I’ve seen interval training get a lot of attention recently because it is supposed to be a quick way to get fit, in this article we look at what it actually is. Interval training is when you use timed intervals to alternate between two different levels of intensity as you exercise. For instance you might go on a treadmill and after warming up then you start doing 1 minute of jogging at 6km/h and then do 1 minute of running at 14km/h, then go back to 6km/h and repeat that pattern again and again for 20 minutes.
The reason this is so good is because if you tried to push yourself to do 14km/h on the treadmill for as long as possible in one session then you might only last a few minutes, then you’d stop because you were exhausted. With interval training then the recovery interval you give yourself after each intense interval allows you to push on and do far more of the intense intervals than you could do if you tried to do them all in one go.
I also find that time passes really quickly for me when I do interval training, usually jogging is a chore and I am bored after 5 minutes and need to grit my teeth and stick it out, but with interval training I am always checking how long I have left and preparing for my next interval, so the time goes without me noticing.
Interval training is actually a more natural way to exercise, think about sports, you have an intense interval when you are in the middle of the action, then when play moves away you get to rest for a bit. Plus we have actually descended from hunters, and that is how they would have exerted themselves too.
Interval training does not need to be just jogging either, you can do it on an exercise bike, rowing machine, jump rope, elliptical trainer, in fact with almost anything you do for exercise then you can add an interval aspect to it to liven it up. The good news is that studies suggest your metabolism can be elevated for hours after finishing interval training, rather than returning straight back to normal after most other types of exercise, so you are burning fat for a long time even after you finish your workout!
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