5. Polarized training
5. Polarized training
To improve your lactate threshold effectively then you need to do two things – firstly increase the amount of lactate your type I (slow twitch) muscle fibres can process, but also increase the amount of power your type II (fast twitch) fibers can produce.
The new trend is what us coaches call polarized training plans. What we mean by this is a training plan which sees you either riding easy with lots of time in base zones (read more about base training here) or very hard, up and above threshold, and with not much riding in between. Essentially, your easy and hard training sessions are polarized. Approximately 80 per cent of your training should be at an ‘easy’ intensity and 20 per cent should be ‘hard’.
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Base training is teaching your type I (slow twitch) muscle fibres to become more efficient, not only at utilising oxygen, but also at clearing lactate. The more power the type I (slow twitch) fibres can produce, the more ‘free’ power is being produced – that is power without increased lactate levels.
On the other hand, your hard training sessions are designed to train the type II (fast twitch) fibres to produce lots of power, working at or above lactate threshold before recovering.
This means that when the two elements (easy and hard sessions) are combined, they add up to improved efficiency, an ability to process lots of lactate and plenty of power from type II fibres. All this results in an athlete with a high lactate threshold.
Finally, let’s take a look at two sessions are typical of a polarized training plan.