Understanding Low-Intensity Training

DEEP DIVE

Why Low-Intensity Training Is Harder Than It Looks

Over the past two weeks, I've explained why sprint training requires both high and low-intensity work, and what makes high-intensity sessions effective. This week, let's talk about low-intensity training and what it actually accomplishes.

Low-intensity training is built around submaximal effort.

Tempo runs at 75% effort. Light auxiliary work. Sessions where intensity is deliberately controlled.

The challenge is executing them properly.

But low-intensity training serves specific physiological purposes that high-intensity work can't replicate, and it only delivers those benefits when the intensity stays controlled.

The primary purpose is promoting recovery while building aerobic capacity and work capacity.

Tempo runs stress the aerobic energy system without creating significant lactate accumulation or neural fatigue. This submaximal intensity allows blood flow to recovering tissues while avoiding the tissue damage or systemic stress that would compromise your next high-intensity session.

The aerobic development from low-intensity work supports recovery between sprint repetitions during competition. It improves your ability to handle higher training volumes over time. Research shows that athletes with better aerobic foundations can tolerate more high-intensity training and recover more effectively between sessions.

Without this base, high-intensity work accumulates faster than your body can adapt to it.

Tempo runs also provide something that gets overlooked: technical refinement at controlled speeds.

When you're running at submaximal effort, you can focus on specific aspects of your mechanics without the muscular tension and technical degradation that accompanies maximal effort. You can feel what proper running should look like. You can make adjustments and develop better body awareness.

This technical work at submaximal speeds creates more robust movement patterns that transfer to higher velocities.

The problem is execution.

Maintaining the prescribed intensity requires attention and discipline. It's easy to drift faster without realizing it, especially when training with others or when you're feeling good during a session.

At higher intensities, you're no longer training the aerobic system effectively. You're accumulating more fatigue than intended and creating stress that interferes with recovery rather than supporting it.

This is where discipline comes in.

High-intensity training aligns with the natural tendency to push hard. Low-intensity training requires you to deliberately constrain effort, which takes practice to get right.

A typical low-intensity session might include tempo runs structured as two sets of six to eight repetitions over 60-100 meters, with walk-back recovery between reps. After the running work, you might do extensive medicine ball circuits with controlled movements, an abdominal routine, and light upper body resistance work.

The entire session accumulates significantly more total volume than high-intensity days. Where high-intensity sprint sessions might total 200-400 meters, low-intensity tempo sessions might cover 800-1,600 meters or more.

This higher volume at submaximal intensity develops work capacity without exhausting neural or metabolic resources. The ability to handle this volume is what allows you to tolerate the high-intensity work that drives speed development.

Beyond the structured running work, low-intensity days include recovery practices like foam rolling, stretching, and mobility work. These fit naturally into the framework because the entire day is about facilitating adaptation rather than creating new stress.

Low-intensity training works when the intensity stays controlled. That's straightforward in principle but requires attention in practice.

The value shows up in what happens next.

You arrive at your next high-intensity session recovered and ready. Your sprint times stay sharp across the training week. You can maintain quality when it matters.

That's what low-intensity training provides - the foundation that allows high-intensity work to be effective consistently.

Different types of training serve different purposes. Executing them properly is what drives long-term improvement.