Intervals
Basic Tabata
8×20″ fast bursts, 10″ floats.
Main set: 8 × (20 s @ 90% + 10 s @ 30%)
About this workout
The Tabata protocol comes from a 1996 study by Japanese researcher Izumi Tabata of a routine introduced by Kouichi Irisawa, coach of Japan's speed-skating team: 7 to 8 bouts of 20 seconds at a very high, constant intensity, each followed by 10 seconds of complete rest, on an exercise bike. After 6 weeks of training 5 days a week, the subjects improved both their VO2max and their anaerobic capacity.
Fartlek's version is a running, Tabata-style 20/10: 8 rounds of 20 seconds at 90% with 10 seconds of easy movement instead of full rest, so it's hard but not taken to exhaustion like the original. Run it on fresh legs, after a good warm-up. The 1996 study.
The workout
| Block | What to run | Cue |
|---|---|---|
| Warm-up | 4 min @ 30% + 45 s rest | Easy jog, loosen up |
| 8×20″/10″ | 8 × (20 s @ 90% + 10 s @ 30%) | 20 on, 10 float |
| Cool down | 3 min @ 30% | Walk or jog easy |
How each effort should feel
Efforts are a percentage of your all-out effort, set by feel (RPE), not by pace. From Fartlek's effort guide:
- 30% Very easy. Walking pace or the gentlest jog.
- 90% Very hard. A word or two, tops.
Pete's tip
Sprint hard for 20 seconds, float easy for 10. Keep form crisp with quick turnover. Finish breathing hard but controlled, not chaotic.
Pete, Fartlek's AI coach
What it trains
Stamina. Maintain intensity over sustained efforts.