On the slow intervals, dial things right back to an easy jog - try to keep running, but at a slow and easy pace, a 2–3 out of 10 on a perceived effort scale.

“My recommended workout is to run 800-meter intervals - so you run a half-mile fast, then another half-mile slow - then repeat that a few times.”ĭuring fast intervals, aim to be uncomfortable, roughly pushing yourself to 8–9 out of 10 on a perceived effort scale (RPE). “The possibilities are endless and can vary depending on your goals,” says Watson, who recommends doing this type of thing at a local track. If you want to try out this modality on your own, there are plenty of ways to play with the structuring of a speed workout. According to February 2019 research published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, intervals can help individuals lose more weight than moderate, steady state-exercise.

If weight loss is one of your goals, picking up the pace can help with that, too. It also adds a bit of variety and adrenaline to your running workout. According to a March 2018 study published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, interval training helped trail runners run 5.7% faster on a 3,000-meter track test. “It can improve your base running speed and your running economy - basically the miles per gallon your body gets when it runs.”ĭon’t just take Watson’s word for it, science agrees. “Interval training makes you a more powerful, efficient and faster runner,” says Thomas Watson, UESCA-certified run coach and founder of Marathon Handbook. Of course, this speed work can come in a slew of different shapes and forms, from 4 x 800-meter repeats to fartleks - the goofy-sounding Swedish word for speed play. The formula to make any run an interval run is pretty simple: Run hard for a bit, recover for a bit, do it all again.

Half life dark interval