Repeat The Same Training?

I started keeping a handwritten training log (pictured below) after I started running at 13. Back then there were no apps to keep such records for you. I would record how far I ran, time taken, how I felt, what shoes I used, etc. 

I found it useful so I could look back on what training I did when taking part in a similar event. Say my key interval workout for a 1500m track race that I had won previously was 8x200m with 30 seconds rest. I would replicate those sessions along with deciding if I could handle more. Back then, I was a teenager and was able to run personal bests in all my events every year.

I assume that when I responded well to a training program once, I'd respond similarly or better the next time. However, a recent study suggested otherwise.

A group of researchers had subjects do the same 8 week endurance training program twice, but separated by a period of detraining that had to return to baseline. 42 out of the 53 recruited completed the study.

Each 8 week period had 24 supervised 45 minute interval cycling sessions at moderate to maximal intensity. Identical training instructions were applied such that the same training program was repeatedly prescribed to the same individuals. Exercise intensity was individually prescribed relative to performance and adjusted every second week to mainatin a comparable training stimulus across periods.

Results show very poor reproducibility of adaptation. One athlete increased VO2 max by about 600mL min⁻¹ after the first training period. However, there was no improvement at all after the second training period. Yes you read correctly, zero improvement.

Same athlete, same program, but very different outcome. I asked a few coaches whom I treat if this was similar to the athletes they coach. They told me they see it all the time. Training response varies.

The training may be the same but the variations in external factors such as sleep, diet, work stress, travel and illness contributes to the variability in individual training adaptations.

That's what the researchers concluded too. The substantial within-individual fluctuations were largely consistent between training periods and they suggest that this  within-individual fluctuations does not reliably reflect their capacity to adapt to the same training stimulus in the future.

So low stress plus good training leads to adaptation while high stress plus the same training may lead to very different outcomes.

Take away message? Do not assume that because a program worked once, it will work the same way the next time. Monitor the state of your own life stresses and modify accordingly.

Reference

OddenIV, Hamarsland H, Odden TU et al (2026). Limited Reproducibility Of Individual Physiological Adaptations To Repeated Endurance Exercise Training. J App Phy. DOI: 10.1152/japplphysiol.00154.2026

Write It Down

Some of my own training logs - if you can read them

Today's topic came about after a conversation with a fellow competitor and current national athlete whose identity shall remain anonymous. I was asked how I managed to consistently perform at races. My reply was simple, I wrote everything down. Yes, I'm talking about a training dairy. Mine goes as far back as 1985.

Even at that age, I'll write down what I did for training, how the races went, how I felt etc. I was able then to refer back to my training dairy whenever I needed to see how I trained for a particular event especially if it was the same event or race a year or two later. Of course it meant that each time I fell sick, I could check and see if I needed more off days, more rest or if I tried to do too much too soon.

I could also learn from my mistakes. After a disappointing race, I can analyze the training log book and see what I needed to do differently. By doing it this way, losing was not a failure, but postponed success, a critical part of winning next time.

Keeping a training log during key periods can help you identify training trends that work for you. It'll also identify trends that don't, such as not racing well 3-4 days after a hard training workout.

So what can you write down. You can record any variable that affects your running. Distances covered, time taken, how much you slept, hilly route (or flat), aches, pains (my favorite 'coz it means maybe you need to see a physio), no just kidding. When you have new running shoes, what you ate before training or racing etc. Also write down how you felt and what you thought of the workout. All this information can help you improve because if something goes wrong, your log book can help you find the cause and likewise if a training run or race went well.

Must you write it down? In this day and age, of course you can rely on some electronic gadget or online training journal to track everything. Me, I'm terrible with computers so I'll just write mine down.