Eleven-Week Preparation Involving Polarized Intensity Distribution Is Not Superior to Pyramidal Distribution in National Elite Rowers

Abstract

Polarized (POL) training intensity distribution (TID) emphasizes high-volume low-intensity exercise in zone (Z)1 (< first lactate threshold) with a greater proportion of high-intensity Z3 (>second lactate threshold) compared to Z2 (between first and second lactate threshold). In highly trained rowers there is a lack of prospective controlled evidence whether POL is superior to pyramidal (PYR; i.e., greater volume in Z1 vs. Z2 vs. Z3) TID. The aim of the study was to compare the effect of POL vs. PYR TID in rowers during an 11-wk preparation period. Fourteen national elite male rowers participated (age: 20 ± 2 years, maximal oxygen uptake (trueV˙O2max): 66 ± 5 mL/min/kg). The sample was split into PYR and POL by varying the percentage spent in Z2 and Z3 while Z1 was clamped to ~93% and matched for total and rowing volume. Actual TIDs were based on time within heart rate zones (Z1 and Z2) and duration of Z3-intervals. The main outcome variables were average power in 2,000 m ergometer-test (P2,000 m), power associated with 4 mmol/L [blood lactate] (P4[BLa]), and trueV˙O2max. To quantify the level of polarization, we calculated a Polarization-Index as log (%Z1 × %Z3 / %Z2). PYR and POL did not significantly differ regarding rowing or total volume, but POL had a higher percentage of Z3 intensities (6 ± 3 vs. 2 ± 1%; p < 0.005) while Z2 was lower (1 ± 1 vs. 3 ± 2%; p < 0.05) and Z1 was similar (94 ± 3 vs. 93 ± 2%, p = 0.37). Consequently, Polarization-Index was significantly higher in POL (3.0 ± 0.7 vs. 1.9 ± 0.4 a.u.; p < 0.01). P2,000 m did not significantly change with PYR (1.5 ± 1.7%, p = 0.06) nor POL (1.5 ± 2.6%, p = 0.26). trueV˙O2max did not change (1.7 ± 5.6%, p = 0.52 or 0.6 ± 2.6, p = 0.67) and a small increase in P4[BLa] was observed in PYR only (1.9 ± 4.8%, p = 0.37 or −0.5 ± 4.1%, p = 0.77). Changes from pre to post were not significantly different between groups in any performance measure. POL did not prove to be superior to PYR, possibly due to the high and very similar percentage of Z1 in this study.

Speckle tracking-derived bi-atrial strain before and after eleven weeks of training in elite rowers

“…Fifteen rowers competing at national or international level participated in this prospective study which was originally designed to compare the effects of different training intensity distributions (for more details we refer to 18 ). Table 1 summarizes the rowers’ anthropometric data.…”

The Polarization-Index: A Simple Calculation to Distinguish Polarized From Non-polarized Training Intensity Distributions

“…Notably, the classification of TIDs to one of the four patterns shown in Figure 1 maybe ambiguous. Especially the term “polarized” differs substantially between publications (Stöggl and Sperlich, 2015; Plews and Laursen, 2017), nevertheless the polarized TID has received increasing scientific interest since retrospective analysis (Seiler and Kjerland, 2006), and prospective randomized-controlled trials have documented equal (Ingham et al, 2008; Treff et al, 2017) or superior gains in endurance performance (Neal et al, 2013; Stöggl and Sperlich, 2014; Tønnessen et al, 2014) when compared to the pyramidal, threshold, or high-intensity TIDs. “Polarized” TID comprises a variety of fractions of Zone 1-3 and is sometimes even used as a descriptor for pyramidal TIDs (Plews and Laursen, 2017) which are clearly characterized by decreasing proportions of Zone 1, 2, and 3, or for TIDs that do not differentiate between Zone 2 and Zone 3 (Fiskerstrand and Seiler, 2004), thereby violating the aforementioned TID classification.…”

“…For this reason, we would like to present an elaborated concept of our previously published polarization-index (PI) (Treff et al, 2017), which is based on the assumption of two necessary conditions for a polarized TID. (i) a polarized structure , where Zone 1 > Zone 3 and Zone 3 > Zone 2 (and consequently Zone 1 > Zone 2) and (ii) a relatively small proportion of Zone 2.…”

Six Weeks of Polarized Versus Moderate Intensity Distribution: A Pilot Intervention Study

“…Another limitation is the absence of a swimming test, as the pool times were very restricted and limited during the time of our study. A further point is %MIT, which is high in the INT group compared to other recent studies (Treff et al, 2017). However, a time-in-zone method displays delayed heart-rate elevations and underreports time in HIT compared to a sessions-goal method (Sylta et al, 2014).…”

“…Furthermore, some elite athletes' training diaries show moderate TIDs in a long-term analysis, especially in running (Esteve-Lanao et al, 2005;Plews and Laursen, 2017). In addition, in a recent randomized trial, a polarized TID is not more effective compared to pyramidal TID in the training of highly trained rowers (Treff et al, 2017).…”