[hellomoto170]

I'm 17, male, and I play in a youth league which is a pretty high standard and we've been doing a lot of pre season training, lots of running, sprints etc.

I'm currently on holiday for a month and want to do some sort of cardio. Where I am is way too hot to run outside but luckily I live near a gym so I have access to treadmills and cycling machines. Basically I want some advice with regards to the sorts of distances I should be running.

As a test, just to see where I was at and test out the machines yesterday I ran for 25 minutes at 13km per hour speed and I think I ran around 5.5km in that time. Using the heart beat sensors my heart rate was apparently at 185bpm for most of it.
I felt tired but it was easily doable and I feel I could push myself further.

I suppose my question is, what is a good time to be running 5km? Should I aim for longer distances or improve my time for 5km? What speed should I set the machine to? I didn't try going past 13 but I reckon the machine goes up to around 15 at a guess.
Any other relevant info would be very welcome.

Mod Edit: Please stay on topic, only post if you have helpful advice.

[shaun12345]

I, and I assume many others, would recommend HIIT, or something close to HIIT.
From my experiences in football it is not just running a constant job all match so i'd recommend doing maybe 30 seconds jogging (10-13kmh) then 30 seconds at a higher pace (15kmh+) for 20 minutes?
Maybe even do longer sprints? So 30 seconds 'easy', 1 minute hard

[hellomoto170]

(Original post by sconter)
use google.

I don't mean to sound rude, but do people like you sign up to TSR to see how many negs they can get? I could use google and have done, I'm asking for people who know a bit about fitness who could help from experience...
Sorry if I sound overly blunt/rude, but your post isn't helping anyone really. I won't neg you myself though.

[hellomoto170]

(Original post by shaun12345)
I, and I assume many others, would recommend HIIT, or something close to HIIT.
From my experiences in football it is not just running a constant job all match so i'd recommend doing maybe 30 seconds jogging (10-13kmh) then 30 seconds at a higher pace (15kmh+) for 20 minutes?
Maybe even do longer sprints? So 30 seconds 'easy', 1 minute hard

thanks, that is a good idea except the problem is the treadmills I am using aren't very good and im struggling to find a setting/mode where I can make it 30 seconds one speed, 10 seconds another etc. Basically they're not very customisable. (and pressing the machine to keep altering the speed is annoying)

Hence, I'm just concentrating on 20 minute (or around that) runs every day or twice a day but just can't figure out what a good distance is. I've looked online and running 5km in sub 20 seems to be seen as a respectable time.
I guess I'll have to see how I feel and go with my body but ive been 3 times and have struggled to do the full 5km in 20 mins, i get around 4-4.5 in that time so I need to improve!

[iSMark]

(Original post by hellomoto170)
Using the heart beat sensors my heart rate was apparently at 185bpm for most of it.

Every time I've used the heart beat sensor on a treadmill I believe that it has been incorrect, so I'm not sure how much you should read into it.

The 13kph is a good speed to run at for distances around 5-10km. It depends though, where do you play? Striker and you should focus on sprinting more, midfield and you'll need the distance. Defence well, whatever really?

[Converse Rocker]

(Original post by iSMark)
Defence well, whatever really?

I found sprinting to be a big part of playing right back (back in the days when I did play football) so maybe the OP could do some of that if he plays in the back four. Sprinting is good for any position though, always handy to have a good burst of speed.

[desijut]

1) Don't do it on a treadmill, do a run outdoors.
2) Doing stuff like shuttles and sprints (short and sharp stuff) are required more for football (although the odd long run is ok)
3) A time of under 20 minutes is reasonable for 5k but I would aim for 18 minutes (works out as roughly 6 minutes per mile)
4) Try doing a 1500m run. Aim for about 5 minutes 30 seconds and slowly try to get it down closer to 5 minutes