 6's and 3's. Start at the the starting line, run a 600 at VO2max pace (you'll finish at the 200 mark.) Turn around and jog backward 300 meters; give yourself half rest (meaning, half the time of the 600 rep). Now run a 300 at the same pace, finishing back at the start line. Again, half rest. Repeat as many times as you need to accumulate 8% of your weekly mileage. At your current pace, you'd do a 2:00 600m, jog for 1', run a 300 in 1:00, jog in small circles for 30", launch into set #2. If you're doing 50 miles a week, you do 7 x (600-300). Believe me, that workout is a bitch, if you're at the appropriate pace for your fitness.

And on that note .... VO2max work should never be done at goal pace ... it should only be done at date pace.

"Turn around and jog backward 300 meters" is incorrect. You turn around and jog backward 100 meters, to the 300 meter mark. Sorry.

So how often do you do such a session? It seems that conventional practice is to do one VO2 w/o per week. But would it be unwise to do more when you are getting closer to your key races? Or is that too much?

(no race)

Sun-Long

Mon-800's

Tues-recovery run

Wed. k's-miles

thurs-recovery

Fri-20 x 400 w/short rec

Sat-off/easy

That's a tough question to answer, because it's so dependent on 1. the event and 2. the training phase. During cross country the race itself is excellent VO2max work, so you don't need to run as many sessions during that time frame (phase 3 of 4). Nonetheless, I never press HS kids into more that three quality sessions per week. One is often a race, and one is often times a long run. So there are limitations to how often you can run these sessions, since you need to attend to threshold development, and some degree of anaerobic capacity work. So it gets tough.

95-100% of VO2 max work best to increase VO2 max. However, highly trained athletes have a harder time improving and must train at 100% VO2 max to see improvement. VO2 max will plateau after 8-9 sessions (in a season's time), and then the athlete is ready to do intervals at greater than 100% VO2 max. Completing such workouts will further increase VO2 max. Read pages 207-208 in Better Training for Distance Runners.

Some Coach wrote:

"Turn around and jog backward 300 meters" is incorrect. You turn around and jog backward 100 meters, to the 300 meter mark. Sorry.

No, you were right the first time. If you finish at the 200, turn around, and then jog backward for 300 meters you will end up at the start of the 300. You could also get there by jogging forward 100 meters after you turn around.

HMArunner wrote:

What are good workouts to work on this aspect of my running. 5 x 1000 with (1:00) recovery or 4 x 1200 or just do some tempos just outside or 5K pace. What workouts are the best. Last night I ran a 4 x 1200 workout with 400 meter jog. I ran the whole workout in (22:55) for the four miles. Is stuff like this good or should I do standing rest instead. Thanks

I think I'll raise the wave of hate, but all this stuff "train in I and R pace to increase your VO2 max" is mostly bullsh*t. Anaerobic development goes after the aerobic one and increasing your anaerobic capabilities takes just 4 weeks (everything written in this sentence are rules of A. Lydiard). Why do you think Arthur's athletes ran 100 mpw mostly in an aerobic moderate pace? Because he knew you always need to have the base and even his 800-m guys had to run 22-mile runs.

Instead of running fast and exhausting yourself, work on increasing your mileage by incorporating long, steady, distant runs at low intensity: "Miles make champions". A good article to read on this topic is here:

22:55 for 4 miles including 400M rest? If I'm doing the math right that is an average pace of about 5:45/mile averaging intervals and rest. Your 400M rest should probably be about 2 or 3 minutes (8 minute to 12 minute/mile pace). So you either ran your intervals crazy fast or your 400M rest without sufficient rest or something.

Never mind your time for this workout. VO2 intervals need to be long enough to allow your heart rate to climb and give you sufficient time in total at this elevated heart rate. 1000M should be fine probably anything longer than 600M up to maybe a mile would work provided you ran enough intervals. 1000M to 1200M is definitely in the sweet spot. Otherwise get your heart rate to where it needs to be and you are good to go

Great post!

Yea, you can look at the rest another way, you rest for the minimum amount of time but still maintain ability to complete the reps in the alotted time. if you take 1 min rest and you are gassed on next rep, you are now anaerobic (or run much slower)and doing a different workout. Take 3 min, maybe that was a little too long? But alas you will get back up to VO2 maxx levels soon enough with a long rep. Some even say 1:1 work to rest?

Short intervals take a lot more thought i think. Because the work is so short you need to keep the rest short to get the accumulated work at right level.

Daniels objective (as called out according to his "Interval" sessions, is to closely hit VO2max effort. He calls out paces in order to do so, based on a recent VDOT evaluation. Nonetheless, I think one is more likely to actually accomplish his objectives if they are using a Heart Rate monitor to assure the intensities (>95HRmax at peak of interval) are being hit. When they are, it is a tough workout. His recommended recovery is 'active', in duration equal to, or slightly less than, the preceding interval workbout (e.g., 3-minute Interval, 2-minutes rest). Per Daniels, "total running of an Interval session should not exceed the lesser of 8% of weekly mileage and 10k (whichever comes first).