Guru Anaerobic

Intervals-Gym-Circuits

A Short Guide – Guru Anaerobic

Dynamic Health

What follows is an overview of the type of training I used to do as an athlete. I
believe a scaled down version of a an athlete’s routine is useful for non-athletes of all
ages – indeed this is the framework I still follow now I no longer compete.

1/ The interval sessions are necessarily running based as I was a track athlete; the
point however, is that athletic interval training is designed to challenge physiological
systems. For you, these systems need to be mined for the development, then
maintenance, of robust health. If running isn’t your cup of tea transfer the concepts to
your favoured activity.

2/ Utilising these sessions involves making friends with discomfort as it’s discomfort
which forces the body to adapt. There’s no way around that. Hard work with
appropriate recovery is the cornerstone of developing robust health and fitness.

3/ Health is holistic - everyday movement and physical activity is important for
physical and psychological well-being. This guide focuses on a specific (but
important) area of health which diminishes as people age. It goes without saying that
this should be only a part of what constitutes a healthful life.

From Anaerobics:

‘For health you should design your own ‘destruction’ so that something better can be
created. Indeed, you have to do that as the wild environment is now mostly out of the
equation. Strength, alactic anaerobic power (an emergency life-saver), acidosis and
a necessary aerobic base are the physiological and ecological tool-kit for robust
health’.

@GuruAnaerobic

Interval Training

There is a general misconception among non-athletes that interval training involves
maximal efforts repeated, when it’s actually a maximal effort over the session. In
other words, earlier reps are sub-max, but over the session the heart rate increases in
a peaks and troughs or ‘rachet’ fashion; acidosis increases in the same manner, CNS
fatigue, etc., meaning that as the session progresses each rep gets harder to achieve at
the target pace. The fully motivated athlete arrives DOA (almost) at the end of the
final repetition.

[Heart rate; acidosis, ‘fatigue’ as the session progresses]

[Note: High intensity interval training (HIIT) is a subset of interval training – the
definition of ‘intensity’ is appropriate to distance or time]
Generally, an interval session involves acidosis/oxygen debt to a greater or lesser
extent – 6 x 200m with 3mins between repetitions doesn’t involve all-out sprinting
but a high sub-max. Pure sprint sessions involve fast (95% -105% top speed) short
reps with long recoveries where there is no acidosis, or at least, complete recovery
(sort of) between reps. Conversely, ‘lactic’ sessions incur high levels of acidosis;
training the body’s ‘buffering’ system. Lactic sessions are extremely taxing and
require a determined mindset willing to embrace significant discomfort.

Below, in no particular order, are examples of interval sessions I undertook as an
athlete. All serious sessions were done on the athletics track in sprint or middle-
distance spikes. Longer distance interval sessions (say, 1600m reps) were sometimes
done on grass but still wearing spikes, or maybe racing flats with a good grip.

- 3 x 200m. 8min btwn reps
- 2 sets (4 x 200m). 3min btwn reps. 10min btwn sets
- 4 x 150m. 6min btwn reps.
- 4 x 400m. 1min btwn reps
- 2 sets (2 x 400m). 45secs btwn reps. 15min btwn sets
- 3 x 600m. 10min btwn reps
- 3 sets (300m + 150m) 30sec btwn 300m and 150m.
- 3 x 300m. 3min btwn reps
- 3 x 300m. 7min btwn reps
- 10 x 100m. 1min btwn reps.
- 3 sets (6 x 60m). 1 min btwn reps. 12min btwn sets
- 3 x 500m. 8min btwn reps
- 100m (3mins); 150m (4 mins); 200m (8mins); 200 (8mins); 150m (6mins); 100m
- 20 x 200m. 1min btwn reps
- 4 x 800m. 12min btwn reps
- 2 x 600m (6 mins btwn); 6min rest, followed by 3 x 200m (5 mins btwn reps)
- 40m, 60m, 80m, 100m, 120m, 150m – full recovery btwn
- 5 x 30m, running start; full recovery

Needless to say, for any accurate assessment of improvement the repetitions need to
be timed, and the rest intervals between the reps and sets needs to be strictly adhered
to. Pure sprint sessions very often focus on one or maybe two key areas of fast
running – relaxation at speed, arm action, ‘tall’ running, etc.

This is only a fraction of the sessions I undertook over my competitive career.
Interval sessions are limited only to your imagination. Whichever qualities you want
to develop you can adjust the loading, interval times and distances appropriately.

Hill Sessions

Runners do hill sessions for ‘strength’ not speed. Most others run hills for ‘fitness’.
As far as runners are concerned (bearing in mind that a sprinter is a different animal
to an endurance athlete), what strength means in the context of hills has never been
properly explained. Leg strength? Aerobic strength? Lactic strength (tolerance to
acidosis)? Sprint strength? Endurance strength? Psychological strength?
I’ve run hills for over twenty years and I’m still not sure in what way they have
benefitted my running on the track. But that doesn’t mean they haven’t.

Exercisers are more concerned with overall fitness – hills are a good addition, and
injects variation into an exercise program. No matter how much running (on the flat)
or fitness training an individual has done, running hills is a shock to the system.
Although nothing is written in stone (any type of exercise is better than nothing) it’s
better for a person to have a reasonable amount of fitness before undertaking serious
hill training. Hill sessions are not intended for speed development but a complete
newbie, or unfit individual, would no doubt see some benefit.

A well-trained runner can run very, very close to max on each rep without sacrificing
the quality of the following rep (dependent on the length of recovery between reps);
less fit individuals would have to pace themselves. Indeed a sign of fitness is the
ability to recover quickly after intense effort. You can ‘hurt’ yourself on each rep,
and survive. The last rep is all out war. In a sense the last rep is psychologically
easier as it ‘takes care of itself’ – it doesn’t matter if you near kill yourself on the last
rep; there is no rest interval to observe. You can lie down for as long as you like. It’s
intense, but you get used to it.

My hill sessions were brutal. Sometimes my quads would start to cramp near the top
of the hill. One fellow in our group was taken to hospital – he wasn’t fit enough.
After a few months off hills I completed a session in the evening with my friends; for
hours after my pulse rate was racing, I had a headache and couldn’t sleep – I phoned
my best friend because I thought I was going to croak it. The next week all was fine.

Hill training really benefits from doing with others. If you or your group has a
scintilla of competitiveness or pride – you will run faster. It is psychologically harder
because you know the session is going to be tough, but psychologically easier in that
you share the pain, plus others in the group can take turns to lead. If someone is much
faster than the rest they will always be leading, that’s not good for them or you. It’s
preferable to have a group where abilities are quite close. Run hard, hill sessions are
fearsome; the more fearsome, and the more you overcome it, the better the feeling is.

When the strength drains from your legs, when you can no longer initiate strong
muscular contractions - if you stop focusing and pushing yourself it’s very easy to
slow down to a crawl, so an aggressive mindset is essential. A hard hill session is
both exhilarating and frightening – when you’ve completed a high-quality tough
session the satisfaction is immense.

Tip: When you find yourself slowing down near the top, rather than trying to push
and extend your stride, do the opposite, consciously shorten you stride and move
your arms quicker; this will increase your cadence, make you feel lighter and will
increase your speed (for a while) – the equivalent of shifting to an easier gear when
cycling up a hill.

A hill session only needs to be done once a week; twice a week if you’re not doing
anything else (exercising for fitness is not the same as training for competitive sport.
I have a problem with people saying they’re “training” when they are exercising, my
opinion is that training is for people who are seriously pursuing a competitive goal).

Every 3rd or 4th hill session don’t do a warm-up. No cheating, run the first rep full-
pelt, otherwise it would essentially be a warm-up. Running a 200m hill fast with no
warm-up will feel uncomfortable and make your lungs burn. What about injury
potential? Competitive athletes who are fatigued most of the time may have to be
careful with this, but for fitness I recommend it. When you’re fresh, being able to run

fast from scratch, with no aches or pains and creaks or groans, is a feeling like no
other – it’s like you’re overcoming gravity without any effort.

Sessions: Again, these are actual sessions I ran with my training group. Distances are
approximate as our favoured hill had indicators such as lamp-posts, trees, driveways,
drain covers and gate-posts which we used as repetition checkmarks or endpoints.
Total hill distance ~280m.

- 2 x (4 x 280). 4min reps. 12min btwn sets

- 1 x 40m; 1 x 80m; 1 x 200; 1 x 280m; 1 x 200m; 1 x 80m; 1 x 40m. 3min btwn reps

- 3 x (40m; 80m; 150m; 200m). 3min btwn reps. 8min btwn sets

- 6 x 200m. 4min btwn reps

- 3 x 30m; 3 x 80m; 2 x 200m; 1 x 280. Slow walk back recovery. 3min btwn sets

- 2 x (4 x 200m). 3min btwn reps. 8min btwn sets

- 5 x 280m. 6min btwn reps

- 3 x (100m; 200m; 280m). 3min btwn reps. 10min btwn sets

As I mentioned in the ‘interval’ section, timing your repetitions and rest intervals
removes all doubt about your progression. Of course, you don’t have to time, but I’ve
found timing keeps you focused when the session starts getting tough. Without
timing there can be a lot of self-kiddology – your mind starts trying to bullshit you.

A good shoe grip is necessary for hill training on road or off-road – there’s nothing
worse than the sensation of slipping, plus it wastes your energy.

Is it really necessary to add extra weight to make your hill session even tougher? I
don’t think so – but hell, there are no rules, do whatever takes your fancy. Just
remember, the hill is the resistance, and the steeper the hill the more the resistance.

Gym

As obvious as it seems the main purpose of gym is to build strength. Yes, there are
different types of strength but the strength we’re concerned with is the strength which
enables you to lift a heavier weight in a given exercise. If basic strength training is
not at least part of your gym routine, what are you doing?

The rationale of the athlete is to the build general strength as well as strength specific
to their athletic pursuit. Usually, ‘specific strength training’ is just a deeper focus on
the further development of an area of general strength, for example, squatting
performance. For the normal person who wants to improve their health, general
whole-body strength training is the way forwards. In other words general strength is
your ‘specific strength’.

The problem for the athlete is how to balance all the elements of training within their
energetic envelope and recovery capability. It is virtually impossible to dedicate
optimal time to every exercise or regimen which *may* improve performance, so
there is a certain amount of opportunity cost when choosing one protocol over
another. Therefore it’s important to (mostly) utilise exercises and routines which give
the most ‘bang for their buck’. The non-athlete doesn’t have these problems as they
are concerned with building the ‘cake’ not the ‘icing on the cake’ which the
experienced athlete is after. This is why the non-athlete can utilise different regimens
of gym training, indeed should try different training protocols. No need to be a
propeller head and think one type of training is the Holy Grail. Arguments between
individuals about what sort or rep or set schemes are the most effective are naive.
Just be consistent and work hard.

As an athlete my gym training was necessarily affected by what I was doing outside
the gym, the time of year, levels of fatigue, if I was peaking for competition, my
training block emphasis, what I felt like including or testing, intuition, or maybe what
worked well for a fellow athlete, etc. With that in mind I present a rough snapshot of
a Spring gym training week – if you follow it you will get stronger. You will also get
stronger doing other types of routines as many roads lead to Rome. Further, I’m an
ectomorph with my own strengths and weaknesses - you are you, so test out different
routines for yourself.

Tuesday

Squats (parallel or butt to floor) - 4 sets (8 to 3reps)
Partials and ¼ squats - 4 sets (8 to 6reps)
Jump squats (barbell ½ to 100% b/w) - 3 x 6reps
Squat Jumps (30secs after J.Squats) - 6 reps
Wave Squats (barbell 100%+ b/w) - 2 x 40reps
Chin-ups - 3 x 20reps
Parallel Bar Dips - 50; 30; 25
Power Cleans - 4 Sets x (10 to 5 reps)
Or; Power Snatch - 3 x 6reps
Various waist
Barbell Rows - 3 x 6

Friday:

Bench Press - 5 sets (10 to 2reps)
Deadlift - 4 sets (8 to 1rep)
Push-ups - 2 x 50
Barbell curls - 3 x 10
Dumbbell Press - 3 x 10
Various Waist

Note about ‘Power’ exercises. I believe they are vastly overrated as power
development protocols – I found they are useful as a test of power not as a means for
increasing power. When my squat and dead numbers went up my power cleans felt
easier. Aside from any technical adjustments my power clean never improved
without a previous increase in general squat or dead strength. There may be a positive
effect of repeated fast power cleans (for instance) in developing a specific type of
power endurance, I’m not sure. Whatever, I still included them because I liked the
feeling of a weight flying up to my shoulders with a single burst of effort. This
highlights a general point that even elite athletes and their coaches can’t always argue
the scientific reasons for including a certain exercise in their training routine, only
that it intuitively seems right. Coaching will never ever be 100% ‘scientific’ (despite
journalistic reports that elite training is), this is the challenge and art of coaching.

Whatever resistance training routine you use as a non-athlete the main focus of gym
should be to build strength. Never stray too far from that.

Circuit Training

The value of circuit training for track and field athletes is debatable. As mentioned
earlier, if recovery abilities were unlimited it would be logical to include everything
even if there was only a slight potential for performance improvement (races are won
in 100th’s of a second) – of course, this isn’t the case. The intelligent coach knows it’s
impossible to concurrently mine every training protocol. However, some coaches
may include circuits sessions as part of the general preparation phase.

For the non-athletes wanting to get fit circuit training is excellent. I do a circuit once
a week; it’s a quick and compact way of working out. I love circuit training, any type
of exercise can be included and the session can be designed to be fairly easy to
brutally hard. Circuits can varied according to desired outcome, focusing on heart
rate, endurance, strength endurance, lactic tolerance, whatever. Weights can be
utilised, medicine balls, any equipment you like or just body weight. Body parts can
be targeted. I’ve done circuits just using six different waist exercises. You can add in
sprints, shadow boxing, anything you like!

My current circuit:

1st Set (x3)

Push-Ups x 20
Tuck Jumps x 10
Chinnies x 20
Mountain climbs x 36

2nd Set (x 3)

Bench Dips x 40
Barbell curls x 10
Burpees x 10
Waist (variations) x 20

3rd Set (x 3)

Barbell Shoulder Press x 10
Split Jumps x 24
Side Raises x 20 (each side)
Push-Ups x 20
Chinnies x 20

[Each set is performed three times over with a few seconds between each exercise.
Rest interval between sets is five minutes]

********************

In your mission to get, fitter, stronger and dynamically robust it is a mistake to only
concentrate on a few gym exercises - say, squats, deads and press, and think that is
enough…it is nowhere near enough. Don’t be a meat-head.

Note: The interval section is more comprehensive than the other two sections (they
are barely the minimum!) as it is my real area of expertise. I have over thirty years
experience in resistance training and circuits, but in some ways I still feel like a
beginner. Interval training is different for me; I ‘feel’ it at a far deeper level. Give me
a track and a pair of spikes and I’m at home.

This guide is only intended to give you inspiration. The main idea is that to stay
robustly fit, healthy, and physically capable, you have to challenge your body beyond
the physical demands of normal life…

Good Luck!