I am looking to improve my 5k time to 17 min with an ultimate goal of running a sub 3 marathon.
Looking at the available literature, I am very confused about the difference in physiological adaptations that they bring. Are they the same type of speed workouts?
They are not. Fartlek is when you embed timed or measured moderate-to-hard efforts into a continuous endurance run.
It’s similar to a HIIT workout in that your body is biomechanically and aerobically conditioning itself to faster than normal efforts, but you are basically settling back into your normal “easy” pace on the recovery.
Fartleks are just a more general term for a more free interval form, typically doing alternations/variations in pace rather than classic intervals with standing rest. You can choose intensity and rep length and "rest" intervals as you like.
There are loads of different fartlek variations people use. The physiological adaptation can be very different based on what the contents and paces are. One benefit of doing fartlek as an alternating style workout rather than standing rest is that one might train the ability to redistribute lactate and recover while running, which is beneficial for maybe raising the lactate threshold.
The body quickly gets used to what you do so variation in the intense work can be a key factor in increasing adaptation.
If you have not used fartleks in any form I suggest you investigate forms of fartleks and also decide what factor you would like to improve, design some fartleks and then try it out.
It is easy to design a HIIT fartlek. Just try 20x1min hard+1min easy/moderate and you will quickly discover. Another could be a VO2max type with 5 series of 3x40s hard+60s 10k (total series time=5min) with 2-3min easy between series.
There is no "S" in fartlek.
The form of HIIT fartlek that you described is the one I am currently doing for a couple of weeks.
30 * 1 min hard + 1 min easy.
I am a novice and couldn't quite understand the second type of fartlek that you described, the one that you called the VO2 max fartlek, could you please elaborate the second type of workout further?
How are they different in terms of the physiological adaptations that they bring to the body?
Exactly, I used "s"
AniruddhaDebnath wrote:
The form of HIIT fartlek that you described is the one I am currently doing for a couple of weeks.
30 * 1 min hard + 1 min easy.
I am a novice and couldn't quite understand the second type of fartlek that you described, the one that you called the VO2 max fartlek, could you please elaborate the second type of workout further?
5 efforts each consisting of 40 first seconds at a hard VO2 max effort, then easing down to a 10k pace effort (still high intensity) for a minute, then straight into a second 40s of VO2 max, then another minute at 10k pace, then a third 40s surge + a final minute at VO2 max.
malmo wrote:
There is no "S" in fartlek.
Fartlek is swedish for (speedplay) and is an imported english term. If I do a fartlek, but over a month do many different fartlek ? I think I will use fartleks
Hmmm. People still don't know what fartlek is. If you're using a watch during a fartlek, you're not doing a fartlek. How do you guys keep misrepresenting this? It's in the first sentence of describing one.
AniruddhaDebnath wrote:
How are they different in terms of the physiological adaptations that they bring to the body?
They can be the same, depends on how you run the workout. The difference is the time is concrete in Fartlek, distance not so much as opposed to a track workout where the distance is concrete but the time might vary slightly.
Thank you so much!
malmo wrote:
There is no "S" in fartlek.
Correct.
But there is an "s" in fartleks, the plural of fartlek.
I think you can include short all out sections in a workout designed as a fartlek. I assume the benefits would look similar.
Studies on HIIT appear to favor 8 repeats near maximum effort, so really less than 30 seconds.
Jon Arne Glomsrud wrote:
malmo wrote:
There is no "S" in fartlek.
Fartlek is swedish for (speedplay) and is an imported english term. If I do a fartlek, but over a month do many different fartlek ? I think I will use fartleks
Correct, but what if I indulge in the perversion of flicking my tongue several times in one go over someone’s flatulence? I most certainly think I will use fartlicks.
lezbaru4U! wrote:
AniruddhaDebnath wrote:
How are they different in terms of the physiological adaptations that they bring to the body?
They can be the same, depends on how you run the workout. The difference is the time is concrete in Fartlek, distance not so much as opposed to a track workout where the distance is concrete but the time might vary slightly.
I think the common way to run a fartlek is mostly as an aerobic run/workout. Its basically an easy run or at most a 'tempo', with some random acts of faster running, which are usually not all out sprints.
Whereas the common (99%) way to do HIIT is anaerobic, vo2max, usually all out efforts. With very little if any aerobic work.
DictionaryCorner101 wrote:
lezbaru4U! wrote:
They can be the same, depends on how you run the workout. The difference is the time is concrete in Fartlek, distance not so much as opposed to a track workout where the distance is concrete but the time might vary slightly.
I think the common way to run a fartlek is mostly as an aerobic run/workout. Its basically an easy run or at most a 'tempo', with some random acts of faster running, which are usually not all out sprints.
Whereas the common (99%) way to do HIIT is anaerobic, vo2max, usually all out efforts. With very little if any aerobic work.
There is no ‘common way’ to run fartlek and the definition has broadened over the years. Plenty of folks using timed intervals on the road for vo2max training.
lezbaru4U! wrote:
There is no ‘common way’ to run fartlek and the definition has broadened over the years. Plenty of folks using timed intervals on the road for vo2max training.
Nonsense. There is, and it is most commonly an easy run with acts of faster running. Not exclusively but commonly. And FYI timed intervals on the road are not fartlek, as someone said above, the literal definition of fartlek is speed play, it is not a structured hard workout.
DictionaryCorner101 wrote:
lezbaru4U! wrote:
There is no ‘common way’ to run fartlek and the definition has broadened over the years. Plenty of folks using timed intervals on the road for vo2max training.
Nonsense. There is, and it is most commonly an easy run with acts of faster running. Not exclusively but commonly. And FYI timed intervals on the road are not fartlek, as someone said above, the literal definition of fartlek is speed play, it is not a structured hard workout.
Thank you for summing up your post in the first sentence.
lezbaru4U! wrote:
DictionaryCorner101 wrote:
Nonsense. There is, and it is most commonly an easy run with acts of faster running. Not exclusively but commonly. And FYI timed intervals on the road are not fartlek, as someone said above, the literal definition of fartlek is speed play, it is not a structured hard workout.
Thank you for summing up your post in the first sentence.
OK tell me Einstein, what is nonsense about what I typed?