"Interval Training" -- what's the advantage?

carolpetunia

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I suppose I ought to go find a fitness forum where I can ask these questions, but... I like you guys! Do you mind if I take advantage of your knowledge?

I just bought a used treadmill and don't have the manual for it, so I'm fumbling around with the computer settings on it... and I've managed (by accident) to set it up on "Interval Training," so that it's alternating between 2.3 and 2.7 mph every 60 seconds. That's working fine for me, but I'm curious about the purpose of the alternating speeds. Can anyone enlighten me?
 

natalie_ca

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Here you go


http://exercise.about.com/cs/cardiow...diointense.htm

http://www.best-treadmill-reviews.co...ontinuous.html

The important thing about cardio is to keep your heart beat continuously within your target range for between 30 and 60 minutes 5 to 6 times per week. Sometimes varying the speed doesn't do that if you vary it below your physical capacity and sometimes it can make your heart beat above your target range if you walk too fast.

My suggestion is to pick a pace that is comfortable for you. Think about a rating scale of 1 to 20. 1 being very easy. You should be working at between an perceived exersion of 11 to 12.

You should be able to carry on a conversation while you are walking without gasping and panting and struggling for breath. A good pace will make you perspire and feel energized at the end, not so exhausted that you are uncomfortable and falling down at the end of it.
 

sharky

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interval or circuit training was the ONLY exercise outside wt training my reummatologist said NO to ... lol... I walk/....

now if you are doing the "eye " training it is some spatial thing.///
 

addiebee

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Carol,

From what I understand, interval training is supposed to keep your body from plateauing and adjusting to the amount of exercise that you're doing. Try iVillage.... I like their health/fitness info.

Also, my physician and a physical therapist have also strongly suggested that I hop on the treadmill first thing in the morning... even if it's just 10-15 minutes (and do a full workout later if necessary if I don't get it in right then) to jump-start my metabolism. I am feeling better even after just a few days of following that advice... tho' I have been working out at least 3-4 times a week now.

Resistance/weight training is also a good thing for that.

Sigh -- it's so complicated but no one can do it for us, right?
 

materialsgirl

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Originally Posted by AddieBee

From what I understand, interval training is supposed to keep your body from plateauing and adjusting to the amount of exercise that you're doing.
This is it in a nutshell. In technical terms, interval training, especially high intensity interval training (HIIT) increases your VO2max - it makes your body more efficient at delivering oxygen to working muscles. This means your lungs, heart and blood vessels are stronger and working better, which is a good thing indeed. In order for exercise to be considered true interval training, the intensity bursts MUST be TOUGH. You should be very winded. Otherwise there is no cardiovascular benefit and you might as well be doing steady-state aerobic exercise. Steady-state = boring as far as I'm concerned. I'm an interval gal all the way.


Athletes (runners, cyclists, swimmers, etc) use interval training to become faster because it works. For fat loss, NOTHING is more effective than HIIT. After a quality HIIT session, the body continues to burn fat for hours afterward. This benefit cannot be matched by any other type of exercise.
 
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carolpetunia

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Wow -- great information, thank you all so much! I don't know whether I'm ready for "high-intensity" anything yet, but I have noticed that with the alternating, I get much more winded in the same amount of time than I did when I was walking outdoors at a steady pace. Maybe this is high-intensity enough for me at the moment!


AddieBee, I thought about whether that first-thing-in-the-morning approach might be a good idea, and I'm glad to hear it confirmed. I'll go do a quick one right now!
 
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