Fartek and interval training

[jah-boy]

Just wondering I've been training for about 5 weeks now and i've found my 40 minute runs don't seem to tire me out anymore!

I've heard fartlek training and intervals is good but does anyone the exact way they do it in the army and the best way to build fitness.

Any advice or fitness programmes would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,
Josh

[LostandFound]

You can create your own variety of fartlek and interval programs quite easily. One way is to sprint between lampposts, for example on your run after an initial 5-10 mintues start running fast for 5 or 6 lampposts, then return to normal jogging for a minute, and repeat over and over again.

Take a look round this website for ideas, its a good resource for example programs that athletes use: http://www.pponline.co.uk/encyc/interval-training.htm

[Dave_1987]

I think the difference between fartlek and interval is that one is disciplined as in you sprint a certain distance or time then recover for a set amount of time whereas the other is more balls out until your ready to drop then light jogging till your ready to do it again. ( I can never remember which 1 is which though ) lol

Im sure both techniques work very well you just have to use the one that works best for you. This last month i've been incorporating this kind of training into my running, so Im doing one 3miler a week then one steady paced 4.5 mile run.

Then depending on how I feel on my third run either a 3 or 4.5 milerun in which I sprint for 1min the light jog for 1 min and repeat until finished. Doing this really helped me with getting my second 1.5mile time down on that 3mile run. Hope that all makes sense jah-boy.

[LostandFound]

Fartlek is the one where you determine your own pace. Intervals are pre-set eg 1min sprint, 2 mins jog and repeat.