Benefits of Interval Training

Interval training is also known as high intensity interval training (HIIT) and is extremely popular at the moment within the fitness industry. One of the reasons it is so popular is because it alternates between short intense bouts of exercise and less intense recovery sessions. An example would be alternating between walking and running or jogging and sprinting. There are now more and more gyms or fitness centres who are advertise specific interval training circuits and programs. So the big question is it better then going to the gym and working out for hours? Today we are going to look at the common benefits of interval training.

Time! In this day and age we are always time poor and this is the biggest excuse people have for not fitting exercise into their day. HIIT is more time efficient and easier to fit into the day as it usually only lasts a maximum of 30 minutes meaning you are more likely to be able to work out more days a week then maybe only once a week if you had to attend an hour fitness class or make time to go do a decent workout in the gym. 

You will burn more calories in the hours post workout. This is because HIIT workouts promote the 'afterburn effect' where our bodies are trying to return themselves to it's resting state after an intensive workout. It is during this time that the body pumps higher amounts of oxygen around the body to the muscles to aid with recovery and fat is used as the predominant fuel source during this time. This means that you are more likely to burn higher levels of fat post your workout then if you did a normal workout. 

It can help with your endurance levels. By including some bouts of high intensity in your otherwise moderate intensity workouts (such as running or cycling) you can not only boost your ability to be able to do your moderate intensity workouts more easily but you can improve your blood pressure and overall health as well. Increased endurance occurs as the interval training forces the body to adapt to changes in the workout. One such example is through the cardiovascular system to which becomes more efficient at pumping oxygen throughout the body to the active muscles. Interval training also assists in the body's tolerance of lactic acid as it builds up in our body throughout our workouts.

It has benefits for the heart. Not only is the heart becoming more efficient at pumping blood and oxygen around our bodies but interval training pushes our bodies out of the aerobic training zone and into the anaerobic training zone which most of us do not train in. This means that if you were to participate in HIIT workouts for 8 weeks you would be able to perform for longer periods of time in steady state workouts at the end then you could at the beginning, for example you will be able to ride for a longer distance after the 8 weeks then you could at the beginning whilst maintaining the same speed. 

I hope this has been of benefit for some people and I'll be looking more into interval training over the next weeks looking at the downfalls as well as what an interval training program would actually look like.

Simone

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