MAS Runs - Planner

A simple web app to plan a MAS running session based on distance or time.

DS4S is back after a short hiatus and with something a little different. In this post, we introduce a new tool for planning MAS running sessions. Many practitioners will incorporate MAS running into their programs, however, it can be tedious to set up and hard to manage with large groups or limited resources. In the Eurofit and Tabata, there are two main considerations for manipulating the intensity of a session. Practitioners can choose to use either a time-based or distance-based approach. A time-based approach would involve selecting a desired distance and then solving for time based on the desired % of MAS and the number of required shuttles (Tabata).

The following simple function sets out some of the logic which underpins the app. Users input the athlete's MAS, the % MAS to use, the interval distance and the number of shuttles to run per interval.

def MAS_time(mas, percent_mas=100, distance=30, shuttles=1, round_time=True):

    # calculate time needed to cover the distance in each interval
    mas_percent = mas * (percent_mas / 100)
    time = distance / mas_percent

    # calculate shuttle distance to cover
    if shuttles > 0 and time > 0:
        shuttle_time = time / shuttles
    else:
        print('Error: shuttles, speed and duration must be greater than 0')

    if round_time:
        shuttle_time = round(shuttle_time)
    else:
        shuttle_time = round(shuttle_time, 2)

    return shuttle_time

The function returns the shuttle time based on its inputs. Similarly, users can input a desired time and solve for distance.

The app complies a summary table for the convenience of the user and finally plots a summary of the session on a scaled pitch which measures 100m in length.

You can check out the app at the following link, we hope you find it useful and if you would like to see more of this type of content in the future please be sure to share, like and subscribe.