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Interval exercises alternate short bursts of very high intensity exercise with equally short bursts of moderate intensity. Properly performed interval training, also commonly known as HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training), should last no less than 15 and no longer than 20 minutes. Research on the effectiveness of training has shown that interval exercise allows you to burn up to 3 times more body fat than classic aerobic training. Moreover, the physical effort performed is almost two times smaller and, of course, shorter. What should interval training look like?
Note: Interval training is a very intense form of exercise – therefore, if you have never been too active physically, you should not start with this form of training. It can turn out to be too burdensome for your body and it is very likely that it will simply discourage you from taking action. Instead of intervals, at the beginning it is worth trying another form of training, e.g. cardio interspersed with strength training. Moderate exercise performed up to 3-4 times a week will keep you fit and give you a taste of interval training. If, on the other hand, you are struggling with a degenerative disease, overweight, cardiovascular diseases – consult a doctor before deciding on any training.
Interval exercises – rules
Interval exercises are based on a few simple rules. First of all, before performing the correct training, you should do a short warm-up. Then it’s time to do intervals – depending on your condition and level of advancement – from 5 to 10 repetitions. After the intervals are performed, stretching and the so-called cooling down the body.
If we want to notice the effects of interval exercises, we should exercise up to 3 times a week. It is very important that the interval between two consecutive interval workouts is not less than 48 hours. Before we move on to performing intervals, a warm-up is necessary to prevent possible injuries and reduce muscle pain after training. Intervals, the essential moment of training, should not last longer than 20 minutes. And here’s a small note – if we do interval training, we don’t do any other training. We are talking about cardio or strength training, because we have to allow the muscles to regenerate, otherwise the effect of overtraining may appear, and the risk of injury also increases. Interval training should not be performed on an empty stomach – it should also not be carried out less than 1,5 hours after a meal. This is of great importance as the blood flow through the liver increases significantly after eating a meal and decreases rapidly during exercise. Interval exercises are also not recommended if you follow a restrictive diet. This can result in a shortage of substances, which in turn can significantly extend the regeneration time.
Interval exercises – how to carry out?
What should a sample interval training look like? Here is a sample plan. Interval exercises are preceded by a 5-minute dynamic warm-up – jumping jacks, jumping, swinging arms, legs, etc. Then we sprint – it is important that it is carried out very intensively, in other words – how much strength in the legs. At this stage, it is very important that the guided exercise is as intense as possible. This step should take no more than 15 seconds. The next step is the medium intensity level, i.e. a moderately fast jog for 45 seconds. We perform the intervals in such a way that we repeat both stages 5 to 10 times, depending on the level of advancement. We end the interval training with a slow jog lasting about 10 minutes – this is to cool down the body, calm the heart rate and even out breathing. The last stage, which ends with interval training, is static stretching – we perform it for about 5 minutes. We make sure that the entire training (including warm-up and stretching) lasts no longer than 40 minutes.
Interval exercises – effects
Interval exercises allow you to burn 3 times more body fat, with twice as much physical effort and in a much shorter time compared to cardio training. The secret of interval exercise is the anaerobic exercise you perform. This type of exercise, also known as anaerobic exercise, causes the body to regenerate muscles and recover broken down glycogen through the use of oxygen. Oxygen, in turn, is taken from the fat. Thanks to this process, it is possible to burn fat up to 24 hours after training. This type of process does not occur when any other type of training is performed. Interval exercises have a significant advantage over other forms of training due to the fact that they allow you to quickly increase the efficiency of the body, and also contribute to the rapid reduction of body fat without the effect of burning muscles. In addition, they allow you to increase muscle mass by weaving strength exercises, e.g. pull-ups.