Love it or hate it, tempo work is just that, "work". But with hard work comes great rewards. Tempo work is a great way to improve your running/cycling and mixes up your weekly workout schedule so you have something to look forward to!
What is a tempo workout?
Tempo training is a generic term that is used to describe training at a "comfortably hard" pace. The ultimate goal of tempo or threshold training is to stress and ultimately improve your body's lactate-clearance capacity. You've heard people talk about "lactate threshold" (LT), well you can read more about that here to get more background. Basically, as you increase your body's ability to clear lactate, you are able to perform at a steady state or your "race pace" longer.
How do I know my tempo pace?
You can establish your tempo pace by doing a VO2 max test, power test (cycling), or some field tests that estimate your VO2, lactate threshold, or heart rate zones. If you know your running VO2 max, tempo pace for is about 83-88% of VO2 max. If you know your heart rate zones, tempo pace is in zone 3, closer to the top than the bottom. Check out
this article for an easy-to-read page about HR zones.
If all of that sounds like hogwash, you can subjectively define your tempo pace by "comfortably hard" and it is NOT conversation pace. You know the difference. When you are out for a ride or run with friends and can chat it up, that is not tempo pace. When you are truly at tempo pace, it should be hard or almost impossible to have a conversation, except maybe the occasional "Dude, this is comfortably hard." It is the pace you could maintain for about one hour.
Keep it tempo and not interval pace
Tempo pace is "comfortably hard" and interval pace is "hard." Don't let your tempo run or ride turn into a full-blown race. Know the purpose of your workouts, and know that you will not reap the benefits of a tempo workout if you go to fast. The purpose of a tempo session is to stress the lactate-clearance capability, not overstress it.
Use a HR monitor
Once you know your HR zones, use your HR monitor to keep you doing a true tempo workout. The monitor makes it easy to stay in that zone 3. For more on establishing HR zones, read
this.
Gimme a workout already
Ok, ok, this is the real purpose of this post. Be sure to include a warm-up and cool-down whether running or cycling.
Running:
- Warm-up 10-20 minutes easy pace.
- 3 x 10 minute at tempo pace with 2-min rests in between. Take the whole 2 minutes to recover and jog slowly. Don't race, just stay in your zone 3, or comfortably hard pace. Finish knowing you could do one more.
- Cool down 10-15 minutes.
Cycling:
- Warm-up in Zone 1-2 for 20-30 minutes. Include some fast pedals in your warm-up.
- 3 x 3 minutes tempo pace with 1 minutes recovery (spin easy). Keep in lower end of Zone 3.
- 3 x 1 minute tempo pace with 30 second recoveries (spin easy). Your HR should be moving up in Zone 3 for this set.
- 3 x 1 minute with 1 minute recovery (spin easy). Your HR should be at the top of Zone 3 during the "comfortably hard" workbouts.
- Cool-down 20-30 minutes
Power-based Cycling:
- Warm-up 20-30 minutes, stay in Zones 1-2. Include some fast pedals.
- 3 x 3 minutes Average Power Output in watts (APO) + 10 watts with 1 minute recovery (spin easy)
- 3 x 11 minutes APO + 20 watts with 30 second recoveries (spin easy)
- 3 x 1 minute APO + 30 watts with 1 minute recoveries (spin easy)
So next time you want to get faster or mix-up your boring training routine, consider implementing a tempo workout each week. Get 'er done!
Love it or hate it, tempo work is just that, "work". But with hard work comes great rewards. Tempo work is a great way to improve your running/cycling and mixes up your weekly workout schedule so you have something to look forward to!
What is a tempo workout?
Tempo training is a generic term that is used to describe training at a "comfortably hard" pace. The ultimate goal of tempo or threshold training is to stress and ultimately improve your body's lactate-clearance capacity. You've heard people talk about "lactate threshold" (LT), well you can read more about that here to get more background. Basically, as you increase your body's ability to clear lactate, you are able to perform at a steady state or your "race pace" longer.
How do I know my tempo pace?
You can establish your tempo pace by doing a VO2 max test, power test (cycling), or some field tests that estimate your VO2, lactate threshold, or heart rate zones. If you know your running VO2 max, tempo pace for is about 83-88% of VO2 max. If you know your heart rate zones, tempo pace is in zone 3, closer to the top than the bottom. Check out
this article for an easy-to-read page about HR zones.
If all of that sounds like hogwash, you can subjectively define your tempo pace by "comfortably hard" and it is NOT conversation pace. You know the difference. When you are out for a ride or run with friends and can chat it up, that is not tempo pace. When you are truly at tempo pace, it should be hard or almost impossible to have a conversation, except maybe the occasional "Dude, this is comfortably hard." It is the pace you could maintain for about one hour.
Keep it tempo and not interval pace
Tempo pace is "comfortably hard" and interval pace is "hard." Don't let your tempo run or ride turn into a full-blown race. Know the purpose of your workouts, and know that you will not reap the benefits of a tempo workout if you go to fast. The purpose of a tempo session is to stress the lactate-clearance capability, not overstress it.
Use a HR monitor
Once you know your HR zones, use your HR monitor to keep you doing a true tempo workout. The monitor makes it easy to stay in that zone 3. For more on establishing HR zones, read
this.
Gimme a workout already
Ok, ok, this is the real purpose of this post. Be sure to include a warm-up and cool-down whether running or cycling.
Running:
- Warm-up 10-20 minutes easy pace.
- 3 x 10 minute at tempo pace with 2-min rests in between. Take the whole 2 minutes to recover and jog slowly. Don't race, just stay in your zone 3, or comfortably hard pace. Finish knowing you could do one more.
- Cool down 10-15 minutes.
Cycling:
- Warm-up in Zone 1-2 for 20-30 minutes. Include some fast pedals in your warm-up.
- 3 x 3 minutes tempo pace with 1 minutes recovery (spin easy). Keep in lower end of Zone 3.
- 3 x 1 minute tempo pace with 30 second recoveries (spin easy). Your HR should be moving up in Zone 3 for this set.
- 3 x 1 minute with 1 minute recovery (spin easy). Your HR should be at the top of Zone 3 during the "comfortably hard" workbouts.
- Cool-down 20-30 minutes
Power-based Cycling:
- Warm-up 20-30 minutes, stay in Zones 1-2. Include some fast pedals.
- 3 x 3 minutes Average Power Output in watts (APO) + 10 watts with 1 minute recovery (spin easy)
- 3 x 11 minutes APO + 20 watts with 30 second recoveries (spin easy)
- 3 x 1 minute APO + 30 watts with 1 minute recoveries (spin easy)
So next time you want to get faster or mix-up your boring training routine, consider implementing a tempo workout each week. Get 'er done!
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