Long slow distance (LSD) is a form of aerobic endurance training in running and cycling. Physiological adaptations to LSD training include improved cardiovascular function, improved thermoregulatory function, improved mitochondrial energy production, increased oxidative capacity of skeletal muscle, and increased utilization of fat for fuel. Ernst van Aaken, a German physician and coach, is generally recognized as the founder of the long slow distance method of endurance training.
Long slow distance training is a form of continuous training performed at a constant pace of low to moderate intensity over an extended distance or duration. The moderate training intensity of LSD is effective in improving endurance and maximum oxygen uptake in individuals who are undertrained or moderately trained. Long slow distance training is thought not to be effective when used in isolation by well-trained athletes, who in order to achieve further improvements in metabolic conditioning require higher training intensities that are not sustainable at the work durations associated with LSD.
Read more about Long Slow Distance: Joe Henderson, The Running Boom, Limitations
Famous quotes containing the words long, slow and/or distance:
““My mother thinks us long away;
‘Tis time the field were mown.
She had two sons at rising day,
To-night she’ll be alone.”
—A.E. (Alfred Edward)
“Where the slow river
meets the tide,
a red swan lifts red wings
and darker beak.”
—Hilda Doolittle (1886–1961)
“Small, black, as flies hanging in heat, the Boys,
Until the distance throws them forth, their hum
Bulges to thunder held by calf and thigh.”
—Thom Gunn (b. 1929)