• Men, 29 years old, body weight of 70 kg, height 181 cm. He is a nurse, working  in the University Hospital UZ Leuven.  Recently, he lost one of his best friends to cancer and together with some friends they have decided to join in for some fund raising for Kankerfonds.  They will run “20 km of Brussels’ (6 months from now). He used to play soccer  in a local team (2  times / week).   However, since the birth of his first child (10 years ago), he hasn’t been doing any regular physical activity outside of work.  No family history of CAD.  No personal history of injuries or diseases
• Resting heart rate: 50 bmp
• Resting blood pressure: 125/78 mmHg
• He did a maximal exercise test which was clinically negative
• Peak VO2:  92% of predicted (terminated because of leg fatigue)
• Peak HR: 191 bpm

Training adaptations

• The body adapts progressively to exercise, this results in:
  • Improvement of physical fitness
    • endurance, strength
  • Improved tolerance for exercise loading
    • Bone & tendons
  • Economic running technique
  • Body composition changes

Designing the training program

• Varying by means of training duration (minutes) and training intensity
  • Duration= The total time of running
    • To build up tolerance to exercise
    • The total duration is calculated without taking rest periods
  • The INTENSITY of running
    • Determined by running speed

Warning

• The body adapts slowly
  • Ratio exercise/recovery is crucial
    • Microcyclus
    • Mesocyclus
  • Beginners: one day of training followed by one day of rest
  • Advanced: one day of higher intensity followed by one day of lower intensity
• Adaptation of the body costs energy
  • The body should deliver this energy:
    • Nutrition is important
    • May interfere with other stress conditions
    • Sickness, Fever?

Training Load

• Duration of running
  • Build up gradually
  • If necessary with intervals of walking
• Intensity of running
  • Keep it low in the beginning
  • Can increase in the next phase

Running for your health

• PHASE 1
  • From physically inactive to jogging
  • Start to run from 0-5km in 10 weeks
• PHASE 2
  • From jogging to 20km of Brussels
  • 18 week program depending of the background of the person

Start to run

• Building training duration is only possible by combining running and walking (cfr. start to run –see below). Slow progression for beginners:
  • week 1: +0++00++00+++000+++000
    • 11’ running & 11’ walking
  • week 5: ++00++++00+++++00++++++00
    • 24’ running & 10’ walking
  • week 10: 30’ joggen met 1 à 2’ walking
    

Block 1: week 1-4

• Week 1: low volume –low intensity
  • total volume= 64’ running
  • 3 sessions of about 20’
  • Longest continuous run=8’
  • 5x5x5x5x  (x=3’ walking)
• Week 4: moderate volume- low intensity
  • total volume= 95’ running
  • 3 sessions of 30 à 35’
  • Longest continuous run=20’
  • 15x10x15 or  20x10

Block 2: week 5-8

• Build up to a continuous run of 40’
• The volume increases slowly (total number of minutes running) (from 95’ to 130’)
• The intensity increases, due to a reduction of the walking interruptions

Block 3: week 9-12

• Building up to a continuous run of 55’
• The volume does NOT increase drastically
• The intensity increases as there are no walking periods any more
• Intense sessions are followed by less intense sessions

Block 4: week 13-17

• Building up to 90’ running
• The volume (totaal minutes running) increases up to 170’
• Very long runs ( up to 90’) followed by short runs (45’ – 60’)