Anaerobic Capacity Training - 800 meters

As far as I see it, the workouts in the first set are not anaerobic capacity workouts. The workouts in the second set are.

The purpose of anaerobic capacity work is to enhance the peripherial (muscular) ability to tolerate a highly acidic environment and sustain high output even though the intensity is high enough that the anaerobic glycolysis byproducts cannot be offset to the bloodstream. This is in contrast to anaerobic endurance (conditioning) training, where the focus is on buffering the acid on a system-wide level, but the intensity is rarely high enough that maximal muscular effort is required.

Typically, anaerobic capacity work involves:

* reps of 150-600m

* rests of at least 2min (could be up to 20min)

* running fast, usually faster than 800m race pace

* near maximal effort level during several of the reps

Just my opinion, of course. Someone else might utilize the terminology slightly differently.

/Khell

Look at it this way:

1. High intensity workouts with little rest: You are relying on your aerobic system to get you through the workout. Anyone with enough speed and anaerobic conditioning can get through one rep, but multiple reps with little rest requires an advanced aerobic system.

2. High intensity workouts with long rest: You can run 6:00 pace all day but have trouble running 5:00 pace for any length? You lack anaerobic ability.

3. Low to moderate intensity workouts with little rest: The classic aerobic workout such as 6xmile.

4. Distance run and time rested is relative to ability and progression of training. During day one, a relaxed 8x800 w/400m recovery may prove taxing, but on day 60 6xmile may produce the same feeling.

Know where you're at and know where you're going.

So, depending on your ability and progression and where you are at you may start with a workout from #3 progress to #2 then to #1 or a little bit of all three only changing your focus throughout your training on a weekly, monthly or even yearly basis (ie: someone who has focused on endruance/aerobic based workouts for years but is lacking in anaerobic ability may need to change their focus).

Stand back and look at your training as a whole, not just the individual parts or physiological junk. Yes, have an understanding of the physiology, but let common sense drive you.

Alan

Anaerobic capacity workouts involve a small number of repetitions at a very fast pace with near complete recovery. None of the workouts you described fit the bill, in my opinion.

Michael,

A great workout for the 800/1500 guy that you might like that I feel fits the description with more focus on the 800 is:

2x600 at about 2-3 seconds faster than goal 600 pace of an 800

then into

2x200 all-out

each of these take 5-10 min recovery between, first time I did this workout I only took about 6-7 min for the 600s and hurt pretty good when it came time to do the 200s. I have a few others that I did in the this past phase of my workouts but let me know what you think about that one.

1. Aerobic Conditioning

Aerobic Conditioning is the ability to use your aerobic capacity effectively. That means running economically at race pace and slightly slower and slightly faster than race pace.

2. Anaerobic Conditioning

Anaerobic conditioning is the ability to use your anaerobic capacity effectively. That means running economically whilst sprinting flat out.

3. Aerobic Capacity

Aerobic Capacity is the ability to generate as much energy as posible by aerobic respiration, this occurs through mitochondrial respiration. Mitochondria are like tiny factories inside your muscle fibres, which process the chemical reactions which generate ATP aerobically (with oxygen) ATP is the universal energy provider in all living cells. Aerobic capacity is often refered to as VO2max, the maximum amount of oxygen that your body can process. A typical figure of 70ml/kg/minute means 70 mililiters of oxygen per kilogram of bodyweight per minute.

4. Anaerobic Capacity

Anaerobic Capacity is the ability to generate as much energy as possible by anaerobic respiration, this occurs through non-mitochondrial respiration. The anaerobic generation of ATP occurs in the fluid environment of the muscle fibers known as the cytosol. These chemical reactions do not require oxygen, hence the name anaerobic (without oxygen)They use phosphates, some of which are stored such as creatine phosphate, and some of which are generated through the re-cycling of spent ATP.

Anaerobic Capacity is impossible to measure accurately in terms of energy production, the values have to be guessed.

However timing a very short sprint such as 60 meters would give some clue to this value.

With regular training over various distances, serious runners who race regularly or who plan to race regularly need to focus on conditioning rather than capacity, because the aerobic and anaerobic capacities will already be well developed in a well trained runner. Trying to improve them may only lead to a tiny improvement or too great a level of fatigue. What is most important is how efficiently you can utilize these capacities, and this can be improved steadily for many years. By practising different paces regularly you should become more economical in your running and therefore faster and faster for a given level of effort. You learn to glide in your stride, producing more horizontal motion which is economical running and less vertical motion which is wasted energy.

Related question: In a periodized (Lydiard or Daniels) training program, when should anaerobic capacity work be done in relation to aerobic capacity and anerobic conditioning?

Also, could someone give an example of a workout in each of these four categories?

All due respect, but I don't quite agree with wellnow's terminology and descriptions. In particular, I think his description of anaerobic capacity sounds more like a description of speed or speed endurance.

In my understanding, these are the main training types important to an 800m runner (with sample workouts for an 800 runner):

1. Aerobic endurance

The ability to sustain a moderate pace for a long time without starting to accumulate lactic acid.

This is especially important to 1500m-marathon runners.

Example workouts: LT-pace distance running, easy running

2. Aerobic capacity

The ability to sustain a high output from the aerobic energy system at a pace high enough that lactate would inevitably accumulate if running continuously at this pace.

This is especially important for 800m-5000m runners.

Example workouts: 2*10*200m with 30s rest, 2*20*30s_run/15s_ rest

3. Anaerobic endurance

The ability to buffer lactic acid, transporting it from the muscles to the bloodstream and eliminating it, thus being able to tolerate a higher sustained pace without blood lactate getting too high.

This is especially important to 800m-1500m runners.

Example workouts: 10*200m with 1 min rest, 7*400 with 1 min rest

4. Anaerobic capacity

The ability to tolerate a highly acidic muscle environment and thus sustain a very high speed even when the running intensity is high enough that there's not enough time to offset the lactic acid to the bloodstream.

This is especially important to 400m-800m runners.

Example workouts: 5x200 with 4 min rest, 6x150 with 3 min rest, 600+400+200 with 10 min rest

5. Speed endurance

The ability to maintain very nearly maximal speed even when atp and cp stores have run out.

This is especially important to 200m-400m sprinters.

Example workout: 8x80m with 6 min rest, 4*120m with 5 min rest

6. Speed

The ability to achieve a high maximal speed.

This is especially important to 60m-400m sprinters.

Example workout: 5x60m with full recovery, 5xflying 30m with full recovery

Hope this helps,

/Khell

Good post, but without giving expected times for the workout and what the expected race goal time is for the runner,it's hard to put the workout in any kind of real context.

action jackson wrote:

Related question: In a periodized (Lydiard or Daniels) training program, when should anaerobic capacity work be done in relation to aerobic capacity and anerobic conditioning?

In this order:

Aerobic conditioning (easy endurance runs, etc.)

Anaerobic conditioning (short interval workouts)

Aerobic capacity (VO2max reps)

Anaerobic capacity (short, fast stuff with near complete recovery)

Rule of thumb: Conditioning must take place before capacity work.

Anaerobic Conditioning is tempo/threshold/steady state NOT short interval workouts

Coack DD wrote:

action jackson wrote:

Related question: In a periodized (Lydiard or Daniels) training program, when should anaerobic capacity work be done in relation to aerobic capacity and anerobic conditioning?

In this order:

Aerobic conditioning (easy endurance runs, etc.)

Anaerobic conditioning (short interval workouts)

Aerobic capacity (VO2max reps)

Anaerobic capacity (short, fast stuff with near complete recovery)

Rule of thumb: Conditioning must take place before capacity work.

I see what you mean.

Well basically, the type of effort put into the different kinds of workouts would be:

-Aerobic capacity: You should be breathing very heavily and reach a HR of about 90-95% of maxHR, but you should not push it so much that you accumulate significant lactic acid.

-Anaerobic endurance: You should push each rep hard, but not maximally. You should have accumulated a fair amount of acidity at the end of each rep, and will usually feel like shit between reps. You should feel ok at the start of each rep, though. You should still have enough left in the tank to run the last rep a bit faster if sufficiently motivated.

-Anaerobic capacity: You should push each rep nearly maximally. You will feel muscularly fatigued after each rep (except possibly the first), and accumulate massive acid. Near the end of the workout, you will normally feel like vomiting.

That being said, I'll try to approximate some times for a 2:00 800m runner.

Aerobic capacity:

2*10*200m in 35s with 30s rest

Anaerobic endurance

10*200m in 30s with 1 min rest

7*400 in 68s with 1 min rest

Anaerobic capacity

5x200 in 26.0s with 4 min rest

6x150 in 19.0s with 3 min rest

600+400+200 in 1:27/56/25 with 10 min rest

Hope this helps,

/Khell

fit wrote:

Anaerobic Conditioning is tempo/threshold/steady state NOT short interval workouts

Tempo running certainly is part of aerobic conditioning, but so is short interval work.

That should have been "anaerobic" conditioning. Sorry.

There is some overlap in the training directed at the different systems witch can cause some confusion, along with different termanology.

Pick up a copy of Training Distance Runners. Short interval work is not a part of Anaerobic Conditioning.

fit wrote:

Pick up a copy of Training Distance Runners. Short interval work is not a part of Anaerobic Conditioning.

Everyone does not do things the same way. In my program, there is a place for short interval work for anaerobic conditioning. Why wouldn't there be?

All due respect to you too Khell, I understand what you are saying, but your definitions are based on the common misconception of the nature of aerobic and anaerobic respiration.

If you read my post again, you will see how I have clarified my definition of the term anaerobic with regard to muscle work.

The misconception that "lactic acid" is an anaerobic metabolite is one which will linger for a very long time.

Actually, lactate (the term lactic acid is a misnomer, a misunderstanding of the biochemistry) is produced anaerobically and metabolized aerobically.

Lactate is an aerobic fuel for muscle contraction. However, along with lactate production, there is also the product known as glycolytic ATP which accompanies the lactate molecule. Glycolytic ATP is an anerobic fuel. So with lactate production, you get two different fuel sources, one of them for immediate use (anaerobic) and the lactate molecule itself which is fuel for aerobic muscle contraction.

You obviously do not understand what Anaerobic Conditioning is and how to train that particular energy system. What Coe/Martin call Anaerobic conditioning Daniels defines in his book as Threshold Training (T pace). There is NO short interval work in this type of training. This type of training is consists of classic Tempo runs and/or Cruise Intervals (1000m-2 mile efforts at tempo pace with short recovery). Again, there is no short intervals in this type of training.

Coach DD wrote:

fit wrote:

Pick up a copy of Training Distance Runners. Short interval work is not a part of Anaerobic Conditioning.

Everyone does not do things the same way. In my program, there is a place for short interval work for anaerobic conditioning. Why wouldn't there be?