Seth is one of the free workouts in the Freeletics Running app. Named after the Egyptian god of chaos, it is designed to help you hold your top speed for longer. Challenging, but oh-so effective. Its set-up also makes it great for running in groups.
Workout
- 100m
- 2-minute rest
- 100m
- 2-minute rest
- 100m
- 2-minute rest
- 100m
- 2-minute rest
- 200m
- 4-minute rest
- 200m
How to run the intervals
This workout is all about speed, so of course that means you should be running it as fast as you possibly can. This will not just train your body to be able to hold its top speed for longer, but will also really push your anaerobic metabolism.
Because Seth is short in comparison to the rest of the Freeletics Running workouts, there is no need to be saving energy – the breaks are long enough for you to recover sufficiently from the short intervals, so you don’t need to be all that strategic for this workout. During the recovery breaks, your metabolism will have enough time to replenish the body’s resources enough to allow you to keep running at the speed you started out with.
Try and pick a location suitable to this workout – a track or a road is best, with a firm surface offering lots of grip for your full-on sprints.
To achieve the desired overall effect on your metabolism, it is best to skip the moderate pace for this workout. So go all-out and give it all you have. Every time.
Related: Freeletics Workout – Horus
Additional challenge
To switch things up a little after you’ve run Seth a couple of times, there are two ways you can make this small workout a lot more challenging:
Downhill workout
Find a street which runs slightly downhill. But the slope should not be enough to make you change your running technique – this is very important. Then, run Seth down this slight slope, as fast as you can. Thanks to gravity, the slope will give you a little added acceleration, which will challenge your motor skills while you try to maintain your normal running style. Keep your torso tight and actively bring your feet to the ground – avoid jumping or letting your feet just fall. This kind of running will increase the tension in your muscles.
Uphill workout
Try running the four 100m intervals on a flat surface at about 90% of your maximum pace. The important part comes with the two 200m intervals – which you should run uphill (between 4% and 7% slope). Run these as fast as you can, then slowly walk back to your starting point to go again. Go hard during those last 200m. Try to keep your pace consistent over those last two intervals.
Here it is important to watch your technique. Actively use your arms – they should set the pace for your legs. Just focus on your goal and don’t let up until you’re done.
These final two 200m intervals improve your anaerobic metabolism, your tread and your arm technique due to the slope and the effort needed to keep straight whilst running full speed uphill.
For more information on Freeletics Running, visit the website
