By now, if you're like me, you've read and heard a lot
about interval training as one of the greatest ways to
exercise. You've probably heard that, by alternating short
bursts of high intensity exercise with periods of low
intensity recovery, you can achieve some pretty incredible
health and fitness goals.
And, if you're like me, you've seen the laundry list of
these benefits. Benefits you can't get from traditional
long, slow cardio. To recap:
• Interval training can decrease the risk of heart attack,
stroke, high blood pressure and the onset of diabetes
• Interval training can burn more fat than traditional
cardio - even burning fat up to 24 hours after the end of
your exercise session
• Interval training has been shown to be the best type of
exercise to reduce belly fat - a leading indicator in the
development of metabolic syndrome
• Interval training can teach your body to burn fat first
during activity
• Interval training can add lean muscle to your frame -
muscle that boosts your metabolism, helping you burn more
calories
• Interval training can hep increase the release of Human
Growth Hormone - the essential substance in building and
repairing muscle, keeping bones healthy and burning fat
naturally
Why Doesn't Everyone Interval Train?
"With all of these benefits", you might ask, "why hasn't
everyone jumped on interval training as their main method
of exercise?"
Because you must be a little bit cautious in switching to
high intensity training. You must build up gradually so
that you don't risk getting hurt. It's difficult to just
jump right into high intensity training.
I ran into this issue myself when I tried to get back into
interval training in my mid-30's. I tried to go back to
the workouts I had done 10 or 15 years earlier - and I paid
a price.
The method I tried to use involved running sprints at the
local high school track. And it worked in that I felt
better, had more energy and dropped some serious fat. But,
trying to be a little too gung ho, I forgot that my body
hadn't moved this way in a long time. As a result, I
started to run into problems like pulled hamstrings,
strained calf muscles and sore Achilles tendons...
The Safest Interval Training Method
That's when I started to look around for a better way to
run my intervals. And what I found worked wonders.
I decided to go back to basics. To go back to a workout
that I had used in high school (and seen plenty of elite
athletes incorporate into their training). The answer that
I found to making interval training safer was: the hill
sprint.
The only change I made to my interval training was to take
it to a hill instead of sprinting on a flat. The
difference was dramatic.
Less Chance of Injury
First of all, running intervals on an incline made all of
my little nagging muscle pulls and tweaks disappear. I was
able to train at a high intensity without having to worry
about injury.
One reason for this is that sprinting on an incline
decreases the impact that running has on your body. Flat
surface sprinting can place a lot of pounding on your
shins, knees and back. Hill sprints alleviate most of this
high impact punishment. Studies have shown that adding
even a slight incline to your running decreased the impact
on your lower legs by as much as 26%.
Interval training on hills is also safer for your
hamstrings - one of the most commonly seen sites of injury
when increasing the intensity of your workouts. Because
your stride is shortened slightly when going up hill, you
tend not to over-stride and pull with your hamstrings.
Instead, you plant closer under your center of gravity,
changing the focus to your "pushing" leg muscles. This
means you can run fast, and have less of a chance of
pulling the old hammies.
Get Results Faster
The second reason that hill sprinting is a great way to
interval train is that it's an easy way to increase the
intensity of your workout, no matter what your current
level of fitness is. Just by going up a hill (or stairs,
or bleachers), the intensity of your workout is
automatically increased. If you currently walk, walking
uphill will be "high" intensity. If you can sprint,
sprinting uphill will raise the intensity even further.
And if you are somewhere in between, the hill will provide
the same benefits.
All of this means that you can instantly do interval
training. You don't have to work up as gradually as you
would doing flat sprints. Your progression from walking to
sprinting can be done in a shorter period of time.
Get More Done in Less Time
Finally, using hills for interval training can decrease the
length of your workouts. Again, because the incline raises
the intensity, it is not necessary to go as far or as long
as you would with flat surface intervals. Give them a try
and you'll be surprised how fast you are "huffing and
puffing" as recommended for maximum health benefits.
If you've been putting off the start of your interval
training because you don't want to get hurt, I've just
given you a solution to your problem. Taking your
intervals to the hills, stairs or bleachers will allow you
to start RIGHT NOW. This training can be safer than flat
intervals and just as effective. In fact, potentially even
more effective in a given period of time.
No more excuses. Time for you to get results.
----------------------------------------------------
Tim Alan Kauppinen, or Coach K, has over 20 years
experience as an athlete and coach. He has developed
champion athletes across multiple sports through speed
training, strength improvement and conditioning. Coach K
is the author of the Uphill Fitness Training, and publishes
a FREE daily training email newsletter. Tim can be
contacted through his website at http://www.makesyoufast.com
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