by: Sean Callahan
Walk into any gym across the country and you will see endless people slaving away for countless bouts of time on pieces of cardio equipment. I remember I would find myself at times fitting into this same crowd doing long bouts of slow, low intensity cardio in my “fat burning zone.” Long slow endurance training sounds like some kind of torture sentence “You have been sentenced to one year of long slow cardio training.” It just sounds boring and truthfully it is boring! In reality it also fails in comparison to higher intensity interval type training. The reason long slow aerobic training is around and continues to be around and remain popular is that it was glorified by the media and it is easy to implement and use. “I’m just going to do 40 minutes on the treadmill ” that’s a phrase that is used to often by people that are frustrated with their results and/or their state of conditioning. Unfortunately, this phrase is also too often used by those that just simply do it because it easier. Interval training and higher intensity training will be harder, it will be uncomfortable and it will be superior. Let me ask you a question…..imagine the body of a sprinter, someone who routinely works in shorter more high intensity bouts. Their bodies will are most often leaner, more muscular and more aesthetically appealing. Now, imagine the body of a distance athlete or marathon runner, they are in nearly all cases going to be the complete opposite of that of the sprinter and in most cases will actually possess higher levels of bodyfat compared to that of the sprinter.
I am going to dare say that I am in opposition of long distance training for most everyone other than those that compete in these type of events. I believe that it does not offer the results that most seek and in more populations than not it can lead to greater degrees of injury and burnout (usually from aches and pains and lack of results). For those that are not buying what I’m selling let me just say that if you will not trust what I am preaching then only use conventional type of cardio training for just a long enough period (usually no more than 4 weeks of routine training) to be able to utilize interval training as your primary means of conditioning. Does this mean that we have had the wool pulled over our eyes all this time? In some ways….Yes, I do believe that. I believe that it was unintentional but I do believe that is what has happened.
Interval training has actually been proven to raise an individual’s VO2 max with more productivity than traditional aerobic training. Physiologists around the world have spoken and they are content with if an individual wants to be more aerobically fit, interval training should be the practice most often used.
The Fountain of Youth?
There is no doubt that appropriate resistance training is needed to combat the battle with Father Time. A study by the Buck Institute in Novato California, found that resistance training/interval training does indeed have the desired effects of resisting the aging process. Director of Genomics Simon Melov had this to say about the study, “The genetic fingerprint was reversed to that of younger people – not entirely, but enough to say their genetic profile was more like that of young people than old people.”
Just from a Time Management Stance –
When it comes to finding enough time in the week to get things done interval training vs. long cardio sessions must be considered. Many have heard the saying “Work smarter, not harder” well, I think in this case it is strikingly different “Work harder and smarter, not longer.” Research out of McMaster University in Canada put out a study in the Journal of Physiology that looked at interval training compared to that of steady-state type conditioning. The study took two groups in which group one completed interval type workouts for duration of 20 minutes. Group 2 completed workouts that consisted of steady-state conditioning lasting between 90-120 minutes. The interval work was performed in 30 second sprints and then was followed up by 4 minutes of slow pedaling. If you do the math this would equate to two to two and half minutes of high-intensity work during a twenty-minute workout as compared to the 90-120 minutes in the “heart rate zone” with the other group. What the research found is that both groups ended up obtaining the same improvement as far as oxygen utilization from both programs. Both groups worked out 3 times a week; the interval group only exercised for a total time of one hour per week and only six to seven and a half minutes of actual high intensity work during the week. The steady-state group exercised between four and half and six hours during a week yet the aerobic advantage was the same for both groups and the other desirable physiological advantages were slanted toward the interval group. We’ve always been told time is money, well start saving yours with interval work.
So What is Interval Training?
Hopefully if you are still reading this then you are at least intrigued and curious about the idea of using interval training as your primary vehicle for conditioning and if so let’s get into what it is and how to use it.
Without getting nerdy and scientific, interval training is just conditioning that uses a pattern of alternating periods of work and rest. Where the true complication begins is trying to actually determine how much work and how much rest. You might very well have been looking at interval training all around you for quite some time now and not even realized it. Turn on any late-night infomercial, or visit any local gym offering group classes, or google search interval training and you are bound to come across the term (HIIT), which stands simply for High Intensity Interval Training. This “new idea” (sarcasm implied) is the new darling of the internet and is what is being heavily pushed and marketed by the fitness industry to sale products and at-home DVD’s. So what can you expect with interval training? As we said before you can expect the same if not better aerobic strength, more hours in the day, less likely to be injured, and superior results in weight-loss and fat-loss. If you keep the heart rate above the 60% threshold for the duration of the intervals then we can acquire development of both the aerobic and anaerobic systems.
The most common types of interval training are those that are developed from rest:work ratio’s and those that are derived from using one’s heart rate as a guide.
Rest:Work Interval Training – The biggest issue that I have with using this approach is that time is arbitrary. There is no real measure of the actual things that are taking place in the body, we are simply guessing.
Using rest:work ratios for intervals should follow a few guidelines: The longer the work portion of the interval, the shorter the rest must be as a percentage of the interval. What that means is that short intervals that require a great deal of muscular demand will require longer rests when viewed as a percentage of the interval. For example, if you have a work interval of 15 seconds of high intensity you will need at minimum a two to one (2:1) rest-to-work ratio. So in this case you would work intensely for 15 seconds followed by 30 seconds of a lower intensity. For those that are deconditioned or for beginners in general a (3:1) rest-to-work might be a better choice, so 15 seconds of intense work followed by 45 seconds of lower intensity.
As I said before the rest does not always stay in a linear fashion with the work interval. For example if you were performing 60 second intervals you might only need a (1:1) ratio which would equate to 60 second on and 60 seconds off or a (2:1) ratio, 60 seconds on 2 minutes off for beginners.
Heart Rate – Using heart rate as the indicator of intensity for intervals is the better option when given a choice. Heart rate monitors are fairly cheap these days and most commercial pieces of cardio equipment will actually have a built in heart rate monitor on board. Now, obviously there is some variability within these pieces of equipment but for the most part they will provide us with the data that we need to appropriately work our intervals the way that they should be. To accurately use heart rate as the indicator for your intervals you need to have a preset recovery heart rate in mind. From everything that I have read and have used 60% of the theoretical max heart rate using the Karvonen method will usually lend itself to creating an appropriate workout. If you are using the 220 minus your age to find your max heart rate you are going to be in some cases flirting with overtraining and in others under training yourself depending on who you are. If you are an older individual reading this you are less inclined to fit the 220 minus your age criteria. Even the guy who proposed the 220 minus your age formula now even says that his ideas were completely taken out of context. The Karvonen formula or also known as the Heart Rate Reserve Method is the better way to go for establishing heart rate designations.
To find your heart rate zones using this method:
Maximum heart rate minus resting heart rate (find it in the morning when you first wake up), times the percent that you want (in this case it is 60), plus resting heart rate will equal theoretical heart rate.
Example – (200-60) X .60 +60 = 144
Example – (200-60) x .80 + 60 = 172
So what this would mean is that for someone with a resting heart rate of 60 they would exercise between 144 beats a minute and a 172 beats a minute. Their work interval would proceed until the point in which they reach the high number of 172 and then upon reaching it would regress work intensity until the heart falls back to 144 and this would continue in alternating patterns until the designated time was complete.
For a great majority of the population looking to use interval training a stationary bike will be the preferred method. Although running is the best option most adults are just not fit enough to run and 60% of those who begin a running program will become injured. If you are a coach or trainer reading this, statistics such as that should strike fear into you and be deemed unacceptable by your standards. If you are a women contemplating running take notice that because of wider hips and narrower knees that you might actually even hover above the 60% of those that become injured. Physical therapist Diane Lee is quoted as saying “You can’t run to get fit. You need to be fit to run.”
Interval training can be performed on any piece of cardio equipment. The treadmill and running is the best, the stationary bike is the safest and the Elliptical is the worst.
*All information outlined should be taken in conjunction with any recommendations from a medical professional. The information outlined should be used only after medical clearance has been given by a medical professional and your deemed in a condition healthy enough to warrant exercise*
Callahan Strong 