👋 Hey. Welcome to issue #110 of The Everyday Athlete Newsletter.
Here are my 3 favourite ideas, learns and resources to help you improve your performance this week (4 min read):
🚲 Sprint interval training
You’ve heard of steady-state exercise.
You’ve heard of HIIT.
But you probably haven't heard of SIT.
Sprint Interval Training involves short bursts of “all out” effort.
Though unlike the typical 80% intensity and short rest periods of HIIT, you’re at 100% intensity and get lots of rest with SIT.
Hence the "sprint".
But note, sprint just means going as hard as you can (not necessarily running, the air bike is my go-to).
SIT protocols typically include:
- 🏃 Efforts lasting 10–60 seconds
- 🌬️ Work-to-rest ratio of 1:5 or greater
- ⏱️ Session duration of 10-30 mins
E.g. 12x 10-second effort, 50-second rest / 6x 30-second effort, 3-min rest
Popular in boxing and fight sports, SIT delivers similar aerobic and anaerobic adaptations as HIIT.
Optimal frequency 2-3x weekly.
Good way to mix it up from the classic 30:30s or 60s:60s of HIIT.
And — at least I find — slightly more enjoyable to do.
📕 Book: Endure
VO2 max is a metric that indicates how well our bodies use oxygen during exercise.
But — even in largely closed skill sports like cycling — athletes with the most insane VO2 maxes rarely find themselves on the podium.
The book Endure by Alex Hutchinson explores why...
That our individual limits may be determined as much by our head and heart, as by our muscles.
Some of my favourite highlights:
"While there are still plenty of gaps in the research, it does appear that top athletes really push themselves to a darker place, and stay there longer, than most people are willing to tolerate."
"After all, the brain is part of the body... feelings and emotions and urges are as physiologically real as changes in core temperature or decreases in hydration, and are mediated by chemical signals."
"The brain rules the body, Burfoot concluded, which is why his super-workout consisted of five times a mile as hard as possible, followed by your coach telling you to do another at the same pace. “From this workout, you’ll learn forever that you’re capable of much more than you think,” he wrote. “It’s the most powerful lesson you can possibly learn in running.”"
"Training is the cake and belief is the icing—but sometimes that thin smear of frosting makes all the difference."
There are a handful of other super-tactical pearls I'll share in coming newsletters.
Highly recommend Endure if you — along with what seems like 90% of the western world — have got the endurance bug.
🔫 Best muscle recovery tool
A gang of scientists (apparently the correct term to group scientists, who knew) wanted to know the most effective tools for muscle recovery after training.
So they did a review of all the quality research that compared manual massage, massage guns, foam rolling, and those late-night TV vibrating platforms things (wtf).
The winner was the massage gun.
Shown to improve strength, performance and recovery metrics better than foam rolling and the vibrating platforms things.
And more time-efficient than manual massage.
In fact, another study found two minutes of massage gun delivered the same muscle recovery results as 15 minutes of manual massage.
They reckon it's the way it combines pressures and vibration to get deeper into the muscle.
So if you’re after bang for your buck muscle recovery, it’s the gun.
P.s. I completely made up the gang of scientists thing
That's it!
Have a great weekend 🤙
Matt
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The Everyday Athlete Newsletter is not a licensed health service and is not a substitute for professional health advice, treatment or assessment. The information given in this email is general in nature, written for a specific audience. If you’re struggling, please see a healthcare professional.
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