Suffer Smarter
The German Interval Method
Endurance is built through suffering.
But being able to endure does not always equal improvement.
Lately, I have been reading up on an old German training method.
The German Interval Method.
It was developed in the 30s by running coach Woldemar Gerschler and cardiologist Hans Reindell.
They hypothesized that the heart doesn’t become stronger during high-intensity training. The adaptation comes when stress is applied correctly, then removed, allowing your system to rebound stronger. Sprint hard, stop, recover, repeat.
Most of our training (rucking or running) should be at a conversational pace (Zone 2). But if you want to really build the capacity of your heart to do hard shit, give the German interval method a go.
I have been adding this in at the end of a Zone 2 ruck or run. (If I am rucking, I drop the ruck for sprint intervals.)
Start at a heart rate of around 120
Sprint until your heart rate reaches 170-180
Stop
Monitor both heart rate and elapsed time
When your heart rate reaches 120, sprint again until it hits 170-180.
Repeat until it takes longer than 90 seconds for your heart rate to return to 120.
Then you are done for the day. I would add this once per week after a ruck or run. I don’t think there is a reason to do more.
Here’s why it works:
· Recovery-Based: Unlike most high-intensity training, it prioritizes the recovery interval rather than the work interval.
· Increased Stroke Volume: During the recovery, your heart continues to pump blood hard, but because the heart rate is lowering, it fills with more blood, strengthening your left ventricle and increasing the amount of blood pumped per beat Stroke Volume).
· Heart Adaptation: The stress and recovery cycle leads to your heart becoming stronger and slightly larger, which will reduce your resting heart rate and improve cardiovascular endurance.
· According to research on PubMed Central, Experiments showed a ~20% increase in heart volume within just 21 days.
One of the things I like about this is that it is self-correcting.
If you went too hard, aren't well recovered, or aren’t in great shape, your sprint intervals will be shorter because you will hit 170 quickly, and your recovery interval will be longer, limiting the number of reps.
As heart strength, conditioning, and recovery improve, you will have to go harder and longer to hit 170-180, and you will recover faster, meaning you will be going again and again.
RTFU principle: Easy days should be easy enough to build your engine. Hard days should be hard enough to sharpen your sword.
Time spent in the middle isn’t wasted, but it is not as productive as it could be.
The point of training is to become more capable and harder to kill.
That requires discipline.
Not just the discipline to train, but the discipline to stop and recover.
Build the engine. Sharpen the sword. RTFU.
Until next week,
John
Life is Hard. Be Harder.
Bravo Zulu is the naval signal often sent via flags to acknowledge a job well done:
This week, a Brave Zulu goes to Sabastian Sawe of Kenya. He probably doesn’t read RTFU, but he should.
At any rate, he is the first person to break the 2:00:00 marathon barrier, winning the London Marathon in 1:59:30. Phenomenal work, Sabastian!
If you’ve crushed some shit, let me know.
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Short intense "sprint" effort with intermittent pauses is also much more like most real crisis/fight.
I remember stumbling upon an article on Yasso 800s in my youth. It was always the workout that tells the tale of where you really are.