Interval training | What it means and where to start
Within the last decade, interval training and repeated sprint ability has gained attention within the fitness industry, especially with what is best to do..
Depending on your goals and needs, a training program will generally have a portion, if not the whole session, dedicated to cardio or ‘conditioning’, whether it is long steady state duration (LSD), fartlek, aerobic power, repeated sprint ability (RSA) or high intensity interval training (HIIT). Essentially, these can be classed into aerobic based (LSD, fartlek, aerobic power) and anaerobic based (RSA and HIIT).
Within the last decade, interval training and repeated sprint ability has gained attention within the fitness industry, especially with what is best to do - steady state or HIIT (variations of HIIT).
This has lead to some confusion amongst us ...
Which style to primarily focus on?
How many of each session to do per week,?
Which method is going to burn more fat?
Is it going to positively or negatively affect my strength or muscle gains?
Which is going to help me reach my goal fastest or how can I to do a HIIT session?
The obvious benefit of interval training is that it is less time consuming compared to running laps of the neighbourhood. Research by Tabata et al., (1996), Bayati et al., (2011), Gillen et al., (2014), and Hsiu Wu et al., (2015) suggest the sudden burst (various durations or periods of time) of strenuous exercise ramping up your heart rate, followed by a period of slower or less intense activity has shown improvements across the board.
Especially in terms of fat loss, decrease the risk of heart disease and high blood pressure, increase stroke volume, increase of certain hormones released, change mood and help with mental health. Yes it is more challenging in terms of more work completed in less time compared to steady state running or the generic bro weightlifting session, but that is the beauty of interval training and how the body adapts to the constant change in physiological and metabolic demands within the session.
The TABATA workout brought HIIT to the forefront of the fitness world in 1996. Japanese researcher, Izumi Tabata and his colleagues, were interested in finding out the fitness benefits of anaerobic capacity based training over moderate intensity aerobic training.
The researchers suggested, using the protocol 8 sets of 20s of high intensity (170% of Vo2 max) with 10s rest in between each bout, increased both anaerobic and aerobic based energy system capacities, over a 6 week period. There have been studies disputing the work of Tabata and aiming to discredit him, but essentially the main essence or component to this HIIT workout are the exercises selected. Where Tabata’s subjects originally completed on an indoor bicycle, another research, Olson in 2013, used Squat Jumps and found similar findings to the original work.
HIIT Tip #1:
A TABATA session example would include the timings mentioned above (20s work : 10s rest x8) of 1-2 max effort exercises, such as Squat Jumps and Mountain Climbers (1 exercise for max power and 2nd exercise for speed).
More recently, research has shown HIIT type sessions can have a positive impact on Testosterone/HGH levels. This is key for us guys as we age. Studies by Meckel et al., (2009), Meckel et al., (2011) and Cofré-Bolados et al., (2019) have all shown a significant relationship (positive increase) between HIIT and repeated sprints (various distance and rest intervals) and testosterone and human growth hormone, insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I), IGF binding protein-3 (IGFBP-3), and HIIT (and Hormonal boosting) testosterone levels
HIIT Tip #2:
Sprint = Two options - vary distance and/or recovery time.
A simple yet effective session I regularly incorporate into my training program: 50m Sprint with a 2 minute rest x 4-6. An alternative, if not comfortable sprinting on a track/turf, would be a bike sprint of 10s with 60s rest x 4-6.
Image from Sports Health
Feel free to let me know your thoughts or drop me an email at tom@lawlesshealth.com if you have any question!
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