Interval Training workout plans

Have you found yourself pounding the treadmill for what seems like an hour, only to check your watch to find it’s only been 10 minutes?

At HealthifyMe, it’s Interval Training Week where we hope to make your exercise regimen more interesting. By mixing up your workouts, and alternating high intensities with bouts of recovery, you’ll also burn more calories as well. If you’re at an advanced level of exercise already, then a high intensity interval training workout can help take things up a notch.

How interval training workout plans help:

• Build endurance It increases your heart rate and trains your muscles to use oxygen more effectively, making workouts easier to handle
• Great time-saver
• Best way to burn and use fats and carbs
• Reduces risk of injury
• Less tedious
• Boosts weight loss Research shows that even moderate interval training will burn more fat and increase after-burn

Different kinds of interval training

Aerobic or fitness interval training, is great for exercise beginners as it offers a comfortable way to push out of the comfort zone.

It involves alternating moderate-to-high intensity exercise (like brisk running, cycling, elliptical) with a recovery period (walking). Once you choose the length of your workout (10-20 minutes ideal for beginners, 30 for those who regularly exercise), you can create any work/recovery ratio you like. For instance, an interval training running programme can alternate 1-2 minutes hard with 5 or more minutes easy. As you progress, make your work intervals longer (like 10 minutes) and recovery shorter (2 minutes). Always remember to warm-up and cool down.

Anaerobic or High Intensity Interval Training workouts

This is a more intense, challenging form of workout not recommended for beginners. Choose a cardio activity, either machine or activity, and length of workout (20-30 minutes recommended). The ratio of work to recovery suggested by experts is 1:2 since this is a hard workout. You could, for instance, sprint for 30 seconds and walk for one minute. Again, make sure you warm up and cool down, and do it no more than one or two times a week.

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Written by Roshini Gilbert

After a diligent workout plan helped her lose 30kg of post-pregnancy weight, chartered accountant Roshini Gilbert was inspired enough to go from tallying numbers to training others. A freelance personal trainer today, Roshini has been certified by the American Council on Exercises (ACE) for functional fitness and specialises in post-natal weight loss, exercises for low back pain, arthritis and osteoporosis. She also has REHAB Trainer certification from Australia for rehabilitative exercises and has trained with reputed sports physiotherapist Ulrik Larsen in corrective exercises and injury management. In HealthifyMe, Roshini has found a collaborator with a common cause – making people fit to live life to the fullest. Her assessment of how fit you are is based on three broad guidelines — stamina, body age (a person who looks way older than his age can’t be deemed healthy) and lifestyle (beware, those with bad eating habits and sedentary behaviour). Prepare yourself mentally first and then your body will follow, she says, of the opinion that if you want to change something about yourself then you need to challenge yourself to do it. Are you up for it?