An effective 60-minute high-intensity interval session designed to increase your capacity and VO2max.

The session was designed by coach Vetle Leander Johansen of Team Swenor-Splitkon, who is responsible for athletes such as Calle Halfvarsson and Oskar Svensson, as well as several of Norway’s fastest elite skiers.

Session facts

Training benefits

The purpose of the session is to raise your VO2max, in other words your capacity, while also improving technique and sprint ability. Research shows that short intervals such as 45/15 or 30/15 give you more total time at high intensity and high speed than long intervals.

Short, hard intervals also develop your sprint ability and technique at high speed, which makes the session very race-like.

Mass start races are full of surges, both in traditional races and in long-distance events. Good sprint ability is therefore important for taking the positions you want, securing points in intermediate sprints and deciding sprint finishes on the home straight.

Warm-up

• Make sure you are properly warmed up before starting the intervals.

Main set: 30 min

• 4 x 6 minutes, alternating 40 seconds hard and 20 seconds easy within each interval (see variations).
• Two to three minutes of recovery.

Cool-down

• Finish with a proper cool-down after the last interval.

How to do it

Do intervals where you alternate 40 seconds at high intensity (i5 feeling) with 20 seconds easy until the interval time is up. For example, 4×6 minutes with 40 seconds “on” and 20 seconds “off”. Each interval lasts between five and ten minutes in total and is normally done in intensity zone 4 or 5. (See variations above.)

Take two to three minutes of recovery between intervals.

This session can be done every week and can be varied across different forms of exercise.

Also Read – RUNNING WITH POLES: Intervals to improve your functional capacity

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