30-20-10 Workout

There is a new running workout in town, increase your gains from normal runs and reduce your volume by over 50%. Great if you only have limited time during the day for training, i.e. in your lunch break. Here’s how to do a 30-20-10 workout.

1. Warm up with easy jogging for about a mile. (The studied runners warmed up for just ¾ mile.)

2. Jog for 30 seconds, run normal training pace for 20 seconds, and sprint for 10 seconds. Immediately repeat this cycle four more times, producing one continuous five-minute repeat.

3. Jog for two minutes. Then repeat step 2 two or three more times. (The subjects in the JAP study did 3 x 5-minutes for the first four weeks, and 4 x 5-minutes for the next three weeks.)

4. (Optional) Cool down with easy jogging for about a mile. (The studied runners apparently did no cool-down)

It really is just a gloried Fartlek training, but the results are solid. Nice to add a variety to your runs. Here is the article from Applied Physiology Journal:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22556401