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CHAPTER 6
OTHER AEROBIC AND ANAEROBIC TRAINING METHODS
I had a patient I will call John. He was a thirty-two-year-old triathlete and in his fourth year of building a winter off-season aerobic base. I first tested his maximum aerobic function while he ran on a track; he went 9:45 per mile at a heart rate of 152. Of course, his first comment was a complaint: “I can’t train that slow.” Yes, it was a change from his regular effort of around eight minutes a mile.
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But that slow pace of 9:45 quickened as the months went by and the aerobic system improved. Four years later it was 7:10 per mile. Along the way, John had gone from complaining about his “too slow” aerobic training runs to saying his aerobic bike rides were getting to be a tough workout, to almost complaining that his now faster running pace of 7:10 (for his first MAF Test mile) was a bit too fast for everyday running.
In the process of building an aerobic base, several important training features will become evident. Although your aerobic training may feel too easy initially, and you’ll wonder if you’re even benefiting, your effort will quicken in time, and it will ultimately become more of an effort to achieve your maximum aerobic heart rate. This may happen in a matter of months depending on many factors, including training consistency and discipline, keeping to your maximum aerobic heart rate at all times, diet, and especially stress. For many, this stress comes in the form of working a regular job or dietary imbalance. If you do not see improvements in your aerobic base after a short period—certainly after the first month or two—something is probably interfering with your aerobic system. It’s your job, sometimes with the help of a coach or healthcare professional, to find out what the problem or problems may be.
When all the training ingredients are in place, and your diet and stress are under control, the aerobic base will develop and your pace will increase as shown by your MAF Test. As your workout pace increases, you develop more aerobic speed. This means you’ll be able to swim, bike, run, skate, or ski at a faster pace with the same effort or heart rate. And, you’re successfully developing your metabolism so you convert more fat to energy. In addition, as your aerobic system functions better, you’ll be healthier.
With more aerobic speed, two training techniques can be added to your aerobic base routine. These can even be performed during the anaerobic phase of training if it fits your schedule. These include downhill workouts and aerobic intervals.
Downhill Workouts
While building your aerobic base, you can help develop more leg speed without the need to train anaerobically by doing downhill workouts. I refer to them as such because I first employed them with athletes running downhill, but this workout can be used for many activities—running, biking, cross-country skiing, or skating. This workout allows you to go at a faster pace without the heart rate rising. The increased pace is accompanied by a quicker leg turnover, in the case of running.
For example, at a heart rate of 145, if you can run at a 7:45 pace on flat ground, then running down a hill at the same heart rate will force you to run much faster, perhaps at a 6:55 pace depending on the hill’s slope and distance. A cyclist may be cruising at 17 mph, and on a nice long, but moderate, downhill can average 28 mph at the same heart rate.
Using a long downhill that’s not too steep, you can train your brain to turn the legs over much more quickly than would ordinarily occur during a run on a flat course—all while staying aerobic. If you have a long steady downhill that takes you ten minutes or longer to complete, you can derive great neuromuscular benefits. It’s important to be sure the downhill is not too steep a grade, which may force a runner to overstride, putting too much mechanical stress on the feet, knees, hips, and spine. Even on the right grade, your stride length should be about the same as if you were on level ground.
If the downhill run is short, such as five minutes, you can do downhill repeats, walking or slowly running up the hill while staying aerobic to start your downhill interval again. Some treadmills can be adjusted to slant downhill, which is a nice alternative for runners.
I often suggest one or two downhill workouts per week, not on consecutive days, during the base period. Even though you’re aerobic, this workout does add more good stress to your body, and it’s best to assure recovery by not using the technique on consecutive days. When properly done, most athletes don’t feel much different from any other workout, but some may feel a slight or mild soreness in some muscles indicating the new activity. This workout need not be very long—runners can go forty-five minutes while cyclists up to an hour and a half, including warm-up and cool-down. These workouts will also help you further develop more aerobic speed.
Aerobic Intervals
Once you have achieved a higher level of aerobic speed by building a more effective aerobic system, it may be difficult or impossible for you to reach your aerobic maximum heart rate, depending on the type of workout and the course. This is due to an improved aerobic system enabling you to perform faster at the same heart rate—the increased fat burning provides you with more energy for running, biking, and so forth. This is most true in swimming, cycling, skating, or cross-country skiing. Some runners will also feel the difficulty in maintaining a six- or seven-minuteper-mile pace everyday. At this stage of your development, you may be ready to add what I call aerobic intervals to your program.
Aerobic intervals enable you to train at your maximum aerobic heart rate for short periods despite the difficulty in maintaining that level of activity. You’ll know when you’re ready for aerobic intervals; riding or swimming, for example, at your maximum aerobic heart rate will be physically challenging—your heart rate won’t exceed the maximum aerobic level but you’ll physically have a difficult time maintaining it, or even reaching it because you’ll have to ride or swim faster than your comfort level. This is exactly the opposite of what you felt when first starting out with the MAF program and thought that the pace was too slow.
Question: I “suffer” from above-average maximum and exercise heart rates. I have been exercising one hour, two to three times per week, for the last fourteen months. I had a stress test a year ago with a “no risk, reduced exercise tolerance” result. At fifty-four years old, my maximum aerobic function test at the maximum aerobic heart rate of 126 only allows a steady walk at 3.3 mph, no running possible. When I slow-run at 4.0 mph, my heart rate rises quickly to my age-predicted maximum (166), and when I run at 6.2 mph, my heart rate levels out at 186, and I feel a bit queasy the rest of the day. I can run for ten minutes at 4.5 mph if I ignore my heart rate then recover for three minutes and run three minutes/ walk three minutes forever. Any suggestions how I can be a “runner”?
Answer: This is a more extreme example of an aerobic-anaerobic imbalance. Your aerobic system appears to obviously be in very poor condition since you can’t run at the slowest of paces without exceeding your maximum aerobic heart rate. While you can physically run at faster paces, it puts significant stress on your whole body as indicated with the extreme rise in heart rate (and the all-day queasy symptoms you get following the workout). You could be well into the second or even third stage of the overtraining syndrome. Building the aerobic system is the first step, and, just as important, consider all dietary and stress factors. Most importantly, if you don’t see improvement in your MAF Test, there are still dietary, metabolic, stress, or other factors that need improvement.
Since you won’t easily be able to maintain your maximum aerobic heart rate for the whole workout, or if it’s just too challenging for an everyday activity, you can perform a short interval at or near your maximum aerobic heart rate, then slow down for a period of time, then go back to the maximum aerobic level. This is much like traditional interval workouts, except it’s all aerobic.
For example, if your maximum aerobic heart rate is 152, and you want to do an aerobic interval session on the bike for ninety minutes, here’s a sample workout:
- A twenty-minute warm-up
- Ten-minute segments consisting of five minutes at a heart rate of 152 and five minutes at 120, repeated five times for a total of fifty minutes
- A twenty-minute cool-down
Your Brain on Aerobic Intervals
In some instances, aerobic intervals can be performed fartlek style. In this case, following your warm-up, bike at your maximum aerobic heart rate until your brain tells you to slows you down; then ease up for a break from the higher intensity, speeding up again when you feel ready. For many, the fartlek workout is a relief from the burden of the track and clock, or some predetermined workout that seemed interesting at the time but that may not match your body’s specific needs during the workout on that particular day. Fartlek is a great way to individualize a given workout on a particular day.
Combining both the downhill workouts and aerobic intervals can also be done when running or biking, for example, on a hilly course. On the downhill part of the course, try to maintain your maximum aerobic heart rate, using the flat parts (or even uphill) as an easy section.
