Run Long, Run Healthy — June 27, 2024

4-Minute Magic — The BEST Interval Workout; New Super-Shoe Secrets; Get Stronger In Less Time

PLUS: Don’t get sidetracked by these running myths; Step up to more speed & power; Do female runners have more endurance than men?

Do female runners have more endurance than males? Image created with Ideogram.

4-Minute Magic: The Best Interval Workout

Two new papers look at a familiar and important question. You’ve trained yourself into good shape. You’ve got 4 to 6 weeks remaining before a big race.

Now what? What should you do to boost your fitness and performance potential in those remaining weeks?

Here’s the payoff first, with supporting details to follow. The best way to improve your vo2 max and sub max threshold is probably with 4-minute intervals run at about your 10k race pace.

Longer, slower intervals don’t provide enough stimulus. Faster intervals don’t last long enough.

That’s the conclusion reached by a research team that took matched groups of male and female subjects, and trained them for 6 weeks to see who would improve performance the most. Each group did a specific training session 3 times a week during those 6 weeks. The…