5 power workouts for runners

Designed to build speed, boost endurance and aid recovery, these five power workouts will keep your training fresh and help you smash your running goals.

Each workout is based around NURVV’s Run’s newest metric, Running Power.
Measured in Watts, Running Power is a gauge of real-time effort as you run.

Ideal for workouts and interval sessions, Running Power tells you exactly how hard you’re working every step of your run. Unlike Heart Rate, there’s no time lag, so you can nail your target effort every rep. And Running Power takes external factors such as gradient and wind into account, too. So you can put in the same effort on a hilly, windy route as you would on the track.

To get the most from these workouts, we’d recommend taking NURVV’s 10-minute Power Test first. Found in the NURVV app, the test is a fun but challenging workout that helps NURVV calculate your personalised target effort for each Power Zone.

5 power workouts for runners

You can build all these workouts in the NURVV app by hitting Power Workout. Make sure you include a 5-10 minute warm-up jog and ensure you cool down after.

1. Power intervals

This interval workout involves bursts of high-intensity effort followed by recovery. Intervals are a great way to get your body used to running at a faster pace and boost your speed endurance.

• Run 600m in Power Zone 4

• Recover with 200m in Power Zone 2

• Repeat x 5

Change it up: To make this workout harder or easier, you can increase or decrease the number of reps, distance of intervals or effort levels.

2. Power progression

The Power progression run starts easy and builds in effort. It’s great practice for a race as you’re learning to run hard on tired legs.

• 2km in Power Zone 1

• 2km in Power Zone 2

• 1km in Power Zone 3

Change it up: To make this workout harder or easier, increase or decrease the distance. If you’re up for a challenge, add some running in Power Zone 4 to finish.

3. Power on, power off

Alternating bursts of hard effort and medium hard effort, in this session you’re working hard throughout. The goal is to improve speed endurance and learn to power through fatigue on race day.

• 600m in Power Zone 3

• 600m in Power Zone 4

• Repeat x 3

Change it up: To make this workout harder or easier, you can increase or decrease the number of reps, distance of intervals or effort levels.

4. Power for endurance

Lots of us run our long runs too fast, putting us at risk of injury and overtraining. To reap the benefits of your long run – improving aerobic fitness, boosting endurance and teaching your body to burn fat as fuel – you should be running at a conversational pace.

Power Zones will help keep you in check.

• Focus on running in Zone 2 for the duration of your long run.

5. Advanced power workout

This challenging workout is based on The Michigan Workout developed by Coach Ron Warhurst from the University of Michigan. Designed to replicate the different types of running you could experience in a race, it brings running and fitness benefits across the board.

Be warned, it’s tough so it is best run on the track or a flat, traffic-free route!

• Run 1.6km in Power Zone 4

• Recover with 800m in Power Zone 1

• Run 1.6km in Power Zone 3

• Recover with 800m in Power Zone 1

• Run 1.2km in Power Zone 4

• Recover with 800m in Power Zone 1

• Run 1.6km in Power Zone 3

• Recover with 800m in Power Zone 1

• Run 800m in Power Zone 5

• Recover with 800m in Power Zone 1

• Run 400m in Power Zone 6

Change it up: If you’re comfortable with the distance but unsure of the effort, then drop all the zones by one.