of perceived exertion (RPE).Using a scale of one to 10 (or one to 20), this method rates effort number one as complete rest and number 10 (or 20) as your absolute maximum intensity. Although this does take experience (and honesty!) it is an easy and efficient

faster for no extra effort. And many small gains can be made from improving your technique and training."Triathlon kit has evolved, too; the hi-tech fabrics and materials in your trisuit, and on your bike and running shoes, have been developed to maximise

and their coaches. The goal: to find programmes that provide the greatest return for the effort we are putting in.If the following three programmes were all guaranteed to improve your marathon time by 20 minutes, which one would you choose? (A) Run 100 miles a week

and their coaches. The goal: to find programmes that provide the greatest return for the effort we are putting in.If the following three programmes were all guaranteed to improve your marathon time by 20 minutes, which one would you choose? (A) Run 100 miles a week

Q How do speed sessions benefit me? I’ve tried things like 400m repetitions at 5K pace, but as I never seem to be out of breath at the end of the session, surely they’re not doing me any good?A Many people think that they only need to do interval sessions to improve their outri...

Q. There's a lot of debate about how much effort to put in on bike climbs during races. What's the best strategy?A. The key to pacing hills has everything to do with the size of the hill and the length of the race. Your muscles work on the basis

rear wheel equates to a 6-8 per cent gradient). Practise riding in this position at a lower cadence, eg 55-60rpm, at an effort that allows you to talk but at which you're applying pressure through up to half the pedal stroke.2 Use the local hill to do a

Here are three simple sessions to improve different aspects of cycling. Alter recovery times or length of effort to suit your own fitness, and make them harder as you improve.Technique5x2mins slow pedalling, 3mins steady spin recovery.Think through

  WEEK ONE WEEK TWO WEEK THREE WEEK FOUR Mon SWIM Warm-up: 6 x 25m + 3 x 50m. Main: 8 x 50m Stroke Count with 30 seconds rest between efforts, then 200m continuous relaxed. Cool-down: 4 x 50m concentrating on technique

or over precise distances, but it’s worth having a rough idea of how far you are running on each effort.If you can’t measure the distance, just run your efforts by time (eg for one mile, do six- to seven-minute efforts; for 800m, run for three to four