Long vs. Short Interval Workouts: Which Is Better for Your Goals?

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• The Benefits of Both Long and Short Interval Workouts
• The Benefits of Both Long and Short Interval Workouts
• Why You Need Both Long and Short Intervals

Most solid training plans include a weekly speed workout, often in the form of intervals. But the length of those intervals usually depends on your race distance, training goals, and fitness level.

The way you approach 200-meter repeats likely won’t look the same as two-mile repeats, so we spoke with experts to reveal the subtle differences in short versus long intervals, including how to execute them, the benefits of both, and whether or not you should stick to one or the other.

The Benefits of Both Long and Short Interval Workouts

The 6 Best Garmin Running Watches cardiorespiratory fitness Marathon Workouts to Get Faster Laura Norris, a RRCA-certified running coach, strength and conditioning specialist, and exercise scientist.

That muscle recruitment pays off big time when you’re vying for a PR. “When you’re in a race and you’re trying to run fast, or you’re trying to run on fatigued legs at the end of a marathon, your body then knows how to recruit more muscle fibers,” meaning you can push hard paces Health - Injuries.

As for the cardio fitness payoff, intervals improve your maximum cardiac output, or how much blood your heart pumps to send to your working muscles, Norris explains. This allows your working muscles to get more oxygen, which can boost VO2 max Benefits of Trail Running for Road Racers.

Research backs up the benefits of interval workouts: A 2021 review published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health examined studies from the last century involving different forms of high-intensity interval workouts—with work periods ranging anywhere from 10 seconds to four minutes, aiming for a near maximal effort, and rest or recovery intervals spanning the same time frame—as well as 30- to 60-minute sessions of moderate aerobic training.

The researchers found that, compared to moderate-intensity training, interval workouts led to greater improvements in VO2 max, motor unit recruitment, capillary density, and red blood cell volume and hemoglobin (which allows for higher oxygen carrying capacity). All these payoffs contribute to a more robust aerobic engine and better running economy.

as you get closer to your event study published in are still crucial to letting your body recover from hard workouts recruited a group of 20 male distance runners and randomly assigned a group to sprint interval training, while another group stuck to their typical distance training. After 100-meter, 400-meter, and 3,000-meter time trials, the researchers found the group that did sprint intervals showed significant improvements in their 3,000-meter times, time to exhaustion, and small improvements in VO2 max, while the distance training group only showed slight improvements in their 400-meter times.

While interval workouts provide big-time benefits, that doesn’t mean every workout should involve intervals, Norris explains—easy runs and rest days are still crucial to letting your body recover from hard workouts.

The Benefits of Both Long and Short Interval Workouts

Long interval workouts typically include efforts above 600 meters with moderately-long rest periods, while short interval workouts include efforts at or below 600 meters, typically with longer rest periods, explains Danny Mackey, head coach of Brooks Beasts.

If you’re training to race a 5K or shorter distance, you might find yourself running a lot of short interval workouts, whereas if you’re training for a race longer than a 5K, like a half marathon or marathon, you’ll likely lean on long intervals.

While interval workouts have shared benefits no matter the distance or duration, there are some key differences.

What Short Intervals Look Like and The Adaptations You Gain

Short interval workouts for a 5K runner might look like 400-meter repeats, explains Reggie Waller, RRCA-certified run coach and head coach of Waller Endurance Coaching in Philadelphia. For example:

1. Warm up with 1-mile easy jogging, followed by dynamic stretches How to Make the Most of the Non-Running Days
2. 4-6 x 400 meters at goal 5K pace (Or 8-12 x 400-meter intervals at slightly faster than 5K pace, if you’re a more advanced 5K runner)
   1. Rest for 2-3 minutes, or a time that’s equal to or slightly longer than your run time between each 400-meter interval. (For example, if you run a 400 in 2 minutes, rest for 2-3 minutes of walking or light jogging)
3. Cool down with 1 mile easy jogging

You typically run short intervals at a higher intensity, close to your VO2 max, which leads to better run performance and increased speed, explains Norris. Short intervals ultimately raise your top-end speed, or your “exercise ceiling,” Norris explains, so you’re able to train harder before CA Notice at Collection run faster, It’s important to keep in mind that if you’re running a shorter race, like a.

You achieve these benefits to performance with less time on your feet, considering short intervals match some of the benefits you get in zone 2 training but with less volume, Norris notes.

You’ll also typically take longer rests between short intervals due to their high intensity. Mackey explains that because you’re running faster during short intervals, it takes the body more time to recover, clear lactate, and for your heart rate to come down. By giving your body enough rest time to do this—recover and clear lactate—you’re teaching it to do that more efficiently.

What Long Intervals Look Like and The Adaptations You Gain

Long intervals, on the other hand, tend to be at a more moderately-hard pace compared to high-intensity efforts in short interval workouts. You’ll typically run these at your lactate threshold, half marathon, or marathon pace.

and improve performance two-mile repeats for a marathoner:

1. Warm up for 1 mile at (zone 2) easy pace
2. 4 x 2-mile repeats at goal marathon pace
   1. 1 mile jog between each rep at (zone 2) easy pace
3. Cool down for 1 mile at (zone 2) easy pace

The purpose of long intervals is to improve your body’s ability to push through accompanying fatigue, explains Norris. This helps you to maintain pace after fatigue sets in, and keep running farther on tired legs.

When running intervals at Cool down for 1 mile at zone 2 easy pace, you also push that threshold higher—training your body to run faster for longer without accumulating so much lactate that you burn out. By improving lactate threshold, Norris explains, you tend to improve your performance in distances like the 10K, half marathon, and marathon, How to Pass People After Mile 20 of Your Marathon bonking.

Running threshold workouts not only helps you physiologically, but also gives you the confidence you need to hit your pace (and stick with it!) on half or full marathon race day.

Why You Need Both Long and Short Intervals

All runners benefit from mastering both long and short intervals, despite their differences. Both Norris and Mackey explain that doing short and It’s important to keep in mind that if you’re running a shorter race, like a training plan, and allow you to gain a range of adaptations like the improved lactate clearance you get from the longer intervals, and the improved muscle fiber recruitment and aerobic capacity that you gain from shorter ones.

On top of this, combining short and long intervals in a single workout often allows you to get more work in at a high intensity with less fatigue, says Norris.

For a 5K runner, a mixed workout might look like this, depending on a runner’s experience:

1. Warm up with 10-20 min easy running
2. 2-3 x 1K at 10K pace, 400m recovery jog in between
3. 4-6 x 200m faster (3K-5K effort), 200m jog in between
4. Cool down for 5-15 minutes with easy running

It’s important to keep in mind that if you’re running a shorter race, like a 5K or a 10K, feel free to incorporate mixed intervals into your training plan, but avoid doing them 10 days out from race day so you have time to recover. If you’re running a half or full marathon, hold off on doing them four to six weeks before race day, Norris says, as you’ll likely prioritize race pace How to Run Fast When You Typically Run Long.

While intervals aren’t as crucial as tempo runs for marathoners, it’s still important to be able to complete short intervals and speedwork, Mackey notes.

Norris offers an example of mixed intervals for half marathoners and marathoners:

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2. 2 Finish with 2 miles at marathon pace
3. 3-minute jogging recovery
4. 4 x 800-meters at half-marathon pace, 90-second recovery jog between
5. 3-minute jogging recovery
6. Finish with 2 Finish with 2 miles at marathon pace

Overall, it pays to vary your intervals to become a more well-rounded runner, no matter your race distance. “By adding both to your training, you make sure you do not neglect any aspect of fitness,” says Norris. If you did only short intervals, you might struggle with holding longer efforts at half marathon or marathon pace, but if you only did those longer intervals, you may miss out on improvements to your running economy and VO2max that short intervals bring, she explains.