Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Increasing Intensity - the fartlek

I ran twice yesterday, I try to run twice in one day, 2x a week. I recommend that for walkers, cyclists etc also. It is a good way to switch things up and increase time or miles in a safe way. For instance I was running 4 days 6 miles each and one long run on the fifth day. But now, after doing that as my baseline for several years, I run twice 2 days with 8.5 on both and two sixes and the one long run. So I added a couple miles but not at the expense of my muscles or joints. Besides exercise is such a mood booster why wouldn't you want to do it twice a day! A person who walks thirty minutes after work, might try walking 20 before and 20 after and gaining 10 so they are now doing 40 a day.

That is a good way to increase overall time spent on physical activity. Now I want to talk about how to increase intensity. I am a runner, but I wasn't always. This can be done on a bicycle, stationary or not and on an elliptical machine.

One way to work speed into your routine is called a fartlek, for speed play, and it is my favorite. One can do tempo runs (walks) or interval training as well. Of course there is track work and repeats but that is not my thing.

Fartleks are pretty cool because you decide how you want to go about it. It is a playful way to increase speed and calorie burn. I find that fartleks distract me, challenge me and improve my cardiorespiratory health.

I usually refer to the speed work I do as pick ups but it is the same concept. I decide that I am going to run faster for 20 or 30 or 40 seconds and then I run normal for a bit. Maybe I will go out for a six mile run and tell myself I am going to do six pick ups during that run. Really I am doing fartleks. Also, one would run twice as long at the slower pace than at the pick up, so like 30 fast and 60 slow, seconds, or counts.

I have seen people take minutes off their time by using this technique. That matters for racing and it matters for intensity. Remember Dr. Coopers physical activity advice was to get it done faster or do it more often. (you can search for the cooper institute blog post and learn more about that in the search engine in the right corner)

Back to yesterday. I ran the same distance, the same place in fact, yesterday on both runs. I do not usually do that. I absolutely stunned myself with my fartlek results. I ran 4.5 miles each time. I ran the first in 48 and the second in 43. (I am a slow runner, a good pace for an average person would be 10, but many many people run six, seven and eight minute miles as their average). The point for me and for you is not to compare to them, but to ourselves.

So how did I average 10:36 on one run and 9:32 on the other? An intense little game of pyramid fartlek. I learned the pyramid idea in weight training and will explain that in a future post. But it means going up and coming down basically.

So my game was this, run real fast (I just increase my foot fall, take smaller steps etc) for 20 seconds and then back off... run real fast for 30 seconds then back off, run real fast for 40 seconds then back off... do 40 again, and the 30 and then 20. You can pick whatever amount of seconds or minutes you like. I do minute fartleks on the treadmill. Of course, you warm up before you start the fartlek. I did at least four of those yesterday and even added one where I did 10 and rest, 20 and rest up to 50 and back down. Seriously, I kicked my ass.

My problem is resting between.. I get excited and just want to get to the top and back down so I can really rest!

If you are already cleared for exercise and have been doing the same thing for six months or more, you may want to spice up your routine and calorie burn with your own Fartlek games.

Just because I mentioned exercise and it is important for everyone to do what they can.. please take a look at the following link to see if you need a physicians approval or not, and thank you for doing so!

http://www.d.umn.edu/kmc/student/loon/soc/phys/par-q.html

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