initial trainingIn the initial parts of your cardiovascular training, you will want to work on building a solid aerobic base. This is what will enable you to work at higher levels of intensity later on in your program. If you are new to endurance training, you may want to start at a lower level and work primarily on duration.
When you are able to go for 30 minutes at that intensity, increase it slightly or perform some type of interval training where you go harder for 1 to 2 minutes and then easier for another 1 to 2 minutes. Note that these are not meant to be sprints, but alternating periods of harder and easier work.
training for aerobic capacityAfter you've developed a good solid base to your aerobic training, then you want to work toward being able to perform at higher intensities for a longer period of time.
You will want to schedule these sessions for two or three days per week, depending on any other activities or training you take part in.
The time of these sessions can also vary, from 10 minutes all the way up to an hour or more. The longer duration sessions are going to be for those who plan to run endurance events such as a half or full marathon.
During these workouts you want to be going at a pace that is quite intense and challenging to maintain. The longer the duration of session, the lower the intensity you will work at, but it should still be higher than the base training intensity you did initially (during what are now considered your “easy” training days).
You should also keep the pace steady during these sessions, and when you begin to feel fatigued, stop to conclude the workout. Slowly work on developing the ability to go for a longer period of time at that same intensity.
increasing VO2 max & lactate thresholdThe final component of your endurance training is working to improve your VO2 max and lactate threshold so that you will be able to exercise better when you go back to more moderate intensities and perform your endurance sessions.
To increase your VO2 max and lactate threshold, you will perform two different workouts per week — one that is composed of very short sprints, and one that involves more moderate length intervals.
For the sprint session, you will go as hard as you absolutely can for a period of 10 to 20 seconds. After that, you will stop and go very easy (think walking) for 30 seconds to 1 minute. The work-to-rest ratio for these should be approximately 1:3, and you should work your way up to performing 8 to 10 repeats of these plus a five-minute warm-up and cool-down.
For the next sprint sessions, you will lengthen the work time slightly, so you will now be going hard for about 45 seconds to one minute, and then you'll be going easy for an equal duration (or slightly longer, to start with). The point of these intervals is to get them on a one-to-one ratio of work to rest. Keep in mind that you will not be going as hard as you did in the first sprint protocol due to their increased time length.
You should aim for 20 to 30 minutes of these intervals, so the total number you do will depend upon how long of a sprint interval you're using.
Your endurance training plan is next...