Optimize Your Fitness Time With Interval Training

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No, not all exercise is created equal. And now that winter’s really socked in and we’re doing most of our exercise indoors, it’s nice to know which style is most efficient.

When we have the freedom to get fit outside, we may not be as concerned about squeezing out every drop of physical fitness from every minute we’re exercising. Also, when we stay active outdoors there’s usually a certain amount of enjoyment associated with it.

When you’re hiking to stay in shape, the enjoyment of the scenery makes doing a few extra minutes on the trail a good thing…not a burden. When you’re riding a bike, the there’s so much going on that you can be distracted into doing an extra half hour without missing a beat.

Not so much when you’re staring straight ahead on a treadmill, elliptical, or bike indoor trainer. When you’re drenched in sweat and going nowhere, every second counts. That’s the time to get the most ‘bang for your buck’. That’s the time to do the type of workout that results in the greatest level of fitness.

That’s where interval training comes in.

What’s All This ‘Interval Training’ Talk?

In its simplest form, interval training isn’t much more than varying the intensity of your efforts throughout the workout. Sort of an ‘on and off’ approach.

Elite athletes have been doing intervals for decades. Way back in the 1930′s, Mihaly Igoi from Hungary emphasized interval-style training for himself as well as those he coached…all the way to the Olympic games.

Recently, interval training has reached the public consciousness for everyday fitness buffs. It offers a way to squeeze every bit of fitness value from every minute of effort.

Interval Training Lengthens Your Life

That ‘longer life’ claim is pretty bold…it’s not just something I pulled out of my gym bag.

A recent study in Copenhagen concluded that the relative intensity of exercise had more to do with reducing mortality due to coronary heart disease than did the duration of exercise. Their recommendation was that ‘brisk’ cycling is preferable to ‘slow’ cycling.

And when it comes to ‘briskness’, intervals training fits the bill very well.

Lose More Weight Using Intervals

An interesting thing about intervals…you’ll reap the benefits of your workout for hours after you stop. When you do an intense set of intervals you’ll notice that your metabolism remains elevated long after the workout. Not a whole lot, but you’ll find that your heart rate remains elevated 10 to 15 beats per minute well into the evening (after an afternoon intense interval workout).

The whole time your body’s chugging along at an elevated rate, you’ll be consuming extra calories. It’s kind of like a ‘free ride’ on the weight loss train without the ‘free’ part. I don’t call it ‘free’ since it hurts a lot more to do intervals than it does to merely stroll along throughout the workout.

A Few Interval Examples

The type of intervals that are currently getting a lot of buzz lately are called ‘high intensity interval training’ (HIIT). These really ARE short bursts.

Here’s an HIIT example done on a bike trainer:

10 minutes warm-up (easy spinning).

10 minutes alternating very hard 10 second bursts with ten seconds of easy spinning.

10 minutes warm-down (easy spinning).

Another type of interval workout isn’t so explosive, but every bit as difficult. In fact, this next example is just one sample of a non-HIIT interval training session. The variety you can come up with is almost endless.

10 minutes warm-up.

One minute hard effort.

One minute easy spinning.

Two minutes hard effort.

Two minutes easy spinning.

Three minutes hard effort.

Three minutes easy spinning.

Four minutes hard effort.

Three minutes easy spinning.

Three minutes hard effort.

Two minutes easy spinning.

Two minutes hard effort.

One minute easy spinning.

One minute hard effort.

10 minutes warm-down.

So Don’t Just Sit There…Get ‘Intervaling’

Now you have a new weapon in your fitness arsenal. When the weather turns sour and there’s no workout options short of some boring time on the treadmill, pull out an interval workout. Whether it’s a turbo-charged HIIT style, or the more traditional style of intervals that distance athletes have been using for decades to make their way to the Olympics, give an ‘on and off’ workout a try.

Who knows…while you’ll probably live longer because of it, you’ll no doubt lose weight a bit easier as well.

About the author: Dr. Ron Fritzke maintains a private chiropractic office in Mount Shasta, California. He’s also a member of the sports medicine team at the College of the Siskiyous. On the side, he writes about cycling products like the Kurt Kinetic Road Machine on his website, Cycling-Review.com.