Interval training alternates between high and low intensity during a workout, improving strength, stamina, and calorie burn. There are two types: fitness and performance, with varying activities and exercises. It can be used with running, swimming, cycling, and jumping rope, with intervals of no more than five minutes. Other methods, such as running over hilly terrain, can also increase intensity.
Interval training alternates between high and low intensity during a workout to enhance the benefits of the exercise. Generally speaking, there are two types of interval training: fitness interval training and performance interval training. Fitness interval training is suitable for general fitness and is recommended for beginners and intermediate athletes. Performance interval training is recommended for experienced athletes. Altering the activities and exercises that are performed will also offer different types of interval training.
Most people starting to exercise start with continuous exercise, such as walking or running at a set pace, but interval training alters your pace throughout your workout, such as alternating between running and jogging at two-minute intervals. Interval training provides a recovery phase, making the athlete better able to perform during intense training phases. As a result, interval training can improve strength, stamina, and calorie burn for a leaner, fitter body.
Interval fitness workouts aim to increase your heart rate to about 85 percent of the maximum target during exertion phases. The athlete should be breathing hard but still able to speak. Activity during the recovery phase should keep your heart rate between 50 and 60 percent of your maximum target.
The intensity and recovery periods are set in advance and will depend on the exercise being performed and the individual’s fitness level. For example, a beginner just starting out running might run for one minute followed by two minutes of jogging or walking before running for another minute, and so on. With experience, equal periods of effort and recovery can be used, or the relationship could even be reversed, with two minutes of running followed by one minute of jogging.
Running is often associated with interval training workouts, but other aerobic activities are suitable as well. Interval training can be used with swimming, cycling, or even jumping rope. Variations on the run, such as sprints or stairs, can add variety to a workout.
In general, interval training uses intervals of no more than five minutes each. Shorter bursts of activity allow the athlete to work harder during these phases without slowing or faltering as the exercise progresses, building strength and burning calories. Longer intervals help build endurance, and interval lengths can be selected for the desired effect.
Other methods can also be used to increase the intensity. The extra stamina can be just as effective as the extra speed. For example, running over hilly terrain will provide periods of high and low intensity without the runner breaking their pace at all.
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