How Hard Should You Push Yourself In Interval Runs?
If you’re a runner, it can feel tempting to go above your limits to improve your pace, duration, VO2 max, and other metrics. But lots of research suggests that going easy is beneficial. Elite athletes only spend about 20% of their time intensively training, for instance – they’re mostly “zone 2” running. You might think the exception to that is the speedy part of interval training, which sees runners switch between jogs and sprints. But even in those, researchers think we should only be giving it a seven out of 10 effort. Why might “7/10 effort” help runners? Researchers wanted to see how running at different intensities affected people’s VO2 max, or their ability to use oxygen efficiently, and their heart rates. They asked participants to run three times. Each run was three minutes each, with two minutes’ rest in between. Runners were asked to run at three different levels of perceived intensity: 6/10, 7/10, and 8/10 effort. That was measured by how hard the participants felt they were pushing themselves in their run (they …
