How do you organize your training week? Do you tend to do very similar workouts or do you alternate between easy work and more challenging exercises? How many hours a week can you devote to sports? Your time is an important variable in figuring out what kind of training you can do.
For many years there was a belief that as workload increased, performance could only improve. Some professional athletes in endurance sports in the 1970s faced a major volume increase to 7 to 8 hours a day of training. With this system, however, the results obtained were less than expected. Because, along with the hours of training, muscle and bone injuries also increased conspicuously, proving that the load endurable by athletes (even at the highest level) is not unlimited. In recent years there has been a lot of talk about high-intensity work (HIT) as a different approach to high volume. The boom in this type of training has been there for amateurs as well. The big advantage of those who advocate the validity of this system is that it takes you much less time on your hands. The very simplistic slogan is that you can achieve the same results as high-volume-based programming but take much less time.
The question is not whether one system is better than the other; and there is, as in most cases, no single answer. The reality is that one model of work does not exclude the other. In fact. Any well-structured training program, and therefore yours as well, should include depending on the periods and type of athlete a part of work done with high volumes at low intensities and a part with quality work over shorter durations. The aerobic base, developed through low- and moderate-intensity work, which is the foundation on which all subsequent adaptations are developed, is indispensable for all. It represents almost all of the work for both less advanced athletes and all athletes in the early stages of preparation.
What has been sought to identify over the years is the correct percentage of the total of these jobs and especially what low intensity means. First of all, you must not confuse The concept of low intensity with low gait. According to training science you can consider low intensity when you are below the first ventilatory threshold (aerobic threshold, intensity that produces about 2 mmol of lactate in the blood). Thus, the Zones of Intensity 1 and 2.
On the other hand, you cannot set up your entire preparation by doing almost only high-intensity workouts (as so many self-directed amateurs do who are convinced that the stimulus is only training when there is a high level of fatigue). High intensity means all work from the second ventilatory threshold (anaerobic threshold or intensity that produces 4 mmol of lactate in the blood) and up.
You need to understand well how to manage the two types of training within your program. How much overall work volume and at what intensities. Remember that volume and intensity are inversely proportional both in individual work and in the garb of a complete program.
There is no opposition as you think. But a necessary complementarity.
If low-intensity volumes build the aerobic base, high-intensity training is necessary to stimulate very important physiological adaptations and and is able to keep fitness condition high even during periods when volume tends to decrease such as before competitions to promote recovery. HIT also stimulates an increase in VO2Max that is very important to ensure you perform well but also your cardiovascular health. High-intensity work also improves the efficiency of the athletic gesture, and this reduces its energy cost when you train or compete at lower intensities.
You can alternate between longer or shorter periods (e.g., 2 weeks) characterized by high volume and low intensity and shorter periods (e.g., 1 week) in which you engage in shorter work but higher intensities. The second possibility is to alternate within the same period between the two types of exercises. Some studies done on high-intensity training have shown their effectiveness regardless of their distribution in the training program as long as the overall load is the same. Don’t forget one important aspect. Both volume and intensity should be trained in stages. Only highly skilled elite athletes can sustain high volumes of training alternating with high-intensity work. So always remember to gradually increase the volume of your training and introduce just as gradually the exercises to be done at higher intensities.
The system that has been established in recent years on the distribution between low and high intensity is called Polarized Training. This involves devoting 75 to 80 percent of the volume to intensities below the Aerobic Threshold and about 20 percent to intensities above the anaerobic threshold. Do as little work as possible instead at intensities between the two thresholds.
To summarize:
- For any athlete at any level, the aerobic base built with work at intensities less than or equal to the aerobic threshold is critical. Remember, however, that low intensity does not mean going slow. For example, the aerobic threshold is the intensity that an athlete can maintain throughout the course of a marathon.
- In well-trained athletes, incorporating work at intensities above the anaerobic threshold increases endurance performance.
- A mix of work divided into 75/80% below aerobic threshold and 15% above anaerobic threshold (polarized model) optimizes muscle performance, stimulates the ability to sustain high muscle power for prolonged times, facilitates the ability to recover quickly after intense training.
- Only highly trained elite athletes with years of experience can increase the amount of high-intensity work above the recommended percentage.
- Alternating periods of high volume and low intensity with periods of high intensity and low volume allows the athlete to never reach a performance stall
- The two phases of preparation must be constantly monitored to include recovery phases both periodically and before major competitions (tapering).
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