Interval training has been getting a lot of attention recently because it is supposed to be the best way to get fit as fast as possible, but what is it? Interval training is just as it sounds, you use 'intervals' of intense and light exercise which you keep switching between. For instance, you might go on a treadmill and after warming up then you start doing 1 minute of jogging at 6km/h and then do 1 minute of running at 14km/h, then go back to 6km/h and repeat that pattern again and again for 20 minutes.
The benefit of this kind of exercise is that you can push yourself a lot harder, if you tried to run at 14km/h on the treadmill in one session then you would be exhausted after a very short time and then stop. With interval training then as you give yourself a recovery period after each period of intense activity, then you give your body a break so it carries on and does another intense interval again and again for a lot longer than you would by doing it in one long session.
Another benefit is that I find time goes much quicker when I am doing interval training. Usually after a couple of minutes of jogging on a treadmill then I am climbing the walls with boredom and desperately waiting for it to end, with interval training I am usually so focused on when my next speed change is coming up that time flies by. Interval training is actually a more natural way to exercise, think about sports, you have an intense interval when you are in the middle of the action, then when play moves away you get to rest for a bit. Also, do not forget we have descended from hunters, and that is how they would have exerted themselves by stalking their prey then trying to catch and kill it.
The treadmill was just an example though, you can actually use interval training to spice up almost any kind of exercise, you could be on the elliptical trainer, the rowing machine, or even out on a normal bike on the roads. The good news is that studies seem to suggest that interval training can elevate your metabolism for hours after you have finished, something most exercise does not do, so you can be burning extra fat even when you get home and watch some TV!
The benefit of this kind of exercise is that you can push yourself a lot harder, if you tried to run at 14km/h on the treadmill in one session then you would be exhausted after a very short time and then stop. With interval training then as you give yourself a recovery period after each period of intense activity, then you give your body a break so it carries on and does another intense interval again and again for a lot longer than you would by doing it in one long session.
Another benefit is that I find time goes much quicker when I am doing interval training. Usually after a couple of minutes of jogging on a treadmill then I am climbing the walls with boredom and desperately waiting for it to end, with interval training I am usually so focused on when my next speed change is coming up that time flies by. Interval training is actually a more natural way to exercise, think about sports, you have an intense interval when you are in the middle of the action, then when play moves away you get to rest for a bit. Also, do not forget we have descended from hunters, and that is how they would have exerted themselves by stalking their prey then trying to catch and kill it.
The treadmill was just an example though, you can actually use interval training to spice up almost any kind of exercise, you could be on the elliptical trainer, the rowing machine, or even out on a normal bike on the roads. The good news is that studies seem to suggest that interval training can elevate your metabolism for hours after you have finished, something most exercise does not do, so you can be burning extra fat even when you get home and watch some TV!
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