Interval Training on Consecutive Days
Posted October 15th, 2007 at 11:45 AM by Martha Jones
Section: Running & Training, Training Tips, Health & Fitness, Exercise
The faster an athlete moves in training, the faster he or she will be able to move during competition. So athletes use a training technique called interval training in which they run, cycle, skate, ski or swim very fast for a short time. When they become severely short of breath, they slow down until they recover, and then move very fast again.
Researchers at Ithaca College showed that athletes can gain as much by doing this type of intense interval training on consecutive days as on alternate days (Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, September 2007).
Interval training causes considerable muscle damage, so it usually leaves athletes sore the next day. Most trainers recommend exercising at a slower pace until the soreness disappears. That is why athletes usually follow each intense day with one or more easy days.
However, many competitions require an athlete to exercise flat out for several consecutive days. He/She may have to compete in multiple preliminary heats over several consecutive days to reach the finals.
In this study, the researchers asked cyclists to perform intense interval on either consecutive days or alternate days. Their improvement in time trials was the same.
However, this study did not measure injury rates or risk of overtraining. Most athletes will suffer fewer injuries if they take a hard workout on one day and then go more slowly for as many days as it takes for muscle soreness to go away.
This post is written by Dr. Gabe Mirkin, M.D. and used with permission. Dr. Mirkin is board certified in Sports Medicine and has practiced for over 40 years. He has completed more than 40 marathons and was a talk show host of a nationally-syndicated radio program for about 25 years. For more articles by Dr. Mirkin, please check out: www.DrMirkin.com
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Tags: athletes, competition, cyclists, dr gabe mirkin, dr. gabe mirkin, exercise, exercising, finals, injuries, injury prevention, intense exercise, interval training, intervals, muscle damage, muscle soreness, muscles, overtraining, preliminary heats, sore, soreness, trainers, training, training technique, workout
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[…] I came across this post - Interval Training on Consecutive Days - and thought it was worth sharing. I hope you find it interesting too and take the time to read some of the other articles on their site. Interval training causes considerable muscle damage, so it usually leaves athletes sore the next day. Most trainers recommend exercising at a slower pace until the soreness disappears. That is why athletes usually follow each intense … […]
October 16th, 2007 at 1:12 am