L4 PoweR-HouR

Why do L4 intervals in April? After taking two weeks VERY easy it’s important that we rev-up the system again as we prepare for the new training year. Base training and L3 intervals will quickly become our priority in May but before then it’s important that we maintain some of the top-end fitness we worked so hard to build over the winter. 

Studies show that athletes can typically go 12 – 14 days without any L4 intensity before their aerobic capacity and Vo2Max slowly decrease. It’s not a huge deal for an athlete to lose some of this top-end capacity in the spring but it’s also very easy to maintain with the occasional hard effort. These hard sessions don’t need to be brutal workouts or involve a ton of on-time, instead they can be short fun workouts, games, or come in the form of cross-training. 

Young athletes who transition into another sport in the spring (even team sports) will likely get enough high intensity without having to plan any interval sessions. Older athletes who focus on competing in multiple sports can also easily get this ‘maintenance’ intensity during the spring in the form of a running, cycling, or swimming races. Some of us however (especially in the COVID-19 times) will need to incorporate some non-competitive intensity into our routine during April. 

Performing a simple 3-4 x 4-minute L4 workouts is great for April because it hits enough high intensity to help us maintain fitness but can also be done very quickly and not fatigue the body too much. Since we still want to be recovering in April these workouts are designed to package medium to high intensity into a low volume workout. 

Mode: Absolutely anything you want. I have done 4 x 4 spring intervals running, cycling, on a stationary trainer, hiking, ski touring, Nordic skiing up an alpine hill, paddle boarding, just about any mode of exercise that will allow you to elevate your heart rate. Just make sure to choose a mode that won’t totally destroy you with muscle soreness. 

15 minutes easy aerobic activity

5 minutes L2 building into L3 

3 x 10 – 15 second accelerations 

Interval: 3 – 4 x 4 minutes L4 (but not maximal) target 88% - 90% of max heart rate. 

Recovery time can very but shoot for approximately 3 minutes. 

Quick warm down: 10 – 15 minutes easy. Try to keep the workout to 1 hour in length 

Goal: Maintain Vo2Max and aerobic capacity during the spring. Lactate 6 – 10mmol 

Because of it’s short duration this is a perfect workout to do first thing in the morning before work or class obligation. Pair it with a strength session in the afternoon to get the body used to double sessions again.