This time I will describe a particular training method, the Fartlek; the translation of the name means speed game; let's see what it is.
Fartlek is a training method introduced in 1930 by the Swedish coach Gosta Holmer. In practice it is a tool that mixes different works often inserted randomly.
Due to its playful character, it is often used as a preparatory training in team games. Unlike the repetitions or the classic Interval training, tools that have a very rigid scheme, in this method the possibility of improvising makes the training less thoughtful.
The possibility of inserting different instruments within the same block makes the Fartlek a very versatile instrument. In fact, in endurance disciplines it is very useful in maintenance periods after weeks of load; or as a reminder of elements of speed and lactic resistance in periods in which there are many consecutive races; or even in the preparatory stages, when you want to start raising the qualitative component of training.
The benefits of Fartlek
Among the points in favor of the Fartlek there is undoubtedly the modularity of the medium. It is possible to insert different ingredients according to the discipline and the athlete's needs, so with an enduro rider you can expect short sprints and downhill stretches at maximum intensity, for those who practice cross country it is possible to foresee progressions beyond the threshold, sections at maximum pedaling speed, passages from sections with hard pedaling to others with burning spurts, all to also simulate the phases of a competition.
The cons
Among the negative aspects we must include the fact that often it is the athlete himself who 'cooks' the ingredients of the training, which in the case of people with little motivation or experience could reduce the benefits of the same.
How to approach
As mentioned, the advantage of Fartlek is to allow improvisation and variety of stimuli. So it is difficult to describe pre-established plans.
Personally, with less experienced athletes I set rigid times depending on the goals I set myself for a particular workout. In this way the rider has a precise pattern to lean on; in doing so the element of freedom is lost, but it is a transitory passage that can be modified with the acquisition of the necessary tools to understand how it works.
With more mature riders it is possible to recommend a stretch of road with different slopes, giving the athlete the possibility to choose the relationship with which to face it. This must be fixed for the entire duration; in this way there will be sections in which it will be necessary to express the maximum intensity, others in which you will pedal almost empty and so on.
