If you practice any endurance sport you probably have heard of fartlek or intervals... or maybe you already suffer them and you don't know he reason. The intervals is alternating low intensity efforts with high intensity efforts, always on a timed or distance basis.
The goal of this training sessions vary but when doing it, you work both the anaerobic and the aerobic aspect. When we make a high intensity effort, our anaerobic system grabs the energy stored in our muscles and not the oxygen. This results in the accumulation of lactic acid. At the time of going to active recovery (low intensity) the aerobic phase is activated. When lactic acid builds up, the body needs oxygen to recover. In this recovery phase, our lungs and heart work together to make up for this lack of oxygen. In this way we get our body to recover and oxygen to convert stored carbohydrates into energy.
Some of their benefits are:
It is a very effective training to burn fat during and after because we will make a greater energy expenditure.
We are going to notice a cardiovascular improvement as we progressively increase our maximum oxygen volume.
We will develop a greater tolerance to the accumulation of lactic acid.
We will increase muscle mass at the same time that you will see your muscles strengthened.
We only need a stopwatch to put it into practice, since this training can be done in different intensities, by time, by distances and anywhere!
You will considerably increase your endurance capacity.
You will see benefits in your long runs.
The important thing is that we know where our limits are and use this type of training to improve specific things and by blocks. We have to progressively adjust the intensity and duration in relation to the results that we obtain. Little by little we will be able to run at a higher intensity for longer periods of time without reaching fatigue so soon.