Episode 115: Fartleks, Alternations and the Lost Workout Style
Fartleks, the wonderful invention of Gusta Holmer in the 1930’s, is something we are all familiar with. Run hard for a minute, jog for a minute, repeat twenty times. But in today’s world where everything is measured and coaches rely on that feedback to adjust workloads, the fartlek is becoming a lost art. In this episode, we go deep on what fartleks are, what they do, and where we have misinterpreted them. We go into the natural evolution of Holmer’s original idea, discussing how Kenyans utilize the concept and Renato Canova’s use of alternations as a modern incarnation of the workout.
We hope that you walk away with a new appreciation for fatlek workouts, and more so, have some new ideas on how to implement them into your program.
Steve & Jon
Resources Mentioned in the Podcast
- An explanation of Canova and the use of alternations
- Gunder Hagg and the use of Fartlek
- A Brief History of Interval Training
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