General > Training, Diet, and Fitness

Longer, low-intensity workouts?

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FloridaWindSUP:
Everyone seems to agree that some high intensity training sessions are good, especially high intensity short intervals workouts. Certainly, people who ONLY do low intensity never seem to get fast, no matter how much they paddle. But I've seen some confusing and conflicting advice on how much, if any, lower intensity workouts to mix in with the high intensity stuff.

1. Some say that the bulk of one's paddling should be longer paddles at HR zone 3 or so, with only one or two high intensity workouts per week.

2. Others say that those long, slower-than-race-pace distance paddles are a waste of time that just makes you slow, and you're better off just alternating your high intensity workouts with rest days or weightlifting

Which is it? I've been following philosophy #2 for the last couple years and it has gotten me fairly fit and fast, but I wonder if #1 might improve my efficiency and endurance in ways that would improve my race performance. 

FRP:
This is an interesting question and the answer is not simple but the simple answer is you need to train your body to burn fat if you want to be faster at distance. How you do that is open to debate but a reasonable approach is set out here and includes some of the science.

https://www.marathon-training-program.com/fat-fuel/

Bob

natas585:
What are your goals? There are many ways to the top of a mountain. Some will get you there faster and with a minimum of wear and tear on the body. If getting to your goal with the highest degree of health and longevity, then spending more of your free time training in the higher intensities might be a better idea. To be able to accomplish the higher intensity workouts to the best of your ability you would need a well established aerobic base in the first place. A well rounded athlete should incorporate all modalities to be complete so mix some longer workouts in if you have the time. But you will have to experiment to see what you can fit into your schedule and which combinations work best for you. But no matter what you will be able to exhibit a higher degree of force production no matter what your sport or your abilities if you are stronger. Nothing will accomplish that better than proper strength training. That means lifting weights in a progressive manner, not trying to replicate a skill/sport in the gym on a balance ball.

singingdog:
Long, low intensity workouts are where you train your body to burn fat. You can only go on glycogen stores for about 1 hour (depends on your body), then you start using fat stores to fuel muscles. If you want that kind of long-term endurance, then you need to train for it. If not, then don't sweat it.

IMHO, the mistake that most "citizen" athletes make is doing most of their effort at zone 2 (think group bike rides), which has very little fitness benefit. In a highly technique dependant sport - flatwater SUP, noric skiing - that zone 2 training can be very important for technique training, not so beneficial for fitness.

surfinJ:
Back in high school track and cross country the coach mixed up the high intensity interval sessions with LSD, long slow distance.  I think the combo of both types of training are important.

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