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Polarized training

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SPR
Jun 2015
7:03pm, 9 Jun 2015
20,263 posts
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SPR
Varied is good NN. Different sessions target different things.

I take it your max HR is below 200? One of the issues with Gerschler's guidance is he assumed most following it would have HR maxs of 200+.

I'm inclined to take the 120hr recovery with a pinch of salt as well, given it had to happen within 90 secs.
Jun 2015
7:15pm, 9 Jun 2015
5,623 posts
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100forRNIB
Perhaps it's an urban myth but I thought the very best marathon runners may run even mile splits BUT they vary pace within that mile to even out muscle pattern usage?
Jun 2015
10:48pm, 9 Jun 2015
1,957 posts
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Ninky Nonk
My best estimate of hrmax is mid 180s. Resting hr is 40.

I certainly notice the burn above 175. ;-)
SPR
Jun 2015
11:44pm, 9 Jun 2015
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SPR
Whereas I saw over 200bpm at the end of pretty much every race when I used to wear a HRM strap (been over 210 twice) and averaged over 180, so getting my HR to 180 is not an issue, lol.
SPR
Jun 2015
11:47pm, 9 Jun 2015
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SPR
FR got to be a myth, it would show up in the mile splits if it wasn't and doesn't really make sense. Recruiting different muscle groups/ fibres makes some sense, but not varying the pace.
J2R
Jun 2015
1:33pm, 10 Jun 2015
72 posts
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J2R
So, did my first hill sprint session today (well, first really focussed, measured, timed one anyway). After a 2 mile warmup, 1 did 11 reps of a full on 12 second sprint up an 8 degree slope, walking back down slowly after each one. I think maybe I need to find a slightly steeper hill for this, but it felt as if it would be useful anyway. Definitely one to add to the palette!
J2R
Jun 2015
11:31am, 11 Jun 2015
73 posts
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J2R
I've noticed that I seem to be settling naturally into doing my easy runs at around 60-65% of my working heart rate. That's the pace I find myself going at if I run easy, but don't deliberately dawdle - sort of what I would do without thinking about it too much. Is this a good range to be operating in for the majority of my low intensity stuff?
Jun 2015
12:38pm, 11 Jun 2015
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Canute
J2R,

that sounds good to me. Lydiard recommended a ‘good aerobic pace’ but he did not define it precisely. However, Lydiard aficionados define his quarter pace session as a session you could go out and repeat immediately whereas a half pace session could be repeated the next day.

I suspect there is at least some benefit in any easy session no matter how easy, but it is not time-efficient to go too slow; furthermore, aerobic enzymes are likely to develop more at a ‘good aerobic pace’.
J2R
Jun 2015
1:48pm, 11 Jun 2015
74 posts
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J2R
Thanks, Canute. The interesting thing for me is that if I slow my pace down considerably from this, by say 30 seconds per mile, the drop in my heart rate isn't that great. I can only assume that this is a pace which has become very economical for me, so even though I'm obviously working harder than I am at 30 seconds per mile slower, I'm doing that work a little more efficiently.

Having said that, one of the areas where I feel I've made the most noticeable improvement in the last couple of years (assuming it is indeed improvement!) is being able to run better slowly. Strange, counter-intuitive goal for a speed-obsessed runner!
Jun 2015
1:58pm, 11 Jun 2015
56,221 posts
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Gobi
define too slow

I am polarized and will often run down towards 10mm with my heart rate at 10X

About This Thread

Maintained by Canute
Polarised training is a form of training that places emphasis on the two extremes of intensity. There is a large amount of low intensity training (comfortably below lactate threshold) and an appreciable minority of high intensity training (above LT).

Polarised training does also include some training near lactate threshold, but the amount of threshold training is modest, in contrast to the relatively high proportion of threshold running that is popular among some recreational runners.

Polarised training is not new. It has been used for many years by many elites and some recreational runners. However, it has attracted great interest in recent years for two reasons.

First, detailed reviews of the training of many elite endurance athletes confirms that they employ a polarised approach (typically 80% low intensity, 10% threshold and 10% high intensity. )

Secondly, several scientific studies have demonstrated that for well trained athletes who have reached a plateau of performance, polarised training produces greater gains in fitness and performance, than other forms of training such as threshold training on the one hand, or high volume, low intensity training on the other.

Much of the this evidence was reviewed by Stephen Seiler in a lecture delivered in Paris in 2013 .
vimeo.com

In case you cannot access that lecture by Seiler in 2013, here is a link to his more recent TED talk.

ted.com
This has less technical detail than his 2013 talk, but is nonetheless a very good introduction to the topic. It should be noted that from the historical perspective, Seiler shows a US bias.

Here is another useful video by Stephen Seiler in which he discusses the question of the optimum intensity and duration of low intensity sessions. Although the answer ‘depends on circumstances’ he proposes that a low intensity session should be long enough to reach the point where there are detectable indications of rising stress (either the beginning of upwards drift of HR or increased in perceived effort). If longer than this, there is increasing risk of damaging effects. A session shorter than this might not be enough to produce enough stress to achieve a useful training effect.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3GXc474Hu5U


The coach who probably deserves the greatest credit for emphasis on the value of low intensity training was Arthur Lydiard, who coached some of the great New Zealanders in the 1960's and Scandinavians in the 1970’s. One of his catch-phrases was 'train, don't strain'. However Lydiard never made it really clear what he meant by ‘quarter effort’. I have discussed Lydiard’s ideas on several occasions on my Wordpress blog. For example: canute1.wordpress.com
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