Aerobic Base drill
Tabata Shuttle
Push aerobic power with a dense 2:1 work-to-rest format once you can handle the gentler MAS methods.
- Time
- 25 minutes
- Players
- 1 to 30 players
- Intensity
- High
- Equipment
- Cones
- Space
- Distance calculated from your MAS, roughly 90-100m
- Positions
- All positions
Setup
Two cones. Your distance is your MAS in m/s x 1.2 x 20. At 4.0 m/s that is 96m, which is almost exactly try line to try line.
How to run it
- Set a timer for 20 seconds on and 10 seconds off, repeating.
- Run your calculated distance inside the 20 seconds, then take the 10 seconds where you land - treat it as a repositioning window and be moving before the beep.
- Start with 4-minute sets and build towards 6 or 8 minutes, doing 2 to 3 sets with 3 to 4 minutes between them.
- This is a fast run at 120% of your MAS, not a sprint; sprinting turns the session anaerobic and loses the point.
- Work through grids and Eurofit first - this is the hardest of the three MAS methods.
Coaching cues
- Fast run, not a sprint
- Be moving before the beep
- Same distance every single rep
Common mistakes
- Treating it as a sprint session, which kills the aerobic stimulus
- Extending the set before you can hold pace for a clean 4 minutes
Related drills
- Extensive Tempo RunsBuild work capacity and aid recovery between hard days without adding meaningful fatigue.
- Pitch-Length Long IntervalsDevelop aerobic power with longer efforts held at your maximal aerobic speed.
- Four by Four Aerobic IntervalsRaise VO2 max with four long, hard intervals and a steady jog between them.
- Pitch FartlekBuild an aerobic base with varied-pace running that needs no equipment and no measuring at all.
- Bronco TestTest rugby-specific fitness with the shuttle test widely used in rugby.
- MAS Time TrialMeasure your Maximal Aerobic Speed, the number every other conditioning session in this library is built from.