Jack Tupper Daniels (born April 26, 1933) is an exercise physiologist, running coach and a coach of

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece bet ...

athletes. On March 21, 2013, he was named the head coach of the

Wells College Wells College is a private liberal arts college in Aurora, New York. The college has cross-enrollment with Cornell University and Ithaca College. For much of its history it was a women's college. Wells College is located in the Finger Lakes ...

men's and women's cross country programs. He received his doctoral degree in

exercise physiology Exercise physiology is the physiology of physical exercise. It is one of the allied health professions, and involves the study of the acute responses and chronic adaptations to exercise. Exercise physiologists are the highest qualified exercise ...

at the

University of Wisconsin–Madison A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United Stat ...

. Named "The World's Best Coach" by

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magazine, he led

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runners to eight

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Division III National Championships, 31 individual national titles, and more than 130 All-America awards. Daniels outlined his training philosophies in the 1998 book, ''Daniels' Running Formula''. He mentors and coaches some of America's top distance runners in the country. Daniels won a team silver medal in the

1956 Summer Olympics The 1956 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVI Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, from 22 November to 8 December 1956, with the exception of the equestrian events, w ...

and a team bronze medal in the

1960 Summer Olympics The 1960 Summer Olympics ( it, Giochi Olimpici estivi del 1960), officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympiad ( it, Giochi della XVII Olimpiade) and commonly known as Rome 1960 ( it, Roma 1960), were an international multi-sport event held ...

for his participation in the

modern pentathlon The modern pentathlon is an Olympic sport consisting of fencing (one-touch épée), freestyle swimming, equestrian show jumping, pistol shooting, and cross country running. The event is inspired by the traditional pentathlon held during the anc ...

VDOT

In the 1970s, Daniels and his colleague, Jimmy Gilbert, examined the performances and known VO₂max values of elite middle and long distance runners. Although the

laboratory A laboratory (; ; colloquially lab) is a facility that provides controlled conditions in which scientific or technological research, experiments, and measurement may be performed. Laboratory services are provided in a variety of settings: physi ...

determined VO₂max values of these runners may have been different, equally performing runners were assigned equal aerobic profiles. Daniels labeled these "pseudoVO₂max" or "effective VO₂max" values as VDOT values. According to Daniels, VDOT is a shortened form of V̇O₂max, properly stated as "V-dot-O₂max". With the result of a recent competition, a runner can find his or her VDOT value and determine an "equivalent performance" at a different race distance. Given that runners with identical VO₂max values may have differences in running economy/efficiency,

biomechanics Biomechanics is the study of the structure, function and motion of the mechanical aspects of biological systems, at any level from whole organisms to organs, cells and cell organelles, using the methods of mechanics. Biomechanics is a branch of ...

, and mental toughness, Daniels concludes that VDOT is, due to this

holistic Holism () is the idea that various systems (e.g. physical, biological, social) should be viewed as wholes, not merely as a collection of parts. The term "holism" was coined by Jan Smuts in his 1926 book '' Holism and Evolution''."holism, n." OED On ...

view, a better value from which to assess fitness and determine training paces.

Training philosophy

Daniels divides running performance into six components. Daniels argues that each of these components requires a specific training intensity to improve. *The

Cardiovascular System The blood circulatory system is a system of organs that includes the heart, blood vessels, and blood which is circulated throughout the entire body of a human or other vertebrate. It includes the cardiovascular system, or vascular system, tha ...

, specifically the body's ability to transport

oxygen Oxygen is the chemical element with the symbol O and atomic number 8. It is a member of the chalcogen group in the periodic table, a highly reactive nonmetal, and an oxidizing agent that readily forms oxides with most elements ...

. *The Running

muscle Skeletal muscles (commonly referred to as muscles) are organs of the vertebrate muscular system and typically are attached by tendons to bones of a skeleton. The muscle cells of skeletal muscles are much longer than in the other types of mus ...

s' ability to use oxygen. *The Lactate threshold - the ability to cope with, and minimize,

lactic acid Lactic acid is an organic acid. It has a molecular formula . It is white in the solid state and it is miscible with water. When in the dissolved state, it forms a colorless solution. Production includes both artificial synthesis as well as nat ...

in the blood. *The VO₂max - the maximum oxygen uptake capacity. *

Speed In everyday use and in kinematics, the speed (commonly referred to as ''v'') of an object is the magnitude of the change of its position over time or the magnitude of the change of its position per unit of time; it is thus a scalar quant ...

, for example leg turnover. *The

Running economy Running economy (RE) measures runners' energy utilization when running at an aerobic intensity, and many physiological and biomechanical factors contribute to it. Oxygen consumption (VO2) is the most commonly used method for measuring running e ...

- the

efficiency Efficiency is the often measurable ability to avoid wasting materials, energy, efforts, money, and time in doing something or in producing a desired result. In a more general sense, it is the ability to do things well, successfully, and without ...

of the runner's movements.

Training intensities

Daniels uses five specific training intensities to improve the different components above. A runner can determine the correct speed for each intensity based on the VDOT from a recent performance.

Easy / Long (E/L) pace

At 60-79% of maximum heart rate (HR_max), this non-straining intensity is used for recovery runs, warm-up, cool-down and long runs. The primary purpose is to build a base for more intense workouts by strengthening the

heart The heart is a muscular Organ (biology), organ in most animals. This organ pumps blood through the blood vessels of the circulatory system. The pumped blood carries oxygen and nutrients to the body, while carrying metabolic waste such as ca ...

and increasing the muscles' ability to use oxygen, and to recover between hard workouts. Daniels recommends that most training miles are performed in E pace. Typical E runs include continuous runs up to about an hour.

Marathon (M) pace

At 80-85% HR_max, this intensity is primarily aimed towards runners training for the

marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also wheelchair div ...

. The pace is one at which the runner hopes to compete. The pace can be included in other programs for a more intense workout, especially if the runner feels fresh and there is enough time to recover afterwards. M-runs are performed as continuous runs up to about two hours, or as long

interval training Interval training is a type of training exercise that involves a series of high-intensity workouts interspersed with rest or relief periods. The high-intensity periods are typically at or close to anaerobic exercise, while the recovery periods invo ...

Threshold (T) pace

At 82-88% HR_max, this intensity is aimed to raise the lactate threshold. The runner should be able to sustain this pace for up to 60 minutes during racing. Daniels describes this intensity as "comfortably hard". In elite runners, the pace matches the

half marathon A half marathon is a road running event of —half the distance of a marathon. It is common for a half marathon event to be held concurrently with a marathon or a 5K race, using almost the same course with a late start, an early finish or shortcut ...

one, while less trained runners will run at around 10k pace. Daniels points out the importance of keeping the given pace to reap the benefits of the training. T runs are typically performed as continuous "tempo" runs for 20 minutes or more, or as "cruise"

with 3 to 10 long bouts of about 3 to 15 minutes each, having 20%-25% rest intervals in between. "T" runs of longer than 20 minutes can be done at slightly reduced pace, according to a table in his book. No more than 10% of the weekly miles should be run at T pace.

Interval (I) pace

Intensity at 97-100% HR_max. This intensity stresses the VO₂max to raise the maximum oxygen uptake capacity. Since the pace is very intense, it can only be sustained for up to 12 minutes during racing. To cope with the intensity, and to train for longer periods of time, this training is performed as

, hence the name. The interval between each work bout should be a little less than the time of the work bout. Optimum intervals are 3–5 minutes long. There is no benefit to exceeding 5 minutes at this pace, under Daniels' theory, which means that despite the popularity of mile-repeats in many running groups, Daniels discourages them for people whose pace is slower than about 5:00/mile, preferring shorter intervals such as 1200 meters. For example, an I session can be 6 x 800 m at I pace with 400 m recovery jogs. At most 8% of the weekly training miles should be I pace.

Repetition (R) pace

R pace is very fast training aimed to improve speed and running economy. The training is performed as short interval training, with typically 200 m, 300 m, or 400 m work outs, with full recovery intervals in between. No more than 5% of the weekly miles should be R pace.

Coaching

Daniels was hired as the head coach of the

men's and women's cross country programs on March 21, 2013. Prior to joining the Express, Daniels served as the men's and women's track and field/cross country coach at the

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for 17 years while also serving as a physical education professor for the college. Across his coaching career with the Red Dragons, Daniels has coached 30 individual Division III NCAA National Champions, eight NCAA National Team Champions and 130 All-Americans. Daniels began coaching online in 2008 and is currently part-owner and head coach of The Run SMART Project.

Critique

Tim Noakes has proposed that maximal exercise performance is regulated by a "

central governor The central governor is a proposed process in the brain that regulates exercise in regard to a neurally calculated safe exertion by the body. In particular, physical activity is controlled so that its intensity cannot threaten the body’s home ...

" rather than a limiting cardiorespiratory function (i.e.

VO2 max VO2 max (also maximal oxygen consumption, maximal oxygen uptake or maximal aerobic capacity) is the maximum rate of oxygen consumption attainable during physical exertion. The name is derived from three abbreviations: "V̇" for volume (the dot ap ...

). Noakes challenges the explanatory power of Daniels' training model (Cardiovascular/Anaerobic) stating that there is a lack of published evidence supporting the claim that each training intensity only improves one of the six physiological components described above. He also states that Daniels' division in components is also not considered complete, e.g. leaving out the muscles' ability to absorb the pounding of running a marathon. But he has acknowledged the efficacy of Daniels' training methods, and stated that science may one day catch up with the explanations, but his methods are effective.

References

External links

Official VDOT Calculator

Private Coaching with Jack Daniels
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Daniels, Jack 1933 births Living people College track and field coaches in the United States American male modern pentathletes Modern pentathletes at the 1956 Summer Olympics Modern pentathletes at the 1960 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medalists for the United States in modern pentathlon Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in modern pentathlon Exercise physiologists Medalists at the 1960 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1956 Summer Olympics