Repeat Sprint Ability is a jewel in many sports, but only if you are sprinting fast in the first place. After talking to a few coaches about rest periods the strong instruction that 12-16 sprints for 15-25 meters was suggested like some holy gospel. This period of time was far longer than most intervals (90 seconds), while the distance was far shorter. Speed can improve even if you are not doing maximal work, but you need to get fast first and you need to measure it. Energy System Development is about supporting the speed you do have, not developing an aerobic engine. With some of the new research on muscle enzymes other other systems, doing systemic work that is explosive will create deep aerobic adaptations. Some of the progressive teams are pruning general conditioning to only recovery runs and nothing extra with great success, I am interested to hear what teams are actually doing to build stamina.
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