Talk:Interval training

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Fartlek training is very different from interval training. With fartlek the athlete continues motion but varies intensity and therefor heart rate by doing different types of activities. In Swimming we might have wistle signals to signal swimming easy, swimming hard or at a consistent pace. There are no fixed intervals and no rest to decrease heart rate. We sometimes also include switching from swimming to Kicking and also switching strokes.

With interval training we specify a specific distance and the time that the athlete has to complete the distance and rest. This is the interval. Swim fast and you get more rest. swim slow get less rest. To improve the set we will often make it a Descending set where the idea is for the athlete to make the first swim the slowest with the longest rest and the last swim in the set the fastest swim with the longest rest.

[edit] Are there more supporting studies?

Using a google search; it seems that in running and other sports interval training is done a lot, yet are there only two studies that show the positive effects compared to standard endurance training?

How do so many sports trainers determine their precise schedules? Are they simply performing "pseudoscience", or are their methods based on results of other studies? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 145.97.201.62 (talk) 12:30, 27 January 2008 (UTC)

I'm against the merge. It's different. mixer (talk) 12:36, 25 February 2008 (UTC)

Indeed. Fartlek is in between distance running and interval training, and should be treated distinctly separately (although perhaps in context!). "Fartlek" means "play with speed" in Swedish, and that's how it should be considered. Free-wheeling, sort of, while interval training is much stricter and more controlled.

Regarding whether interval training is effective/efficiant, just ask competitive runners how many of them who don't incorporate interval training in their preparations. You will find none. For reading, try Jack Daniels (Running Formula) or Tim Noakes (Lore of Running) for instance. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 213.114.185.114 (talk) 10:31, 23 March 2008 (UTC)

I don't contribute to Wikipedia normally, but I wanted to weigh in and say that I think Fartlek is a distinct term from Interval Training. I would never have dreamed to search on "interval training" to find Fartlek, because the term is used so distinctly. I suggest keeping them separate.

I agree - it should not be merged. They are two totally different training systems to achieve different things. They do have things in common, but they are not the same system! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.110.29.197 (talk) 17:15, 11 April 2008 (UTC)