Coach Crowe Blog: Aerobic or Anaerobic?
Coach Crowe Blog: I had just finished a workout with my high school runners; 10 X 400 meters in 70 seconds with a 200-meter jog recovery. “Coach was that workout aerobic or anaerobic?” First you have to understand that the aerobic and anaerobic are the two most important energy systems utilized by a distance runner. Sports physiologists will tell you that it takes a trained athlete anywhere from 90 to 120 seconds to activate the aerobic energy system from the anerobic. If I take the above 400 workout, I can manipulate the recovery interval and make the workout either aerobic or anaerobic. By using the 200-meter jog for the recovery the athlete will keep their heart rate up and subsequently the workout is aerobic. Instead of using a jog recovery, if I substitute a complete recovery of 3 to 5 minutes of standing rest the athlete never gets to the 90 to 120 seconds of aerobic activation so the workout is anaerobic. I can use this principal no matter the repetition duration simply by manipulating the recovery interval. Whether it is multiple repeats of 30 second sprint- 10 second rest (aerobic) or 30 sprint- 2 minute rest (anaerobic) or variations. Utilizing the recovery interval of a workout is the way a coach can make the workout fit their athletes needs at a particular time of the season.