The “Up & Down” is a hill running specific workout based on the ‘Out & Back‘ session usually done in the Base Period. It teaches you to run at the fastest pace you can sustain aerobically, that is, burning mainly fat and oxygen for fuel and incurring minimal oxygen debt while climbing long hills similar to…
Category Archives: Training
Alternations
As the name implies ‘alternations’ is a workout that consists of alternating between two or more paces or intensity levels as part of a continuous running session. Specifically, alternations consist of a faster segment followed by a slightly slower segment. Alternations differ from ‘intervals’ or ‘repetitions’ because there is no ‘recovery intervals’ in between ‘hard…
Mistaking the icing for the cake
As 50 years of practice and the recent Stephen Seiler study has shown, the most important determinant of success in running is ‘volume’. And to do volume we need to achieve consistency. To have consistency we need to have good recovery. To have good recovery, we need to have a very strong aerobic system. To…
Your training paces for running
A key question before doing any run will be ‘at what pace’ or the related question ‘at what effort’. In our personalised training plans we provide the full level of detail: heart rate, subjective effort target (Rate of Perceived Exertion) and pace ranges. We do this to avoid the MAIN TRAP of training: If you…
Overview of our training plans
In this four part video series René Borg talks you through how to get started with your training plan: Part 1 We begin with an overview of the ‘frame of the picture’ – how to understand what each week of training is all about. Part 2 The second part looks at how to begin understanding…
One minute ‘miracle’ running technique makeover
We love our jobs as running technique specialists, we know what the ideal characteristics of a runner with good technique looks like…but the real skill is moulding the runners we work with into that ideal. Coaching Cues We achieve this through coaching cues. Each cue has it’s own individual and personal meaning to the student.…
Three tests to measure your running potential
Have you ever started a training schedule not quite sure of where you are at fitness-wise and having to make an educated guess? This poses a big problem for runners – over-estimate your ability and you may over-train and under-perform. Under-estimate your ability and you may sell yourself short and not get the training stimulus…
TOE DRILLS (TOE-GA)
Toe drills or ‘toe-ga’ is a series of drills invented by Lee Saxby and taught as part of the VivoBarefoot Coaching certification education. Please find in this article a simple video showcasing coach René Borg executing some of the moves.* Read our full article on the topic here Note the drills shown here are…
FARTLEK step aside! It’s time for RYTMLEK
We’re big into our wild and wacky Fartleks in ChampionsEverywhere – these workouts are a staple part of every athlete we trains weekly training during the general practice and conditioning period. First engineered by Swedish coach Gösta Holmér, Fartlek means ‘speedplay’ and is a way to shake yourself out of that metronomic trance that can…
WORKOUTS: Ferocious fartleks!
Autumn cross-country is almost upon us again and there is no better time to experiment with “Fartleks“, the Swedish concept of “speedplay”. When I look around the internet there are many examples of Fartleks but in our opinion, the format is still not being used to it’s full potential. This is a session to be…
Natural workout sample – Gate Protocol #1
This workout can be used by any runner who has been instructed in basic jumping, balancing, vaulting, lunging and sprinting techniques. I came up with it on the August Bank Holiday as a quick morning workout that takes less than 30 minutes including warm-up and cool-down. Equipment needed 1 x gate (1m high or so)…
Time trial (Technical)
Time trials are one of the most important, and one of the most misunderstood, components of your final preparations towards peak race day. They are not workouts to determine how fast you can run a given distance: their purpose is to combine and coordinate the what you have attained in previous phases of training and…
Speed training
Speed training is a term we use for a workout consisting of a mixture of longer easier running with a session of very fast and short sprint work early in the run. Where long runs focus on the cardiovascular system and intervals runs on the metabolic system, strides improve neuromuscular coordination (the brain’s ability to…
Strong fartlek
Fartlek is a mixture of aerobic (easier) and anaerobic (harder) running without any set structure for when you decide to put in hard efforts. Likewise you can vary the exact intensity and length of faster running any way you want. Strong fartlek is similar to normal fartlek, except that the purpose is to get a…
Barefoot running workshops and coaching in Dublin area
Can we teach you to run barefoot and is that a service we provide here at ChampionsEverywhere in combination with our “Masters of Running” workshops. The answer is that we do not consider running barefoot an end-goal in itself but rather we want you to run as well as possible to ensure you stay injury free…
Cross-country sessions and fartleks – OMNIUM
Fartlek training is a perfect way to mimic the unpredictable nature of cross-country running and to bring an element of real fun into your running workouts. Fartleks can take any shape or form and are always best done over natural terrain making them perfect simulations for the cross-country running season. I’ve designed and/or stolen many…
Training phases (periodisation)
Our training method uses a set of phases modeled closely after the guidelines provided by Arthur Lydiard, the master coach, whose system forms the core of our coaching at ChampionsEverywhere . Our model includes approaches that we agree with from a wide range of coaches including Arthur Newton, Percy Cerutty, Bruce Tulloh and many more. Pre-training We…
Aerobic phase (base phase)
The aerobic phase, sometimes called “base training”, “foundation” or “conditioning”, consists mainly of long, steady distance (LSD) running mixed with fartleks, easy leg speed work (strides), slower easy runs when needed and a weekly faster aerobic run (such as “Out and Backs“). The aim of the aerobic phase is to run as high a mileage…
Fun transition programme for natural running, barefoot running and minimalist running
There are many runners out there now who are in the process of transitioning to a more natural and more minimalist running style such as that seen in earlier generations of runners (from the 50s-70s), who practically ran in plim-soles, or the running style of barefoot populations. Download the “Fun transition training programme into natural…
Max aerobic function (MAF) test
The “max aerobic function” (MAF) test is part of our ChampionsEverywhere program for prevention of underperformance in our athletes. This test does not focus on under-recovery and overtraining as much as it tries to detect whether your recent training has damaged your level of aerobic fitness and through this provide an early indication of problems…
Middle-distance intervals
I feared for participation in tonight’s workout with so a dire weather forecast and the slight wane of enthusiasm that late Autumn seems to bring. The marathon is completed for many, the IMRA season had its last big hooray at Powerscourt and it is mainly cross-country fanatics that are keeping the running show on the…
Lydiard training for team sports
Is your sport soccer, GAA, rugby, hockey, volleyball or another team sport? If so you may be wondering what our site can offer you apart from Orbana and advice on nutrition. Surely, the physical requirements of team sports fundamentally differ from pure endurance sports and the Lydiard training philosophy cannot be applied? Why teams need…
Nutritional guidelines for training
As the demands on your body change as you progress through the training phases of our programmes so will your body’s nutritional requirements. To ensure that you always get the best out of your training, we suggest you closely follow these guidelines which will tell you on what nutrients and food groups to put your…
Training programme features
To run your best you need to know exactly what workout to perform every day and why you are doing it. In addition, you need options to modify the workout on the day if you are feeling better or worse than you expected or if anything else unforeseen happens. Our training programmes include a host…
Why you need a coach
But, to be successful at the highest potential level as soon as possible, every athlete in any sport needs a coach. Trial and error will work but it could take years of effort when the answers could be found quickly by working with a coach. You cannot stand back from yourself and see exactly what…
Warming-up and cooling down
Most of your workouts should be accompanied by some pre-exercise and post-exercise activity or what we commonly call warm-ups and cooldowns. Think of them as a transition into your full workouts and a transition back to a more relaxed state. Watch athletes warm-up, however, and you will notice many different methods and durations. Executing your…
Workouts for running (training session types)
Our training programmes consist of a number of workout types each of which have their own article containing all the information you need to execute that particular workout correctly as well as improvise or modify it for special conditions. To give you a quick-start you can find an index of the workouts in the below…
Race rehearsal (Up-Tempo)
The Race Rehearsal run is a sustained run over a relatively short distance (usually 800m to 2 miles) to sharpen your tempo for the upcoming race: Instruction: Do your race warm-up Run at or just faster than race pace staying within a comfortably fast intensity (for 10k and shorter events, use 5 km effort) Stop at…
Up and down
The “up and down” workout is a variation of the standard threshold run in our programmes: the “out and back”. Using the same high-aerobic intensity, this workout targets the specific requirements of mountain, fell and hill running and has a greater strength element. The “up and down” workout can be done every second or third week…
Time trial
Time trials are one of the most important, and one of the most misunderstood, components of your final preparations towards peak race day. They are not workouts to determine how fast you can run a given distance: their purpose is to combine and coordinate the speed and stamina you have attained in previous phases of…
