Last week we touched on the importance of developing a strong aerobic base if you wish to improve your conditioning. This looks like a lot of long, easy-ish hours in your modality of choice (bike, swim, run, hike, whatever) at a pace you could hold a conversation at.
These adaptations takes a long time to develop (several months, even years) so you’ve gotta have patience, show up, and trust the process.
On the other hand, the changes you’ll see from higher intensity training often happen much faster than those from low intensity training. You’ll see rapid improvement if you started out with relatively poor conditioning, so it may be tempting to just stick with your sprints… But in the long run, this will stop you short of your potential.
So what’s the deal with HIIT training?
High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) is a term that has been somewhat bastardized by the fitness industry in an attempt to sell you yet another shortcut (in this case, to better conditioning) — accomplish more with less time!
Effective high intensity training typically consists of short periods of VERY hard work followed by periods of complete rest or low intensity “recovery”. Most group classes labeled as “HIIT” often have folks rushing between exercises operating at a moderate intensity with minimal rest.
This is not to say you can’t improve your cardiovascular health at orange theory! You absolutely can, and sometimes people simply need to get moving and the energy + social aspect of these spaces is really helpful.
BUT — if you are serious about improving your performance, it will only take you so far.
True high intensity training is crucial — I am not poo-pooing it — but it’s not going to replace your long, easy hours. It’s meant to be layered on top. There are no short cuts (I know, bummer).
Oftentimes people assume that because they felt that pesky fatigue start to kick in at higher intensities (super steep inclines, the last leg of a race, etc) that they should improve the system in charge of high intensity. However, it’s not that simple.
It’s all connected.
If your aerobic system (“gas tank”) is well-trained, you’ll simply be able to do more (faster, longer, happier).
And!!! You’ll be able to RECOVER better from your workouts. A strong aerobic system will allow you to recover quicker from high intensity training as well as higher volumes of lower intensity. You’ll even notice an improvement in your recovery BETWEEN SETS in the weight room.
So, if you want the ability to handle more training & THUS move past your current limits, you have to make sure your aerobic system is in good shape. Try to move past these limits without the ability to recover from more training, and, well… good luck. You’ll be humbled or hurt or both.