Inside Exercise
#46 - What are we polarizing in polarized endurance training? Dr Stephen Seiler
Podcast summary created with Snipd AI
Quick takeaways
- Polarized training emphasizes spending 80% of training time at low intensity and 20% at high intensity, optimizing physiological adaptations and recovery.
- Training intensity should be managed in relation to duration to optimize stress and signaling processes.
- Beginners should take a gradual and sustainable approach to training, gradually increasing intensity after establishing consistency.
- Training predominantly below lactate threshold one (LT1) allows athletes to balance stress, recovery, and signaling for adaptation.
Deep dives
Polarized Training: Balancing Intensity and Low Intensity
Polarized training is a training approach that emphasizes spending roughly 80% of training time at low intensity and 20% at high intensity, with minimal time in the middle. This distribution is believed to help athletes optimize their training by eliciting specific adaptations while avoiding excessive stress on the body. The evidence suggests that most successful endurance athletes across different sports modalities follow a similar intensity distribution, focusing on a large volume of low-intensity work below the lactate turn point (LT1), with some threshold and higher-intensity training. Polarized training allows for sustainable training and promotes both the necessary physiological adaptations and recovery.
Understanding the Stress-Response Balance
Training involves both generating specific molecular signals for adaptation and inducing stress responses in the body. Low-intensity work tends to elicit cellular signaling and adaptations, while high-intensity work activates stress responses in the autonomic nervous system. Athletes need to manage the balance between these two aspects to optimize training. Overly intense training without sufficient recovery can lead to decreased heart rate and reduced performance, as seen in multi-week events like the Tour de France. Striking the right balance is crucial for sustainable training and achieving optimal adaptation and performance.
Training for Beginners: Frequency, Duration, Intensity
For beginners or individuals aiming to improve their fitness, a gradual and sustainable approach should be taken. Start with a manageable frequency, such as three sessions per week, and gradually increase duration over a period of weeks. Focus on developing a habit and enjoying the training process before introducing higher intensity sessions. Once consistency is established, shorter high-intensity sessions can be gradually incorporated. This progression allows individuals to build fitness while managing stress and avoiding burnout.
Monitoring Tools for Training Intensity
There are multiple ways to monitor training intensity without requiring advanced equipment or testing. External load measures, such as power output or running speed, can be used to gauge intensity. Additionally, perceived exertion and heart rate can serve as reliable indicators when used in conjunction. Perceived exertion should align with a comfortable conversation pace, indicating an appropriate low-intensity effort. Heart rate can be monitored to ensure it stays within a range that corresponds to the desired training intensity. Monitoring these aspects provides valuable feedback to help individuals adjust their training and maintain the desired intensity levels.
Training Intensity Management
Training intensity should be managed in relation to duration. It is not just about the zone or percentage of maximum heart rate. The body's response to intensity depends on the duration attached to it. Athletes should focus on combining intensity and duration to optimize the stress and signaling process. It is important to recognize that intensity has a cumulative effect, with longer durations leading to different adaptations and responses in the body.
Polarized Training for Elite Athletes
Many exceptional athletes, including world champions, train predominantly below lactate threshold one (LT1) or zone one, rather than in zone two. While they do train at high intensity for specific sessions, most of their training is focused on lower intensity work. This polarized approach allows them to optimize the balance between stress and recovery, and signaling for adaptation. It is important to note that the distribution of training intensities varies depending on the duration of the sessions and the specific sport.
Functional Overreaching and Training Distribution
Training predominantly at or above lactate threshold (LT2) or in zone three can lead to functional overreaching and stagnation. Studies have shown that training with high intensity at threshold or above every day can induce maladaptations and hinder progress. It is crucial to find the right balance and avoid excessive high-intensity training to prevent burning out. Training programs should incorporate a mixture of intensities, with a focus on lower intensity work to ensure proper recovery and long-term improvements.
Durability and Sensitivity to Intensity Duration
Endurance athletes, even those training at the elite level, show individual differences in sensitivity to intensity duration. Some athletes reach their frontier or limit faster in terms of performance and stress response, while others can sustain intensity for a longer duration. Training duration and the balance between intensity and duration play significant roles in an athlete's ability to endure and maintain performance. Duration acts as a signaling factor, and the body's response changes over extended durations.
Dr Glenn McConell chats with Professor Stephen Seiler from the University of Agder in Norway. He is American who started his career in USA before moving to Norway almost 30 years ago. He points out that most exercise training research is based around university semesters with mainly untrained to trained transitions which is very different to what athletes do. Stephen coined the term polarized training in 2004 and makes the argument that this is the best way to train and that most world class endurance athletes train this way. This discussion is interesting to compare and contrast with recent episodes with A/Prof Andrew Coggan and Prof Michael Joyner who tend to say all roads lead to Rome. Twitter: @StephenSeiler
0:00. Introduction and welcome 2:09. Stephen’s excellent sports science website from back in 1995/6 4:30. How Stephen got into exercise research 7:12. David Costill 8:23. Stephens early heart research in rats then move to Norway 11:37. His time at the University of Texas in Austin 13:50. Debates about the best ways to train for endurance 17:20. Ex training research is based around university semesters 21:45. Norway: “Threshold training to much pain due too little gain” 22:50. Stephen coined the term polarized training in 2004. 23:45. Most endurance athletes do most training below LT1 24:20. Three zone and five zone exercise training models 29:10. Pyramidal training 30:45. Sharpening/tapering before races (more polarized) 32:43. Exercise training: signal versus stress 39:30. Manipulating training frequency, duration and intensity
41:03.Overtraining: maximum heart rate (parasympathetic hypersensitivity) etc
48:13. People starting out, get them out the door and develop habit
53:20. Zones as VO2 max goes up
55:35. How know zones?, lactate?, HR, power (Andy Coggan), RPE, talking test
59:33. Hilly running/intervals, metallic taste in mouth, coughing
1:02:50. Do swimmers do polarized training though? David Costill
1:05:02. Polarized training. Approx 80/20 based on sessions, 90/10 based on time
1:08:30. Black hole intensity. Not really easy and not really hard
1:10;46. Threshold training pace, Importance of duration (intensity x duration). HRV
1:17:12. Agrees with Andy Coggans points that lactic acid does not inhibit fat oxidation
1:19:32. Zone 2 and Inigo San Milan
1:22:50. Mitochondrial biogenesis, AMPK and calcium. Intensity vs volume
1:27:48. Cardiovascular drift/ uncoupling
1:30:35. But don't most athletes do pyramidal training?
1:33:40. Race pace specificity
1:34:08. Isn't it logical that the larger the training volume the lower the average intensity?
1:38:40. Pro cyclists training averages only 65% of max HR
1:43:10. Lab evidence vs data from athletes Strava etc
1:44:25. Doing lots of threshold training causes stagnation/functional over reaching
1:48:06. Take the emotion / religion out re the importance of Zone 2. Importance of duration.
1:54:59. Outro (9 seconds)
Inside Exercise brings to you the who's who of research in exercise metabolism, exercise physiology and exercise’s effects on health. With scientific rigor, these researchers discuss popular exercise topics while providing practical strategies for all.
The interviewer, Emeritus Professor Glenn McConell, has an international research profile following 30 years of Exercise Metabolism research.
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