Interval Training Defined

Interval Training Defined

Interval training is one of those hot phrases that is loosely and irresponsibly thrown around. It is no wonder it can often be confused with the wrong thing or interpreted as a different type of training. Since I work with clientele interested in fat loss and sports conditioning I’m going to explain interval training for those results.

Interval training by definition from Wikipedia means a type of physical training that involves bursts of high intensity work. This high intensity work is alternated with periods of rest or low activity (the intervals in interval training). The term can refer to any cardiovascular workout (e.g. cycling, running, rowing, etc.) that involves brief bouts at near-maximum exertion interspersed with periods of lower-intensity activity.

Now that sheds some insight on what interval training is in general. Interval training can be used over a wide variety of training goals and programs. Athletes, fat loss, increased cardiovascular efficiency, or to maintain overall health. So in terms of fat loss, we need to dig deeper and find the right interval that is going to work for the most effective results.

For this I’ll paint a visual picture. Think of two Olympic athletes. One is a 100 meter sprinter and the other is a marathon runner. Both are high level athletes and both perform interval training. But if we look at their interval training programs deeper, you will see a very obvious difference. The marathon runners intervals will be much longer and for a longer period of time. The sprinters will be shorter and for a shorter overall time. When we see that we then have to decide which body type we want. On average a sprinters body fat will be at around 6-8 percent body fat or lower, where a marathon runners body fat will be at around 9-13 percent. And there is no denying the physique of each individual athlete, it comes down to what you prefer to look like and if you want to lose as much fat as possible, you must train as a sprinter in terms of interval training.

The other benefit to interval training is the amount of time it takes. 20 minutes is the sweet spot for effective interval training. Now that doesn’t seem like very much but with interval training the most effective time for fat to be lost isn’t during the workout. You are priming the body to burn fat for the recovery part of your workout (after you are done). Studies have been performed on measuring the amount of calories burned after a bout of interval training and showed that you will burn 9 times more calories after your workout than you will with longer steady state cardio exercise. And this carries over to weight training and other methods of training. Counting calories burned within a workout not only distracts from your intensity of a workout, it is also compromising your results.

So in terms of fat loss, the best interval training work to rest ratios are: 20 seconds of work 10 seconds rest; 30 seconds of work 90 seconds rest- then work your way down to 60 seconds rest and 30 seconds rest. All of these can be done in 20 minutes. If you are looking for a bit longer intervals 60 seconds of work 60-120 seconds rest is also a good interval to use. Any longer than 20 minutes and you are close to crossing the line between interval training and steady state cardio training which will compromise your results.