Polarized Training for Long-distance Running

The most essential part of any sport, often more important than competing, is the training itself. Competing can be seen as a way to demonstrate training results, but it is never the most effective way to gain fitness. People truly improve through hours of training, which exercises not just the physical body but also the mind. Knowing how vital training is means people can't mindlessly pick whatever activity or effort they feel like partaking in a given day. Though it might seem logical to train at a high intensity every day to gain the most improvements, this is not true. For specifically long-distance running, what is proven to reap the most benefits out of all the hours put into training, is a method called Polarize Training.

What is Polarized Training?

Polarized Training is popularly known as having 80% low-intensity training and the other 20% high-intensity training. Low-intensity training would count things like easy runs, where the run is taken at a pace where it's easy to converse. The other 20% would count something like a workout at a quick pace appropriate to the distance run. Usually, the two can be easily distinguishable by effort and/or how one feels after the run. There are a lot more specifics to determine the "right" intensity, such as using lactate thresholds (where the body doesn't provide enough oxygen to muscles, making lactate as energy). Still, a majority of the time, gauging effort is enough. It may seem false that running slower makes one faster, but such a study was conducted in 2013 by the International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance. In the study, the 10k times of participants were recorded before splitting them into two groups. The first group did 77% of their runs at easy intensity, 3% at moderate intensity, and 20% at intensity. The second group did 46% of runs at low intensity, 35% at moderate intensity, and 19% at high intensity. After 10 weeks, both groups ran another 10k, and the first group, doing most of their runs at an easy intensity, improved nearly twice that of the other. The results demonstrated that the ones who ran more at an easy intensity improved more. The study also showed that runs at moderate intensity are ineffective in their purpose, and runners should just stick with going all into one intensity for the run rather than having a medium intensity. Even though the second group technically put more effort into their training, the amount of improvement was still less than the first group. 

Why is Polarized Training effective?

It doesn't make sense. After all, Polarized Training is essentially saying to get faster; one needs to run slower. However, only by doing slow runs can one effectively train one's aerobic system. All long-distance events rely mainly on the aerobic system, so it makes sense that a majority of the training is to maximize the potential of that system. Not only that, but slow running allows runners to feel fresh when they have high-intensity training, so during those runs, they can bring their fullest, where they would've worn out if they had done all the moderate-intensity training. Another benefit that is often overlooked is that it prevents easy mental burnout for runners, as it allows them to relax and fully embrace the sport.

Conclusion:

It’s easy for people new to distance training to just do hard intensity runs after another, thinking that it’s the most effective way to improve. However, a training system named Polarized Training, which has the runner do a majority of their runs at low intensity, is significantly more effective for improvement and the long-term enjoyment of the sport. 

Sources:

Hurley, Sean. “Polarized Training for Cyclists: What It Is and How to Try It - TrainerRoad 

Blog.” Trainerroad, 19 Mar. 2021, 

www.trainerroad.com/blog/polarized-training-for-cyclists-what-it-is-and-how-to-try-it/.

“What Is Slow Running and Does It Work?” Cleveland Clinic, 2 May 2024, 

health.clevelandclinic.org/slow-running.

“The Running Room - Physiotherapy.” The Running Room - Physiotherapy, 2023, 

www.therunningroom.net/polarised-training-approach-for-runners. 

Mateo, Ashley. “This Is the Fastest Way to Build Endurance and Boost VO2Max without 

Burning Out.” Runner’s World, 17 Mar. 2021, 

www.runnersworld.com/training/a20807243/polarized-training/.