Program ups performance with less training

A training program based on short periods of running and short periods of rest led to a reduction in blood pressure and cholesterol, Danish researchers said. Professor Jens Bangsbo and doctoral student Thomas Gunnarsson of the University of Copenhagen said the 10-20-30 training concept consists of about a half-mile warmup at low intensity, followed by three to four blocks of 5 minutes of running, separate by 2 minutes of rest. Each block consists of five consecutive 1-minute intervals divided into 30, 20 and 10 seconds of running at a low, moderate and near maximal intensity, respectively. In the course of seven weeks, runners using the training program improved performance on a 1,500-meter run by 23 seconds, but the runners had a 50 percent reduction in their total amount of training, Bangsbo said. The study, published in the Journal of Applied of Physiology, involved 18 moderately trained runners who followed the 10-20-30 training concept developed by researchers at the university. The runners had a significant decrease in blood pressure cholesterol in the blood, the study found. "We were very surprised to see such an improvement in the health profile considering that the participants have been running for several years," Bangsbo said in a statement.