Question Regarding Tempo Work

[vision1]

Haven't checked in on these forums in a long time and it doesn't seem like there's much activity anymore. Hopefully someone is still reading.

I'm a lacrosse player, getting older now and mostly just train to be as athletic as possible.

The other day I introduced tempo runs again after not doing them for a long time. I did 3 sets of 5x100m with 50m walk between reps and 100m walk between sets. I didn't time any of the runs but I'm sure I kept the speed <70%. It was tough though, definitely didn't feel like a session that could be considered low intensity / recovery. I remember reading that the last sprint should feel as easy as the first one and that was not the case for me.

How should I modify these sessions?

Slow down the runs? If I go too slow it becomes difficult to maintain sprint mechanics
Longer walks between reps/sets?
Shorter distances?

I don't think the volume was too high, I remember doing 2k back in the day. Could just be out of shape from no lacrosse due to the pandemic. After tempo work I performed some full body circuits (shoulders, abs, upper body). Twice a week I'm doing sprint sessions followed by heavier full body lifts. I might just schedule a day off after these tempo sessions until they become easier.

Thanks

[Pioneer]

Haven't checked in on these forums in a long time and it doesn't seem like there's much activity anymore. Hopefully someone is still reading.

I'm a lacrosse player, getting older now and mostly just train to be as athletic as possible.

The other day I introduced tempo runs again after not doing them for a long time. I did 3 sets of 5x100m with 50m walk between reps and 100m walk between sets. I didn't time any of the runs but I'm sure I kept the speed <70%. It was tough though, definitely didn't feel like a session that could be considered low intensity / recovery. I remember reading that the last sprint should feel as easy as the first one and that was not the case for me.

How should I modify these sessions?

Slow down the runs? If I go too slow it becomes difficult to maintain sprint mechanics
Longer walks between reps/sets?
Shorter distances?

I don't think the volume was too high, I remember doing 2k back in the day. Could just be out of shape from no lacrosse due to the pandemic. After tempo work I performed some full body circuits (shoulders, abs, upper body). Twice a week I'm doing sprint sessions followed by heavier full body lifts. I might just schedule a day off after these tempo sessions until they become easier.

Thanks

The issue with the session was possibly volume related. Might have been best to ease back in with lower volume and work up more gradually to 1500m. The other consideration is you need to time since you did not really know for sure the runs were below 70% without it. Start with a conservative estimate for 100m on grass then take 60-70%.

[vision1]

Thanks.
Maybe it was a higher percent than I thought since I'm comparing track speed to grass speed.
I'll slow down a bit and stick with low volumes for now. Looking back, I actually only did 1400 and called it because intensity felt too high.

[Pioneer]

Thanks.
Maybe it was a higher percent than I thought since I'm comparing track speed to grass speed.
I'll slow down a bit and stick with low volumes for now. Looking back, I actually only did 1400 and called it because intensity felt too high.

Maybe just do 800m for a week or two and monitor the times. It's okay to be closer to 60-65% now and then later both higher volume and faster times can be used (though not fast). I'd recommend just changing one aspect at a time (either volume or percentage of speed) or if both are done do so VERY gradually.

[vision1]

Will do, thanks for your help.

What would you consider the minimum frequency for tempo runs? I don't think I'll be at the track more than 3 days per week and if I have two speed days, that only leaves one for tempo ... not sure if that is too infrequent. From what I remember, recommended was 3x per week.

[Pioneer]

Will do, thanks for your help.

What would you consider the minimum frequency for tempo runs? I don't think I'll be at the track more than 3 days per week and if I have two speed days, that only leaves one for tempo ... not sure if that is too infrequent. From what I remember, recommended was 3x per week.

At least once/week and another day could be some combination of bodyweight circuits, midsection circuits, medicine ball circuits, bike tempo, pool tempo, etc.

[Oldbloke]

Reduce number of reps in each set to say 3. I find volume per set is the most tiring aspect.

Maintain quality of movement, ie don't do a shuffle/jog. Go from say 3 sets of 3x100 to 4x3x100, then up to sets of 4 etc.

Frequency of tempo :
I think people need to do at least 2 days per week of any training component to improve, one is not enough. Is your lacrosse more sprint or endurance orientated ? If it is speed you could replace a sprint session with an extra tempo day.
I count tennis as a speed day for this reason.

[RB34]

Haven't checked in on these forums in a long time and it doesn't seem like there's much activity anymore. Hopefully someone is still reading.

I'm a lacrosse player, getting older now and mostly just train to be as athletic as possible.

The other day I introduced tempo runs again after not doing them for a long time. I did 3 sets of 5x100m with 50m walk between reps and 100m walk between sets. I didn't time any of the runs but I'm sure I kept the speed <70%. It was tough though, definitely didn't feel like a session that could be considered low intensity / recovery. I remember reading that the last sprint should feel as easy as the first one and that was not the case for me.

How should I modify these sessions?

Slow down the runs? If I go too slow it becomes difficult to maintain sprint mechanics
Longer walks between reps/sets?
Shorter distances?

I don't think the volume was too high, I remember doing 2k back in the day. Could just be out of shape from no lacrosse due to the pandemic. After tempo work I performed some full body circuits (shoulders, abs, upper body). Twice a week I'm doing sprint sessions followed by heavier full body lifts. I might just schedule a day off after these tempo sessions until they become easier.

Thanks

I use this simple progression with my athletes.

First block:
Day 1: 2x3x100 90/4, 2x3x100 90/4, 2x4x100 90/4, 2x4x100 90/4

Day 2: 2x4x100 90/4, 2x4x100 90/4 2x5x100 90/4, 2x5x100 90/4

Second block:
Day 1: 2x4x100 90/4, 3x3x100 90/4, 2x5x100 90/4, 2x5x100 90/4

Day 2: 6x200 r3, 6x200 r230, 6x200 r2, 6x200 r2

[vision1]

What is "90/4" and "r#"?

[vision1]

Reduce number of reps in each set to say 3. I find volume per set is the most tiring aspect.

Maintain quality of movement, ie don't do a shuffle/jog. Go from say 3 sets of 3x100 to 4x3x100, then up to sets of 4 etc.

Frequency of tempo :
I think people need to do at least 2 days per week of any training component to improve, one is not enough. Is your lacrosse more sprint or endurance orientated ? If it is speed you could replace a sprint session with an extra tempo day.
I count tennis as a speed day for this reason.

Hard to say if it's more sprint or endurance. I play indoor lacrosse so it's a lot shorter/quicker than on a large field. Shifts are 30s-60s and rest on the bench is usually similar. Right now I'm not playing though because every league is shutdown.