HR training and rest periods

[PaulG]

Dr. Fritz Hagerman (see link below) provides an excellent overview of the various energy systems used in rowing and other endurance sports. He also provides suggested rest periods between pieces of varying intensity. Using the nomenclature of the IP program (see the UK website) he suggest work to rest ratios of 1:3 for AT, 1:2 for TR and 1:1 for AT. How many of us actually do that and is it important? For example, my IP program recently had 4 min intervals at TR and if I wait 8 minutes between intervals I will just never finish the workout. Similarly a 1:1 work to rest ratio for a 3x12 min workout at AT will take forever (OK maybe just 72 minutes), but that is a lot for the time pressed erger. Furthermore the IP recommends that you just wait until your HR is about 100-110% of resting and that is a much shorter rest period for me compared to Hagerman's recommendations. OTH when I do TR intervals I oftern end up near my max HR, indicating I did not rest enough between intervals.

So what is the received wisdom on rest periods between intervals on the IP?

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[gregsmith01748]

Best guideline, for me is what's in the WP.

For short intervals ( up to about 1k) i guess that would be TR/AN, rest distance is equal to the work distance but at a slow "active rest" pace and so the rest time I about 2x longer than the work time.
For long intervals (1.5k to 3k), the rest is 1/2 the distance of the work distance.
For AT stuff, the rests are 1' to 2'.

[PaulG]

Those are typically the rest intervals that I use, but I suspect I could rest longer for the TR pieces because my HR can creep up to the AN band or even max. The question I have is why does Hagermann recommend a 1:1 work to rest for AT work? That seems excessive.

[rjw]

Hi Paul, I can't get access to the article but just on what you have mentioned:

.....[snip]..... he suggest work to rest ratios of 1:3 for AT (AN?), 1:2 for TR and 1:1 for AT.

On face value, I would suggest that AT training could be done with shorter rests but for AN and TR, I could see these ratios if one is trying to maximize strength. AN and TR are generally pushing the anaerobic systems and also trying to develop strength. These are generally less than 90 second intervals (OK maybe 2 minutes) for TR and less than 45 seconds for AN and the recovery allows for quality at high output. On the other hand, AT could be done with less rest than 1:1, but it depends as to how Dr. Hagerman is suggesting these be done and the training effect he is looking for. I have seen AT intervals recommended with a 5:1 (work:rest) ratio (Seiler, S.) as well.

[jamesg]

work to rest ratios of 1:3 for AT, 1:2 for TR and 1:1 for AT.

This should read: Work to Rest of 3:1 for AT, 2:1 for TR and 1:1 for AN.

So for example 12' At + 4' rest; 4' TR + 2' rest; 45s AN + 45s rest. Or follow the HR drop guidelines (in the Interactive).

[PaulG]

work to rest ratios of 1:3 for AT, 1:2 for TR and 1:1 for AT.

This should read: Work to Rest of 3:1 for AT, 2:1 for TR and 1:1 for AN.

So for example 12' At + 4' rest; 4' TR + 2' rest; 45s AN + 45s rest. Or follow the HR drop guidelines (in the Interactive).

Yes, I had a typo in my first post. Hagerman has a work to rest ratio of 1:1 for AT and I really think that 1 is too long of a rest period for a work period of 5-20 minutes. However, I am probably making too much of this. As stated in the Chronicles of Caviston, take the rest you need to finish the workout. There is no advantage to resting so little that you blow up in the later intervals, or resting so much that you lose your warmup.

However, I also find that HR is an imperfect indicator of recovery especially for AN and TR pieces.

[gregsmith01748]

I think that recovery time has a lot more to do with the pace of the piece than the length of the piece.

For example, if you are doing intervals at a 2K pace or faster, then a ratio of work time to rest time of 1:1 makes a lot of sense.

If you are doing something closer to a 5K pace, then 2 (work) : 1 (rest), or even shorter, makes more sense.

It really comes down to the point of the workout. If you are working on VO2Max, then limiting the recovery makes a lot of sense. If you are trying to pound high quality 500m reps at 2K-5 pace, taking 2 or 3 minutes between reps seems like a reasonable thing to do.

When you talk about rests between long reps (like 5K or longer), I think the rest only should be long enough to shake out the kinks, touch your toes, drink some water and get back on, probably 2 minutes or so.