I do it all heavy. I usually take 2 days between speed workouts. So i feel going heavy 2 days in a row 1 day with upper body doesnt affect my performance.
I would advise against lifting on tempo days, or even two days in a row.
I don’t think you should ever lift on tempo days unless it is some kind of low intensity, low volume GS type work. Whether it be MB, or circuits, or whatever, you should never lift heavy on tempo days.
My explanation…
Tempo days are a recovery mechanism, plain and simple. The only purpose is to give the body and active rest and help mentally and physciall prepare for the next hard session. Thus, if you were to lift heavy on tempo days, you would be negating the whole purpose of the session.
Tempo sessions are not real workouts and should be treated like recovery days…NO HARD WORK.
Lifting on hard days/CNS days is the best way to go. If you do like I do, you can lift in the morning and run in the afternoon. Or, you can lift almost immediately after running. The running is already going to be hard so why not make the lifting hard? You are trying to elicit a particular stimulus on hard days and lifting hard just adds to it.
Remember that lifting is supplementary to running, so running should be first priority. If you are lifting on tempo (or recovery) days, then you will interfere with the running the next day because the body will not have had adequate time to recover.
Everyone is different and what works for one may not work for another. However, there are certain protocols that probably should be followed, and avoiding heavy lifting on tempo days is one of them.
People with a training age under 5 probably shouldn’t attempt lifting heavy 2 days in a row, and even on tempo days. You want to develop and progress and once your body is accustomed to hard work, then maybe you can try lifting heavy on tempo days and 2 days in a row.
Until then, I say lift 3x a week, heavy, and leave the recovery days for recovering.
Tempo sessions are not real workouts and should be treated like recovery days…NO HARD WORK
Although tempo days are performed on recovery days, I think they can be aerobically stressful, especially pre season. Can’t heart rates be taken to atleast 180 with extensive tempo, without speed work suffering the following day?
I don’t know about numbers, but I say 75% effort, if you want to get fast, and then see where your heartrate is then.
Yes, they can be aerobically stressful during pre-season and off-season work, but they are still used for recovery. During pre/off-season, they also serve to help the body recover later on.
So basicly an atlethe with a fantastic recovery could reach a high class running, by only training 3-4 seassions a week?
That would be high intens. training and no tempo.
Is that possible, I know some atlehtes like swimmers, track/field that do over 10 seassions a week.
(By the way Quikazhell, do you run the 400m?)
“an athlete with fantastic recovery …”
How does an athlete reach the state where they recover fantastically? ------> conditioning!
I don’t think that seperation can be made.
400stud, I agree to use 75% (as opposed to measuring HR) but I was just stating that the high HR found with tempo could be classed as stressful.
It can be, but as time goes on the body gets used to running at that pace and adapts bringing less stress upon the body.
Also, tempo should probably follow a pyramid type scheme that gradually builds up during the GPP/SPP phases peaking at the end of SPP, and then going down during Pre-Comp. and Comp. phases to allow the body to concentrate more on the high intensity workouts. During Competition phase, tempo should be at its lowest since training began because emphasis should be on speed, form, etc. and less on recovery as a workout. Doing this type of scheme would allow the body to adapt, making the workouts less stressful while still maintaining intensity and HR.
(By the way Quikazhell, do you run the 400m?)
Yes, occasionally the open 400 but otherwise relays. I ran the 400 last year twice and ran 49.8 and 50.3 and my splits were all in the low to mid 49 range. This year i may be moving up more often however. We shall see.