If you're new to Moves App or just starting out on your fitness journey, familiarizing yourself with common running terms is a great place to begin. Fartletk who?!

Let's dive into the world of running terminology and uncover what these terms mean for your running sessions!

A run performed at a comfortable, relaxed pace that allows you to maintain a conversation without feeling overly winded or fatigued. It's typically done at a low to moderate intensity, making it an ideal way to build endurance, improve aerobic fitness, and promote recovery without over-stressing the body.

A type of workout designed to help you improve your running speed and performance over short distances. It's a high-intensity training session focused on fast-paced running, often involving sprint intervals or faster-paced running efforts. Speed runs are used to enhance anaerobic fitness, increase muscle power, and improve your running form at faster paces.

A key component of endurance training, typically performed at a slower, steady pace over a longer distance or duration than your regular runs. The primary purpose of a long run is to build endurance, improve aerobic capacity, and prepare your body and mind for longer durations.

Short bursts of running, typically lasting 20–30 seconds, at a pace slightly faster than your usual running speed. They are used to improve running form, increase leg speed, enhance cardiovascular fitness, and prepare the body for faster efforts. Strides are often included in warmups, cooldowns or at the end of a run to activate muscles and improve stride efficiency.

Similar to an easy run, both runs are low-intensity runs, but they serve slightly different purposes within your training plan. Recovery runs are a low-intensity run executed after a moderate or high intensity effort like a workout, race, or strength training session. The goal of a recovery run is to promote blood flow, loosen the body & reduce muscle stiffness, and facilitate the recovery process without overtaxing your muscles or cardiovascular system. They are typically 20-45 minutes in length depending on your fitness level.

A Swedish term that translates to "speed play," and it refers to a type of interval training that blends continuous running with varying paces. The main idea behind a fartlek workout is to mix periods of fast running with slower recovery intervals. It is a flexible and effective way to increase both speed and endurance.

A type of training workout that alternates between periods of high-intensity exercise and lower-intensity recovery or rest.

The maximum amount of oxygen your body can utilize during intense exercise, serving as a key indicator of aerobic fitness. It reflects how efficiently your cardiovascular and respiratory systems deliver oxygen to your muscles during sustained physical activity.

Short bursts of high-intensity sprints followed by a recovery period (usually walking or light jogging). The goal is to push your body to its maximum effort during the sprint and then allow it to recover during the rest period. This type of training improves speed, endurance, and cardiovascular fitness by alternating between intense work and active recovery. A typical sprint interval workout might look like 20-30 seconds of sprinting followed by 60-90 seconds of rest, repeated for multiple rounds.

A type of workout where the intensity or pace gradually increases as the run progresses. The goal is to start at an easy pace and slowly build up to a faster pace.

A term used to describe a recovery period after a hard effort of running, it is not exactly an easy-pace, more steady-state. It is scaled back from the intense effort and is a sustainable pace, until going into the next rep.

Short, intense sprints performed uphill, or on a steep incline.

A type of sprint workout where the intensity or speed gradually increases throughout the duration of the sprint or over multiple time segments. Start gradual then progressively accelerate to maximum speed by the end.

The practice of reducing exercise intensity and volume in the weeks leading up to a major race or event. This period allows the body to recover, repair, and restore energy stores, ensuring peak performance on race day. Each race distance will vary.

The intensity of exercise at which lactate (a byproduct of anaerobic metabolism) begins to accumulate in the bloodstream faster than the body can clear it away. It represents a key point where the body transitions from primarily using aerobic energy (with oxygen) to anaerobic energy (without oxygen), leading to fatigue.

The number of steps a runner takes per minute, also called "step rate.”