Interval Training: How to increase your

aerobic and anaerobic capacity

Interval training is an effective training mechanism allowing athletes to target and improve specific
energy systems appropriate to their sport. It is based on the principle that more work can be
performed at higher exercise intensities with the same or less fatigue than continuous running.
Training can be completed in a controlled environment such as on a treadmill, exercise bike,
rowing machine or cross trainer. However, as long as the session is structured, interval training
can be just as effective on an appropriate sports pitch or court.

The table right provides a summary of the appropriate exercise intensities, times and rest periods
required to train the phosphagen, glycolytic (anaerobic) or oxidative (aerobic) energy systems [1].

Aerobic capacity

Aerobic capacity is the ability to maintain a high work output for a long period of time, while
anaerobic capacity is the ability to perform very high workloads repeatedly. It is essential to train
aerobic capacity as individuals with high baseline endurance are more resistant to fatigue and will
have a faster recovery. This is supported by research, which found that tennis groundstroke hitting
accuracy decreased by 69% from rest to volitional fatigue, while service accuracy decreased by
30% [2]. Training the anaerobic system plays an important role in improving an individual’s
tolerance to lactic acid build-up and therefore their ability to cope with the stop-start nature of
many sports.

Meeting the demands of the sport

Sports such as soccer, rugby, basketball and hockey involve intermittent exercise with bouts of
short, intense activity breaking up longer periods of low-level, moderate-intensity exercise. In
soccer about 75-90% of the body’s total energy expenditure and consumption come from the
aerobic system [3] and although high speed actions only contribute around 11% of the total
distance covered, they generally are the key moments of the game that directly contribute to goal
scoring opportunities [4]. Consequently, soccer (and other games sports) uses a combination of
aerobic and anaerobic metabolism, alternating between intense work and active recovery.

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It is essential that interval training mimics the physical demands that are encountered during
match play. There is no use sprinting for distances and durations that are not related to the sport
and clearly both aerobic and anaerobic energy systems must be stressed. The following interval
sessions provide a range of sprint distances, speeds and inclines, with varying periods of active
recovery. Although match situations are ultimately the best way to improve sport-specific fitness,
these structured interval sessions can act as an effective alternative.

Example interval sessions

The interval sessions that I have constructed are designed for a treadmill. However, they can be
applied to other exercise machines or field based training. There are eight different sessions,
which look to target the aerobic system, anaerobic system or a combination of both. Sprint and
recovery speeds are suggested. However, they should be adjusted according to your ability in
terms of fitness and speed capacity.

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Alternatively, in terms of heart rate

For the glycolytic sessions, sprints should work you to 80-90% max heart rate (MHR), the
oxidative session sprints should work you to 75-85% MHR and the mixed session sprints should
work you between 75-90% MHR.

All of the sessions involve active recovery, which should be a very slow jog. In sessions where the
gradient increases by 1% for each block, the maximum sprint speed should decrease by 1% each
time. In sessions that involve varied sprint speeds, ensure that there is at least 1km/h difference
between each speed (medium, fast, and fastest), so don’t start too fast!

Alex Cockram

Strength and conditioning specialist, UK

References

1. Baechle, TR and Earle, RW (2000) Essentials of Strength and Conditioning. Hong Kong:
Human Kinetics

2. Davey, PR, Thorpe, RD and Williams, C ‘Fatigue decreases skilled tennis performance’ Journal
of Sport Science 2002; 20:311-318

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3. Reilly, T ‘Energetics of high-intensity exercise (soccer) with particular reference to fatigue’
Journal of Sport Science 1997; 15:257-263

4. Drust, B, Reilly, T and Cable, N ‘Physiological responses to laboratory-based soccer-specific

intermittent and continuous exercise’ Journal of Sport Science 2000; 18:885-892

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