Interval Training....the workout that gives you the most bang for your buck!

Interval training....it the workout of all workouts. So what is it and how do you do it?

It can be done on any workout in any location. It involves bursts of high intensity work followed by low intensity or rest. It's the magic key to running faster, swimming faster, cycling faster in fact it's the key to making you faster in almost any sport that requires some kind of speed.
Interval training can supercharge your fitness, boost your metabolism, burn off that extra fat and let you start reaching those goals that you have set yourself.
As with most types of training there are many different types of interval work you can do. For the purpose of this blog that's what I'm going to cover.
In general, interval training is best done 2 or 3 times per week. It can last anywhere between 5 to 30 minutes or more, depending on your level of fitness and what you are training for.







Since I myself am a runner I'm going to give examples of some running interval workouts but once you know how to do this wonder workout you can implement it to any sport.
So remember it all about going hard at a certain intensity for an amount of time followed by a lower intensity or complete rest for an amount of time.








The first type of interval training is one of my favourites. It's simple and doesn't require much brain use which I find best when I'm running quite hard!







You simply get out and start off at a very easy pace for 5min. This is your warmup then run hard for 3min with a 2min recovery run. I like this one as it's in blocks of 5min. So every 5min you know you have to run hard again. Just keep repeating it for as long as you have planned for your workout.



The time and pace will vary depending what your training for. If you are training for a 10k run then you will go at about your 5k pace. If you are training for a 1/2 marathon then do them at about your 10k pace and you would do more reps of them. If you are training for a marathon then 1/2 marathon pace is good and again you would do more reps



Always finish with a 5min easy warmdown

Another interval workout that's quite effective are hill intervals. First find a course that has a mixture of hills and flat ground. You start with 5min easy as your warmup then every hill you get to run about 90% effort up the hill. Once you reach the top you then run easy until the next hill. Do for as long as you had planned for your workout. Finish with 5min easy run.

Another good hill one but a bit boring for my liking are hill repeats. Just find a hill than 100-500m long then sprint up that sucker then walk back down. You might do 2 sets of 5 reps making each rep faster than the one before. Word of caution though, this can be a vomit workout!!!!

Next one is a great marathon workout and does require quite good fitness. You will cover over 20km in this one all up including the warmup and warmdown. Find a course that has km markings on it or wear a GPS watch. Start with your 5min easy warmup then do 1km hard, 1km easy, 2km hard, 1km easy, 3km hard, 1km easy, 4km hard, 1km easy, 5km hard then do a 5min warmdown. You might find an ice bath after this one will help you recover better. If you are training for a marathon then do each hard rep at your marathon pace or slightly faster and make the 1km recovery run as slow as you like

So far I've given you some great road interval workouts. Now lets look at some on the track.

First up make sure you do a really good warmup before you attempt these ones. That will consist of slow running, some drills then some stride's

For most people you want to do around 2km to 3km in total of hard running. If you are training for longer distances then you can do up to 5km or 10km of hard running but your intensity will be slower than shorter ones.

First type of track intervals are repeats of a certain distance followed by a distance of recovery or total rest.

Popular one's are

• 8-10x400m with a 30sec-1min recovery or a 200m easy run



• 5-6x600m with a 1min-2min recovery or a 300m-400m easy run



• 4-5x800m with a 2-3min recovery or a 400m easy run



• 3-5x1km with a 3min recovery or a 400m-600m easy run

Other track intervals are pyramids

examples are

• 1x400m, 1x600, 1x800m, 1x1km then rest 5min then 1x1km, 1x800m, 1x600m, 1x400m. The goal of this one is to do the second half faster than the first half.

If you're in the gym and you're on those BORING things called cardio machines then try spicing up your workout with some short sharp intervals.

So as you can see, you can implement these ideas on any cardio workout of your choice. You can do it on a treadmill, a bike, a rowing machine or in the pool. Play around and have some fun with them

One thing is for certain though....you will feel pain. The good news is you will get fast results in a short amount of time

The magic of recovery!

It's the magic tool to staying injury free. You can train all you like as hard as you like for as long as you like, but if it's one thing I've learnt the hard way you need to let that body of yours recover!

I'd like to share with you what I think we should be doing for recovery.

I'll go deeper into each one of the points over the next few weeks but for now I'm going to just touch with the basics

Remember that there isn't one magic cure for recovery or fixing those injuries. It's a mixture of all these things plus many more. Your body will heal itself over time.

First up...whenever your not training you should be recovering.

How do you recover? hmmm I'm glad you asked!
Recovery isn't anyone thing in particular. It starts as soon as you've stopped your workout.
Your warm down is recovery. You do a spin class then the cool down at the end is vital! The race that you just did...then the 5-15min easy running after is your cool down.
Then what? Well it all depends on what you're training for.
Examples of recovery are

• Sleeping
• Nutrition
• Massage
• Self massage
• Ice Baths
• Gym workouts (yes the gym is part of recovery!)
• Yoga
• Steam room/Sauna
• Cross training
• Rest days

Now I'm not going to go to deep into each of these but I'll explain a little on each one. Remember there is alot more to recovery than these points

Sleeping - Whats that correct amount of sleep? It all depends on how much you have been doing & what your training for. For most people it's between 7-9hrs. It also varies depending on you age. Kids & teenagers tend to need more sleep than adults.

• Nutrition - What should we be eating? Well I'm not going to into this one much as it really does vary on each individual. Basically if you eat it then feel bloated/crap/tired...etc...etc....etc than simply don't eat it! We all know that too much food leads to alot of problems. Even too much healthy food will lead to problems. It's all about balance.

Also it depends on what sport you are playing. A sumo wrestler will require much different energy needs than a ballet dancer.

Nutrition/fuel for the body has to
refuel the muscle and liver glycogen (carbohydrate) stores
replace the fluid and electrolytes lost in sweat manufacture new muscle protein, red blood cells and other cellular components as part of the repair and adaptation process.

• Massage - Maintenance to prevent injuries, it's shown to shorten the recovery time between workout by increasing blood flow, reduces spasm & tightness in the muscles, releases the fascia and ensures the muscle fibres repair in a strong & flexible manner. How often should you get massage? Again depends. Depends if you are doing heavy training, light training, when you competition is, if you have any niggles or injuries. A general guide is for best results - once a week to once a fortnight. Some people find once a month suits them better but always remember...ANYTHING IS BETTER THAN NOTHING!

• Self massage - This is where it's great to have a bunch of massage tools at home. Things like golfballs, tennis balls, baseballs, rolling pins, foam rollers. The great thing about self massaging is you can keep things loose until you see the massage therapist. If you have just done a hard session & notice your calves or back is tight then you can target that area straight away.

• Ice Baths - Brrrrrrr!!!!!! well it's not as bad as you think. After any long hard sessions an ice bath can do wonders for your recovery! Simply fill your bath with cold water, get in then add 1 or 2 bags of ice 5kg-10kg and sit in there for 15-20min. After 3 or so min it gets easier. Once you are done go have a warm shower. Have an ice bath and your body will thank you the next day

• Gym Workouts - This is all about active recovery. You don't need to kill yourself everytime you go into the gym. When I get in the gym the stretch floor is my friend. You will find that you simply do more in the gym than you would if you were at home. Mainly stretching workouts & if your gym has one grab the foam roller. It's quite easy to spend 60min doing a stretch & foamroller session

• Yoga - What can I say about yoga ? It's sensational for strength & flexibility. Start doing 1-2 yoga sessions each week and see for yourself the difference in you sport. There is just too much to go into with yoga. Try it for yourself!

• Steam room/sauna - again another fantastic tool. Some of the benifits are
  
  •relief from muscle soreness
  •relief from stiff joints
  •immune system enhancement
  •lymph detoxification
  •blood circulation improvement
  •sinus congestion relief

• Cross training - Well this is any activity that you do other than your primary sport. This will keep you fit while resting the muscles of your sport. Also perfect if you are injuried.

• Rest Days - Vital!!!!! Now it doesn't mean to do nothing. Far from it. A rest day is simply a day off from your sport. This is where you will give your body a chance to get stronger/faster/leaner!

There is so much more to this little bit than I've wrote about for recovery.

Simply if you want to be the best you can it is a MUST DO!

Well I've decided to start up a blog for my business. I'm finding there is so much information that I've learnt in the health & fitness world over the last 15yrs that I'd really like to start sharing with everyone.

So please feel free to keep track of this blog as I'll be updating with information on a regular basis

Yours in health & fitness

Darren McClellan