Fit and Fine by Kamal Singh CSCS: Why you should adopt the fartlek

This Swedish way to carry out intervals in your workout regime has more benefits that you think. Here’s why it could work for you

Interval training is all the rage these days. Gyms and trainers tell us how we can do more with less if we do high interval training. Slow cardio is pooh-poohed as out dated and ineffective while interval training is sold as the latest and the greatest. But runners and running coaches have been using intervals since forever and they know one thing – interval training is to be used sparingly. In fact, most serious runners dread doing intervals as the intensity levels in these workouts are high and doing too much too often limits the ability to recover from workouts.

The 80/20 approach

Most beginning runners will not do intervals till they have built tissue tolerance by running enough miles in a week otherwise injury risk is high. Knowing the downside of interval training, runners follow the 80/20 rule. Thus, if you run four times a week – 3 sessions would be easy pace runs, only one run would be an interval session. Mostly interval training would be done close to a race. In the offseason, runners just focus on easy pace runs, building up to a large weekly mileage and an aerobic base.

Enter speed play

Fartlek is the Swedish word for Speed Play and this is an unstructured way to perform intervals. Actually, this is the way to induce fun and flexibility in to doing intervals. Here’s how to go about it:

•Let’s assume that you plan to do a 30-minute run workout. Do a 5-minute warm up jog/slow run.

•Run fast for some distance – this could between two lamp posts, trees etc.

•Slow jog for a similar distance.

•Then sprint hard for a short distance.

•Repeat as many times as possible in 20 minutes.

•Cool down for 5-6 minutes.

You might be wondering what is the big deal here – where is all that fun etc? The intervals in the above example depend on how you feel! Nothing is fixed. Depending on how you feel, you could do two sprints one after another or just do slow recovery jogs. Making things up as you go is the name of the game in doing Fartlek workouts.

Run fast for some distance–this could between two lamp posts, trees etc (Shutterstock)

Training for sport and fartlek

It is no surprise that most sports are chaotic in nature and nothing prepares you better for them than doing Fartlek workouts. If you play football, hockey or even tennis, I would recommend that you seriously look at Fartlek training for developing the stamina for these team sports. Get to point that you can do forty-five-minute-long Fartlek workouts and see how easy it is to handle the physical needs of the above sports. On a professional level, till very recently, Fartlek was used by football teams in Europe as means of conditioning for their sport*.

Finally…

Fartlek is an amazing tool for improving fitness whether for sport or just as means for getting better at running. Its flexibility and versatility is what makes it applicable for the novice as well as the professional. It is only limited by the creativity of the coach or the trainee. Try it and you will not be disappointed. Now go and do it……

*The Secret footballer’s guide to the Modern Game: Tips and Tactics from the Ultimate Insider. By Anonymous. Paperback 2015.

From HT Brunch, January 23, 2022

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