Arthur Lydiard became a coaching legend in the early 1960s, when a group of
young men he had been training near his home made the New Zealand Olympic team
and went on to win four gold medals and two bronze medals in the distance and
middle distance events. Within four years, Lydiard’s athletes—all of them
neighbors, since he never recruited—had broken world records in 10 events
ranging from the 800 meters to the 5,000 meters. His methods were considered
revolutionary, but they have now been widely adopted by coaches throughout the
world. In June (1977), Arthur Lydiard came to the U.S. and participated in a
series of interviews with Running Times.
RT: Should the proportion of the training
that is aerobic be the same, regardless of what your ability is or what your
level of competition is?
LYDIARD:
When you start, the ratio of anaerobic to aerobic should be very low.
Particularly when you’re dealing with boys and girls 15 years of age and under.
They have highly sensitive nervous systems. They shouldn’t be pressurized in
any way. If they want to race, let them race the way they want to race,
when they want to race. But with even a top athlete, the ratio of
anaerobic to aerobic should be very, very small—much smaller than what’s been
used in your college and high schools in the United States. In fact, many of
the coaches in those schools are trying to do something that is physiologically
impossible.
RT: You said you use some anaerobic
training.
LYDIARD: Put it this way: it takes 4 to 5
weeks for anyone to develop their anaerobic capacity to its maximum, if they get
into a real overload anaerobic training. We’re talking about making yourself
physically tired with low blood pH. East Germans say 5 weeks, and we’ve done it
quicker with well-trained athletes, men who can take the work. There’s no point
in doing any more of this; because you’ve got your anaerobic capacity to its
maximum in this period of time.
This part I interview was published in Running Times, July 1977 issue;
Number 7
This Part II interview was published in Running Times, August 1977
issue; Number 8