Entrenamiento Polarizado vs Entrenamiento Tradicional

Link to blog: https://luisdelaguila.com/2022/04/30/... Before discussing the advantages and disadvantages of polarized training compared to traditional training, we must first revisit the lactate threshold and the two metabolic pathways on which training is based. Training paces below the lactate threshold correspond to easy paces, low intensity, and low blood lactate levels. However, there is a point at which, with a slight increase in intensity, blood lactate levels spike. This point is called the lactate threshold. Therefore, at paces above the lactate threshold, fatigue is noticeable, and the ability to maintain effort for extended periods is limited. Once the lactate threshold is defined, we can say that training zone 1 corresponds to paces below the threshold pace, zone 2 corresponds to the threshold pace, and zone 3 refers to paces above the threshold, which are difficult to sustain over time. With the term lactate threshold in mind, and knowing the three training zones, polarized training would basically consist of performing 80% of the training in zone 1, and the remaining 20% ​​in zone 3, with hardly any training in zone 2. Conversely, traditional training would consist of a large part of the training in zone 1 (80%), as with polarized training, but more time training in zone 2 (15%), with little training in zone 3 (5%). However, the percentages in the three different training zones of both models should be taken with a grain of salt. The differences between the two models are based on barely 5% between working only in zone 3, or distributing 20% ​​of the intensity between zone 2 and zone 3.