For Local Runner, ‘Comparatively Light Intensity Training’ Zone Remains Elusive
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A local athlete has mastered High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) and its “gentler cousin,” Low-Intensity Interval Training (LIIT), Dumb Runner has learned, but remains befuddled by a newly popular conditioning style called Comparatively Light Intensity Training.
Comparatively Light Intensity Training is characterized not by bursts of activity at high or low levels, but by sustained and concentrated mid-level effort in a very narrowly defined zone. It’s that last part—the relative smallness of the target—that presents a challenge.
“It really drives me crazy,” said Al Bundy, 32, a longtime runner and fitness enthusiast. “High-intensity, no problem, I get that; low-intensity, same deal. But this Comparatively Light Intensity Training zone… I just can’t put my finger on it.”
“It’s so frustrating,” he added. “Especially when my girlfriend seems to have no trouble with [Comparatively Light Intensity Training].”
That’s not surprising, experts say.
“For whatever reason, women do seem to be more attuned to Comparatively Light Intensity Training,” said Marcy D’Arcy, Ph.D., an exercise physiologist at the College of Upper Minnesota. “Perhaps because it requires more finesse than other training methods; you really do need to find the exact right spot for it to be effective.”
D’Arcy described Comparatively Light Intensity Training as “the Goldilocks training method—not too slow, not too fast, but just right”—and said that for those who are patient enough, the results are well worth it.
“I just did a Comparatively Light Intensity Training session at home this morning,” she said. “It was amazing.”
