30 seconds and 30 seconds total rest for a total time of 20 min? I haven't tried interval running before and it would be nice if someone could explain a good "training routine" as the one written above. thejaccen
Depends on your level of fitness. 10 second sprints, 10 second walk and then 10 second jog is always simple and offers a 2:1 rest/work ratio, if you're higher level of fitness flip the work/rest ratio around. ie; 10 second sprint, 5 second walk, 5 second jog. Or 20 second sprint, 10 second walk/jog etc
http://www.sport-fitness-advisor.com/fartlek-training.html For soccer interval running is not as game-like as fartleks especially if you randomnize your movements in the fartleks. Fartleks are a special variation of interval training, where the "rest" periods involve relatively less intense exercise rather than pure rest. A lot of different sports use fartleks. So there are a lot of discussions that are more geared to other sports. What makes soccer different is that it involves random periods of high intensity acceleration. There is actually not much all out sprinting because the distances are usually too short to get out of the acceleration phase. Distances range from 5 to 60 yards, with most movements typically closer to 15 yards than 60 yards. This type of training is great for aerobic and anaerobic endurance. If you want to do speed work, you do intervals with long enough rest periods to get your heart rate down (otherwise its endurance training, not speed training). The "20 minutes" minimum is associated with aerobic activity for heart health. You can get some anaerobic benefit from shorter periods of intense activity. The activity doesn't have to be running. Any exercise that elevates the heart rate may be adapted. But the more game like the activity the more benefit you get.
I would recommend you start off with a 1:3 ratio of work to rest. So, if you run 15 seconds, rest 45 seconds. As your fitness gets better, you can reduce it to 1:2, and finally 1:1.