subject: High-Intensity Interval Training - How to Naturally Include Physical Activity In Daily Activity [print this page] High-Intensity Interval Training - How to Naturally Include Physical Activity In Daily Activity
If you are at all interested in fitness and in staying in shape then interval training workouts should be something that grabs your attention. The thing about trying to get and stay in shape is that you need to continuously learn new strategies and methods of exercise. Unless you do this, your body grows accustomed to the strain you place on it and it stops responding positively to your training. This type of stagnation is perhaps the biggest stumbling block that people run across when trying to get in shape. The solution, of course, is to learn new training routines. Not only does learning new methods of exercise help to overcome plateaus, but it also stimulates people so that maintaining a long-term exercise program is possible. Learning about interval training workouts and then implementing them into your fitness regimen will provide you with a powerful tool to add to your exercise arsenal.
Interval training is a type of exercise which incorporates both high intensity training and low intensity training. You alternate between the high intensity intervals and the low intensity intervals for the entirety of your work out. In this fashion, you never allow yourself a full rest period and thus keep your heart rate up for your entire time. Interval training can be used for a variety of purposes, and interval training workouts can be modified to suit the goals you are seeking to accomplish. This type of a fitness regimen is most commonly used for cardiovascular training, though it can also be used for resistance training.
Although the underlying goal with cardiovascular training is to increase heart health, most people also aim to either increase their speed or increase their endurance. By focusing on one of these more quantifiable goals, individuals have something to strive for and feel a sense of accomplishment when they break through to new levels. You can develop interval training workouts to help achieve new levels of endurance and speed. The following is one example which shows how interval training can be used to increase your speed.
Speed Training:
- Begin with a five minute warm up session to help prevent injury or soreness
- Run at full speed for 30 seconds; immediately followed by
- Jog at slow pace for 90 seconds; immediately followed by
- Run at full speed for 30 seconds; immediately followed by
- Jog at slow pace for 90 seconds; immediately followed by
- Repeat entire cycle until you have worked out for 30 minutes.
When you first begin this type of training, chances are great that you will be pretty exhausted by the time you get ten minutes in to your session. However, as you continue with your interval training, you will find that you are able to run faster without experiencing as much fatigue. You should time yourself before beginning interval training, and then again on a weekly basis. You will be surprised at how quickly your speed will improve. For more useful tips on living a healthy lifestyle.
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