Interval Training Guide

Interval training is one of the best ways you can increase your running fitness, and should definitely be included as part of your race preparation - whether you run 5ks, 10ks, marathons and other distances. Our interval running guide will explain what this method of training involves, and includes a variety of interval running workouts you can try.

What is interval training in running?

Interval training is a kind of exercise which combines alternating periods of high-intensity activity and low-intensity activity/rest. For runners, it typically involves covering a specific distance or for a specific time, pausing, then repeating.

Interval training has been used by coaches and athletes since it was popularised by Czech Olympic champion Emil Zapotek the 1950s. Interval workouts are particularly helpful if you’ve already been running for a while and have hit a plateau where you don’t seem to be getting any faster. Research shows that experienced runners who begin doing interval runs really see an improvement after they work it into their training.

What are the benefits of interval training workouts?

Interval training offers runners numerous benefits. These include:

• A highly precise measure of fitness: Since most interval training workouts combine specific distances and time frames, you’re able to clearly benchmark your progress.
• Increases anaerobic capacity: When you do high-speed or intensity training, your body’s aerobic system can’t keep up with the demands you’re putting on it, so it creates energy in the absence of oxygen. The more interval training you do, the better your body gets at anaerobic exercise.
• Improves performance: We’ve all reached plateaus in our training – levels where we find we’re not able to continue to improve. Interval training can help launch you up to your next fitness level by increasing your body’s efficiency.
• May improve running economy: Some research indicates that interval running may improve running economy (simplifying somewhat, this is essentially how efficient your body is at using oxygen and energy).
• Lose weight faster: Interval training burns significantly more calories than a leisurely jog in the same amount of time, thereby helping you to lose weight if that’s one of your goals - as various studies have confirmed.
• More fun: You might find that doing interval running adds variety and a different kind of challenge to your training - which can help keep you motivated too.

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6 interval training running exercises

Try using some of the following interval training workouts during your next running session. You might find it easier to do interval training either on a track or a treadmill, simply because you’ll have an accurate way to measure distance and don’t have to think about it. That said, you might be able to find a consistent distance at your local park that you can use as a measure – perhaps following the lines round a football pitch, for instance.

You’re also going to benefit from using a stopwatch of some sort – most sports watches will provide a stopwatch and a splits feature that can be a big help. You can also use a running app to record your times.

Here are six popular interval training running workouts:

• Lap repeats: Lap repeats are the classic interval training method. Go to your local running track or any other 400-metre distance, and aim to run this distance as fast as you can. On completion, stop and rest – wait until your heart rate is down to at least 120 BPM before repeating. Record each lap’s time, and over a few weeks, you should notice that you can increase your speed while reducing the time it takes to complete the lap, even after a few repeats. You can make it more intense by reducing your recovery time too.
• Ladders: Ladders are a way of building up the intensity of your interval training. Begin by doing a 200-metre sprint, before recovering for one minute and then increasing to 400 metres, recovering for one minute, and repeating again, this time for 600 metres, then 800 metres, and then a full kilometre.
• Pyramids: An alternative to ‘standard’ ladders, in pyramids you might start on 200 metres, increase to 400 metres, and then 600 metres, before going back down to 400 metres, then 200 metres, and repeating.
• Ins and outs: Visit your local track and aim to run for at least one mile in total. For ins and outs, you sprint the ‘straights’ on the track, then drop down to a jog along the bends, before increasing to a sprint on the next straight.
• Hill running repeats: Find a suitable hill or gradient to train on. Standing at the bottom of the hill, aim for a marker that takes 30-45 seconds to run to. Sprint towards it, then walk or gently jog back down the hill to your starting point, and repeat until a point of fatigue. Hill running is highly demanding, so for the first couple of hill sessions don’t push too hard, and give your body time to recover.
• Fartlek training: Fartlek training isn’t strictly an interval workout, but it borrows some of the ideas and is especially useful if you’re not a member of a track or gym, or if you prefer running in the great outdoors. Essentially, this is unstructured interval training where you choose various objects in your line of sight and alternately sprint or jog towards them. Visit a local park and, after warming up, sprint to a nearby tree. Drop off the pace and jog over to a different bush, before jumping into a sprint again and racing towards a goal post, and so on.

Interval training for different races

The kinds of interval training exercises you do should mirror the kind of distance your training for. If you’re training for a 5k race, then your focus will be on shorter duration, higher speed intervals. If you’ve got your sights set on a marathon PB, your interval running training will involve longer durations and a lower pace.

Here are some interval training suggestions for different race distances:

• For a 5k: As part of your weekly training, do 30-second hill running repeats, where you sprint at full speed up the hill several times until the point of fatigue.
• For a 10k: Once per week, set aside 30 minutes to do ladders. For each ‘rung’ of the ladder, run above your race time.
• For a marathon: As part of your marathon training plan, spend an hour doing several 2K lap repeats where you run at just above your race time.

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Ready to try interval training?

Interval running can be a great way of taking your training to the next level - particularly if you’ve hit a plateau. By building interval workouts into your routine, you should start to see the effects on your running time and speed at your next event, and hopefully beat your PB.

If you’re looking to improve your speed, your running shoes can also help you hit a faster pace. Browse ASICS’ range of speed running shoes.