If you haven't heard of the craze around Interval Training, I'm here to catch you up! Interval Training is also known as a "burst and recovery cycle" and is amazing for major calorie burning, increasing lean muscle mass, and increasing fat loss for women at any fitness level. But that's not all...keep reading for more fun facts on how this Fitness for Moms is going to work for YOU!
I have such a love for interval workouts, because they're challenging and varied, have amazing benefits for your body, and never drag on. But I mostly love them because I can set the timer and know exactly how long my workout will be! Which is great for busy Moms, (and of course others folks that aren't Moms!), that don't have an hour or more to devote to exercise every time we want to get a workout in. No more dilly dallying in the gym, or at home for that matter. You devote that set period of time to WORKING OUT, and then move on to the rest of your day. Easy enough.
Now, don't think that you only have to do HIGH intensity interval training, (HIIT) or Tabata. Both of these interval methods are very high intensity for short periods of time. There is MIIT also, or Moderate Intensity Interval Training. And if you're more interested in adding resistance training into the mix, you can do that also, or stick with body weight. There are so many options! You can use an interval training method for a plethora of styles of training and get amazing benefits and results without going ALL OUT at high intensity. Seriously though, the options are endless - which is yet ANOTHER reason why I love it and use it personally, as well as with all of my Private Training Clients.
Let me give you a couple of examples of how the timing of interval training can look. Keep in mind that you can adjust the timing, but your work time is always longer than your rest time. Not the other way around. I see you...trying to rest more than you move during the workout. Don't be that person! Okay, so traditionally the HIIT or Tabata protocol is a 2:1 ratio. Or 20 seconds of work to 10 seconds of rest for 8 rounds, totaling 4 minutes. Don't let 4 minutes fool you - if you've done a true Tabata workout with full out effort, you know this is NO JOKE. I love this option for a quick workout on days that would generally be for cardio, and often times do two or three rounds totaling 8-12 minutes in length. Not very long...just very intense and effective.
But you don't always have to go with a 2:1 ratio or the 20 seconds work to 10 seconds rest. If I am including resistance training of any kind, like dumbbells, kettlebell or resistance bands, or gliding disks, med balls or stability balls, etc... I like to extend the work period out so that I can get more repetitions in. So increasing the working time to anywhere from 30 to 45 or 50 seconds is perfect for that. Then keeping the rest time around half (so that we are close to the 2:1 ratio) is ideal for rest before repeating. You can do these type of workouts for full body, or do a split of upper and lower body, as well as a day for abs. The options are infinite...which keeps it fresh and makes it fun!
So let me break down a few of the benefits that come from doing interval training and why YOU should do it!
1. This type of exercise with anaerobic bursts paired with low-effort rests offer the perfect storm to improve your cardiorespiratory and muscular fitness. Soooo...if you hate running, elliptical, cycling or things of that nature, (which is me all day) I'm here to tell you that you don't need to do them! That's right. I said it....and you're welcome. You can get all of the benefits for your cardiovascular and respiratory systems without having to log MILES because higher intensity interval training gives you all of the same benefits in a fraction of the time.
2. One of the biggest appeals (outside of the short timeframe) of interval training, is increased weight loss. The results are powerful because of the caloric expenditure during the workout, but then post exercise, the caloric expenditure is higher than that of steady state cardio, like jogging/running.
In a study completed in 2011, researchers found that one 6-minute HIIT workout (1 minute warmup, 4 minutes HIIT, 1 minute cooldown) burned 50 calories. However, the subjects' metabolism remained elevated post exercise, causing them to burn approximately an additional 250 calories over the next 24 hours. Read that again!! That's 300 calories burned in 24 hours for only 6 minutes of exercise! Does that blow your mind!? That's what people jogging or running burn in 30 minutes of steady state exercise.
3. Following an interval training protocol SAVES YOU TIME. And who doesn't want that!? Being able to get amazing results in less than two thirds the amount of time of traditional approaches to exercise is phenomenal! Giving you that time back to spend with your family, enjoy hobbies, take a nap, etcetera! YAY!!!
All of these benefits may sound too good to be true, right? But really, they're not, because the trade-off is that with HIIT, you are required to work at near to full maximum effort with minimal rest in between. So you will definitely be earning those rest periods along with those great benefits post exercise while your body recovers.
Now, if you're new to interval training and want to give it a try, or have done it in the past, I encourage you to head over to the E-books tab and download my FREE Full Body Interval Trainer and give it a shot! It is for all fitness levels, no matter where your starting point is, and as you become more familiar with the movements and protocols, you can increase your intensity. Just start where you're at today and put in your full effort - before you know it, the exercises will become easier and your confidence with them will improve rapidly!
I am always happy to talk about any questions or comments you may have about interval training - just ask!!
All the Mom Love,
Dawn