High Intensity Interval Training

I realize that I haven't been posting on here as often as I'd like. So, rather than waiting until I come up with a lengthy, somewhat researched post, I'm going to start posting more general info. There will still be lengthy researched posts showing up (I'm working on one on dieting with links to some popular diets), but hopefully I can post more often.

I realized that I have not been working out nearly as much as I would like. Although I have gotten my son into a somewhat regular schedule, mine is yet to be determined. I was fortunate enough to get in some fitness classes a couple of weekends ago (why do most aerobics instructors find such a need to bounce for their entire class?) but then, there was no time to fit it in this weekend (and the classes were cancelled due to a workshop going on). I haven't done classes in years, well before my son was born. It was nice not to have to think too much about what to do.

My usual "workout" involves tubing and a ball in my living room and Priscilla's Yoga (recorded on the dvr, cause it's on at 4am MWF). So, Yoga is not a whole lot of a workout, mostly stretching (and great 15 minute sections of it) and I'm getting tired of the bands and the ball on it's own. It doesn't get me out of the house and I don't feel the same kind of sense of accomplishment and quite honestly these days, I'm not working hard enough on it to feel like I'm going to meet any goals.

Monday I decided to head to the gym. By the time I got all the things done that I needed to, I was reduced to about 40 minutes of workout time. I like to do 30-40 minutes of cardio, so that wasn't going to work... what to do? I had to think about how I train my clients...

High intensity interval training it is! There is a ton of research out there that shows high intensity interval training 3-4 times a week will produce better gains than longer, less intense cardio sessions done 3-7 times a week. The best part is... It's QUICK!

Monday was a warm 20 degree day (23 degrees in my house and at the gym I was working at in the morning, hence the change in venue). So, being warmed up by walking to the gym, I only spent 2.5 minutes warming up on the Arc trainer (somewhat of an elliptical trainer). http://www.arctrainer.com/

I love the Arc trainer. It's a product by Cybex (hate their treadmills, but love their Arc trainer). The first one I was ever on, did not have moving handles and I really liked those, I thought the handles would be an improvement, but I find that they move ipsilaterally (your right arm goes forward the same time as your right leg) as opposed to contralaterally (opposites, the way that you run) and I find it feels strange, no matter how many times I've tried it (sometimes things feel weird at first because they're different and then you get used to it... not the case for me here).

Anyhow, I put the ramp up to 10 (it ranges 1-10), I find that gives me the greatest range of motion and simulates hiking. I think I put the level up to about 30 to start with (1-100). Of course, I just use the quick start program, so I don't have to program anything and fiddle with the buttons.

So, for the workout:
2.5 minutes warming up

30 seconds as fast as you can (I tend to count down the seconds and really push it for the last 10)
60-90 seconds recovering (slow and easy). This is where I ended up decreasing the level a little. I think I was down to level 20, by the last interval.
REPEAT (5-7 times)

COOL DOWN 3-5 minutes. Keep moving to slowly lower your heart rate.

I usually spend 10 minutes doing intervals... sometimes I have to lengthen the recovery a little to feel like I can go again.

You can watch your heart rate, but heart rate is interesting. I'm okay with elevating my heart rate higher than my age predicted training zones, I find those aren't that accurate for me (everyone is different, although I find most - not all of the clients I have trained are comfortable training at a higher HR than age-predicted maximums. Even using the Karvonen formula isn't as useful as the RPE scale. If I'm heart rate training, I will not watch how high it gets for the interval, but wait for it to drop below 155-150bpm before I start the next interval.

It was great to be able to get in a decent cardio session AND do some weights afterwards. I feel like I'm lacking a lot of cardio these days. I used to run, hike or snowshoe, moutain bike and swim in one day. Now I spend the day chasing Max around. He's fast, but I still don't necessarily get the aerobic workout I used to.