Long Slow Distance (LSD) Training

LSD training stands for "Long Slow Distance" training. It's a method commonly used in endurance sports like running, cycling, and swimming. LSD training can also be used to build a general aerobic base for transitional game sports such as football, hockey, netball, or rugby. The focus is on covering longer distances at a slower, steady pace to build cardiovascular endurance and improve the body's ability to use oxygen efficiently. It's particularly valuable for athletes preparing for events that demand sustained efforts over extended periods.

This topic is to explore LSD Training within the context of cardiovascular training, rather than aerobic exercises.

Long slow distance training (LSD) is a form of aerobic endurance training used in sports that require a level of cardiovascular conditioning. It is a training method most used by endurance athletes (e.g. runners, rowers, swimmer, cyclists and cross-country skiers), but is also used to develop base condition for many field and court-based sports. LSD training is a form of continuous training performed at a constant pace at lower to moderate exercise intensities. It is also referred to as “steady-state cardio” training. This form of training is effective in improving endurance, running economy and VO2 Max in untrained and moderately trained individuals. While LSD training is not thought to be as effective when used in isolation by highly trained individuals, it still typically makes up at least 70-80% of the total training volume of elite endurance athletes (Seiler and Tonnessen, 2009).

While much of the research around LSD training has been done on endurance athletes, in the professional era of team sports, more emphasis has been placed on achieving meaningful volumes of base training in preparatory training phases to increase athlete’s capacity for more intense forms of training later in the training programme. The key consideration for team sport athletes when it comes to LSD training is that running distances should be related to running distances required in competition, e.g. there is no sense in getting a basketball player to run marathon distances in training as this has little relevance to the needs of the sport.

One of the great ironies of LSD running is the concept of running slow to get faster (or fitter). It is much easier to understand how sprints, high-intensity intervals and short fast tempo runs translate to quicker running, but running slower for long distances just doesn’t compute for a lot of people. Your VO2 Max is your aerobic engine, and well-structured LSD training can have a marked effect on VO2 Max. This means an athlete who performs a period of LSD training will have a larger capacity to perform higher-intensity exercise modes that have more transference to increased sporting performance, e.g. more repeated sprints, faster recovery and the ability to hold higher workloads for longer.

Components of LSD training

While LSD training is often described as constant pace exercise performed at low-moderate intensities, it is essentially any running pace you can sustain for an extended period of time. If lactate threshold indicates the ceiling of your aerobic capacity, then working at any pace under your lactate threshold would be considered aerobic endurance training and would fit within LSD training methodology. That is not to say that all of this training needs to be done just below the lactate threshold. There are still benefits to be gained from long and easy paced workouts (we will discuss these shortly). If tempo and other lactate threshold training sessions are typically 20-30 minutes duration, then LSD training could be described as a training effort performed at an intensity less than lactate threshold for a period of at least 30 minutes. Any shorter than this and you can drop the “L” and “D” from the training mode, leaving simply “slow training”.

A Guide to Long Slow Distance Cardio (n.d.) the most common intensity for LSD training is a “conversational pace”, generally between 60-75% of maximum heart rate held at a constant rate for at least 30 minutes (and up to 2.5 hours).

History of LSD Training

Long distance exercise has been around forever. However, this type of exercise was typically performed out of necessity, rather than for fitness. In 490 B.C, a Greek Soldier named Pheidippides is said to have run 25 miles from Marathon to Athens (in sandles) to deliver work of a military victory against the Persians, thus running the first ever “marathon”. Unfortunately, Pheidippides had not put in any training for this and promptly dropped dead after delivering the news (Abbate, 2019).

The first competitive long distance running event was in 1896 when the first ever international Olympic Games paid tribute to Pheidippides by holding a marathon (24.85 miles). Only 9 of the 25 entrants finished the race. The very next year in 1897, the first Boston Marathon was run (Abbate, 2019).

The first person to adopt the concept of using LSD training to improve physical fitness is a matter of keen debate. Some claim English long-distance runner Arthur Newton use LSD training approaches in the 1920s and was vocal supporter of the use of longer distances at slower paces and proposed this method as the most effective training form or beginning runners (Sayer, 2020). Some credit German physician and coach Ernst van Aaken as the founder of the LSD method of endurance training when he proposed the following simple training guidelines in 1950s:

• Run daily, run slowly
• Run many miles, many times more than your racing distance

^{(Marcus, 2020)}

However, many believe that the first person to coin the phrase “Long Slow Distance Running” and popularise the approach into mainstream training programmes was American runner and running coach Joe Henderson in 1969. Building on the ideas of the great NZ coach Arthur Lydiard, Henderson was a huge proponent of the idea that running slow for long distances could actually make you faster (Sayer, 2020).

Benefits of LSD training

Human nature (particularly in competitive sport) is to believe that there is no gain without pain. LSD training challenges this belief. Far from being meaningless training, this form of low intensity prolonged training has been found to elicit important and fundamental physiological and neuromuscular adaptations. The key benefits of LSD training are:

• Increased movement economy
• Reduces the risk of injury
• Boosts V02 max
• Increased stroke volume and cardiac output
• Enhances mitochondrial density in muscle fibres
• More efficient fuel use while exercising
• Improves tolerance of physical discomfort
• Enhances recovery
• Most accessible form of exercise
• Can be performed outdoors

Let’s take a look at these in detail.

Increased movement economy

Repetition of any movement over time leads to neuromuscular refinements that improve the efficiency (oxygen and energy cost) of the movement. This is provided of course that appropriate technique of the movement is adopted.

Reduces the risk of injury

Provided that the majority of this training is completed at comfortable paces, LSD training allows you to benefit from the physiological adaptations to muscle and the cardiorespiratory system without putting high amounts of stress on these systems. This reduces the risk of over-training symptoms, burnout and overuse injury. This is a key reason why many endurance athletes complete the vast majority of their training volume at LSD intensities.

Boosts VO2 max

LSD training effectively increases the size of your aerobic engine through enhancing delivery pathways for oxygen and fuel. LSD training promotes an increase in the cross-sectional area of capillaries both within the lungs and muscle. It also improves the strength of your breathing muscles and the elasticity of your lung tissue. Combine this with increases in blood volume and red blood cell numbers and you have a system that can draw more oxygen into the lungs, diffuse more oxygen into the blood and deliver more oxygen to working muscles, leading to an ability to maintain aerobic activity more efficiently.

Increased stroke volume and cardiac output

These effects come about through the strengthening of the left ventricle, which leads to more powerful contractions of the heart leading to an increase in the amount of blood ejected from the heart per beat. During intense exercise, this translates to an ability to deliver more blood to working muscles allowing an athlete to maintain higher levels of intensity for longer and improved recovery.

Enhances mitochondrial density in muscle fibres

Mitochondria are the powerhouses for conversion of fuel into usable ATP. The more available mitochondria we have in muscle the more efficiently we can produce energy for muscle contraction. The CV systems enhanced ability to deliver oxygen to muscles (combined with this increase in mitochondria) means an athlete can continue to use the aerobic energy system at increasingly higher levels of intensity as the training programme progresses.

More efficient fuel use while exercising

LSD training intensities promote the use of both fat and carbohydrate as a fuel source. The ability to metabolise fat for energy increases the more this form of training is done. The more trained the system, the greater the muscle’s ability to burn fat. Turcotte et al (1992) found that aerobically trained athletes burned up to 60% more fat as fuel while exercising at 60% of heart rate maximum. This enhanced fat metabolism is thought to be a combination of increased oxygen delivery (fat needs a constant supply of oxygen to metabolise) and increased levels of mitochondrial enzymes citrate synthase and HAD which play a key role in beta-oxidation of fat molecules for energy (Purdom et al, 2018). The largest benefit of this enhanced utilisation of fat as fuel is that it plays a glycogen-preserving effect, meaning higher-intensity exercise efforts can be maintained for longer. The image below (adapted from Turcotte et al, 1992) shows the difference in fat utilisation between aerobically fit and unfit subjects. An unfit individual relies on carbohydrate as a fuel source at intensities of VO2 Max that are much lower than a fit individual. 90% of fuel appears to come from carbohydrates at around 50% intensity in unfit subjects, while that same ratio of fuel use only occurs at around 90% of effort in well-trained subjects.

Athletes being able to metabolise fat and use it as a fuel are also able to remain lean for their sports.

Improves tolerance of physical discomfort

LSD training allows your physical structures to adapt to the rigors of prolonged exercise in a progressive fashion and at lower levels of stress, so that when you get to more intense bouts of training, your tissues are better equipped to deal with physical stress.

Enhances recovery

The physiological adaptations associated with blood delivery are also associated with improved recovery rates (both during repeated bout exercise and in the hours following intense exercise). LSD training can also be employed as a means of active recovery (low intensity sessions performed in the days after very intense exercise can enhance recovery by helping to remove exercise metabolites and may reduce muscle soreness).

Most accessible form of exercise

Cardio exercise is available to anyone, anywhere. Simply head out your door, to the local beach, forest, park or footpath and you are doing it. While those who have the means may spend an awful lot of money on equipment like high end bicycles etc, it is not a pre-requisite to engage in cardio training.

Can be performed outdoors

Outdoor exercise modes have been shown to lead to their own raft of benefits for those who engage in them. Norvell (n.d.) suggests the following key benefits can be derived from training in the outdoors:

• Being outdoors has anti-depressive benefits, especially in sunshine as sunshine increases serotonin production (which improves mood). This combined with the endorphin release during exercise boosts mood and reduces perception of pain.
• Many outdoor surfaces are not flat. When you exercise on ever-changing terrain your body is challenged to adapt in more ways than when on flat surfaces. This allows the improvement of balance and stability focused muscles that can have far reaching impact on quality of life.
• Many people report they are more likely to stick with their cardio programme if they can do it outdoors.
• It can be social if you wish. There many walking, running, cycling and water-based activity groups in almost every urban and sub-urban area. Being part of a group motivates people to firstly turn up, and then give their best during exercise sessions.

Human potential for aerobic endurance

When you are struggling through your LSD trainings, it could pay to think about what the human potential for aerobic endurance actually is. Here are a couple of aerobic endurance records to put your own struggles into perspective and remind you that the ceiling for improvement is quite high!

Most consecutive marathons run on consecutive days

Many people set their sights on completing just one marathon in their lifetime, but the world record for consecutive marathons on consecutive days is held by Spanish ultrarunner Ricardo Abad Martinez who ran an astonishing 607 marathons on consecutive days! That is a ridiculous total of 25,000+ km run. Even more impressively, Ricardo did this while holding down a full-time factory job. The female world record for consecutive marathons is 106, held by Kate Jarden of the UK (Guiness Book of Records, 2022).

^{Image source 1: https://alchetron.com/Ricardo-Abad
Image source 2: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-derbyshire-61067808}

Longest swims

Martin Strel (a 52-year-old Slovenian) swam the entire length of the Amazon River in 2007. the 5,238km swim was done in 10-hour shifts (per day) and took 66 days to complete (Guiness Book of Records, 2022).

The longest open water swim completed in a single effort (without flippers) is 250km, achieved by Pablo Fernandez from Spain in 2021. The swim took 26 hours and 38 minutes to complete (Guiness Book of Records, 2022).

Longest stationary cycle

British man Benjamin Alexis Miles cycled for 277 hours, 20 minutes and 30 seconds in 2020. He was allowed 5 minutes break every hour. This record took almost 12 days to complete. Check out his effort here.

While the concept of long slow distance training is a simple one that generally involves running at a steady pace for an extended period of time, in reality, the approach we take to programming for this training method is completely reliant on the level of condition of our client and their training history with this method of training.

While some clients may be able to move straight into longer steady state efforts (like individuals who have a decent level of fitness already from playing sport or from completing regular walks, hikes or cycles), others will need to take a graduated approach to achieving continuous efforts of over 20 minutes duration. This may involve simply walking for extended periods of time, starting on the flat (while gradually extending the distance), then including some gradual hill climbs in the walk. The next step would be to incorporate short periods of jogging into a walk, gradually extending the jogs and reducing the walks until they are jogging continuously.

The first step in any cardio programme is a thorough pre-screening and client interview to establish their recent history of exercise and familiarity with cardio training. It would also be best practice to establish their baseline fitness levels with a simple cardiovascular baseline test (more on how to choose an appropriate test to come soon).

Choosing a mode of cardio

Before you establish the frequency, intensity, and duration of the cardio programme, you must first establish what mode of cardio the client will perform. Here are some simple questions that will help you decide on the best approach:

Is the client training to increase sporting performance?

If the answer to this question is yes, then the mode of cardio should be the one that matches the demands of the sport best. For example, if the client is training for an upcoming hockey season, then the obvious choice of cardio is running (as that is how hockey is performed). If a client wants to complete a cycle trail, then cycling makes the most sense. If the answer to the question is no, then you have a range of options available to work with. A good trainer will allow these types of clients to experience different forms of cardio training to see which of them the client prefers most (or in many cases “hates least”), including multiple forms of cardio in the programme can be a great way of keeping things fresh for general fitness clients, however, if there is a particular mode of cardio they prefer, then that is fine too. It is important to have open dialogue with your clients in these early stages of the programme to ensure their thoughts and opinions are being catered for.

Be aware that choosing the mode of exercise that feels “easiest” is generally not advised. If a client has no injuries or issues to work around, then avoid exercise modes like reclining cycles, aqua jogging and elliptical trainers. These are useful when a client needs to reduce load and impact (like heavily overweight clients) but are much harder to attain the ideal training heart rate zones on and will not provide the physiological stress for optimal adaptation.

The surface a client’s sport is played on should also be a consideration for trainers in their programming of exercise. General preparation cardio conditioning can utilise a range of surfaces and environments, but as the preparation phases of training become more specific, it makes sense to perform most of your cardio on a relevant surface to what you play on. For example, football and rugby players should perform their specific cardio conditioning on grass, while hockey plays would benefit from conditioning on artificial turf and netballers and basketballers from training on court surfaces. Road cyclists may hit the trails for a bit of variety in general preparation or off-season, but should stick to the roads for the majority of their training.

Does the client have an injury or weight bearing issue?

If the answer is yes, then you may have to select a modified form of cardio in order to avoid making their worse. For example, a client with a knee issue (like patellar tendinopathy) may find running painful but is fine on a cycle ergometer or walking uphill. Using the incline mode on a treadmill, or a stair-climber machine can be an effective way of reaching the ideal training heart rate zone while reducing impact on affected limbs. If the answer to this question is no, then a wide range of cardio training modes are available to your client.

Does the client prefer exercising outdoors?

Some clients can think of nothing worse than performing their cardio in the gym environment and would much prefer to hit the outdoors. Others prefer using cardio equipment in the gym as they can move between exercises with ease and because it makes tracking their distance and training intensity easier (plus has the benefit of reliably comfortable conditions). If your client would prefer to exercise outdoors, great! As a trainer, your role is to ensure they apply progressive overload in their training. The only way to do this with some degree of accuracy is to teach them how to track and monitor their workouts outdoors. This is now a simple process with the use of technological aids in terms of GPS and heart rate tracking devices and apps. This allows those training outdoors to get the many psychological benefits training in nature offers, while still being able to track the metrics of their workouts to ensure improvement.

The great news for today’s clients is that gyms offer a much wider range of cardio training equipment than ever before, so the odds of finding a mode of exercise the client enjoys have improved dramatically. The days of having to choose between the treadmill and cycle ergometer are over. How many of the following cardio training methods have you tried for yourself?

	Ski Ergometer
	Stair Climber
	Rowing Ergometer
	Assault Bike

Once you have decided on the type of cardio you will programme for your client, you can then focus on the other FITT Principles.

Frequency

The frequency of cardio training is again completely dependent on the client, their training goals and the time they have available to devote to training. As a starting point for general fitness, ACSM (and many other fitness authorities) recommend an initial training approach of 3 sessions a week with a target of 150 minutes of exercise a week. For weight loss, they recommend increasing the frequency of training to 5-6 days a week once a basic level of condition is achieved. However, if training 5-6 days a week, these sessions should be completed at moderate intensity only and it is recommended that a mix of CV training modes are used to avoid chronic overuse issues (Training for Cardiovascular Fitness, n.d.). More intense cardio training should be limited to 3 times a week to allow for adequate recovery.

For athletes working on their CV condition for their sport, the frequency of cardio trainings will depend on the other training modes they are also targeting during a particular training phase. For example, many team sport athletes will perform their LSD training sessions at the same time they are working on hypertrophy or strength in the gym, so the placement of these sessions will have to be carefully managed to allow for sufficient recovery for adaptation to take place. Trainers will also have to factor in the principle of interference, e.g. if a rugby league player is trying to put muscle on for the following season, too much LSD training can impact his ability ro gain this muscle.

For complete novices to cardio training, you might take an approach of prescribing more frequent cardio sessions as the client is unable to work for long. As their ability to work for longer improves, you may schedule less sessions (as long as the total volume of training is not decreased in the process.

Time

The duration of a cardio training session will also be dependent on a number of factors related to the client’s goals. While a client brand new to exercise may only be able to sustain 15 minutes of cardio, most studies show that LSD cardio training requires a minimum of 30 minutes (ideally 3 times a week) to guarantee a significant increase in aerobic capacity over 8-12 weeks (Training for Cardiovascular Fitness, n.d.). Many studies report that the training gains associated with LSD training are usually maximised with sessions of over 45 minutes. Achieving this training duration should likely be the initial focus for most clients.

For sporting athletes, the duration of LSD training should reflect the distances they are required to cover in their sport. For those athletes who cover low to moderate distances in their sports, it is recommended that their LSD trainings would cover greater than these total movement distances in general preparation. The running distances and exercise intensities would then be manipulated in the specific training phase to mimic actual game distances and movement speeds. With the invention of GPS tracking systems, we now have clear data for trainers to use to help judge the movement distances that these types of athletes should be preparing for. GPS trackers not only allow us to understand the volume of movement different athletes achieve in their games, but also the speeds the operate at. Some examples of the average running distances achieved by elite athletes in a variety of sports are listed below.

Sport	Average Running Distance	Source
Australian Rules Football	12-14km	Coutts et al (2010)
Football (Soccer)	10-13km	Bangsbo (2014)
Field Hockey	9-10km	Jennings et al (2012)
Rugby Sevens 15 aside	1.5km  7km	Suarez-Arrones (2012) Cunniffe et al (2009)
Rugby league	From 3.5km for front rowers - 7 km for full backs and wingers	Gabbett et al (2012)
Basketball	5-6km	Stojanovic et al (2017)
Tennis	3-5km (depending on total sets played)	Pereira et al (2016)
Cricket  Fast bowlers Wicket keepers	Movement (not all running) 22km per day (when fielding) 16km per day (when fielding)	Peterson et al (2010)

For those athletes targeting performance in CV endurance sports (e.g. marathon runners, road cyclists and triathletes), it is rare that they would ever cover the race distances in training (i.e. a marathon runner doesn’t run full marathons in training). Instead, the total volume of training across a training week takes importance over the individual duration of a single training, with different sessions being performed at different (and sometimes multiple) intensities. That said, LSD training still appears to constitute the bulk of these athletes training.

Intensity

The optimal intensity for LSD training to elicit improved aerobic capacity appears to sit within the 60-75% of heart rate maximum zones. In reality, this range is dependent on the condition of the client. We have already seen how at the elite endurance level athletes can operate aerobically at much higher heart rates. The ideal intensity for LSD training is to work at a heart rate that challenges the system, but that you are able to maintain for a prolonged duration.

It is suggested that when starting out, clients should begin at the lower end of the intensity scale with a focus on increasing duration of efforts. This is often described as a “conversational pace” meaning you should be able to hold a conversation using short responses while performing the activity. Once a base condition has been achieved, intensity can then be manipulated within the suggested range with corresponding alterations in distance. As a sporting client moves into their specific preparation training phase, they will likely work at the higher end of the intensity range (and above this) as they prepare for the demands of their competition phase.

Many trainers report that their clients run too fast in their LSD training sessions which limits their ability to complete the workout distance in a steady-state fashion. LSD runs should be completed at an intensity that challenges the systems but should not be uncomfortable in nature. Once a desired base fitness has been achieved, a client can move into more challenging (intense) cardio training methods.

Applying progressive overload in LSD training

With LSD training progressive overload is typically achieved using changes in distance (volume). A generalised approach to progressive overload in cardio training is to work using the 10% rule. This means progressions should not exceed 10% of training volume in a given week.

From an LSD perspective, this increase in volume can be achieved in two primary ways.

Increase the distance if each session

For example, if a client was running 5km in their sessions, they could increase this to 5.5km per session the following week for a 10% increase (Sayer, 2023). This is the most likely initial approach for someone starting out with LSD training. It would also be the approach to use when trying to increase the total movement distance of a session (i.e. for a footballer who needs to cover 10km a game in competition). If a client’s goal was to complete a race (i.e. a 10km run or half marathon) they could work their way back from the target distance and work back from the date of the race (10% a week) to see what their running volumes will look like in the months leading up to the race.

Increase volume by adding to frequency of sessions

This means if you were completing 3 sessions of cardio a week, you can increase total training volume by adding an additional cardio session each week. However, you should still account for the total increase in training volume across the week. For example, if you were running 5km three times a week (total of 15km running), adding another 5km run would add 25% volume of training in the space of a week. Instead, you could run 4 x 4.25km runs to achieve a 17km weekly distance (more in line with the 10% rule). As you are now running shorter individual runs, you should be able to complete them at a slightly higher intensity (thus adding to the progressive overload effect). This would be the way forward if the total running distances you were trying to achieve were quite low (e.g. a tennis player).

The 10% rule is a useful guide to progression but should not be used as a blanket rule for all. For example, people just starting out with cardio often cover very short distances as they build a tolerance for exercise, but this increases quickly in novice clients, so larger increases in duration may be safely used (at least initially). In the early stages of a cardio programme the goal is simply to get the body used to the work and to increase the capacity to exercise (Heins, 2022).

As the workout distance becomes more challenging and training adaptations plateau, the 10% rule is an effective guide for progression. At the other end of the training scale, when athletes are running high volumes every week (e.g. an athlete training for an ultra-endurance run might complete of 200km a week in running, adding 10% becomes a big chunk to add on (e.g. an extra 20km next week). These athletes will often add only 5-10% of volume every other week to avoid overload and injury.

Of course, progressive overload can also be achieved by manipulation of intensity. In the LSD context, this would generally come into play once the goal distances have been achieved consistently in training. In order for this to remain as LSD training, the heart rate zones maintained would have to remain constant and within the aerobic zone. Increasing working intensities to lactate threshold speeds or above would be classed as a different form of training.

The following is an example of a 6-week late off-season/early general preparation LSD training block for a club-level rugby player, Williem Nel. This player is a front rower (prop) who covers around 3-4km during a game. Before the programme commenced, he was tested using a 12-minute run test, where he managed just on 2km in 12 minutes (6-minute km pace). At the time of starting this programme, the player was able to run 3km without stopping at between 60-70% of HR max. His goal was to run 7km without stopping.

Week	Frequency and Duration	Distance	Total Weekly distance	Average Pace
1	5 x 20-minute runs	3km (each run)	15km	6-minute 30 sec pace
2	5 x 23-minute runs	3.25km (each run)	16.25km	6-minute 42 sec pace
3	4 x 27-minute runs	4.25km (each run)	17km	6-minute 25 sec pace
4	4 x 30-minute runs	4.75km (each run)	19km	6-minute 31 sec pace
5	3 x 40-minute runs	6.25km (each run)	18.75km	6-minute 27 sec pace
6	3 x 45-minute runs	7km	21km	6-minute 27 sec pace

You can see that progressive overload (1.25km) in week 2 is achieved by increasing duration of each run (and therefore distance), but that the running intensity is slightly lower. In week 3 we drop frequency by one run a week, but the duration (and distance covered) in each run has increased for a total weekly distance increase of 750m (however intensity has been increased through an increase in running pace). Week 4 sees the duration of each run hit 30 mins with a total increase of 2km distance covered this week. Week 5 sees the largest increase in session duration (but the frequency of sessions drops to three a week). The total distance ran in week 5 is actually slightly less than in week 4, but a duration increase of 10 minutes per run with running pace maintained is enough of a challenge. Week 7 sees the client achieve their 7km run distance goal while maintaining the same running pace as week 5. Infact, you will notice that the running pace is pretty much the same as in week 1. This should now be a comfortable running pace for the client, but the focus has been on increasing running distance (per session). Now that the client has established a good base of aerobic condition (well above the running requirements of his sport), he is ready to move into higher intensity, shorter distance training modes that more closely reflect the needs of his sport.

Note: When periodising LSD training for endurance athletes who are completing higher training volumes, it is also common practice to plan for regular de-load training weeks to allow for super-compensation to occur. Just like in resistance training, this de-load week is suggested approximately every 4 weeks of training. This means an LSD mesocycle will essentially be the same as for resistance training with normal weeks, load weeks, and a de-load week within a mesocycle.

There is no one-size-fits-all approach to LSD training methodology, but all LSD sessions have a couple of things in common.

1. They are completed over at least 20 minutes duration (ideally over 45 minutes).
2. They are completed at intensities lower than lactate threshold. For most clients this will be in the 60-75% of heart rate max zone (for elite endurance athletes this could be more like 80-90% of maximum heart rate).
3. They are predominantly completed using training modalities that best reflect the training goals of the client (i.e. cyclists should cycle, runners should run, rowers should row). That is not to say that at certain points of the training calendar (off-season, early general preparation) that some athletes might not use other modes of training than their primary sport to add variety to their LSD sessions).

The following training approaches detailed include a range of potential LSD methods in order of difficulty, i.e. the first few are those that would be suitable for someone completely new to cardio training and the later examples are those that would be suitable for higher-level endurance athletes. Click to view each one, flip each training mode to read about its description and progressions.

Please note: That while these examples all include running (or walking) as the chosen mode of cardio, all of these can be adapted with a little thought to apply to other training modalities.

LSD training promotes improvements of the following:

1. Increase in VO2 Max (aerobic capacity)
2. Muscle physiology changes
3. Running economy improvement

Let’s look at the science behind these key improvements in a little more detail.

Increases in VO2 Max

VO2 max gives an indication of the size (or potential) of your aerobic engine (capacity). It is a measure of your body’s ability to utilise oxygen during maximal effort. VO2 Max is dependent on a number of key variables including:

• Getting oxygen into your bloodstream - the result of increased alveoli density, increased pulmonary capillaries and more red blood cells.
• Enhanced delivery of oxygenated blood to working muscles - due to improvements to the heart muscle increasing stroke volume and cardiac output.
• The ability of your muscles to utilise oxygen along with their efficiency in producing ATP - related to an increase in both muscle capillaries and mitochondria within muscle cells.

of these variables allow greater efficiency of oxygen delivery, use and production of energy using aerobic mechanisms resulting in a greater aerobic capacity.

Let’s dive into each of these training adaptations in a little more detail:

Chronic effects of aerobic exercise on relating to improved VO2 Max

The key organ systems that adapt to aerobic exercise are the cardiovascular system, the muscular system, and the respiratory system.

Muscle physiology changes

Cardiovascular adaptations

The most critical of all the chronic adaptations of LSD training is the improvement in cardiac output which helps an athlete match the working demands of the muscular system. This improvement is achieved primarily through ventricle hypertrophy. Arbab-Zadeh et (2014) demonstrated that previously sedentary individuals who performed LSD training over a year experienced increases in left ventricle hypertrophy. This hypertrophy was most noticeable between the 6-9-month mark of training.

Another chronic effect of LSD training on the CV system is the reduction in heart rate at sub-maximal exercise intensities. This is thought to be in part due to increased stroke volume from a stronger left ventricle but is also thought to be the result of increased vagal tone (activation of the vagal nerve which reduces heart rate activity) and increased parasympathetic activity (thought to be because after time the body views this level of exercise stress as “normal”). Studies have shown that exercise heart rates might be reduced between 3-7% due to a reduction in action of B-adrenergic receptors (a key set of receptors that act to increase heart rate). This reduction in receptor action likely allows for more complete left ventricle filling time which when combined with a stronger left ventricle allow more blood to exit the ventricle per beat (stroke volume), reducing the need to beat as many times to meet the body’s metabolic demands (Farrell and Turgeon, 2023).

The blood vessels also appear to undergo some key physiological changes due to consistent LSD training. As cardiac output increases, there is increased blood flow entering the arteries. Arteries are forced to adapt to accept this increase in blood flow and both increase in diameter and decrease in wall thickness in order to transport this additional blood volume. Dineno et al (2001) showed that 3 months of LSD training in untrained individuals led to a 9% increase in femoral artery diameter. The mechanisms behind these changes to arteries are thought to be simple stress through frictional force on artery walls (Farrell and Turgeon, 2023).

An increase of blood transported to muscle would be ineffective unless the capillaries within muscle were able to handle the new volume of blood arriving. To accommodate for the drastic increase in cardiac output, muscle capillaries undergo rapid growth. Most of this growth appears to occur in the first few weeks of training before plateauing somewhat after 4 weeks. A study by Klausen et al (1981) showed that after 8-weeks of LSD training, there was a 20% increase in capillary density within muscles, with most changes occurring in the first 4 weeks. The mechanism behind increased capillary density is thought to occur in 2 ways.

1. The stress of arriving blood flow causes existing capillaries to split (longitudinally) to form 2 parallel capillaries.
2. The passive stretching of capillaries by increased blood flow causes angiogenesis (where new capillaries “sprout” from existing capillaries).

The following image illustrates the capillary splitting and capillary sprouting.

This increase in capillary density within muscles allows increased oxygen delivery to working muscles.

The final cardiovascular system adaptation that is thought to enhance aerobic capacity is an increase in blood volume through chronic LSD training. This is thought to occur through activation of a process called the “renin-angiotensin-aldosterone cascade”. This process causes the kidneys to retain water and increases production of blood plasma (Farrell and Turgeon, 2023). This adaptation appears to occur quickly in response to the oxygen demand stress placed on the system. In fact, studies have shown that a single episode LSD training may augment blood volume by 10-12% within a 24-hour period (Gillen, 1991) and continues to increase reaching a peak at around 10-14 days of training (Convertino, 2007). After 30-days of consistent LSD training, both plasma and red blood cell volume may increase total blood volume by a further 8-10% relative to pre-training levels. The increase in red blood cell volume is often accompanied by an increase in the size of red blood cells also. As well as enhancing oxygen delivery to working muscles, these changes are thought to improve the ability to buffer lactate produced through metabolism allowing athletes to work at higher intensities for longer (Farrell and Turgeon, 2023).

Muscular and metabolic adaptations

Consistent LSD training also causes chronic adaptation within the muscle fibres themselves. One of the keyways it achieves this is by increasing both the number and size of mitochondria within the muscle fibres. Mitochondria are the power houses within muscle fibres that facilitate the conversion of fuels (primarily carbohydrates and fat) into ATP for muscle energy. The more mitochondria in a muscle cell, the more efficiently it can keep up with the metabolic demands of exercise. A complex series of events occur to achieve increased mitochondrial density, but the outcome is improved glucose and fatty acid oxidation rates during exercise. Most studies report that a noticeable increase in mitochondrial density can occur within a 2-6 period of LSD training (Farrell and Turgeon, 2023).

LSD training also appears to improve glucose metabolism within muscle due to chronic enhancement of insulin sensitivity. This improvement seems to stem from an insulin-stimulated transport protein known as GLUT4. GLUT4 improves the efficiency of glucose metabolism by enhancing glucose uptake into the skeletal muscle, thus improving energy output and performance. Doing LSD training at 70-75% of VO2 max for an hour appears the best way to increase concentrations of GLUT4, with significant improvements noted after just 1 week of LSD training (Farrell and Turgeon, 2023).

Respiratory adaptations

Given the chronic effects that aerobic exercise causes to the cardiovascular and muscular system, you would expect a similar level of effect on the respiratory system, right? Well, you would be wrong. Most research to date has been unable to demonstrate a significant change in lung structure from performing exercise. While lung tissue may get more elastic following consistent aerobic training and breathing muscles (diaphragm and intercostals) stronger and more fatigue resistant through training, it is generally accepted that exercise training does not enhance lung structure and function (Tedjasaputra et al, 2016). This means the chronic respiratory improvements we see from aerobic exercise must come from inside the lungs (rather than the lungs themselves). The three most reported effects of aerobic exercise on the respiratory system are:

1. Increased alveolar volume.
2. Increased pulmonary capillary density.
3. Changes to the diffusion membrane.

Tedjasaputra et al (2016) studied the effects of prolonged aerobic exercise on capillary blood volume and pulmonary diffusion (the ability to diffuse oxygen from the alveoli to the blood stream) and reported that those with the highest pulmonary capillary blood volumes (i.e. those with more pulmonary capillary density) had the highest VO2 Max results. However, the authors concluded that the main reason that aerobically trained individuals had greater pulmonary diffusion than untrained subjects was more to do with an increase in alveolar volume than the amount of blood reaching the alveoli. They put this down to the greater surface area for gas exchange that was possible when alveolar density was improved through LSD training.

The authors also proposed that aerobically trained individuals had caused a thinning of the membrane between the alveoli and capillaries allowing for more efficient oxygen diffusion into blood Tedjasaputra et al (2016). It is worth noting that these differences between aerobically trained individuals and un-trained individuals were most noticeable at higher training intensities, which indicated that the respiratory system is not a limiting factor for aerobic performance in un-trained individuals at moderate exercise intensities (i.e. even untrained individuals seem to be able to deliver enough oxygen into the bloodstream at these exercise intensities). This indicates that CV or muscular limitations must be the cause of decreased aerobic efficiency at moderate levels of intensity in untrained exercisers.

Trainability of VO2 Max

The human body was designed as an aerobic machine, it was one of our evolutionary advantages. Therefore, VO2 max is highly trainable in humans, more so than anaerobic fitness. Studies have reported increases in VO2max of between 0 and 60% using a range of different CV training approaches. Most literature agrees that VO2 max will generally improve about 15-30% in untrained subjects with a structured training programme (over at least 20 weeks duration). Unfortunately, it is not yet 100% clear which cardio training approach elicits the biggest improvements in VO2 Max.

Human potential for VO2 max

An average VO2 Max for a young untrained male is around 45ml.kg-1.min-1 and female 38ml.kg-1.min-1 which translates to 3.5L & 2L of oxygen consumed by the tissues a minute respectively. Elite endurance athletes are typically over 70 or even 80ml.kg-1.min-1, with a select few achieving over 90ml.kg-1.min-1 (over 7L of O2 consumed by the tissues a minute). Few female endurance athletes achieve over 70ml.kg-1.min-1. The highest recorded VO2 Max was achieved by 18-year-old Norwegian cyclist Oskar Svendsen who recorded a VO2 max of 97.5ml.kg-1.min-1 in 2012. The highest recorded VO2Max by a female is 78.6ml.kg-1.min-1, achieved by marathon runner Joan Benoit in 1984 (Topendsports, n.d.).

Running economy improvement

For this segment we will put our focus on “running economy”, as this is where most research has been completed and because it is the CV training mode with the greatest transference to most sports. This information will of course be of most relevance to runners, but undoubtedly has transference to running-based sports.

Middaugh (2017) suggests there are 4 proven ways to improve someone’s running economy:

1: Increase stride rate

Compared to novice runners, elite runners tend to have shorter ground contact time, less braking forces (absorption of force from ground impact), less vertical movement (bobbing up and down), less side-to-side movement, lower joint angles at foot contact (shallower bending of key joints) and less oxygen consumption at any given pace. Given that trying to focus on all of these at once, most elite coaches agree that the easiest thing to focus on is increasing stride rate. The great news is, by increasing stride rate, many of the other variables listed above will also be improved. Elite runners operate at around 180 steps per minute. Most novice runners take around 160 steps per minute which results in longer ground contact times, increased braking forces and more up and down movement. These authors suggest that when trying to increase stride rate, you should start at slower speeds and concentrate on stride rate and minimising ground contact time, before increasing speed. Initially a quicker turnover might be less economical (and feel weird) as you retrain your neuromuscular system. However, the upside will be worth it with improved running economy and less impact (requiring less braking force).

2: Increase distances (volume)

Studies have shown that running economy is better in athletes during high volume training phases, than when in low volume training phases. Other studies have shown a cumulative effect of mileage on running economy across the years (i.e. the more you have done, the better it is). This supports the use of LSD training in building a conditioning base and also for the continued use of longer runs throughout the training calendar (to maintain economy). Note: the authors are careful to state that increases in training volume should always be in-line with appropriate progression models (e.g. no more than a 10% volume increase per week).

3: Perform strength and plyometric training

Including some strength/plyometric training can help with running economy by increasing musculo-tendon stiffness and neuromuscular efficiency. A focus on strengthening the Lumbo-Pelvic-Hip Complex is also thought to be useful in minimising lateral displacement during running. While running you are either in the air or in a single stance position (balanced on one foot). Single leg stance requires recruitment of the core to prevent lateral movement. Approximately 20% of expended energy while running is spent stabilizing in the frontal plane (side to side). Middaugh (2017) warns that these training modes should supplement CV training and not simply be added to existing workloads (i.e. adjust running volume accordingly).

4: Lose non-functional weight (i.e. body fat)

Think power:weight ratio. Every step while running, you need to fall, catch, give and support your entire body weight. Having less mass reduces your energy output. Luckily, small increases in muscle mass (lean tissue) do not appear to affect running economy.

There are also a number of anthropological (genetic) variables that can contribute to running economy like the length of legs to torso. Some of these variables are discussed in the video below.

The following video recaps the key information related to running economy. It also covers some interesting genetic and anthropological information related to running economy.

Sex disparities in LSD Training

There are specific physical and physiological differences that make it difficult for females to operate at the same level as males when it comes to aerobic endurance. Santisteban et al (2022) studied the sex differences in VO2 Max and the impact these have on endurance exercise performance and reported the following differences between sexes:

• Females typically exhibit around a 10% lower VO2 Max value than males even when undertaking the same training regime. This is attributed to limitations in oxygen delivery in females resulting from having smaller hearts, lungs, and lower hemoglobin volume than males of comparable size, thus limiting their ability to deliver oxygen as efficiently to working muscles.
• Females typically show better running economy than males. A study by Mendonca et al (2020) found that females displayed more economical running form across different running speeds and despite a 25% difference in VO2 Max values between the sexes in the study, performance differences were only 18% indicating that superior running economy might off-set some of the VO2 max limitations. This was supported by another study by Stoa et al (2020) who reported that when scaled for bodyweight differences, females had a 9% better oxygen cost of running compared to males.
• Females tend to reach exercise-induced arterial hypoxia (an inability to keep up with muscle demands for oxygen) at lower intensities than males. This is thought to be because females have smaller airways and lungs than males (matched for size). This means at higher levels of intensity they have to breath harder and faster than males which causes a redirection of blood flow to breathing muscles, thereby reducing the amount of oxygen that can be delivered to muscles. However, this disadvantage to females may be somewhat offset by greater fatigue resistance in female inspiratory muscles (diaphragm and intercostals).
• Females may also experience reductions in diffusion capacity due to a smaller surface area for gas exchange. Bouswema et al (2017) examined the diffusion capacity response to exercise in height-matched trained males and females and found females exhibited consistently lower pulmonary diffusion capacity, capillary blood volume and membrane diffusing capacity than males. The authors primarily attributed the differences to a reduced alveolar volume in females (due to smaller lungs compared to males of the same size). These findings were supported by two other studies that found any differences in pulmonary diffusion capacity between sexes was due to lung size (Santisteban et al, 2022).
• Females appear to reach lower maximal stroke volumes than males during exercise. This translates to a lower cardiac output than males. This is largely due to a smaller heart to body size ratio in females. It would also appear that as in other muscle tissue, the same amount of exercise results in less left ventricle hypertrophy in females than males. These differences are likely explained by the same mechanisms that lead males to lay down more skeletal muscle than females (i.e. hormonal differences). A study by Howden et al (2015) compared the changes to left ventricle thickness between males and females over a year of LSD training. The results of the study showed that females reached maximum left ventricle hypertrophy after 3 months (compared with males who continued to show hypertrophy until 9 months of training had passed). The graph below shows this difference between the sexes. Males are represented by the light red columns and females by the dark red columns. It is clear to see that the left ventricle (LV) mass plateaus after 3 months in females.

• Trained females exhibit hemoglobin levels of around 12% less than males of comparative size and age. Therefore, for the same volume of blood flow, females deliver less oxygen. This is compounded by the fact that females have lower blood volumes relative to body size, limiting how much blood can be directed to muscles during exercise without compromising delivery to other tissues. This difference is often attributed to hormonal differences including the stimulatory effect of testosterone on bone marrow (which produces red blood cells) and the inhibitory effects of estrogen on bone marrow.
  Note: these effects are not including any blood cell depleting effects of the menstrual cycle. It is also likely that lower hemoglobin volumes are in part related to a relationship that exists between lean muscle mass and hemoglobin levels (with males having higher levels of metabolically active lean tissue).

When embarking on a goal to enhance cardiovascular fitness, it's crucial to establish a starting point. This initial assessment serves as a benchmark for later comparisons, allowing us to gauge the effectiveness of the cardiovascular program. However, the choice of cardiovascular fitness assessments shouldn't be arbitrary. It should be made thoughtfully, taking into account several factors including:

• The client's training experience and competitive level.
• The specific fitness goal, whether it's preparing for a half marathon or gearing up for the rugby season.
• The mode of cardio relevant to their sport, be it running, cycling, swimming, or rowing. (For instance, it wouldn't be appropriate to conduct an off-feet test, like a cycle test, for an on-feet athlete, such as a footballer).
• The environment where the event or sport takes place, such as a field, track, road, hills, or water.
• The client's age and any cardiovascular health considerations.
• Any existing mobility limitations or injuries.
• Any unique conditions the client might have.

Once you have considered these factors, it becomes much easier to select an appropriate fitness test that is safe, appropriate, and relevant for your client. The following is designed to introduce you to a range of CV fitness tests and to help you understand who they are suitable for. This will enable you to select appropriate aerobic fitness tests for your clients.

Great Online Fitness Test Resource

Heading The setup, testing procedure, benefits, negatives, and normative data for comparison of results for all of the aerobic tests detailed below (and more) can be found at Topendsports.

Maximal (VO2 Max tests)

These are tests of maximal aerobic capacity and should be reserved for clients with a good level of CV condition and no underlying health issues that could be aggravated by pushing to their limit. Health issues and level of CV risk should be established during a thorough pre-screening process.

These tests are all actual or estimates of VO2 Max. Before considering administering one of these tests on a client, ask yourself....

• Is a maximal test safe to use on this client?
• Is a maximal test necessary to use on this client? (i.e. are there other tests that will yield an equally useful result but are more aligned with your client's training age?

Let’s take a look at some commonly used VO2 Max tests.

VO2 Max Tests with Gas Analysis

This test is the gold standard for assessing a client’s aerobic capacity because it measures actual oxygen consumption (and CO2 production). This test is typically reserved for higher-end athletic clients involved in elite sport. Most general population members don’t need to know their actual VO2 Max number.

Tests that can be used to estimate VO2 Max

All other aerobic capacity tests are estimates of VO2 Max only. The results of these tests can be compared against normative data to estimate a client’s VO2 Max. Normative data is compiled by having athletes of different fitness levels (and ages/sexes) complete both VO2 Max tests with gas analysis and field-based tests. Calculations are then applied to create conversions from these scores to estimated VO2 Max. The results of these tests have been analysed in the literature and each has been rated in terms of their validity (i.e. how well the results relate to gas analysis scores). Each of the aerobic fitness tests detailed below will have comments on their validity included wherever possible.

These tests should also be reserved for those clients with a decent level of CV fitness and no underlying CV risk factors as they are designed as maximal tests. They hold higher relevance for field or court-based athletes because they include running with frequent change of direction. Some of these tests are continuous tests (like the beep test), while others allow for short rests (to resemble the flow of a game of sport (e.g. The YO-YO test).

Distance for time tests

These are self-paced tests that can be used in a number of ways making them suitable for a wide range of clients. They include standardised tests for estimation of VO2 max and comparison of results against normative data, tests of maximal aerobic effort for clients with no underlying health issues, of sub-maximal tests for those who need to moderate their efforts due to CV risk level.

Some examples of common standardised running tests (with normative data) include:

• The Cooper 12-minute run test.
• The 1-mile run test.
• The Bronco test (a 1.2km shuttle for time used a lot in rugby and rugby league).
• The 2.4km run test.
• The 5km run test.

Versions of these tests for other modes of exercise (e.g., cycling, rowing swimming etc) can also be found online.

Do I have to use a standardised test with normative data?

The normative data is only beneficial if the client cares (or wants to know) where they sit in terms of fitness for their age and sex. If you are simply looking for a baseline fitness level to compare at different points across the program, then any distance over time test can be done. With the range of apps now available – these tests can be done in a variety of locations and tracked easily (i.e. the trainer doesn’t even have to be there!). What is important, however, is that you replicate the test conditions and procedure as much as possible to ensure the re-test result is directly comparable to the initial test results.

Distance for time tests can be manipulated for both well-conditioned and unconditioned clients by adjusting the distance, time, and intensity they perform the test. For example, a 12-minute Cooper run test might be too tough for someone new to exercise, but a 6-minute test or a 12-minute run/walk test may be okay.

Submaximal CV tests for clients with CV risk factors

Not all your clients can be pushed to their limits during testing. A thorough pre-screening should help you determine those clients who should not perform maximal effort tests. Here is a quick reminder of the CV Risk stratification information.

CV Risk Factors

CV Symptoms while exercising

Known metabolic disease – cancer, type 2 diabetes, dementia, etc. Systolic blood pressure (Sys BP) over 140mmHg or diastolic over 90mmHg (referred to as high blood pressure) Total serum cholesterol over 200 mg/dL, or LDL over 130 mg/dL, HDL over 40 mg/dL or taking medication for cholesterol Waist over 40 inches/100cm girth(males), 35 inches/ 76 cm (females) Cigarette smoker or has quit in the last 6 months Heart attack, bypass surgery or sudden death before age 55 in father or another male first-degree relative/sudden death before age 65 in mother or another female first-degree relative BMI over 30 Pregnant (inc.1 or more of the 6 contra-indications)

Unusual shortness of breath during light activity Chest Pain Dizziness Diagnosed heart murmur

^{(ACSM risk stratification)}

ACSM RISK STRATIFICATION

Low Risk

Males 45 years or under/females 55 years or under, who have no major symptoms and no more than one risk factor.

Moderate Risk

Males older than 45 years and females over 55 years, who exhibit two or more risk factors.

High Risk

Males older than 45 years and females over 55 years who exhibit one or more symptoms or have known cardiovascular, pulmonary, or metabolic conditions (e.g. Type 2 diabetes).

Sub-maximal aerobic tests are designed for those clients who are at the lower end of physical conditioning. They are also useful for clients who are categorised as moderate risk. Note: High-risk clients should get medical clearance to exercise and should not be tested.

The purpose of these tests is to collect some baseline fitness information from a client without putting too much stress on the key organ systems. That is why it is important to monitor a client’s heart rate during these tests to ensure a client is working within a specified (and safe) zone. Some of these tests still operate on a distance-over-time approach.

If using a distance-over-time approach, the Karnoven Formula should be used to establish a training zone between 60-65% percent of heart rate max. Heart rate should then be monitored to ensure the client stays within the desired heart rate zone. If the test is replicated with exactly the same process, fitness improvement will be shown by a greater distance travelled in the time frame at the same heart rate. Common examples of this type of test include:

• The Rockport 1-mile walking test
  This test can also be completed on low-risk clients who are unable to run. These clients should walk as fast as they can. This test also allows you to estimate a client’s VO2 Max by entering their weight and immediate post-exercise HR into a calculation.
• The 6-minute walk test
  Can also be used on low-risk clients to estimate VO2 max.

Other tests use recovery of heart rate to baseline levels following a bout of sub-maximal exercise as their measure of fitness. Common tests using this approach included

Some common standardised sub-maximal tests include:

• The YMCA cycle test
  A 6-9-minute sub-maximal cycling test that increases effort in stages while remaining in a sub-maximal heart rate zone.
• The Astrand Rhyming cycle test
  This test assigns different work rates for different levels of risk and ensures clients stay within a safe HR range. This test also has a VO2 Max estimation calculation associated with it.
• The Queens College Step test
  A 3-minute test where clients step up and down to a set cadence. This test uses post-test HR as its score and a calculation can be used to estimate VO2 Max.

Full instructions for how to carry out these tests and who they are suitable for can be found at Topendsports-Aerobic Fitness Tests along with a range of other submaximal tests.

There are many and varied types of aerobic tests that can be used to assess a client’s state of fitness. The type of test you choose should be determined by the following factors:

• The relevance of the test to the activity they do (or fitness goal)
  i.e., do they play a field-based sport, want to complete a 10km run or compete in a cycle race, etc?
• Client preference
  Do they have a mode of cardio they enjoy (or hate least)?
• Accommodation for injury or impairment
  i.e. previous knee or ankle injury, arthritis of a joint, etc. If so, a less loaded activity like cycling might be warranted.
• Level of Risk
  Are they a high, moderate, or low-risk client?

Reminder: Whatever test you decide on, try your best to ensure the standardisation of conditions, equipment, location, and test procedure. Also do your best to ensure the client is well prepared for the test in terms of sleep, recovery, and nutrition.

Right, time to apply what you have learned. Head to your assessment for an assessment guide video and instructions on submitting your assessments.

The assessment guide video explains your assessment task, which requires you to use the information you have learned on this topic to help a case study client.

This assessment will require you to apply the knowledge you have learned and practised by completing the following tasks:

• Design a Long Slow Distance(LSD)Training mode programme for an Athlete
• Justify your selection of programme variables (e.g. modality of training, exercise selection, sets, reps, rest etc.)
• Design a progressed programme for the end of the mesocycle
• Justify the changes you implement to the progressed programme
• Select a relevant fitness test to test this fitness component.