REAL training: a framework for developing exercise capacity

REAL Training is a framework to guide athletes in developing their exercise capacity. It consolidates contemporary training concepts into four categories of training sessions or exercise: Recovery, Endurance, Accumulation, & Limitless. Understanding the purpose of each type of training session allows athletes to train more effectively.

Understanding how Recovery, Endurance, Accumulation, & Limitless training sessions interact with each other gives athletes the tools to plan their training week intelligently and take control of their development.

The REAL Training framework provides athletes with the knowledge to coach themselves with confidence.

REAL Training focuses on exercise being measured in minutes, hours, and days. So whether you're a 5K runner, marathoner, gravel cyclist, triathlete, or ultra-runner, the REAL Training framework will work for you.

REAL Training Diagram

The above diagram represents the REAL Training framework. Four coloured circles depict Recovery, Endurance, Accumulation and Limitless exercise and their relationship in the broad scheme of training to develop exercise capacity.

Recovery starts as the outer circle encompassing the REAL Training framework. Moving inwards, Endurance is a large blue circle, emphasising that Endurance exercise should be the bulk of one's training. Further inwards, Accumulation is depicted by a small orange circle, indicating its limited exercise volume and its specificity, being closer to the centre. Symbolising an athlete's target, Limitless exercise is visualised as a small red circle in the centre.

As you learn more about Recovery, Endurance, Accumulation, and Limitless exercise, the symbolism of the diagram will become more apparent; however, you can probably see already, it's all about achieving a target.

RECOVERY

Recovery Exercise is an essential part of any athlete's training. Recovery is where your body adapts to the training you've completed and prepares for future training. In the REAL Training diagram, Recovery Sessions are depicted by the green outer ring. If you are in a recovered state, you are ready to improve!

There are two types of recovery: active and passive.

Active recovery sessions are short and of low intensity. They provide both physical and mental health benefits. In addition, they help athletes maintain an exercise routine, increase overall volume, and allow time for working on technique and skills.

Passive recovery involves complete rest, such as taking a rest day or a morning or afternoon off training for those who routinely train twice a day. In the REAL training framework, rest days are considered an integral part of training and are recognised as a Training Session that should be incorporated into one's training plan at least once a week.

ENDURANCE

Endurance Training Sessions are the groundwork for supporting all aspects of an athlete's performance potential in all but the shortest maximal efforts. They are depicted by the large blue circle in the REAL Training diagram, second only in importance to Recovery. The thickness of the blue circle highlights that Endurance training should represent the majority of an athlete's training time.

Endurance Training Sessions should be conducted at an effort level below the Aerobic Threshold, targeting the trained muscles' aerobic energy system. The aerobic energy system is where fats and carbohydrates are utilised in the presence of oxygen to produce ATP, the energy currency of our bodies.

Given that the aerobic energy system is a major contributor of energy, whether an event lasts 3 minutes, 3 hours, or even 3 days, improving its efficiency and capacity is a substantial component of improving one's exercise capacity.

Developing and maintaining the aerobic energy system is fundamental to exercise capacity and should be part of an athlete's training year-round, year after year.

ACCUMULATION:

Accumulation training is simply where you “accumulate” time at Effort. Accumulation is depicted by a small orange circle within the blue Endurance circle in the REAL Training diagram. This highlights that its overall volume is small compared to Endurance training.

Effort is exercising above the Aerobic-Threshold, a point where the aerobic energy system cannot supply energy fast enough to meet the demands. Our bodies turn to anaerobic energy systems, "burning sugar" to supplement the energy demands.

Time spent at Effort is a powerful stimulator of adaptation and key to improved performance. However, it should be performed sparingly. Anaerobic energy systems, whilst powerful, are ultimately limited in capacity; our sugar supplies are not endless.

In general, Accumulation Sessions take the form of a specific Effort Duration being repeated. Multiplying the Duration by the number of repetitions gives us the Accumulation.

Accumulation, "the total" amount of time spent above the aerobic threshold in a given session, is a key metric to monitor. Principles of progressive overload should be utilised to manipulate the Accumulation of a given session from week to week. The Total Accumulation of a week of training should also be periodised.

In the REAL Training framework, Accumulation is where an athlete shapes their fitness. This is done by choosing the Effort Duration they wish to train. An athlete who chooses "20 minute duration X 4 repetitions" accumulation sessions will be shaped into a very different athlete from one who performs "30 second duration X 8 repetitions".

LIMITLESS

Limitless Training Sessions represent an athlete's target. Not surprisingly, Limitless Sessions are depicted by a red circle in the centre of the REAL Training diagram.

Limitless Sessions aren't specifically training; they are races, events, testing, personal challenges, and unrestricted sessions. Limitless Sessions are what an athlete trains for and should be challenging.

Limitless sessions by nature have no limit to effort {intensity}, duration {time} or both. For example, a race by nature has no set time or prescribed effort. During Limitless sessions, the limits of an athlete's exercise capacity are exposed. We call this, REALising one’s fitness.

Pushing to one's limits is extremely taxing on the body and mind. Limitless sessions should be undertaken routinely, but they should be done mindfully, and of course, be followed by multiple days of recovery.

REAL Training: Summary

The REAL Training framework is simply a useful tool for ensuring an athlete's training sessions are always purposeful. Knowing why you are performing a Recovery, Endurance, Accumulation, or Limitless session will lead to better adherence, execution, and planning, maximising one's exercise capacity.

Smart athletes Keep It REAL.

REAL Training: Assumptions

When discussing REAL Training, there are some assumptions made about the athletes the framework is for:

REAL athletes are individuals of all fitness levels.

REAL athletes train consistently. They train at least 5 times a week.

REAL athletes base their training around a 7-day cycle. This is perhaps not the best practice, but for most people, it is the easiest way to plan their training.

The REAL Training Framework was born from the desire to create a model which athletes could confidently and successfully use to coach themselves.