Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Rest Breaks


Proper timing of rest breaks is critical during interval training. I learned this at a young age when my Dad coached me in track. A 30 second rest break vs. a 2 minute rest break can make a world of difference on the metabolic pathway your training; how quickly you recover; the timing of when you want to peak for a specific competition; and the consistency of the splits across the board.

Manipulating rest breaks allows the coach to push an athlete to different extremes. I've seen this 1st hand with myself and a few other coaches I run with during the week. The consistent track work we put in each week has allowed us to sustain multiple workouts in a given day and at a competition without breaking down, and we are able to fight through lactic acid barriers that often hinder many CrossFit athletes.

For example-- running 100m sprints on the minute for 10 minutes is vastly different than running 10x100s with 90 seconds rest. Both are great, BUT it all depends on what your end goal is for training. That is where a coach is helpful.

I am loving track workouts and the science behind the manipulation of a rest break. It's never too late to start!


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