Interval training is a sufficient way to increase your cardiovascular fitness while also maximizing your fat burn. Challenging your heart to recover after maximal intensity takes time, and it's important to understand your individualized heart rate zones to train safely and effectively. If you don't allow your heart rate to reach your recovery zone before beginning your next round of interval training, you begin focusing more on endurance training than interval training.
Maximum Heart Rate
In order to train with intervals, you need to first determine your maximum heart rate. Subtracting 220 from your age is a quick and efficient method to determine the upper levels of your heart rate. For short bursts of time during interval training, the goal is to reach the maximum heart rate determined. Immediately following this maximum burst, you need to recover until your heart rate reaches between 100 and 110 beats per minute. This rate is above your resting heart rate, which is usually under 60 beats per minute for conditioned adults, but low enough to allow your body to recover.
Interval Ratios
Most interval ratios follow a 1:2 ratio, with one full minute of intensity and two minutes of recovery. This cycle can then be completed up to 12 times, depending on the nature of the activity. If you find that your heart rate reaches above your maximum before the minute is over, you might need to start with 30 seconds of intensity and then work on progressing towards a minute.
You might also need to increase your recovery time if you find that your heart rate takes longer to come down. This is not uncommon if you are just beginning exercise, starting a new program or returning to exercise after an injury or rest phase.
Common Interval Programs
Using the treadmill is a good way to work on your interval training, as you can vary the speed and resistance quickly and efficiently. Other common forms of interval training that really challenge your cardiovascular system are jump rope workouts where you can vary your rope speeds and jump intensity, explosive plyometric exercises including lots of variations of jumps and stair running.
You can vary stair running by speed and number of stairs taken at a time. You can also challenge your balance by including more explosive jumping movements on the stairs using one leg at time or reversing your direction and challenging different muscles in the lower portion of your body.
Considerations
If you have experienced any sort of heart problems including, but not limited to, high blood pressure or chest pain or are currently on any heart medications, get clearance to exercise from your doctor. This is especially the case with interval training, as it strains the body and tests its most upper limits of the cardiovascular system through the maximum-intensity bursts of training.
References
- "Fitness: The Complete Guide"; Dr. Frederick Hatfield; 2009
- Bodybuilding.com: Target Heart Rate Zone Training
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