What is the stimulus for capillary density? Would it be the accumulation of anaerobic by-products, high oxidative activity for prolonged periods or other?
The normal rule of thumb I am following for tempo is .65% of Max (So 17 seconds for 100 meters) broken into 4x4x100 meters (Situps and pushups in between sets)
I am curious about rest time between reps and sets. Right now I am resting 30 seconds between reps and 90 seconds between sets. (However I do situps and pushups between the sets)
My heartrate goes pretty high but I havent been consistently measuring it. (I frequently see above 185bpm depending on intensity)
thanks,
Chris
Think only about the stress on the muscles. The heart rate can go very high. Above 180 is seen quite often because of the nature of heart rate with sprinters. Stroke volume is not changed radically by sprint work so the most efficient solution for moving blood is the rate. You’ll note that the heart rate drops dramatically on short recoveries.
Q:
You don’t appear to be in a relaxed stae taking your puse now! Take it in the AM first thing upon rising.
I would suggest the best way to improve capillary density is through weight training for local muscular endurance (>20r). However, since these large volumes would be detrimental to the development of optimal strength perhaps bodybuilding type set/rep schemes would be more appropriate i.e. 8-12r; 3-8s.
Brad: Intermediate fibres are extremely sensitive to training stimulus. Much research has highlighted the inhibition endurance exercise has on the aquisition of maximum strength. Infact I’ve read research that suggests rep schemes >8 actually cause an atrophy of FTFs.
Capillary density is stimulated by various training means- and to varying degrees- the trick is to use those that are stimulatory WITHOUT any unfavourable change in the characteristics of the fibre itself, even though the changes will occur more slowly.
Charlie, I would think interval training at around 300-500m ie. above VO2 max, would provide the greatest increase in capillaries for sprinters, but this type of training would change fibre type for 100/200m unfavourably if overdone. Therefore, this is used for short periods and tempo is used throughout for the best compromise between capillary density development and allowing fibre type to remain optimum (recovery also). Does this sound right?
It might be used for short periods but it doesn’t have to be.
The signal for increased capillarization can be as low as 55% of VO2 max or at 140 HR…or for geeks like me with lactate testers 2-3 mM/l lactate. The balance is to create a training stimulus just enough to make changes in the slow twitch fiber but not convert the fast twitch. The key is not to fatigue the slow twitch fiber, so intervals should be very constant and should challenge the O2 transport system…not the muscles themselves. Any type of muscular endurance training must be carefully reviewed.
If you are correctly stimulating your fast twitch fibres with speed work and weights (and you are fresh at those sessions) then you should not have to worry too much about the convertion of fibres from slow to fast.
if the athlete is improving their speed then essentially who cares what their muscle fibres are doing.
However, back to the original question of capillarisation from tempo training, well I guess you would need to do some before and after testing to validate the theory.
If the fibers are doing the wrong thing…expect speed to decrease. As for research you need longer then 12 weeks from what I have read…but it could be faster.
clemson,
140 beats per minute! wow.
during my tempo sessions such as 2x8x100 with 30 seconds rest and 3 minutes between sets i do my 100’s in around 17 seconds and my heart rate after each set is up around 168-174 after the first set, 132 before the start of the next set, and 180 after the last set?
is this too high for tempo? and if so is that bad or am i just overworking for no reason?
The skewed numbers could be a heavy session from three days ago…hard to gage. Still 180 bpm is high for tempo. The set up looks good, I suggest you increase the rest to 45 and tell what happens then.
How about defining some parameters of tempo training? If I need to be careful, what are the upper limits in terms of total volume, length of runs, rest intervals, and intensity of effort? If I want to avoid an unfavorable adaptation, where do I need to pay the most attention?
David,
I, too, think that strength training, done in a bodybuilding type fashion, is a great way to approach this. Sometimes I think it’s easy to forget that strength training is an energy system workout. Any upper limits on time under tension?
Heart rate is going to vary significantly from athlete to athlete. Not only do max heart rates vary quite a bit, but heart rate is going to vary significantly within each athlete from day to day as well. Sleep patterns as well as the weather can cause heart rate to fluctuate. Another question might be, how long does your heart stay elevated at 180 beats? If you quickly return to normal levels, it may not be a tough as you think. Rather just an indication of a higher max heart rate.
I would think that it would be better to calculate tempo based upon percentages. The 75% rule works great for tempo. I think the key is to make that calculation based upon what times you could run on a grass surface without spikes without factoring in heightened arousal from competition.
If you follow the guidelines that Charlie has laid out, 75% should be easy.
The other point about muscle fibres is that there are alot of them that are intermediate that cant really be classed one way or the other and from what I remember slow or fast twitch fibres will show small signs of change depending on the stimulus.
My point is that when you are getting the speed and tempo volume right you dont need to biopsy the muscle just look at your watch. If its a faster time you moving in the right direction.
I am curious as to what most feel the general target heart RANGE should be for say a 30 year old athlete both immediately after reps and between sets.
thanks,
Chris
Richard and David W,
A bodybuilding workout will get up to 20 M/ml due to the short rest periods and time under tension. Be warned…research from the big boys tell us that such protocols can take up to 12 weeks. This is a long GPP phase and I feel that adding mass to some frames would be a poor choice such as the old thread about MJ trying to loose mass. Powerlifters rarely get above 4 M/ml and staying in the 8-12 zone will get to far away from the qualites that are perhaps more important such as strenght and power. My question is tempo work slightly specific to the areas you stress? Is it full body from running but local from cycling? I have my opinions.
I think Fleck during the NSCA pre-conf-symposium had fantastic info on the cardiovascular addaptations. Energy system work and addaptations are not the same, so such workouts should be placed carefully.
OHSTF-
Heartrates do vary, but fitness and carefull loading should keep intra-athlete scores constant since the body favors homestasis, yo-yo scores are indicators of overtraining or lack of general fitness. Sure environmental variables and sleep will increase such values, but such factors can be calculated in or adjusted.
A 30 year old athlete is not really different from anyone else. His program should be based on what he needs as assessed by the coach and athlete and depends on his strength levels, muscle mass and fat levels, fitness level, years of training, 100m times etc.
Depending on what the athlete has done prior why not try cycling tempos into the workouts. 3km per week broken down into three 1km sessions and see how he handles that and then slowly progress him upto a level his body can take and then change the rest periods and distances to challenge and stimulate the body, ensuring his technique doesnt degrade at any time.
Just my opinion 
I would argue that Chris has near the highest level of fitness for a sprinter.
I think the parameters are:
- Velocity 60-75%
- Rest interval 1 minute to 30 seconds
- Passive or active (pushups and situps)
4)1000m to 3000m (depends on double sessions and events)
as for responses such as lactate and HR record and find your own numbers. I like the exertion to be constant for the entire session as much as possible. Also circuits could be creative and using an ab circuit during the grass day could make the interval up to 3 minutes if you are doing intra-rep exercises. I like using a HR monitor (the rich kids with Nazi parents) and see if they can get into a steady state quickly.