The Benefits Of Interval Training

Did you know that doing interval training three times a week for 15 minutes at a time gets better results than running on a treadmill for an hour?

Did you know interval training does less damage to your muscles, joints and body in general when compared to regular exercise?

Did you know interval training is more beneficial in all aspects when compared to regular exercise?

Interval training is a beautiful thing for athletes and for everyday people like you and me. It is a way of improving your skill and your body’s health.

What is this miracle exercise?

This miracle exercise isn’t exactly an exercise. Interval training is a way of doing exercise that is not only more efficient, but also gets better results. The method to this is a combination of short and high intensity bursts.

The short bursts are usually a cool down period where you rest, stretch or do a very mild exercise for 6-30 seconds, which helps avoid injury.

During the short bursts, you also build up a reasonable amount of lactic acid, which will provide you with more energy due to your muscles needing oxygen that can’t actually be delivered.

The long bursts portion are 2-3 minutes of complete insanity where you push yourself as hard as you can. This is the part where you give it your all and really feel the burn. Typically, this is the major part of your workout, which gets the best results possible.

The best way to set up your mix of short and long intervals is to do the long interval then the short interval, which you then repeat for X number of sets and reps for the workout you have designed.

A key element to setting up the perfect interval training session is to make sure that the longer the long burst, the longer the short burst. The best way to do this is to keep it proportional, to continue sweating and to keep giving it your all.

Exercises to do with interval training

You can do intervals with strength building. However, interval training is mainly used with exercises that involve the improvement of cardio, endurance and the strength of your muscles.

The recommended exercises to do with intervals are running up and down stairs for the long burst, and then walking or doing a slow jog for the short burst, all of which you then repeat for a desired amount of time.

Another exercise that is recommended to do with intervals is box jumping (or jumping on the seat of a bench). Essentially, for this exercise, the long burst is when you jump on and off of the object at a fast pace and with a lot of power, and the short burst is when you then rest.

My favorite exercise to do with interval training is sprints for the long burst followed by a light jog or walk for the short burst.

Cross country cycling is also great for interval training. When doing intervals, you pedal harder or lighter depending on which burst section you are on.

In addition to this interval workout, you also have added challenges due to the terrain that may be ascending, descending or flat.

Lastly, another great interval workout to do is jumping rope as you push it hard in the long burst and take it really easy on the short burst while getting in an amazing workout.

Benefits of interval training

The usual benefits from exercise apply to interval training. However, interval training does have more benefits than regular forms of exercise.

Like the first statistic mentioned earlier, interval training trumps regular exercise by a long shot as it is way more efficient and effective.

The excuse of being too busy for exercise no longer applies since interval training takes minimal time and is an intense, fast-paced workout.

Similarly, the high intensity that is done during the interval training will increase caloric expenditure for up to 2-24 hours after the workout, meaning that you will continue to burn calories even when you are done with your workout.

Interval training also stimulates growth hormones by up to 450% for 24 hours, which not only slows down the aging process, but also allows you to lose more weight.

Doing interval training will also help to increase your metabolism. In addition, you’ll burn through fat and calories, boost your endurance and stamina and will see many other amazing results.

Interval training is not only extremely beneficial, but is also a new way of exercising for people who are otherwise too busy to exercise. The benefits of interval training are enormous, which makes it a good approach to your workouts. If you have any great interval workouts or experiences, feel free to share!