Fartlek running vs HIIT training for cellulite reduction: what is best?

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• Fartlek training vs interval training vs steady speed training for cellulite-free legs

• The most fun training for cellulite removal - and butt lifting

• Fartlek training activates both aerobic and anaerobic metabolism - interval training doesn’t

• Most sports involve fartlek movement

• What’s the theory behind fartlek training? How do you break habits with this type of training?

• How to do fartlek training - for cellulite reduction and overall fitness

• Does ‘play-run’ just mean going fast and then going slow, and then fast again?

• The opposite of obsessive-compulsive training

• Fartlek training for when you are tired

• Fartlek training at the gym, at home and in the pool

• How long shall I train for when I do fartleks?

• A heart rate monitor would be useful and fun - but no apps, books or programs needed for fartlek training

• Fartlek swimming, rowing, cycling, on the cross trainer etc

• Eat carbs after fartleks (or any vigorous training) - not before

• Carb loading after fartlek training?

• How long does it take to feel/see the results of fartlek?

• Important notes / advice for beginners

• Check our professional consultancy in radiofrequency, ultrasound cavitation, cellulite and skin tightening

Fartlek training vs interval training vs steady speed training for cellulite-free legs

Bored of steady speed running? Looking for alternatives to interval running? It is time to try ‘speed play’.

You may have never heard of it, and the name may strike you as a primary school joke, but fartlek training (meaning 'speed play' in Swedish) is probably the most fun way to get fit without spending half a day in the gym, having to follow strict rules or getting bored with steady speed running.

Fartlek training involves the random change of pace while running - anything from sprinting to walking, with random and continuous change of speed every few seconds during your routine.

The little known - outside the running world - fartlek training method originated 80 years ago and is a more fun version of interval running - and way better than HIIT (high intensity interval training).

As it activates both aerobic and anaerobic metabolism, it can boost overall metabolism even more than interval running - ideal for cellulite removal.

(This article is part of five that examine the relation between exercise and cellulite. The other four deal with “cellulite exercises”, spot cellulite reduction, interval training and vibration plate training.)

The most fun training for cellulite removal - and butt lifting

Given that a boost in metabolism is a must for weight loss and also for cellulite removal, this can only be good for both your health and your figure.

In fact it can be said that fartlek training is the most fun anti-cellulite training regime.

• Fartlek is not monotonous and boring - as steady speed training is - and there are no strict rules to follow, so it is does not require intense focus and willpower

• Interval training, with its structured alternation of speed is already more fun than steady state (monotonous) running, swimming, cycling etc, which can be boring for most people

• However, fartlek goes one step further and with its random alternation of pace becomes more playful, hence its Swedish name (speed-play)

• Fartlek training can also help you adjust training intensity according to your energy / motivation levels at any given time. All in all, it’s about running playfully, swimming playfully, cycling playfully etc.

• And at the same time fartlek training combines both mechanical stimulation and a serious metabolism hike, both ideal for cellulite and skin tightening.

• Also, given that running engages the gluteus maximus (the ‘bum lift’ muscle), ‘fartleks’ are ideal for butt lifting

Fartlek training activates both aerobic and anaerobic metabolism - interval training doesn’t

It is well-known that fast interval training works mainly anaerobically. Slow interval training can also activate aerobic metabolism somewhat.

But unless you combine fast & slow interval training you cannot combine both aerobic and anaerobic and the whole thing becomes complicated and regimented.

This is where fartlek comes into.

Fartlek, due to its large variations in intensity/speed, can be both types of interval training (slow and fast, aerobic and anaerobic) in the same workout and in a playful manner, without complicated training regimens.

Most sports involve fartlek movement

In fact, fartlek imitates real sports, such as rugby, football, field hockey, water polo etc, more than any other type of training.

No type of sport includes a structured interval or steady pace. Movement in ALL sports is always random - just like fartlek.

Fartlek is basically an unstructured interval training. It imitates real life sports and real life physical activity (natural physical activity of animals and human is never structured).

What’s the theory behind fartlek training? How do you break habits with this type of training?

There are several ways to break habits and plateaus with training, including having an overall varied regime on different days of the week or what is called periodisation training (a long discussion for another article).

Fartlek acts as the ultimate structure breaker, and therefore becomes a plateau breaker too.

You should not only do interval training or fartlek training or steady speed training. A mix of the three is ideal, with fartlek acting as a sauce on the main meal of structured training (steady pace or interval), to spice it up a little.

How to do fartlek training - for cellulite reduction and overall fitness

So how can you do it? Fartlek training couldn’t be simpler.

• Start with ten minutes of slow jogging to warm up, break for five minutes of stretching and then start “play-running”, as you wish for 10, 20, 30 or 40 minutes

• Yes, it’s that simple. For play running, run fast for a bit, then slow, then medium-fast, then walk, then sprint, then medium-slow, in totally random order.

• After you finish your play-run, do five minutes of stretching, followed by ten minutes of slow jogging to cool down.

And here are some fun practical tips:

• Do you have hills in your area? Incorporate random uphill and downhill running into your routine.

• Are there steps? Do them.

• Do you feel tired? Add more walking or slow running bits.

• Do you feel more energetic? Add more fast sprints.

You’re the boss.

Does ‘play-run’ just mean going fast and then going slow, and then fast again?

Play run actually means random pace run: medium fast, slow, fast, very fast, very slow, etc, all randomly performed.

You will be amazed by how much faster overall you train with fartlek (and therefore how much more effective your workout is) without even realising it.

This is because it is random and playful, and therefore more motivating.

The opposite of obsessive-compulsive training

Sometimes people get all neurotic about their training. It can be said that fartlek is the least obsessive-compulsive of all training methods: there is no compulsion about it whatsoever. In fact, fartlek is totally playful.

If this sounds like a recipe for losing your discipline, this could not be further from the truth. Even if you start slow and tired, play-running actually increases your motivation to run more or faster, because it is fun.

Fartlek training for when you are tired

When you are tired, the best way to start is with a slow random pace (slow fartlek) to get into the “mood” and then you can increase the pace overall.

Because it is playful, fartlek is much better than steady pace training to do on a dull, boring day when you are tired.

Start with an appetiser (slow fartlek) and then your appetite for training increases for a faster fartlek later in the workout. 

On the other hand, if you already feel energetic, you can start with something more demanding, e.g. faster pace or uphill running.

Fartlek training at the gym, at home and in the pool

Most treadmills, cycling machines and rowing machines have a random pace option on their programmes, so that makes it easy to do fartlek at the gym - or even at home, if you have one of those machines.

You may also adjust the inclination of the treadmill (or the resistance on the rowing/cycling machine) manually for extra “randomness” and variation in intensity.

In the swimming pool you can also change your pace randomly and playfully and you can do the same on the rowing machine.

In fact “spinning” classes are quite close to fartlek training.

How long shall I train for when I do fartleks?

How long should the play-run last?

It's up to you again: ten minutes are great, twenty are better, thirty are really good and forty are probably too much for most people (you must add 10+5 minutes for warming up/stretching before and 10+5 after your main fartlek workout).

So you have a complete “quality workout” in a total of anything between forty to seventy minutes, including warming up, stretching, fartlek, stretching and cooling down.

A heart rate monitor would be useful and fun - but no apps, books or programs needed for fartlek training

A heart rate monitor is ideal to assess how much effort you put into your run, but it is not absolutely necessary and not much else is needed: no books, no apps, no programs.

Again, you’re the boss.

Just put on your trainers, start play-running and see your fitness take off and your legs tone and smoothen up, without the planning, counting and thinking required for interval training - and without the boredom involved with steady pace training.

Fartlek swimming, rowing, cycling, cross-training etc

Although originally developed for runners, the principle of speed-play can be applied in the pool, on the rowing machine, on the bike, on the elliptical machine, everywhere. 

In fact, most "active" sports are in essence fartlek interval training, e.g. basketball, football, rugby, water polo, hockey etc.

Eat carbs after fartleks (or any vigorous training) - not before

Oh yes, and one more tip: if you are going to eat carbs before or after a good fartlek workout, do so immediately after your training - not before - as this is the optimal time to “carb-load”.

This will ensure the carbs go into your muscles and liver for use the day after, not in your bum and thighs.

This is known to runners for decades, but most lay people are unaware of it.

Carb loading after fartlek training?

A more extreme form of this principle is called carb loading and involves heavy carb eating after a long and demanding workout.

No need to do carb-loading after fartlek, unless you train for more than two hours - definitely not after a mere 45’ workout.

How long does it take to feel/see the results of fartlek?

If you do fartlek once a week, in addition to your other, structured, workouts, you should see an overall increase in motivation immediately and an increase in fitness within a month or so.

It all depends on how often and how hard you train.

In any case, as with interval training, just allow at least one day between fartlek workouts (same as between HIIT/interval training workouts).

I would not do fartlek more than twice a week, as it is also good to do some structured training.

Important notes / advice for beginners

• As with all training, start conservatively and gradually increase intensity as you get fitter and more experienced

• Fartlek is as demanding as interval training, so make sure you start and finish with 10’ of slow, steady pace training to ensure you do not shock your joints and cardiovascular system

• In the winter keep your legs warm at all times with a tracksuit or running tights/leggings, to avoid injury. Running with knees exposed to the winter cold is only good for physios and orthopaedic doctors.

• Never run (including fartlek or interval training) on concrete. Again, running on concrete is only good for physios and orthopaedic doctors.

• If in doubt about your cardiovascular health, always consult your doctor before starting any training regime.

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