Putting Polarized Training Into Practice

Fundamental Philosophy

Have you heard about “polarized” training for running, cycling, and rowing? There are LOTS of articles and videos about polarized training. I should know, my father, Stephen Seiler, introduced the term from his 20 years of research on endurance training. The thing is, it is one thing to read about it and something else to do it and figure out how to make things work, and what mistakes we tend to make. So, my goal here is to focus on the HOW, based on several years of training as a distance runner with my father as coach/advisor. He coined the term, now I am trying to put it into practice.

I will begin with the bottom line! Build a strong base (LIT, strength training, distance) then intensify (HIT and speed work).

The base layer in the pyramid is a component of all distances from the 1500m to the marathon. It is your fundament, and it depends on health, fitness, and training ‘age’ (how long you have been running/specifically training). As the runner gets fitter and more experienced, he/she will progress to longer runs and HIT workouts: interval training guided by pace and/or effort (feel, HR). At the top of the pyramid, we find components of speed work, sprints, VO2 max intervals, and races. These should be the last elements added to a training program, the icing on the cake. For your body to tolerate high-lactate, high-intensity work, and the muscular load that comes from these sessions, you must have a strong and robust basic endurance base. Many times, runners will skip the years of base building and jump straight into speed sessions and hard races because they see those sessions on Strava or YouTube and miss all the years of “boring” base building that make them possible. If you rush to the top of the pyramid before creating a solid foundation, you may end up injured and/or overtrained. The process of base-building should not be rushed.

Remember, your training age is not the same as your actual age. If you are new to running, your body will almost certainly not handle high volume and hard long runs straight away. As with everything, you need to build up to it. So, focus on your own journey and don’t rush/force progress. If you do the basic things consistently and well, results will follow.

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