Soviet scientists identified a dynamic that we call the “1/2/3 rule” at StrongFirst. According to this rule, ~2/3 of a function’s recovery takes place in the first 1/3 of the total recovery time, ~30% in the second, and ~5% in the third.
In some types of training, total recovery and, preferably supercompensation, is a must and a “trickle charge” cannot be avoided. Sprinting is a classic example. A high level 100m specialist rests for 15min and longer between 50m repeats. It is very time inefficient—waiting for the last 5% of the creatine phosphate (CP) rocket fuel to drip in takes forever—but such is the name of the game in which fractions of a second decide the difference between the winner and the also-ran.
In other types of training, including
A+A, extreme recovery is not needed and even counterproductive. To develop your aerobic mechanism, you need to run at its highest intensity—and that means the first, steep, recovery phase.
The first minute of recovery is special. It is characterized by the highest oxygen uptake and the steepest CP refueling.
The second minute is still not too bad from A+A’s point of view, but once you go past two minutes into the “trickle charge,” you are no longer doing A+A.
To learn state-of-the-art programming for combat and team sports and hard living, attend the Strong Endurance™
seminar with Pavel—this weekend in your living room.
