A team of researchers at the University of Copenhagen have come up with a new training concept for runners that shows an increase in health and performance despite a 50% reduction in the amount of training. It’s most applicable to people training for a 5K, but the concept is simple enough for anyone looking to integrate a short run into their workout.


The study was small, but the results suggest runners can increase their performance in longer runs like a 5K with only 30 minutes of exercise each training session. It’s essentially a variation on interval training. The 10-20-30 concept is broken into one minute blocks of time like so:

30 seconds of low intensity running

20 seconds of moderate intensity running

10 seconds of high intensity running

The one minute block is repeated five times and followed by two minutes of rest. When the rest period is up you repeat the five minute blocks two or three times and you’re done. It seems like a pretty simple way to fit in a run when you don’t have a lot of time. Head over to the University of Copenhagen page for a full break down of the study and let us know if you decide to give it a shot yourself.


New research shows runners can improve health and performance with less training | University of Copenhagen

Update: Our original post had the order of the workout reversed. We have since corrected the error.

Photo by lululemon athletica.