INTERVAL TRAINING
Ok, so you don't have a lot of
time, you want to burn as many
calories and as much fat as
possible and keep your
metabolism up, right? Well,
Interval training is what you
need. Actually, we could all use
interval training more than a
flat out run! You get more
accomplished in less time, and
everyone of every age should do
this.
What is interval training?
Interval training is a method of
training where you increase and
decrease the intensity of your
workout between aerobic and
anaerobic training. Interval
training in Sweden, where some
say it originated, is known as
fartlek training (Swedish
for "speed play"). The protocol
for interval training is to push
your body past the aerobic
threshold for a few moments and
then return to your aerobic
conditioning level with the
objective of improving your
performance (speed, strength,
and endurance). The aerobic
threshold is the intensity where
your body switches from burning
a greater percentage of fat to a
greater percentage of
carbohydrate and is generally
85% of your maximum heart rate
(train below 85% and it's
aerobic; train above 85% and
it's anaerobic).
How are interval-training
sessions designed?
The idea is to set up work to
active-recovery ratios (work:active-recovery)
in intervals of minutes. For
instance, let's say you usually
train comfortably at 6 mph on
the treadmill. So, after your
warm up and a few minutes at 6
mph, you sprint for one minute
at 7.5 mph and then jog again at
6 mph for three minutes (1:3
ratio: a total of four minutes).
You continue these intervals for
your entire workout and then
cool down for about five
minutes.
How do I determine how hard to
work?
Heart rate is a good indicator
of how hard you're working, and
it's easy to measure, so it's an
ideal method for setting up and
monitoring intervals. Here's an
example. Say your heart rate is
70% of your predicted maximum
when you jog at 6 mph. After you
warm up and spend a few minutes
at that pace, you increase the
speed for your work interval to
7 mph, which might be 85% or
even 90% of heart rate max, and
then you cut back on the speed
to 6 mph at a heart rate of 70%
of max for your active-recovery.
Below is a sample 28-minute
interval workout (excluding
warm-up and cooldown). Keep in
mind that you can spend the
entire workout doing them or
vary it and do just some of the
work intervals, and note that
the time of each interval in
this example always adds up to
four minutes.
Warm-up: five minutes at 5-6 mph
Interval 1: three minutes at 6
mph (70% of max heart rate)
Interval 2: one minute at 7 mph
(80% of max heart rate)
Interval 3: three minutes at 6
mph
Interval 4: one minute at 7 mph
Interval 5: three minutes at 6
mph
Interval 6 - harder: one minute
at 7.5 mph (85% of max heart
rate)
Interval 7: three minutes at 6
mph
Interval 8: one minute at 7.5
mph
Interval 9: three minutes at 6
mph
Interval 10: one minute 7.5 mph
Interval 11: three minutes at 6
mph
Interval 12: one minute 7.5 mph
Interval 13: three minutes at 6
mph
Interval 14: last push -- one
minute at 8 mph (90% of heart
rate max)
Cooldown: five minutes at 5-6
mph, then walk
Some athletes train as high as
100% of heart rate maximum. I
don't recommend that beginners
go above 85%-90%. 1:3
work:active-recovery ratios are
the standard starting point.
