Plan your week: volume, progression and down weeks

How much volume, how to split it, how much to add each week, and what the evidence actually says about the famous 10% rule.

A training week is not a list of favourite sessions: it is a distribution of load between what stimulates and what allows recovery. Two decisions determine almost everything: how much you run in total, and how much of that load is hard.

How much volume

The usual distribution — and the one elite practice describes — is most of the time at low intensity and a small fraction at high intensity, without setting up camp in the middle zone (zones and intensity).

How much to add each week

1. 1

   Three weeks up, one down

   A common pattern: +5–10% of volume for three consecutive weeks and a fourth 30–40% lower, keeping some intensity so you do not go flat.

2. 2

   Count the time, not just the kilometres

   If you run in the mountains or change pace a lot, time on feet describes the load better than distance.

3. 3

   Adjust from the real week, not the planned one

   If you slept badly or did half the plan, next week starts from what you did, not from what was written.

A typical 4-day week

Living with the gym

• If you can, separate strength and running by at least 6 hours, or put them on different days.
• If they fall on the same day, do whatever is the priority in that cycle first.
• A strength session sits better on the same day as a running quality session than the day before a long run.