Interval training comprises periods of high-intensity training with periods of low-intensity training. This type of training commonly involves interspersing some bouts of slower runnings with fast runnings. The recovery phase is very important because this phase will increase your body’s ability to run quickly. This is because your body will learn to recover quickly between bursts. Interval training will lower you risk of heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and some cancers. In fact, you will get the same benefits that a moderate- intensity, longer-duration aerobic exercise will give you.
Internal training will help you lose weight as long as you are eating healthy. In the recovery phase, your body will burn fat to get energy to start out a new, intensive effort. This is the way you will lose weight with interval training. Research has shown that interval training is beneficial for your body.
In fact, interval training has the same benefits, if not more, as the moderate-intensity, longer aerobic workouts. You can also improve your speed with interval training. This type of training will teach your muscles to work more economically and efficiently at highers speeds, increasing your performance over time.
Frequency, Safety and Benefits
Do not do interval training every single day. To give your body time to recover, do interval training once or twice per week. Doing this type of training three or more times per week might make you lose your motivation and tire yourself out. Talk to your doctor before engaging in interval training if you have not exercised for quite some time or are out of shape.
This high-intensity training requires a body that is accustomed to performing aerobic exercises. Your body’s cardiovascular efficiency will be increased as well as its tolerance to the build-up the famous lactic acid. This results in greater speed, improved performance and endurance.
Endurance athletes will benefit from interval training because they may avoid injuries related to repetitive overuse. They can also increase the intensity of a training without burn-out or overtraining.
Warming up before starting your interval training is always a good idea. Your training goals should be attainable by assessing your body’s current condition. Remember that you should start slowly, namely walking for 2 minutes, then running for 2 minutes. Lower intervals tend to provide even better results all in all.
Your pace should be steady but challenging during your interval training. Increasing the intensity or duration of the interval training will help you improve your performance.
Aerobic Interval Training
With an aerobic interval training, you will work hearder during your workout, but you will not go all out. You will alternate high intensity and moderate exercises with a recovery period. Keeping your intensity below 85% of the body’s maximum heart rate is the goal. Beginners can keep the interval training at a moderate intensity, while advanced exercisers may change the interval’s length to make a workout more challening.
Doing aerobic interval training is not rocket science, and choosing your cardio activity is the first step. Choosing the length of the workout is the second step. This length may vary from 10 to 60 minutes depending on your exercise level. Choose the length of your recovery/work intervals.
One or two minutes hard and five or even more minutes easy is the way to go for beginners. Advanced users can have longer intervals and shorter recovery time. A 5-minute warmup should be done before the work and recovery intervals. End with a 5-minute cool down and then stretch. You can do this type of training two or even more times per week, which will depend on your particular workout schedule.
Anaerobic interval training involves going all out in your work intervals. This is also known as HIIT or high intensity inrterval training. Your shorter intervals should be at 85% to 100% your maximum heart rate. To allow the body to fully recover from the previous interval, recovery intervals tend to last as long or even longer than your work intervals. If you are an advanced exerciser or just someone who wants to push his limits, this is the training for you. Since these intensity levels tend to be uncomfortable, you need to be prepared for that.
Workout Design
Your intervals can be long or short, and endurance athletes tend to use a combination of the two when training. Short intervals generally last from six to thirty seconds generating a decent amount of latic acid. If you are a competitive athlete, a 30-second interval will produce better results for you.
But 6-second intervals are awesome for beginners. Long intervals tend to last up to 3 minutes and are demanding for your muscles. When performing long intervals, you need a longer rest phase.You will need a faster recovery for your next interval if you performed a shorter interval phase.
For instance, a 10-second interval might need 60 seconds of recovery. If you are a trained athlete during 3-minute intervals, you will need 2 minutes of rest.
Your fitness level will determine the number of intervals that you will perform during a workout. End the workout if your muscles ache or become stiff. Do not push through these symptoms as you might risk injury or muscle damage.
In addition to this, your recover phase might need to be longer over time. Check out your heart rate to determine the level of intensity that is right for you. Your short intervals will generally push upwards of ninety percent of your VO2 Max. Long intervals tend to be lower in intensity to keep a steady effort.In a high intensity training, you need time to recover. This is because your muscle fibers tend to become damaged. Do not try to perform interval workout more than twice a week. Before performing another high intensity workout, allow for 48 hours of recovery. Performing a slow, low-volume recovery workout the day after performing an interval training is always recommended.
In addition to this, watching for mild leg soreness, pain, general headaches and other signs of overtraining will be good for you. Remember that interval triaining requires that you talk to your doctor before doing anything here.
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