I have many people ask me, "What is Interval Training?"
Interval Training is defined as high-intensity intermittent exercise.
High Intensity Interval Training without question, is one of the most effective ways to lose body fat and improve your cardiovascular conditioning. Not only do you stimulate your metabolism to a greater degree, but you burn many more calories than with lower intensity training, which can result in fat loss.
How to Perform High Intensity Interval Training:
Interval training is based on a very simple concept: go fast then go slow. Repeat. It sounds easy, but within this simple formula lies a tremendous number of possible variations and strategies you can use to take full advantage of the power available to you.
If you enjoy walking you can try this interval work, if you're in good shape, incorporate short bursts of jogging into your regular brisk walks. If you're less fit, you might alternate leisurely walking with periods of faster walking. For example, if you're walking outdoors, you could walk faster between certain mailboxes, trees or other landmarks.
Interval training can be performed on almost any cardiovascular machine (including the treadmill, stair machine, stationary bike, elliptical trainer, etc.) as well as almost any type of cardiovascular exercise (such as cycling, swimming, running, etc.).
Maximal High-Intensity Intervals
Maximal Intervals are much shorter than Aerobic Intervals. Generally, the longest you'll be able to perform a maximal effort is around 30 seconds so all the work intervals are 30 seconds or less.
Here are some examples of a number of different intervals you can use in your training:
Example 1
Steady Pace Maximal effort
2 min. 30 sec.
3 min. 1 min.
3 min. 45 sec.
2 min. 1 min.
5 min. 30 sec.
Example 2
Steady Pace Maximal effort
2 min. 30 sec.
3 min. 45 sec.
4 min. 1 min..
3 min. 30 sec.
5 min. 1 min.
One of my favorite Interval workouts is to jog 4 minutes then sprint all out 30 to 45 seconds and repeat 6 times..
Repeat this 6 times for a great workout.
