For a more structured fartlek workout, consider setting landmarks or times as markers – sprint to that tree 80 metres away, then light jog for three minutes afterwards.
Add speed bursts to your running workout to increase caloric burn and build endurance. This practice is known as speed play; no formal structures need to be put in place – simply sprint towards that lightpost or run up that hill!
Endurance
Endurance training is an integral component of running training plans, yet many athletes find their workouts tedious and uninspiring over time. Fartlek workouts provide a fun twist to fitness sessions while amplifying cardiovascular work outs.
Fartlek training entails running intervals alternating between speedy and recovery running segments, and gradually increasing their length as your abilities improve. Fartleks can serve both as an enjoyable way to play around with pace as well as “test out the waters” before moving on to more structured road or track-based speedwork workouts.
Fartlek (which translates to “speed play”) is an effective way of adding variety into endurance workouts, whether on your own, with friends, or taking a Peloton class. You can design a fartlek session depending on how you’re feeling each time – making every workout different and adaptable!
Fartlek runs are relatively straightforward: simply speed up for short bursts during your normal long distance run and return to conversational running pace afterward. You could do this by counting lampposts, sprinting towards signs or trees or using music as a template and increasing speed during certain sections of the song.
Another way to incorporate fartlek training into your regular workouts is using treadmill or elliptical machines at the gym. This will enable you to do fartleks without leaving home or gym and force you to push harder, since working out at higher heart rates for less time than outdoor runs requires will force you to push harder on yourself.
Fartleks can not only help improve endurance, but can also build speed and anaerobic energy systems – which will come in handy on the basketball court, soccer field or football pitch. Team sports athletes typically prefer this form of training since they know that even gentle jogs may quickly turn into intense sprints on occasion.
Speed
Fartlek training helps runners develop speed by intensifying their efforts without incurring physical stress and strain from longer, harder paced runs that are common causes of injuries for novice runners. Furthermore, unlike interval training which requires flat, uniform surfaces such as tracks for precision timing and precise pacing and timing purposes.
Fartlek (pronounced Far-lee-k) is a Swedish term meaning “speed play.” It was created by running coach Gosta Holmer during the 1930s to help improve sprint times among his athletes, though now more commonly it refers to a free-flowing run with intermittent bursts of intense effort.
Make sure your Fartlek session feels natural and energetic by setting short-term goals that keep you motivated, such as sprinting towards trees or lampposts. On a track, try creating intervals by walking straightaways while jogging curves – or make a playlist where when its chorus hits faster you run harder!
If you’re new to Fartlek, consulting a trainer or running coach may help ensure that you possess the endurance for such higher intensity workouts. Furthermore, starting slowly can be advantageous; try adding one or two Fartlek workouts each week until eventually building up to more frequent and varied speed bursts over time.
Be careful during your first few Fartlek sessions to keep an eye on your heart rate; if it becomes excessively elevated, immediately stop and rest before starting back up again. Fartlek can also be done using other forms of exercise such as rowing or swimming; just pay close attention to intensity of effort and pace so as not to overexert yourself.
Power
Fartlek workouts are an effective way to develop both speed and power. To do so, typically during a fartlek session you alternate between periods of fast running and slower jogging or walking, much like interval training but without being as structured. Fartlek can be done on tracks, hills, treadmills, ski ergs, bicycles or swimming pools and Race At Your Pace offers virtual challenges featuring fartlek protocols allowing users to adjust their pace throughout each challenge.
Fartlek training differs from traditional interval training in that there are no set distances or times for each fast period, making the workout completely flexible and unstructured. Created by Swedish coach Gosta Holmer and meaning “speed play,” fartlek allows you to decide when and for how long a sprint should occur; perhaps stopping at every stop sign or streetlight or using landmarks such as telephone poles and trees as markers during fast portions of your run are good ways of setting it off.
Fartlek training aims to help your muscles adapt to changing paces and terrain, making it ideal for cross-country races. Fartlek also develops body awareness skills – essential knowledge for runners of any age or experience level. Fartlek differs from interval training in that its impact is low while its benefits extend further into flexibility.
Fartlek training can be beneficial to athletes at all levels, but long-distance and endurance runners who transition toward speed work will find fartlek especially effective. By changing up intensity of workouts, fartlek sessions help keep training interesting and prevent boredom or burnout.
High-intensity training, specifically fartlek, has been proven to increase cardiovascular fitness and VO2max as well as increase oxygen capacity of your blood. This effect occurs because these exercises recruit and train fast-twitch muscle fibers while simultaneously keeping your heart rate elevated, providing active recovery and fuel utilization at a quicker rate. Besides running, fartlek-style workouts are effective in other sports that require quick bursts of speed such as soccer, tennis and basketball.
Flexibility
Integration of various speed work into your run can help increase flexibility and prevent injury. A typical fartlek workout might consist of a five minute warmup followed by four minutes of running at maximum effort for four minutes, with two or three minutes of recovery jogging afterward. This type of exercise can be conducted both on a track and on the road; and is an effective way of developing foot speed and agility in sports such as soccer, football, basketball and baseball that require quick changes of direction.
Fartlek training is a highly versatile method, making it easy to integrate into any existing run. It usually revolves around your environment and often entails changing speeds and distances during one run; landmarks such as lamp posts or blocks may serve as markers to indicate different intervals of running intensity or rhythmic music might increase pace at certain sections.
For a more structured version of Fartlek training, set interval times such as 1 minute sprint followed by 2 minutes jog and then 1 minute sprint and repeat this pattern throughout your workout. This style may be easier for some runners to follow but does lack spontaneity and fun!
As with any form of running, it’s easy to become stagnant when running the same routes at the same pace. By adding fartlek into your routine it will help break out of that routine and introduce some fresh challenges which will keep running exciting and give you motivation for further improvement.
Fartlek workouts can be completed easily on the road without needing access to a track or gym, even in inclement weather. Running along a looped route near landmarks allows you to orient yourself by changing pace when passing landmarks; alternatively you could use the stopwatch on your phone. On treadmills you could make use of their settings in order to adjust pace during commercial breaks or time your sprints with certain parts of songs for added variety during workout.
