The Benefits of Interval Training

Interval training has been used for years by athletes to condition.  However, you are hearing more and more about people now using it to lose weight and in the shortest amount of time possible. 

What is Interval Training?
Interval training is built upon alternating short, high intensity bursts of speed with slower, recovery phases throughout a single workout.

How Interval Training Works
Interval training works both the aerobic and the anaerobic system. During the high intensity efforts, the anaerobic system uses the energy stored in the muscles (glycogen) for short bursts of activity. Anaerobic metabolism works without oxygen, but the by-product is lactic acid. As lactic acid builds, the athlete enters oxygen debt, and it is during the recovery phase that the heart and lungs work together to "pay back" this oxygen debt and break down the lactic acid. It is in this phase that the aerobic system is using oxygen to convert stored carbohydrates into energy.
It's thought that by performing high intensity intervals that produce lactic acid during practice, the body adapts and burns lactic acid more efficiently during exercise. This means you can exercise at a higher intensity for a longer period of time before fatigue or pain slows them down. 

The Benefits of Interval Training
Interval training leads to many physiological changes including an increase in cardiovascular efficiency (the ability to deliver oxygen to the working muscles) as well as increased tolerance to the build-up of lactic acid. These changes result in improved performance, greater speed, and endurance.
Interval training also helps avoid injuries associated with repetitive overuse, common in endurance athletes. Intervals also allow you to increase training intensity without overtraining or burn-out. Adding intervals to a workout routine is also a great way add cross training to an exercise routine.

Interval Training Burns More Calories
According to the American College of Sports Medicine, more calories are burned in short, high intensity exercise.  Plus you can experience what is called the "after burn effect."  This is where you burn at a higher rate for the rest of the day, and up to 24 hours later! 

Interval Workouts
Beachbody has some AWESOME interval training workouts you can do right at home.  I have many clients that may choose to integrate these workouts in addition to other activities they are doing including:  Cross Fit, Yoga, Pilates, the treadmill, running, etc.  They all noticed an increased metabolism, stronger endurance, a higher rate of weight loss, increased energy and more.  Here are some of the TOP Beachbody programs to integrate some interval training into your routine!

1)  TurboFire

High-intensity kickboxing and interval training

If you want to get amazing results—and have crazy fun doing it—then you'll love TurboFire®, Chalene Johnson's intense 90-day cardio program. TurboFire combines motivating music with athletic kickboxing moves that will awaken your inner athlete and help you burn up to 9x more fat and calories than with traditional cardio, so you can finally shed those extra pounds.
TurboFire is all about heart-pumping beats, the energy from the class, and the High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) Fire Drills. You'll work out at your max for up to 1-minute intervals with short periods of rest to ignite your metabolism. As your body replenishes tired muscles with oxygen, it creates the AfterBurn Effect, which means you can keep burning calories for hours after your workout is over. Just 4 minutes of HIIT can be more effective than 30 to 45 minutes on a treadmill.

2) Focus T25

25 MINUTES. 5 DAYS A WEEK. 100% RESULTS

The only thing standing between you and the results you
want is TIME.
Shaun T experimented for the last year to design a program that delivers the same kind of results you'd expect from an hour-long program, in under 30 minutes. He's pulled out the rest to give you everything you need, nothing you don't.
The result is FOCUS T25—and the name implies the intent: If you focus your intensity for 25 minutes, and you do it 5 days a week, you WILL get results.

3) P90X3

GET RIPPED IN 30 MINUTES A DAY

Feel like there isn't enough time in your jam-packed schedule to work out?
Welcome to P90X3's Muscle Acceleration system—your ultimate EXCUSE-BUSTER.
Trainer Tony Horton took everything he learned from P90X^® and P90X2^®—coupled it with new science that shows intense 30-minute workouts can get you in better shape faster—and slammed it all into overdrive.
The result? Short, targeted, intense workouts that take just 30 minutes—but leave you looking like you've been tearing it up in the gym all day, every day.

4) Les Mills Combat

CARVE A LEAN, CHISELED BODY IN 60 DAYS!

 Get ready to punch, kick, block and strike your way to an outrageously shredded body with Beachbody's first mixed martial arts workout designed for total body transformation. If you're ready to fight for the best body of your life, then you're ready to take on LES MILLS COMBAT.
The secret is Fast Twitch Integration Training. LES MILLS COMBAT blasts your fast twitch muscle fibers — the ones with the greatest capacity for change — by taking the most dynamic moves from 6 unique mixed martial arts disciplines and combining them in increasingly intense sequences. You'll be doing Karate/Kung Fu, Capoeira, Jiu Jitsu, Muay Thai/Kickboxing, Tae Kwon Do and Boxing — all in a single workout — to burn up to 1,000 calories per hour! That's how LES MILLS COMBAT builds your best body ever in just 60 days.

Along with others .....

Contact me today to maximize your results by integrating interval training into YOUR routine!