INTERVAL TRAINING: THE KEY TO RAPID RESULTS

February 25, 2023|Fit and Functional Florida

2 min read

The facts are that the drop-out rate for dieting is 99%. Dieting alone is proven ineffective for long-term weight loss.

Resistance training is by far the most efficient form of exercise for long-term weight management because it changes your body’s energy needs and combats one of the biggest challenges with stand-alone dieting which is that frequently you lose muscle mass along with the fat, which in turn reduces your body’s energy needs. The fact is that muscle burns fat and the more muscle you have the more fat you burn. This is true even at rest. With appropriate resistance training you can maintain and even increase your lean body mass as you lose fat which ensures your fat loss success for the future.

Cardiovascular training helps your body spend your fat stores and aids glucose tolerance. This training is the most overdone and misused aspect of exercise. The common myth of doing cardio before beginning a weight training program is absolutely incorrect. Weight training should be the staple of your program and cardio, done properly, should be the compliment.

Interval Training helps you burn more calories during and after your workouts. It also dramatically improves your cardiovascular capabilities. Mixing bursts of high intensity work with low intensity periods of recovery overloads both the aerobic and anaerobic systems and provides the benefits of both aspects of training simultaneously.

HOW IT’S DONE!

The general aim in HIT (High-Intensity Training) is to include short, high bursts of exercise followed by slightly longer “recovery†periods. As your level of fitness and stamina increases, you can begin to increase either the duration or the intensity of the intervals. For example:

  • Interval 1: High Intensity (1 minute)
  • Interval 2: Low-Intensity (2 minutes)

If you are running, begin with your normal 5-10 minute warm-up and then increase the pace to a high sprint (say 11 mph) for a 1 minute burst. Once the first minute is up, reduce your speed by half and continue with this for 2 mins. Repeat this cycle 6 times or more. The benefits of Interval Training are numerous:

  • It’s more effective in less time
  • It burns more calories during and after workout
  • It builds up your endurance faster