The overzealous distance runner will want to work hard during these training runs and complete them at a moderate intensity, which in turn means that they are not fresh when it comes to the hot sessions and can only complete them at a moderately high intensity4.

We have seen that we will get diminishing returns from our training if we simply keep performing the same task, and that we can counteract this by progressively increasing the physiological load in some way (e.g. by increasing volume or intensity). An alternative way of counteracting the potential diminishing returns is to simply change the task –

From a theory point of view, GAS is a helpful model to use to describe tangible adaptations, whereas a practice model of training seems to lend itself to the description of intangible adaptations. Of course, this is a broad generalization and there will be instances where GAS is applicable to the description of intangible adaptations and vice

Low freshness/low fatigue: these are sessions that the athlete can still perform productively when tired, and that won’t create huge amounts of fatigue. Examples might be some types of technical practice, recovery sessions, core training or stretching.

fundamental human abilities that are commonly targeted by training I will distinguish between “skills” and “capacities.” In this context, a skill reflects the athlete’s ability to control their body accurately, efficiently and in a timely manner. Conversely, a capacity is the athlete’s ability to express a given quality – for instance, the maximum

The other major rest/recovery interval of importance is the rest that is taken between training sessions. From a GAS perspective, this is clearly a key variable in understanding the subsequent adaptation after training, the relative readiness of the athlete to train again, and the accumulation of any cross-session fatigue.

Competition will generally involve the greatest involvement of the anaerobic system (for instance,

The application of training stresses to create structural changes in the body is a very important part of the training process. Rather my argument here is that many training approaches neglect a consideration of practice and intangible adaptations, or don’t pay sufficient attention to these methods of performance enhancement.

in a typical distance running training programme, there will be 2 or 3 hot sessions that are run at higher intensities (e.g. intervals run on the track, or sustained running at a challenging pace). The rest of the training week will consist of regular training runs aimed at accumulating mileage.