Aug
28
If you’re going to spend any amount of time with someone who’s training for an endurance event of some kind (Marathon, triathlon and so on) you’ll eventually hear the term interval training. Actually, if you spend any amount of time around someone who does a lot of cardio workouts, you’ll probably hear that word even if they’re not training for an event. Unfortunately, you might not understand what interval training is, what the benefits are, if you should do it and if so, how. Have no fear, that’s what today’s post is here to help you with.
What is interval training?
Interval training is a type of cardio workout during which you go all out for a short period of time followed by a resting period. Note that resting period does not mean standing still or sitting. It means you’re still going but at a slow enough pace so you can recover. Let’s take a look at an example.
I like jogging. I usually jog at about 6.5 miles per hour for about 40 minutes. When I do interval training, I’ll go all out for a minute which means running at 7.5 miles per hour. Then I’ll rest, which means running at 5.5 miles per hour for two minutes. I’ll keep alternating like this for 30 minutes.
That’s the basic set up of an interval training session, go all out for a short period of time and then go slowly for a slightly longer period. Rinse and repeat until your time is up or you collapse in a sweaty heap.
Why do interval training?
There are two benefits of interval training. The first is the theory that interval training elevates metabolism and calorie burning over simple cardio. I’ve seen several studies that support this with figures around 10 to 20% greater calorie burn for interval training over normal cardio. This is because your body ramps up its energy level to meet the highest requirement. So when you keep going all out, you force your body to rev up its internal motor to meet that demand. The rest periods are then kept short enough that your body never has a chance to rev down.
The second benefit of interval training is better performance. Interval training helps you improve your performance by getting your body used to moving at a faster pace. Your average pace during interval training is actually slower than your normal cardio session. However, your body doesn’t notice that. All your body knows is you’re going really fast. Next time you’re doing a regular cardio session, your body will perform better since it’s expecting the peak requirement of interval training. In other words, interval training helps you increase your speed during non interval sessions by getting your body used to running at a higher speed.
This second benefit really worked for me when I plateaued in my running performance. I got to a point where I was running at about 6 miles per hour and I just couldn’t figure out a way to improve. I tried running faster but couldn’t. Then a friend told me about interval training and suggested I try it. It really helped and, within weeks, I had broken through my plateau and started improving again. These days I do interval training once a week and normal cardio three times a week.
Who should try interval training?
Personally, I think everyone should do interval training once they’re in relatively good shape. If you’re doing cardio more than once a week then you can fit one interval training session into your schedule. I’d also recommend it for people trying to improve speed and performance. I will mention that interval training is really challenging. So if you’re just starting out and you’re barely doing normal cardio, stay away from intervals. The peak period will place a strain on your body that’s more than you need right now.
How do I do interval training?
It’s simple. Go all out, as hard as you can, for a short period of time. For example, 1 minute. Now rest by going slower than your usual pace for about twice or three times that period. Remember that this is different than sprinting. You do actually need to maintain your all out pace for a minute or so and you will need to do it again and again. So don’t set a pace that you can’t maintain. However, you should challenge yourself during that 1 minute all out period with a hard pace you can barely keep up. At the same time, don’t slow down too much on the rest period. It should be slow enough for you to catch your breath but it shouldn’t be slow to the point of standing still.
By the way, I keep using a running example here, but there’s no reason that interval training can’t be used with biking, elliptical or any other form of cardio. Just use the basic pattern of an all out period followed by a longer rest period and you’re fine.
Summary
Interval training isn’t for beginners, but for people who are relatively comfortable with cardio training it can be a great tool to improve performance.
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