09/02/2026
5 DOS AND 5 DON'TS FOR FAST TIMES IN AUTUMN
Do you want to really get going again in autumn after the hot summer? Then follow the five Dos. The five Don'ts have already been tried by enough others – you can read them, but you don't have to try them out.
THESE % DO'S WILL MAKE YOU FASTER
1. Increase your training volume
It's clear that training and recovery must be in the right balance. If there is still room for improvement, you can most efficiently optimize your performance with an additional training session per week or an extension of the already planned sessions. Just make sure that you don't increase your longest training session of the last 30 days by more than 10%. Example: If your longest session in the last 30 days was 15 kilometers, then don't run more than 16.5 kilometers this week and not more than 18.15 kilometers the following week.
2. Ensure enough fuel
As an athlete, you should not only pay attention to eating enough before, during, and after training, but also in everyday life – for a simple reason: Too little energy harms you more than a little more sugar or carbohydrates ever could. Sugar only becomes a problem if you generally eat too much. The desirable way is to eat smartly and consciously, according to your needs. And the more natural the fuel, the better.
3. Train purposefully
Train systematically towards a goal instead of according to your mood. You will see that your performance increases within a few weeks if you bring structure to your training routine, differentiate your training, and sequence stimuli in the right intensities in an optimal order.
4. Work on your basic speed
If you always run in the same routine and never really step on the gas, you won't get faster. Therefore, try to specifically integrate speed work into your training and work on your basic speed. But take some time for this, as your body needs to get used to the faster movements and higher intensity. End each endurance run with three to four acceleration runs and complete at least one intensive interval session per week with short intervals (e.g., 10 × 1 minute with very high intensity and one minute rest).
5. Integrate strength training
From a health and athletic perspective, there is no longer any reason to forgo strength training. Therefore, incorporate it as much as possible twice a week from now on. Whether you do it before or after endurance training is not so crucial. Much more important is that you do it at all.
THESE 5 DON'TS YOU SHOULD DEFINITELY AVOID
1. Training too intensively or too frequently
Good intentions can also go unrewarded. Those who constantly step on the gas pedal or give the body too little time to recover between training sessions stagnate or even lose performance. Therefore, it is worthwhile, especially during basic training sessions, to pay attention to a sufficiently low intensity. This way, the desired training effect occurs, and unnecessary fatigue for subsequent more intensive sessions is avoided.
2. Too little energy intake
When it comes to performance, weight plays a significant role. There is no doubt about that. However, there is a big problem if the balance gets out of control due to too little energy intake. Then illness, injuries, lack of energy, and poorer performance threaten. And nobody wants that.
3. Skipping recovery
Unfortunately, we mostly only think about training, not recovery. However, the adaptation to the training stimulus only occurs during the recovery time between two sessions. It is therefore all the more important to appropriately weight and design recovery. The two most important measures are restful sleep and adjusted nutrition. All other measures such as massage, ice bath, or compression boots are supportive but cannot work miracles.
4. Relying only on data
Until a few years ago, we were used to getting up in the morning and feeling how we were doing. Or we engaged in a dialogue with our body during training to find out if the chosen intensity was right. Today, we increasingly rely on aids such as bracelets, rings, or smartwatches. We give more importance to the numbers they measure – or even stop responding to our sensations. Aids are valuable, but they do not replace body awareness if we regularly train it.
5. Not gaining competition experience
If you have a specific time goal in a race and are therefore a bit more ambitious, you should participate in at least one race beforehand to play through everything and gain experience. Because travel, nutrition, tactics, race pace, and nervousness are things that can easily throw you off track, but work better with each time.
