Becky,

Would you mind to explain something to me? How exactly do you do interval training? If you do 2 minutes at a level 5, then increase your intensity for 2 min at a level 6 and so on. If you walk, do an elliptical, treadmill etc. what exactly does that mean. I guess what I am trying to ask is when it says increase your intensity, that does not mean increase your resistance, like on a elliptical or treadmill you can increase from 1 being the lowest resistance all the way up to ten being the highest, of course it gets harder as you increase. I read that interval training is the best way to burn fat, I have never been really sure how to do this. I am the one with the knee replacement so I don’t jog anymore except maybe a little on the treadmill, also, do you know if jogging a little only on the treadmill where you get some padding would be hard in the long run on your knee replacement? Thanks for your time.

Gail

Thank you for your question Gail. Interval training is mixing high intensity bursts of exercise with moderate bursts of exercise (recovery periods). It is designed to get your heart rate soaring and thus is something that is generally done for a shorter period of time. So your cardio session may only last 20 minutes. It’s great though because it burns a lot of fat and boosts your metabolism.

Intervals can be completed for any type of exercise or equipment: treadmill, elliptical, bike, etc…What you want to do is mix in intervals of a higher intensity with intervals of a lower intensity. Intervals are short and can be a structured in a variety of ways and all depends on your fitness level.

The best way to look at is on a scale of 1-10. A level 1 is easy, not difficult at all and 10 is really difficult. This is your perception of how hard you are working based on how you feel and your heart rate, not a level on the machine.  So first determine what your general intensity level is when you exercise. Let’s say it’s a 5. So level 5 is a comfortable exertion for you and is a level  you could maintain for 30-45 minutes.  During your high intensity burst  of interval training you should be working harder than this, say at level 6 or 7. During your moderate burst you will work at your normal level or slightly lower (4 or 5) depending on how you feel. The idea here is to recover so you can continue to work hard through that next high interval burst.

The amount of time for intervals can vary slightly. Starting out you will want to have a longer recovery period. You may start with 2 minute on and 2-3 minutes off. Or you can shoot for shorter intervals of a minute each or even longer up to 3 minutes. Just play around with it and change it up from time to time to get variety out of your workouts.

Also, to increase the intensity you can either increase your speed or increase the resistance or incline. So this means picking up the speed (treadmill: increase speed, bike/elliptical: pedal faster) or adding an incline  or increasing the resistance. Or you can combine the two. Often on an elliptical I will bump up the resistance and make an effort to pedal a little bit faster during that high intensity phase.

Also, make sure to always warm-up for about 5 minutes at a slow pace to get your blood flowing and the body ready for exercise. Here is an example I found online at http://exercise.about.com/cs/cardioworkouts/l/blbeginterval.htm

Warm up 5 Minutes:  RPE 3-4: Warm Up at an easy pace Rest Set
3 Minutes:  RPE 5:  Increase speed from warm up and increase incline 1%.  Keep a moderate pace. Work Set
1 Minute:  RPE  6 – Increase incline 1-3% to raise the intensity level.  You should be working harder! Rest Set
3 Minutes:  RPE 5 – Decrease speed and incline to lower your heart rate back to a comfortable level Work Set
1 Minute:  RPE  6 – Increase speed 3-5 increments and increase incline 1-2% to raise intensity.  Rest Set
3 Minutes:  RPE 5 – Decrease speed and incline to lower your heart rate back to a comfortable level Cool down
5 Minutes:  RPE 3-5 – Decrease speed/incline to lower your heart rate back to a comfortable level and cool down.

So Gail, this should give you an idea how to start your interval training. Best of luck with your program!

Tags: cardio interval training, Interval Training

Posted in Featured, Fitness Tips by Becky | 1 Comment