Can too much Threshold running make you slower?

Summary

The speaker emphasizes the importance of a balanced training approach for runners, cautioning against over-reliance on threshold training. They argue that while building a strong aerobic base is crucial, neglecting high-intensity workouts like V2 Max and 5K pace sessions can limit race performance. The key is to integrate challenging, uncomfortable training to push personal limits and improve race outcomes, suggesting that a mix of steady runs, threshold work, and intense efforts is essential for optimal performance.

Takeaways

• 🏃‍♂️ The speaker emphasizes the importance of including hard, race-specific training sessions at least once a week to improve race performance.
• 🏔 The script discusses the limitations of solely focusing on threshold training and the need to balance it with high-intensity workouts.
• 🔄 The speaker shares personal experiences, suggesting that a mix of training types, including threshold and V2 Max efforts, is crucial for progress.
• 💪 The importance of pushing through discomfort and negative emotions during training is highlighted as a way to improve mental and physical resilience.
• 🔄 The concept of a 'pyramid' of fitness is introduced, with the foundation being steady and threshold runs, and the peak being the race potential achieved through harder training.
• 🌐 The speaker warns against becoming too comfortable with steady running and neglecting the harder, more intense training sessions that are necessary for race readiness.
• 🤔 The script encourages runners to question their training routines and to be open to trying different types of workouts to find what best suits their goals.
• 🚫 A caution is given against becoming addicted to or stubbornly sticking to a single training method, such as threshold training, without considering the need for variety.
• 🧠 The psychological aspect of training is underscored, with the speaker noting that training should prepare runners to handle the mental challenges of racing.
• 🏅 The speaker suggests that incorporating a variety of training methods, including those that are uncomfortable or challenging, can give runners an advantage in races.
• 📈 The importance of building a strong foundation with steady and threshold runs, while also pushing the limits with high-intensity sessions, is reiterated for achieving peak performance.

Q & A

What is the speaker's opinion on threshold training?

The speaker believes that while threshold training is important for building a foundation, it should not be the sole focus of training. They suggest that it may not yield the best results without incorporating harder, more race-specific efforts.

What is the role of V2 Max efforts in training according to the speaker?

V2 Max efforts are crucial for pushing the limits and improving race performance. The speaker emphasizes that these once-a-week hard sessions are what truly push the body's potential and should not be neglected.

Why does the speaker feel that some athletes might be getting frustrated with their race performance?

The speaker suggests that athletes might be getting frustrated because they are not seeing the expected results from their training during races. This could be due to an overemphasis on threshold training without enough high-intensity work.

What does the speaker mean by 'the pyramid' in the context of training?

The 'pyramid' is a metaphor for the structure of an athlete's training. The foundation represents steady and threshold runs, while the peak represents the athlete's race potential. The speaker argues that both are important, but one cannot reach the peak without a strong foundation and hard training sessions.

What is the speaker's advice for athletes who feel their race performance is not improving despite training?

The speaker advises athletes to incorporate harder training sessions into their routine, such as V2 Max efforts and race-specific workouts, to push their limits and improve their race performance.

How does the speaker describe the importance of psychology in training and racing?

The speaker highlights the psychological aspect of training, emphasizing the need to overcome negative thoughts and discomfort during intense sessions. This mental strength is crucial for pushing through during races.

What is the speaker's view on the balance between steady running and high-intensity training?

The speaker believes in a balanced approach where steady running and threshold work build the foundation, but high-intensity training is necessary to push the peak of one's performance pyramid.

Why does the speaker warn against becoming too comfortable with steady running?

The speaker warns that becoming too comfortable with steady running can lead to a plateau in performance, as it may not challenge the athlete enough to improve their race potential.

What does the speaker suggest as a strategy to avoid getting stuck in a training rut?

The speaker suggests varying the training routine by including a mix of steady runs, threshold workouts, and high-intensity sessions to continuously challenge the body and mind and avoid stagnation.

How does the speaker describe the importance of practicing uncomfortable rhythms in training?

The speaker emphasizes that practicing uncomfortable rhythms in training helps athletes prepare for the demands of a race, making it easier to push through when they need to during an actual competition.

What is the speaker's final advice to athletes regarding their training approach?

The speaker's final advice is to not get addicted or stubborn with a particular training method, but to be open to a mix of training types that will help move the athlete forward and prepare them for race day.

Outlines

00:00

🏃‍♂️ The Importance of V2 Max Training

The speaker discusses their experience with threshold training and its limitations. They emphasize that while threshold training is essential for building a foundation, it's the V2 Max efforts done once or twice a week that truly push performance boundaries and improve race outcomes. The speaker shares their frustration with races feeling laborious despite consistent training, attributing this to neglecting the harder, more intense training sessions. They advocate for a balanced approach that combines threshold training with challenging workouts to enhance both physical and psychological readiness for races.

05:02

🏗️ Building the Pyramid of Performance

This paragraph delves into the concept of building a solid foundation for athletic performance, likened to constructing a pyramid. The foundation represents steady and threshold runs, which are crucial but not sufficient for peak performance. The speaker warns against becoming too comfortable with this 'safe' zone and neglecting the harder training sessions that elevate the pyramid's peak, which represents race potential. They stress the importance of incorporating intense sessions like V2 Max and 5k efforts to push beyond the foundation and reach higher performance levels.

10:04

🔥 The Role of Intensity in Training

The speaker reflects on the necessity of including intense training sessions in one's routine to avoid stagnation and to continue improving. They recount their own training history and how a mix of hard work and challenging sessions contributed to their past successes. The speaker encourages runners to experiment with a variety of training methods, including long runs and high-intensity intervals, to discover what drives them forward and to avoid becoming complacent or stubbornly attached to a single training method. They conclude by reminding viewers of the importance of adapting and challenging oneself in training to achieve better race results.

Keywords

💡Addiction

In the context of the video, addiction refers to the speaker's reliance on a particular training method, which they believe is not yielding the desired results. The speaker is addicted to the 'threshold stuff,' indicating a repetitive pattern of training that has become habitual but potentially ineffective. This concept is central to the video's theme of reevaluating training strategies.

💡Threshold

Threshold, in this script, pertains to a specific type of training intensity that athletes use to build endurance. The speaker mentions that while threshold training can be beneficial, it has not provided the results they previously achieved with different methods. The term is integral to the video's message about the importance of varying training intensities.

💡V2 Max

V2 Max refers to a high-intensity training effort aimed at improving an athlete's performance by targeting their maximum speed at lactate threshold (V2). The speaker emphasizes the importance of incorporating V2 Max efforts into training once a week to push one's limits and improve race performance, contrasting it with the more moderate threshold training.

💡Foundation

The term 'foundation' is used metaphorically to describe the base level of fitness built through consistent, moderate-intensity training. The speaker suggests that while a solid foundation is necessary, it should not be the sole focus of training if one aims to improve and reach higher performance levels.

💡Race Potential

Race potential is the concept of an athlete's untapped ability to perform at a higher level in races. The video discusses how neglecting high-intensity training can limit an athlete's race potential, as it is believed that pushing beyond the comfort zone in training can enhance performance during competitions.

💡Psychology

Psychology in this context refers to the mental aspect of training and racing. The speaker talks about the psychological challenges of pushing through discomfort during high-intensity training sessions and how overcoming these mental barriers can improve an athlete's ability to perform under race conditions.

💡Intensity

Intensity is a key concept in the video, referring to the level of effort exerted during training. The speaker argues that varying the intensity of workouts, including incorporating high-intensity sessions, is crucial for improving an athlete's overall performance and not just sticking to moderate threshold training.

💡Training Pyramid

The training pyramid is a metaphor used by the speaker to illustrate the structure of a well-rounded training program. The foundation represents steady, moderate-intensity training, while the peak of the pyramid symbolizes the athlete's race potential, which can only be reached by also incorporating high-intensity workouts.

💡Lactate Threshold

Lactate threshold is a physiological concept referring to the point at which lactic acid starts to accumulate in the muscles faster than it can be cleared, leading to fatigue. The speaker discusses how training at or near this threshold can be beneficial but warns against over-reliance on this type of training.

💡Mileage

Mileage in the context of the video refers to the total distance an athlete runs during training. The speaker reflects on their own experiences, noting that doing less mileage but with more intensity and variety in training led to better race results than higher mileage with a focus on threshold training.

💡Performance Plateau

A performance plateau is a situation where an athlete's progress stalls despite continued training. The video suggests that sticking to the same training routine, particularly threshold training, can lead to a plateau, and advocates for the inclusion of varied and challenging workouts to break through it.

Highlights

The speaker discusses the limitations of threshold training and its impact on performance.

Emphasis on the importance of incorporating V2 Max efforts into training once a week for optimal results.

The role of threshold training as a foundation for building fitness, but not enough for peak performance.

The necessity of pushing beyond comfort zones in training to improve race performance.

The psychological aspect of training and how it affects race day performance.

The frustration of not seeing improvements despite consistent threshold training.

The analogy of building a pyramid to represent the balance between foundation and peak performance.

The dangers of becoming too comfortable with steady running and neglecting harder training.

The importance of variety in training to avoid stagnation and promote progress.

The speaker's personal experience with the benefits of harder training sessions over threshold work.

The concept of practicing uncomfortable rhythms in training to improve race performance.

The need to push through negative emotions during training for better race outcomes.

The speaker's realization of the importance of a mix of training intensities for optimal performance.

The idea that runners should challenge themselves with uncomfortable training sessions to see progress.

The potential for addiction to certain training routines and the need to break free from them.

The importance of not clinging to past training successes and being open to new methods.

The speaker's advice on finding what type of training makes one question running the most.

Encouragement to try different training methods to discover what truly helps move one forward.

Transcripts

and I clung to it I became addicted to

it I became addicted to it's just about

the work this threshold stuff if I keep

doing it it's just about to work I'm not

saying it doesn't work for everybody I'm

just saying threshold I'm just telling

you that I've tried it and done it and

repeated almost the same patterns a few

times now and it's not getting the

results out of me that I've previously

been able to achieve doing less time at

altitude doing less mileage the guys

that are doing the threshold stuff well

the guys that are achieving success

doing the threshold work they're still

ones per week doing really hard V2 Max

efforts on Saturdays or or whatever day

per week that they pick that specific

hard day that's what people need to be

talking about not the threshold stuff

that's building this Foundation it's the

V2 work that once a week pushing really

hard that's pushing your ceiling higher

and pulling you up to towards that sort

of race potential as you neglect that V2

stuff that Mac stuff you're just

dropping down down down closer to

falling back on wherever your foundation

is so if you haven't raced lately or

ever at all and felt you know just like

the race feels like hard work that

you're you're trying to push you're

trying to sort of run it whether it's

the goal piece that you'd like or you're

you're trying to keep up with a group

you know mid race that you've tried to

sort of like attach yourself to and you

just find that it's hard work you just

find that just trying to get the body to

you know go in that direction to move at

that piece it just feels like hard work

and it's frustrating because you know

when you've trained or when you've been

pushing in training it hasn't felt that

way and so you're frustrated because

naturally it's like you know what is

going on here this is not how it felt a

week ago this is is not how it felt 10

days ago 2 months ago and suddenly then

on race day it just feels

labored that's probably how I've felt in

a lot of you know races lately and it's

not always how it's been and the reason

I'm telling you that is because I've

started probably pushing a bit more in

training and I've probably adapted the

attitude of you know sorry for the

bluntness but you know this threshold

stuff all the time and see getting back

to just pushing and almost like making

sure that at least once a week maybe

twice a week you're in that like

uncomfortable state in training well

then I think for sure as when it

comes to that next race and you're you

know being asked the question to push a

little bit well the body and brain it's

going to be able to respond because

you've been practicing that

uncomfortable Rhythm that pushing when

you don't really feel like it when you

have to like refocus when you have to

recompose yourself because naturally you

just want to slow things down the last

few sessions that I've done I was in

Flagstaff Arizona I got the teeth pulled

that had probably hindered a lot of the

London

buildup that's gone so that excuses are

gone and now it's like now you have

permission to work now you don't need to

control the lactate now you don't need

to control the effort levels but then

with that comes but that's harder but

I'm not here to preach that you know

threshold isn't important I'm not here

to preach that you know you do need to

build a foundation you do need to build

layers and layers of Fitness but it's

almost like if you're not doing

something pretty hard in training you

know once a week possibly twice a week

your body physically your physiology and

your psychology they're going to find it

very difficult on R EST day when

suddenly you're asking them to do

something they're not capable of doing

so the role of the foundation you know

the the steady runs the threshold stuff

you're you're building a layer you know

you're you're building this very bottom

like if we if we picture a pyramid right

this whole bottom layer is is is going

to be your your foundation that's your

steady state stuff that's your threshold

work and that's where you're building

you know this foundation and as your

foundation then gets a little bit higher

so does your probably we could name it

your racing potential but while you're

building that sort of foundation it's

still only potential so the more of that

stuff you do likely the more potential

you have have to race well but the

problem is that in order to build your

pyramid almost upward and and get closer

to that you know really good race

potential you do need to do the harder

trading we're talking about V2 Max

efforts we're talking about 5k effort

sessions we're talking about you know

maybe doing like instead of where you've

got your threshold piece and you do your

maybe you do four times 2K well suddenly

you do four times 2K that little bit

above that threshold piece and then

actually towards the last few they're

they're that difficult that you kind of

want to quit early but you don't you

push through it and that's what then

starts to you know push this pyramid up

towards the this is where your best

potential race lies if you don't have

the foundation and you only do the

harder stuff you can't build a pyramid

from the middle up so that's your you've

got your upward you know you're trying

to get to to the top of this pyramid but

if you just stack all the way up the

middle it'll fall over it'll collapse

because you do need the foundation but

the danger is that you just get too

comfortable in the steady running zone

two zone three you cling to it you get

excited by the fact that it's getting

quicker but you've built the foundation

right but you haven't really inflated

your your Peak right so you're the peak

of your pyramid is still down here down

at the foundation and even though that's

in a really good place a really sexy

place and I am the word worth it getting

at the a bloody brilliant position

higher than it's ever been before faster

than it's ever been before but then I

neglect pushing it upward and what

pushes it up when you start to do those

harder intense sessions when you start

to do that stuff that really starts to

test you in training because let's make

no mistake here running is brutal racing

is brutal and if you haven't done stuff

like that in training if you haven't

pushed yourself to a place in training

where you're thinking H I can't be asked

I don't need this and then you're like

that's just those negative thoughts

coming in love this I want this and you

push through it and you remind yourself

it's okay one lap at a time 2 minutes at

a time one minute at a time break it

down to every 15 seconds it doesn't

matter but you push through those

negative emotions you push through that

little uncomfortable State and a week

later you figure it out better you deal

with it better because a lot of things

have moved on physically you've moved on

psychologically you've moved on and

guess what your physiology has moved on

you're starting to bring that sort of

pyramid to a better Peak and you're not

just sitting down at this Foundation

stage a lot of people are finding a lot

of success in working on threshold PES

and they will improve that potentially

really good race result that can come

but you must still at least once a week

be working on those harder efforts those

more race specific efforts and that's

something that I'm learning I'm falling

into sort of the Trap of I'm falling

into this trap where you know I go out

there this morning I'm in St meritz I

flown from Flag Staff and now I'm in S

meritz I could have gone and done what I

always do you know four to five times 2K

kept the lactate sort of two and all of

a sudden I'm like no you know we'll do

and it was mile reps and then some at

hundreds and because I'm having to run

the best part of 30 seconds per mile

quicker than I would have done in you

know the sort of like 522 lactate type

stuff all of a sudden I'm running at 445

ps450 and it sucks honestly it sucked I

think my exact quote after the first

mile was this is Hell on Earth obviously

it's not but because I've neglected that

stuff because I haven't been doing that

work then I'm not used to it so the

effort feels really hard but actually

it's an effort that I can sustain for

quite a lengthy period of time when I've

put in the work when I've built that

capacity to be able to do that work when

I've got the psychology used to doing

that work and I thought this sort of

YouTube was really important because

there's so much information out there

now about training there's so much about

this threshold that threshold as much as

getting your threshold Pace to you know

a faster place is really important

you'll still be limited because

threshold effort and threshold pace is

never going to be the same as 5K Pace or

V2 Max Pace you know you're 78 minutes

of hard work you're sort of like 15 to

20 minute range that harder stuff and

you can get addicted to just getting

into this routine of you know it's easy

to just go do that five or six times six

minutes at threshold and Runners have

quite addictive personalities so just be

careful that you're not clinging to

something because you're being stubborn

because you're desperate for the work

because you've clung to it because

you've stuck to it now that I've started

doing a mixture of harder sessions a

mixture of maybe some faster work it

just brought back memories of this is

how I used to do it this is how I

trained in that buildup the 209 this is

how I trained in the buildup the running

61 108 this is the stuff that I was

doing when I was 18 19 20 years of age

I'm bloody racing quicker over 10K and

half marathon that I am now when I was

doing probably half the mileage that

I've done now when I wasn't doing

altitude camps when I wasn't as focused

this is the work that I was doing back

then that pushed me forward you're

always trying to find what will help

move you forward you're always trying to

find what gets your body going what gets

your psychology in a really good place

what tests you so that on race day

you're not found out so that on race day

you can handle that race better than

perhaps you've ever handled it before

that's the bottom line start doing a

mixture of training and see what makes

you question running the most see what

makes you uncomfortable maybe you don't

like long runs add in a long run maybe

you don't like doing 10 * 400s at your

V2 Max X effort with maybe 60 to 75

seconds rest maybe you don't like being

at that Max effort maybe you don't like

doing five times a mile at perhaps what

you can currently race a 5k or a 10K in

that's going to be tough sessions when

you're starting to run at those sort of

like efforts those efforts above

threshold and because the reps are a bit

longer mile 2 Mile perhaps suddenly it

asks the question of the psychology do

you want this and if you think about it

if every everybody bloody else is doing

threshold and you start get getting good

at not only doing threshold but the

other stuff that's going to move you

forward well then you've got the

advantage think of your steady running

think of your threshold as building that

Foundation but do not neglect the harder

stuff that pushes that potential forward

that pushes that this is where my race

potential is right now this is where my

race p is at right now do not neglect it

don't get addicted or stubborn to I'm

two weeks away from this working I'm 3

weeks away from this working but I've

done it for that long now that I want to

keep doing it you know get rid of that

attitude that attitude it doesn't

matter what you done last week or the

week before it doesn't matter that

you're clinging to it and you're

desperate for the work start figuring

out what really helps you move forward

and dedicate time to that I hope you

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