Interval training (HIT) involves a combination of high and low-intensity training within a single workout session. With interval training sessions, you alternate between a bout of higher intensity exercise followed by a lower intensity or “active recovery” bout.

1. Top 10 Reasons to Use Interval Training
Interval training (HIT) involves a combination of
high and low-intensity training within a single workout session. With
interval training sessions, you alternate between a bout of higher
intensity exercise followed by a lower intensity or “active recovery”
bout.
Interval training is in contrast to the more familiar “steady state”
exercise where the intensity is much lower but longer in duration.
Interval training is awesome for fat burning and aerobic conditioning
but let’s have a look at some more reasons to use interval training for
your cardio workouts.
What are the benefits of interval training?
1. Intervals vastly reduce boredom. Traditional steady state cardio
training can become quite boring. HIT offers more variety and
excitement to your workouts.
2. Interval training increases post-exercise energy expenditure
(calories burned following exercise) more than steady-state exercise,
which means that more fat is burned. After intense exercise, the body
needs extra calories as it works to repair muscles, replace energy
stores (i.e. carbohydrate) and restore the body to its normal state
(e.g. reduce heart rate). As this can take many hours, you will keep on
burning more calories long after the workout is over. In fact, research
shows that metabolic rate is higher for several hours following interval

2. training compared to steady state exercise.
3. Interval training stimulates the respiratory system,
cardiovascular system and nervous system to a greater degree.
Therefore, more fat and carbohydrates are burned to support the
expanding energy demands of the body during, and after, intense
exercise.
4. Interval training increases the activity of enzymes involved in
fat burning. Research has shown that after a bout of interval training
there is more fat in the blood (i.e. free fatty acids), which is an
indication of more fat, being used for energy production.
5. HIT burns more calories. As an example, 30 minutes on an
Elliptical machine using a steady state program will burn roughly 292
calories, whereas 30 minutes of intervals will burn approximately 584
calories!
6. HIT causes a greater increase in VO2max (aerobic capacity). By
stimulating your cardiovascular system to work closer to its maximum
capacity for a longer duration than steady state exercise.
7. HIT allows for better time efficiency. For instance, a typical 30
min steady state run on the treadmill could be reduced to 10 – 15 min
of HIT due to its demands on the aforementioned systems.
8. HIT results in increased amounts of circulating growth
hormone (GH) following exercise. This promotes an increase in lean
body mass and increased fat burning. This does not occur to the same
extent with steady state exercise. This is particularly beneficial for
those looking to maintain their muscle mass and at the same time
reduce body fat.
9. Interval training makes use of both aerobic (type 1) and
anaerobic (type 2) muscle fibres. This is in contrast to steady state
exercise that only makes use of type 1 fibres. By increasing the

3. conditioning of these type 2 muscle fibres you will greatly increase
your capacity to tolerate high-intensity exercise, which means an
increased opportunity to exercise at higher levels that burns a lot of
calories.
10. Because of the high-intensity of this exercise and the increased
use of anaerobic type 2 muscle fibres there is an increased use of the
body’s glycogen (muscle-stored carbohydrates) stores. This is very
beneficial for fat loss as the body will conserve carbohydrate
following exercise and thus use fat as an energy source for the body’s
energy requirements. The more glycogen you use during exercise the
more fat you will burn following exercise!
Guidelines for Interval Training
1. Intensity of high-intensity interval
2. Intensity of low-intensity interval
3. Duration of high-intensity interval
4. Duration of low-intensity interval
5. Number of Intervals
Because of its versatility, HIT offers 1000s of different program
variations. This is great for those looking for variety and change. After
all, the body adapts best to changing stimuli. Furthermore, this type of
training can be done on any cardio machine. Again, switching between
machines periodically will stress your body differently and lead to the
best results!
It is recommended that the intensity for the high-intensity interval
range between 75 – 100% of your maximum effort. This will depend
on the duration of the interval, as the longer the interval, the lower its
intensity.
The recovery interval should range in the 55 – 65% of maximum
effort.

4. The ratio of work to recovery can be varied and will depend on your
fitness level and desired goal. For instance, if you're an absolute
beginner I would recommend starting at a work : rest ratio of 1:4. As
an example, this could represent a high-intensity (work) interval of 15
seconds followed by a 60 second recovery interval. If you are more
advanced you can play around with this ratio for increased difficulty.
What you will notice is that over the duration of the interval training
session your average heart rate will tend to drift upward. This is due to
the fact that, depending on the interval protocol and your fitness level,
the length of your recovery bouts will not be sufficient to allow your
heart rate to fully return to rest; thus, you end up working at a greater
percentage of your maximum heart rate even while you recover.
Here is a sample 10-min interval training workout that
is sure to leave you exhausted:
1. 10 seconds at 100% effort
2. 20 seconds at 60% effort
Repeated 20 times
Enjoy!
For more great interval training workouts CLICK HERE to get
the Treadmill Trainer!
Yuri