Ride game
A driving game (from Swedish : fartlek , from fart = speed and lek = game) is a form of training in running , in which the running speed is increased and decreased several times during a continuous run. In German the word is a loan transfer , in many other languages it has been taken directly from Swedish. The idea of the driving game was developed in 1930 by the Swedish national coach Gösta Holmér . It is still considered to be one of the most effective forms of training for medium and long-distance running. The success of the Scandinavian long-distance runners at the time resulted from this new form of training. In practice, two main variants with various modifications have emerged.
Historical basics of the driving game
Lauri Pihkala laid the foundation with his terrace training, with which he was successful with Paavo Nurmi . The Swedish trainer Gösta Holmér developed the fartlek (driving game) in 1937. It was subsequently modified again and again. It was only replaced by the more systematic interval training .
Terrain driving game
In this original form, the speed and thus the load on the terrain is varied. Uphill slower, downhill faster or the other way round, just as the athletes have fun. The average speed of the training is similar to a normal endurance run, not faster. The training is still more efficient, as it challenges the body more and in other areas through the change of pace. With this original variant you can of course also train more intensely than with an easy endurance run. A not very easy possibility is to make the driving game completely based on your own sense of tempo and choose the tempos higher and changing or the pauses specifically shorter. This requires a good body awareness and a lot of training experience in order to find the right level for the desired stress. This variant is particularly efficient in long-distance training as a load in the area of the anaerobic threshold . The more intense the pace, the more important it is to run in before and to leave after the driving game.
Programmed driving game
Because it is easy to implement, the programmed driving game, also known as the Polish (sometimes also Canadian ) driving game, is better suited for intensive training units than the completely free version. It is therefore usually the preferred form of training for advanced runners. In the programmed driving game, the terrain is not used as an orientation aid, but certain periods of time. These should not necessarily be the same length. So you can either walk pyramids made up of minute segments (e.g. 2-4-7-5-3-1, trotting easily 1–2 minutes in between), mix the load segments differently (e.g. 1-4-2- 3-5-1, trot break as required) or alternate different time segments (e.g. 1-2-1-2-1-2, trot break 1 minute each). It is important to keep the time structure “against” the terrain, i.e. not to reduce the speed uphill. The variation of the sections can be extended to short sprints and slow walking breaks. The programmed variant of the driving game in the training process is usually the transition to interval training . It is much more strenuous than the simple driving game and is therefore well suited for advanced runners as a preparation for the interval method . Thorough running in and out is an essential part of this intensive type of driving game.
Advantages of the training method
The adaptation of the driving game to the individual training process is the greatest advantage of the driving game. The more specifically the training should serve a certain goal, the more precisely the pre-planned process can be adapted to the trainee. In contrast to the continuous method or an interval training specially tailored to runners, athletes from team sports such as football, hockey, basketball or handball can also benefit from the driving game, as it can address aerobic and anaerobic capacities, which are important training bases in these sports, depending on the orientation. In this case, the driving game can be designed as a simulation of the respective sport that can be easily controlled by a trainer or the athlete himself.
Tactical components
The flexibility makes it possible to introduce tactical elements. Sudden increases in tempo can be mapped just as much as an increased permanent load or a target sprint. Various tactical variations are possible, especially in groups of several runners.
Psychological benefits
Because of the playful nature of the training, many athletes find the driving game to be less demanding than interval training or intensive endurance runs, despite the intense exercise possibilities.
disadvantage
Especially inexperienced athletes can be overwhelmed with the self-regulation of the training intensity and, measured against the training goals, train too hard or too little intensively. This can be remedied by initially being accompanied by experienced athletes or a trainer.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Lauri Pihkala: Long Distance Run. In: Carl Krümmel (Ed.): Athletics. Lehmann, Munich 1930, pp. 248-270.
- ↑ Arnd Krüger : Many roads lead to Olympia. The changes in training systems for medium and long distance runners (1850–1997). In: N. Gissel (Hrsg.): Sporting performance in change. Czwalina, Hamburg 1998, pp. 41-56.
- ↑ Joe Schatzle, Jr .: Finding Fartlek: The history and how-to of speed play. (No longer available online.) In: Running Times Magazine. November 2002, archived from the original on March 16, 2012 ; accessed on August 14, 2014 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
