Rønnestad 30/15
Three sets of 13 × 30 seconds hard and 15 seconds easy, with three minutes between sets. From Bent Rønnestad's studies of cyclists, where it beat 4 × 5 minutes at the same effort. Best on a bike or outdoors; 15 seconds is too short to change treadmill speed.
- Time
- 50 min
- Main set
- 3 × 13 × 0:30 hard
- Good for
- Bike, Run
Warm-up3 × 13 × 0:30 hardCool-down
The session
- 10:00Warm-upEasy
- 13 ×
- 0:30WorkHard and even. Not a sprintHard
- 0:15RecoveryEasy
- 3:00Set breakEasy spin or jogEasy
- 13 ×
- 0:30WorkHard and even. Not a sprintHard
- 0:15RecoveryEasy
- 3:00Set breakEasy spin or jogEasy
- 13 ×
- 0:30WorkHard and even. Not a sprintHard
- 0:15RecoveryEasy
- 5:00Cool-downEasy
How to pace it
Hard and even, not a sprint. Start at an effort you could hold for all thirteen reps of a set, and keep pedalling or jogging through the 15-second breaks. The breaks are short on purpose: your effort stays high across the whole set.
Who it’s for
Cyclists and runners with a good base who want a tough VO₂max session. In the study, well-trained cyclists did these sessions for ten weeks and improved more than a group doing 4 × 5 minutes at the same perceived effort.
Running it as a group
Fifteen-second breaks leave no time to count. On a group ride or a club run, every phone calls the change, so the whole group surges and eases together.
Source
Rønnestad BR, et al. Short intervals induce superior training adaptations compared with long intervals in cyclists: an effort-matched approach. Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports, 2015; 25(2): 143–151.
Host the Rønnestad 30/15 in PacePack
Pick it from the program library, share the code, and every phone in the group runs it on the same second, with a voice calling every interval and its effort.
The program library is part of Pro, with a 7-day free trial on the yearly plan. On Free, you can host Quick sessions of work and recovery with up to three runners.
iPhone only for now. Android is coming soon.
