Recently, there seems to be a lot of buzz going on about interval training being very beneficial to weight loss and body composition. As I am a huge proponent of interval training I find that most people have a general idea of what interval training is but do not know the correct way to perform intervals. Many people believe that if they just go balls out for a while than relax for a while they are performing an interval. A true interval should be done based on an individual’s heart rate. Based on your goals an interval should be done by getting the heart rate up to 80-95% an individuals max and then lowering it to around 60% of the max. Again based on goals these heart rates can be sustained for a period of time or an individual can reach one than proceed to the next. You can get a general idea of what your max heart rate is by taking 220- Your Age.
So Whats the Point?
Many people think that there is a “fat burning” zone when in fact there is truly no fat burning zone. The only time your body is totally burning fat for energy is when we are asleep. As soon as we get up and move around we start burning carbohydrates as well. The fat burning zone that you see on the cardio machines is not by any means just burning fat. The issue with getting on a piece of cardio and going at a moderately slow tempo is that you are burning fewer calories than if you were working harder. On the other hand if you are going all out than you will be burning mostly if not all of your calories from carbohydrates. For example, if you do an hour of “fat burning” you may burn 100 calories and lets say that 70 of those are fat. If you do an hour of all out training you may burn 400 calories but a very small percentage of those will be from fat.
If we can find a good medium where we burn a lot of calories and get a good amount of those from fat then we are (forgive the cliché) “killing two birds with one stone”. This is where interval training comes in. By jumping the heart rate up we are burning those calories about as good as we can. Than when we allow the heart rate to recover back down to around 60% of you maximum we are in more of a fat burning zone. So at the end of a good, true interval workout we have burned as many calories and as much fat from those calories as possible. The thing many forget to do is lower that heart rate back down before beginning again.
Treadmill
A few systems I use for interval training are on a treadmill, with a medicine ball or on my favorite, the Versa Climber. If on a treadmill bump up the incline (anywhere from 5-7%) then increase the speed a half mile an hour every thirty seconds (start at a jogging pace) until you hit that 90% range. Once there, attempt to stay at that heart rate for about a minute until lowering the speed or incline. After that you can lower the speed or incline to get down to that 60% mark and keep it there for about a minute.
Med Ball
I love the medicine ball because of its simplicity and the amount of great exercises do with it. My favorite is throwing it against a concrete wall because it is fantastic in developing pillar strength (hips, core & shoulders) and gets that heart rate up. If you don’t have medicine balls at your disposal then just get a few exercises that are high intensity and easy to transition from one to the next. Do the same thing, as you would with the treadmill in working until you get to that 90% heart rate, maintain it for a minute then lower it to 60% and maintain that for a minute. You can get a group ofexercises and cycle through them doing 10-15 reps of each.
The Versa!
The Versa Climber is rarely in any commercial health clubs but if you see one, this is now your first choice for cardio. The great thing is that people rarely us them because it will really beat you up, so it is always open. Rather then going on a minute on thing, thing go for short sprints such as 5,10 or 15 seconds. Do a sprint and rest for the equal amount of time (work for 5, rest for 5) until your heart rate hits 90%. When you get there you can rest on the machine until it drops to 60% then just cruise slowly to maintain that heart rates.
The Result
These workouts are killer but only take around 5-10 minutes of actual work. I would recommend doing 3-5 rounds of any of these, any more and you might have your head over the trashcan, losing your lunch. If you are a cardio beast and need a challenge feel free to do up to 10 rounds.
Tips
I recommend getting a heart rate monitor strap and watch (my favorite is Polar) to keep track of heart rates. From there do a testing day where you gradually get your heart rate up until you feel like you can go any more. Whatever than number is use 90-95% of that for you high intensity, than take 60% of that for your low intensity part of the interval. An easier way to get your heart rates figured out is by getting something called a VO2 test done if it is available to you. Hopefully this cleared up what interval training is all about and the correct way to go about it. Don’t limit yourself to just cardio machines, you can use weights or anything you like as long as that heart rate gets where you need it to.
So Whats the Point?
Many people think that there is a “fat burning” zone when in fact there is truly no fat burning zone. The only time your body is totally burning fat for energy is when we are asleep. As soon as we get up and move around we start burning carbohydrates as well. The fat burning zone that you see on the cardio machines is not by any means just burning fat. The issue with getting on a piece of cardio and going at a moderately slow tempo is that you are burning fewer calories than if you were working harder. On the other hand if you are going all out than you will be burning mostly if not all of your calories from carbohydrates. For example, if you do an hour of “fat burning” you may burn 100 calories and lets say that 70 of those are fat. If you do an hour of all out training you may burn 400 calories but a very small percentage of those will be from fat.
If we can find a good medium where we burn a lot of calories and get a good amount of those from fat then we are (forgive the cliché) “killing two birds with one stone”. This is where interval training comes in. By jumping the heart rate up we are burning those calories about as good as we can. Than when we allow the heart rate to recover back down to around 60% of you maximum we are in more of a fat burning zone. So at the end of a good, true interval workout we have burned as many calories and as much fat from those calories as possible. The thing many forget to do is lower that heart rate back down before beginning again.
Treadmill
A few systems I use for interval training are on a treadmill, with a medicine ball or on my favorite, the Versa Climber. If on a treadmill bump up the incline (anywhere from 5-7%) then increase the speed a half mile an hour every thirty seconds (start at a jogging pace) until you hit that 90% range. Once there, attempt to stay at that heart rate for about a minute until lowering the speed or incline. After that you can lower the speed or incline to get down to that 60% mark and keep it there for about a minute.
Med Ball
The Versa!
The Versa Climber is rarely in any commercial health clubs but if you see one, this is now your first choice for cardio. The great thing is that people rarely us them because it will really beat you up, so it is always open. Rather then going on a minute on thing, thing go for short sprints such as 5,10 or 15 seconds. Do a sprint and rest for the equal amount of time (work for 5, rest for 5) until your heart rate hits 90%. When you get there you can rest on the machine until it drops to 60% then just cruise slowly to maintain that heart rates.
The Result
These workouts are killer but only take around 5-10 minutes of actual work. I would recommend doing 3-5 rounds of any of these, any more and you might have your head over the trashcan, losing your lunch. If you are a cardio beast and need a challenge feel free to do up to 10 rounds.
Tips
I recommend getting a heart rate monitor strap and watch (my favorite is Polar) to keep track of heart rates. From there do a testing day where you gradually get your heart rate up until you feel like you can go any more. Whatever than number is use 90-95% of that for you high intensity, than take 60% of that for your low intensity part of the interval. An easier way to get your heart rates figured out is by getting something called a VO2 test done if it is available to you. Hopefully this cleared up what interval training is all about and the correct way to go about it. Don’t limit yourself to just cardio machines, you can use weights or anything you like as long as that heart rate gets where you need it to.