Stephen Seiler – can also be viewed through the lens of the three main training zones and a TID perspective. Like the pyramidal method, polarized training – popularized by the work of exercise physiologist Dr. Getting Rid of the Middle with Polarized Training There’s also the suggestion that too many “junk miles” aren’t developing aerobic or anaerobic capacities. On the flip side, critics say that it requires a more significant total commitment to building that aerobic base and that pyramidal training neglects developing the speed and power needed for shorter races, catching breakaways, and finishing fast in competition. This makes programming simpler and encourages adherence, not least because most athletes buy into the traditional approach to endurance work that pyramidal training adheres to. There’s little ambiguity and the TID is a linear progression up through the three zones. It is easy for you as a coach and your training group to grasp and implement: spend a lot of time going long and slow, some time at a moderate pace and a bit of time moving hard and fast. One of the advantages of pyramidal training is its simplicity and logical progression. Going up to the top of the pyramidal triangle, the least time is devoted to short, high-intensity efforts performed in zone three. This is often referred to as threshold training, whereby athletes sustain their heart rate just below their aerobic threshold (around 60 to 70% of max heart rate). ![]() Moving up to the middle of this pyramid, a moderate amount of training is done in zone two, with moderate intensities spread out over intermediate distances. This is where your athletes will spend the majority of their time. On the bottom, the foundational layer is what we’d typically call the aerobic base – plenty of miles accumulated doing LSD work in zone one. Now let’s look at how TID, zones, and other factors apply to pyramidal and polarized training models.īuilding from the Bottom Up with Pyramidal TrainingĪs its name suggests, pyramidal training can be viewed like a triangle with three distinct layers. This feature can also be measured objectively using a heart rate monitor or wearable. And Zone three is higher intensity work over shorter distances, such as interval training or hill sprints - performed at 85% or above.Īll three zones can be measured by subjective intensity, such as the rate of perceived exertion (RPE) that one of your athletes assigns to each of the training sessions you prescribe or the paces you recommend. Zone two is medium intensity, often performed over middle distance with heart rate at 75 to 85%. Heart rate should stay at or under 70 to 75% of your max. It’s the lowest intensity and is sometimes referred to as LSD - no, not the drug, but rather long, slow distance. ![]() Zone one is the typical bread and butter of endurance athletes. ![]() The latter can be broken down into as many as five distinct segments, but for the sake of simplicity, let’s go with a three-zone model. Training Intensity Distribution (TID) attempts to quantify how long they spend training at specific intensities or in certain zones. This calendar crunch is more acute for busy professionals and parents, so how they spend this time is important. It’s probably fair to assume that each of your athletes has a finite amount of bandwidth in their schedule to dedicate to running, cycling, swimming or cross-training, even if they’re a pro or competitive amateur. Let’s look at both methods and see which you might want to implement with your clients.įirst, it’s essential to set the scene. But are there certain types of periodization that are more effective than others? Over the past few years, there’s been an ongoing debate about whether polarized or pyramidal training delivers a line of best fit for most athletes. There’s no doubt that a periodized approach to endurance training delivers consistent results.
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