Short & sweet

Hi folks,

With last weeks TV programmes still on my mind I’m going to talk about interval training. Whether it’s for your own training or for setting up effective training clubs within your workplace, here’s the low-down. I’ve previously blogged about interval training but think its well worth a recap.

There are a few types of interval training (tabata, fartlek among others) but the basic principle is that you exercise hard taking your heart, lungs & muscles to their highest safe level, for perhaps 30sec – 1min, before lowering the intensity. This is repeated several times. It was initially only thought effective for seasoned exercisers as they would take their heart rate up to 90% of it max capacity, but now interval training is a powerful tool for those of lower fitness levels too. Here we may only take the heart rate up to say 75% (even though it may feel like 90%).

Traditionally this is done through cardiovascular exercise (e.g. treadmill, bike, or rower) but is arguably more effective done using weights for full body exercise.

Weights based interval work…

•         Makes your muscles (inc your heart) more powerful

•         Can address all fitness goals.

•         Raises your metabolic rate (number of calories you burn when not exercising)

•         Improves your insulin response (blood sugar control) therefore lowering your risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

•         slashes your workout time

In my opinion this really is the ultimate way of training that can be tailored to suit all fitness levels. Next week we look at how using this format can boost workplace performance.

That’s all folks! short but effective – just like interval training

James