Training with Dylan

I'm going for an Easy Run or I am doing Intervals today. I want you to do a 5min Tempo. What is the difference? It comes down to which energy systems and/or heart rate zone you're in. 

We have 3 major energy systems, aerobic, anaerobic and phosphocreatine system. 

When we go for an Easy Run we are trying to work in the aerobic system. We run slow enough so that we can breathe normally and we are powered along by our breathing.  In this zone (zones 2 & 3) our body is combusting carbohydrates and fats in the presence of oxygen to be used as fuel. This is commonly referred to as the fat burning zone. A good rule of thumb to identify if you're in the easy zone for a run, bike ride or any form of cardio, is to see if you can hold a conversation. If your breathing is laboured and you can't get out a sentence without huffing and puffing you're likely in zone 4 or higher and in the wrong energy system. 

A Tempo Run will train our zone 4 and our anaerobic energy system. When we are in this system, our body is breaking down stored glucose without the presence of oxygen. This zone is where you would spend most of your time when you're trying to run your best 5km time. We can train this energy system by doing specific cardio workouts at the right intensity. 

The final energy system is the phosphocreatine system. This system is used for very short and explosive movements like weight lifting or a golf swing for example. If you do short Interval training you will tap into this system too. You would use this type of training when you want to increase your top end sprint speed, your maximum vertical leap or your max squat for example. 

In the next post I will talk about the 80/20 rule in detail when it comes to running training. If you want to improve your cardiovascular health you want to spend majority of your training time in zone 2 or 3 which means a lot of Easy Runs followed by coffee!