Fit Five Friday – The Lexicon of Fitness Part II

I know y’all are loving my blogging inconsistency at the moment – ha! Luckily I have a bit of time today to bring you another Fit Five Friday Post!

Thanks for joining the link-up! We have FIVE amazing host – me, My First 5K and More, Running With Attitude, Runs with Pugs,  and Zenaida!

Part II of the Fitness Lexicon

F – Fartlek

No, this is not something that happens to you when you have a delicious Dahl Curry Meal the night before an early morning run… “Fartlek” is a Swedish word that means ‘speed play’ and is simply just that. Many people do an unstructured fartlek run as part of their training but according to the internets, some experts say you should structure them a little bit; i.e., a 5KM Fartlek run should have no more than 15 – 20 minutes of a higher speed. These should not be confused with interval workouts. Personally when I’m having a nice run I’ll just switch it up here and there with a little speed play and it’s good for me. So unstructured or structured, it’s good to give your workouts a bit of variety.

Apparently throwing fartlek runs into your schedule can actually help improve speed AND endurance. Who knew?

This awesome infographic is from Triathlete’s Tribe

G – Goal

While having a goal in any fitness activity is a great idea, it’s not a requirement, however, but is helpful. In my fitness life I’ve had periods of goals and periods of just wanting to exercise because I like it and in makes me feel good.

However, having a goal, big and hairy or small and smooth, can actually keep you more focused on what you are trying to achieve. A goal keeps you accountable and is an essential part of your journey.

H – Hill Training

I don’t know many people who “love” hill training (my husband, but he’s weird, proof is that he is with me nearly 2 decades…) but even if you don’t love it, it’s great for muscle building and can really enhance your speed and the ability to run hills in an actual race!

Hill sprints and hill repeats are “favourites” amongst these types of workouts. For me, when I see a hill, my goal (see what I did there) is to basically advance and conquer. Living in The Netherlands has a bit of a disadvantage as far as hill training goes, but luckily I live in an area where we have a few nastya$$ hills we can train on whenever we like.

I – Intervals

Want to improve your cardiovascular health AND your speed at the same time? Interval training is for you! Whether you are doing intervals on a spin bike, doing a HIIT workout or a running interval, these types of workouts are the bomb!

As much as running fast is hard for me, I absolutely LOVE intervals, and feel like I work even harder with 200, 400, 600m intervals than with doing a tempo run. Intervals are where I get the most satisfaction out of running (well, at the end of the workout – ha!) as well. Especially on a track! (ah, the good old days!)

J – Jumping

I’ve talked about the importance of plyometrics before, which is basically any form of jumping!

Why is jumping so awesome?

• Coordination can be improved
• You can work on your breathing technique
• Cardiovascular health is strengthened
• Mental skills are sharpened
• Critical muscles for running are strengthened

What’s not to love about getting all of this and more just out of a plyometric workout! A jump rope alone can get you working on that posterior chain in no time! But also think box jumps, squat jumps and burpees (our favorite!).

What’s your favorite fitness word for one of all of these letters? I’d love to hear from you what words from these letters would be in your own lexicon. 

Next instalment: Part III K – O

Join the Fit Five Friday Link-up!

Here are the guidelines:

• Your link should center around some kind of fitness (exercise, wellness, mental health, nutrition… the possibilities are endless!)
• Please link back to your hosts! It’s the right thing to do! 
• Share the link-up love by visiting and commenting on your hosts and at least two other Fit Five Friday bloggers!
• Feel free to share about Fit Five Friday on your social media! Tag #FitFiveFriday to get the word out!

Here are the guidelines:

• Your link should center around some kind of fitness (exercise, wellness, mental health, nutrition… the possibilities are endless!)
• Please link back to your hosts! It’s the right thing to do! 
• Share the link-up love by visiting and commenting on your hosts and at least two other Fit Five Friday bloggers!
• Feel free to share about Fit Five Friday on your social media! Tag #FitFiveFriday to get the word out!