Training Styles: Interval Training
What is it?
Interval training aka Fartlek (speed play in Swedish, not an embarrassing moment – Beeble) training is a style of training that mixes hard work with easier “rest” periods. You can apply this style of training to almost any exercise or activity. It is primarily useful for people who play sport who need a good level of aerobic fitness combined with the ability for sudden bursts of energy, a good example being football (soccer – Beeble). However I use it with my clients who are stuck at a level of training and cannot move past it, an exercise plateau if you like.
How is it done?
The idea is to train your body from an aerobic level to an anaerobic level and back to the aerobic and so on until you have completed your allotted time.
Aerobic levels of training is where your body uses oxygen as a part of the energy system it is an intensity of training that you can maintain for long periods of time and in gym terms its optimum level for training is usually around the 65% – 85% of your maximum heart rate (MHR).
Anaerobic levels of training are where oxygen is not used for the energy process. This form of training cannot be used for long, typically, no more than 30 seconds to 60 seconds. With anaerobic training your heart rate will be at around 85% – 90%+ of your MHR.
The long and the short of it is that you train at a moderate intensity with peaks of high intensity training at timed intervals.
An Example
We shall take the treadmill as our example for this training technique. The treadmill has a couple of ways it can be used for interval training, the first is to increase the speed for the hard stage the second is to increase the incline. Not all treadmills have an incline option so for this example we will use speed increase. Due to your constant reading of beebleblog we can presume that you have already stretched and warmed up so we can go straight into the program. The easiest way to do this is to have a heart rate monitor to use so that you know when you have got to the optimum aerobic stage of around 70% this is your low level and should be a speed that you could do for about 20 minutes (a jog for most of us – Beeble).
If you don’t have a heart rate monitor you can use the perceived rate of effort which is a scale of 1 to 10. 1 being nothing and 10 feeling like you will pass out. Using this scale you would want to work to a 7, which is roughly the equivalent to 70% of your maximum heart rate and it should feel tough but manageable.
Run at this level for 1 minute and after 1 minute we need to take it up to the high level or anaerobic level. Using your heart rate monitor take the speed up until your heart rate gets to 85%; remember it will take time to get there. If you don’t have the heart rate monitor then take it up to a level of 8-9 on the perceived rate of effort scale. This should feel like a lot of hard work. You should feel your muscles really working and if asked to talk you should only be able to get one word answers out. Maintain this speed for a minute and then drop back down to the level you started at.
Keep alternating until you have completed 20 minutes.
This example is at quite an advanced level but feel free to tweak it. By increasing the time at 70% max heart rate and reducing the time spent at 85% you will make it easier.
What is it good for?
Its main use is to improve cardiovascular fitness whilst improving the body’s ability to have spurts of energy, ideal for a lot of sports. It is also said to benefit those looking to reduce their body fat content more than training at a 70% MHR for long periods. It is widely known that if you train at around 70 % MHR that after 20 minutes or so one of the energy sources is your body fat. Therefore it seems natural to train at this level to “burn” off fat. However the body still uses body fat as an energy source at the higher levels (anaerobic stages – Beeble) but at a much smaller percentage than at the aerobic level. Although, as the overall energy out put is that much higher at the anaerobic level the actual amount of body fat used is more, even though the percentage is lower (it’s getting complicated – Beeble). It is now widely believed that this style of training will help reduce your body fat percentage faster than the traditional training and by a considerable amount.
Finally it is also shown to improve your fitness far quicker than “one level” training does, with possible improvements of up to 30% more over similar time periods. All round this seems to be the route most people should take for their training at some stage.
Recommendations
Start this training at a lower level to get use to it first. For example with my clients I find out what speed they can run at for 20 minutes comfortably. Then for their low level I select a slightly slower speed and for their high level I select a slightly higher speed. This means their average speed stays roughly the same but they have been pushed more on the faster speeds. It is a good way to introduce your body to it and once you start getting use to it you can begin to gradually make it harder.
And a Warning…
This training is beneficial for most people however make sure you train to your limits. If you have high blood pressure and/or are extremely unfit then change your interval training between very easy to 70% MHR (or less if necessary – Beeble). Having 70% as the higher level will still show improvement in your fitness but you must not push yourself too much.
As a guide, make sure that your blood pressure is less than 140 over 90 if you want to attempt the full interval training. Any more than this and you will need to tone it down to the lesser level and more importantly check with your doctor before taking on any exercise routine or lifestyle change.
Try it out, but remember above all be safe. If you start to feel ill or sick let someone know immediately, lie down with your legs elevated and relax. We wish you all the best with it.
August 27th, 2007 at 11:08 am
[...] Expert – We are talking hill running with added exercises which you would normally associate with the gym e.g. lunging or squatting down to pick your dog’s ball. Also you could introduce interval training (click here to read about interval training) by adding sprint sections. [...]
June 6th, 2009 at 1:31 pm
The catch for an amateur fitness/wt.reduction enthusiast like me, who is also a geriatric 70, is in judging the 8-9 stage on the perceived effort scale. I have normal/low BP, so tried it out during my evening workout which is a walk/treadmill followed by weights. I thought I was safe at about 8 (one-word answers possible, more difficult), but at the end of it, and the whole of the next day, the body was sending clear signals that I’d overdone it. Had to take clear 2 days off, i.e. 72-hrs break, before I felt I could get back on the treadmill, and naturally I’m at a lower level of effort since then. Q is, any experience u hv had with geriatrics which shows that anaerobic spells, even short ones, are an undesirable risk?