Interval Training Can Save You A Lot Of Gym Hours
People may no longer have excuses not to exercise. Many people claim that there are just not enough hours in their day to exercise correctly. Interval training, experts say, can take an entire week’s worth of exercising and shrink it down to one hour.
Interval training is a technique that was designed for Olympic athletes, and it has been thought that the routine would be too difficult for most people. However, new studies show that older people and people with health problems have used the technique successfully. Experts say that this technique could revolutionize workouts everywhere.
Intense interval training requires working hard for a period of time, with a short rest and then repeating it. Experts say that a four set series of four minute sets including three minutes of rest is enough. It has been tested for running and biking and is expected to work with rowing and swimming as well.
Interval training is said to be twice as efficient as normal exercise. It can double a person’s endurance, and increase strength and oxygen by 10 percent. A person’s speed can also be increased by at least 5 percent.
I find these claims hard to believe - citation needed.
I think the fact that olympic athletes use this method - I do as well - and it works.. the best citation… just look to the gold medal winners. I put in 30 minutes of HARD effort - maximum weights, maximum resistance on the aerobics machine and a flat-out run for five minutes at the start to get my heart-rate up. When I started this training, I was at 1/2 the weights and resistance and couldn’t run on the treadmill for more than a minute. When I walked out at the end, I felt crippled.. now I don’t.
i agree with cheeni… ‘hard to believe’… this article contains only ‘claims’ (unattributed), and no pointers to find further information… I would like to believe that 4 4 minute periods of intense exercise with 3 minute rest periods (and lets add a 5 minute warmup and a 5 minute cooldown) is enough… That is only 34 minutes (so why does the article say an hour?…
Sounds ‘too good to be true’… again… i agree with cheeni… ‘citation needed’…
ddnorm……its for a weeks worth you genius
and p.s. why don’t you go out and try it and not just sit at your computer and say things are hard to believe…..HAHA
I’m up to one interval of 250 yards and four minutes of catching my breath before I walk home.
i’m a personal trainer as well as a former NCAA track athlete. i’ve been doing interval training with my clients for years. for the average person an hour of hardcore interval training is enough to stay healthy, in my experience, as long as they also change their eating habits. however, to really lose weight you need to lead an active lifestyle as well. meaning, doing 2 or 3 workouts per week and taking walks with your family. do all that and you will eventually LOOK like an athlete.
Interval training is a standard training method to improve fitness. See pubmed.com and search on ‘interval training.’ There are many books on interval training, or ‘high intensity training.’ Try Chris Carmichael’s book, ‘The Time-crunched Cyclist,’ (Lance Armstrong coach) Another important concept is ‘periodization’ where you progressively increase the workload over the months with periods of less work. But most importantly, find an activity you enjoy, since you’ll be more likely to actually do the activity, and work harder to get better at it.